Blue Scholar's Geologic's sweatshirt might have said it best. The Supersonic green charades-inspired top read, "WE [RUN] SEATTLE," and on the final night of The Program, a recently concluded five-day hip-hop event at Neumos, no one would have questioned the statement.
On the last night of Blue Scholars 2007 season, the duo of Geologic and Sabzi were surrounded by a mass of friends, family and followers both on stage and beneath. And for the conductors at the helm of city's powerful hip-hop movement, the night could not have been more picturesque.
"It's really a way for us to close a big chapter of our lives this year," said Sabzi of The Program. "For Blue Scholars, [the group's label] Massline, Common Market and for me personally, it's just about us wrapping up the end of the year and taking it to a new level."
2007 was perhaps the busiest year of the group's career. Almost immediately following the release of their second full-length LP, "Bayani" in June, the two traveled the country spreading their doctrine in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis and more. Though they squeezed in a handful of Seattle shows in 2007 - The Showbox in May, Bumbershoot and a release party at Easy Street Records on Queen Anne - Capitol Hill's Neumos played host to Geo, Sabzi and a slew of their colleagues on December 18-22.
The evening of Dec. 22's edition of The Program featured south-Seattle's The Physics, Cancer Rising, Portland's do-it-all emcee and producer Ohmega Watts and DJ blesOne of Massive Monkees. Truthfully, Seattle could not have asked for a better way to end a year dominated by hip-hop music, with not only the Scholars highlighting the bill - but a number of local talent on the rise sharing the limelight.
"I think [the scene] is growing and getting bigger," said Sabzi of the city's budding love for the hip-hop music. "More fans are definitely being made outside of the city. There have always been artists and talent here, but it's just now that the news has been paying attention and people are so much more on top of [the music scene.] More and more people have been driving into the city to come see the shows."
Each of the five shows were sell-outs, boasting a number of other acts including Khingz, Common Market and Gabriel Teodros, Saturday Knights, Dyme Def and DJ Vitamin D. With the city's most prominent hip-hop artists in attendance, The Program's final night felt more like a family affair than a showcase of talents.
Blue Scholars' night was capped off by a medley of members from Abyssinian Creole, Saturday Knights, and solo artists Grynch, Macklemore and Nam. Though their set consisted mostly of the very material which projected them to apex of the local scene in 2007, the Scholars used the night to parade some of the new material they have been working on.
With a new year about to break over the horizon, Geo and Sabzi spent the latter of 2007 laboring on new endeavors, with hopes to expand their body of work. The two have already filmed a video for their newest single, "Loyalty," and plan to collaborate with other local artists for their new EP. There have also been murmurs of a Blue Scholars-produced short film.
Sabzi has a handful of other projects in the works for next year. In October, he took home the title of the 2007 Red Bull Big Tune Champion. The title has earned him the chance to team up with Youngbuck of G-Unit for a track set to be recorded in Los Angeles this February. His other project, Common Market - a team of Sabzi and emcee RA Scion - will release their second full length album "Tobacco Road" in the spring.
With the last eight months of their lives dedicated solely to touring across the country, Blue Scholars found new ways to incorporate up-and-coming artists into their work. They have invited a number of young producers to be apart of their recent video shoots, while Sabzi has taken young producers under his wing to help them build and develop their beats.
"We're blessed to be surrounded by incredible talent," said Sabzi. "We're just trying to include young folks in the process. You'd be surprised to see how little effort it takes to create that space for the next generation to be apart of. Whether it's for the beats, working for the video or promoting for a show, folks know how to do it already, they just need to be given the opportunity to make it happen."
A year defined by exertion, creation and a dedication to the local movement finds the Scholars at rest for the next three weeks. The pair will back at it again for a number of shows in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia before heading to New York in February. Carrying the momentum of an entire town is an exhausting task.
For more information, tour dates and merchandise visit www.bluescholars.com.
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