This coming week, the ‘Sco will thud with beats and vibes to supreme hip-hop craftsmanship as the Cali Comm Tour comes to town. Now in its second year, the underground four-act tour offers one well-known emcee, one up-and-comer and two acts whose names are completely foreign to most ears, at least for now.
Few emcees have ever tried to rock a mic with subjects as wide-ranging as frying an adversary’s disk drive (Deltron 3030’s “Virus”) or an eloquent explanation of the many aspects of music and what it does to people (Gorillaz’s “Clint Eastwood”), and it’s probably safe to say that fewer still have succeeded.
Far fewer of them have worked with Damon Albarn. In fact, the only artist who fits that bill is a polysyllabic indie emcee named Teren Delvon Jones, better known to hip-hop enthusiasts as Del the Funky Homosapien, whose lyrical acrobatics will be showcased next Wednesday.
Del is now headlining a tour that former collaborator Souls of Mischief (the two were part of the Hieroglyphics Crew back in the early to mid ’90s) was on last year along with the Pharcyde, Cali Agentz and
Kutmasta Kurt.
The Funky Homosapien got started writing lyrics for Ice Cube’s crew the Lench Mob back in the early ’90s, and also released three albums of his own, but his top billing on this tour mainly comes thanks to his numerous recent collaborations with hip-hop concept album king Dan “the Automator” Nakamura.
Their side projects like the Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz each showcase gleefully weirder work than the last, with Del dropping lines about everything from chemistry to
manga to intergalactic warfare in a style that, for lack of a better word,
can only be described as funkee.
Also on the bill for Nov. 6th is L.A’s People Under the Stairs. With the release of their latest album, O.S.T (Original Soundtrack), the duo of Thes One and Double K make hip-hop old skool style, with jazz samples and straight ahead beats. But rather than being seen as a retro act, PUTS see themselves as staying true to the fundamentals of hip hop while adding their own personal touch.
Double K and Thes One are the producers, MCs and DJs of all their songs — something less and less common in the age of digital recording equipment and big time producers. They also don’t use any keyboards, preferring the simplicity of their own beats and rhymes.
As Thes One says in their press release, “We could never evolve outside of that standard, it will forever define who we are.” More than that, the duo emphasizes their personal connection to the music, and the satisfaction of raw communication with others.
“Our ultimate goal with the new record is to have the person listening to the music feel like they personally know us.” Thes One said.
While the mainstream has ridden the glorification of champagne and penthouse parties to platinum record sales, People Under The Stairs make it a point to stick to hip-hop, and they are no worse for it.
After releasing The Next Step, their first full length in 1998, PUTS signed with respected indie label Om Records and gained momentum with the release of Question in the Form of an Answer which showcased their down-to-earth style and sense of humor, something they follow up with on O.S.T.
Receiving critical acclaim from such disparate sources as XXL magazine and Wake Boarding, and touring the world with such notable hip-hop contemporaries as The Roots, Common, and Dan the Automator would make it seem that PUTS may soon embody the Hennessey sipping stereotype that they seem to dislike so much. But don’t bet on it. As long as PUTS have 40 ozs and their 4 track, mainstream hip hop can keep the diamonds and champagne.
On the other end of the playbill are two crews that wouldn’t want any of hip-hop’s upper tiers, even if they could afford it. The Lifesavaz, an all-but-unknown crew in hip-hop’s mainstream, are looking to spread their word and their name on this tour.
Despite this relative obscurity, the crew has some impressive tours under its belt both in terms of location(the group have done swings through Europe), and high profile act(they’ve opened shows for members of hip-hop’s aristocracy, notably
former Black Star member Talib Kweli and the once-mighty Wu Tang Clan). Opposite them is Skhoolyard, the new crew from Cali Agent #2, Planet Asia. The group is touring in support of their new double EP A New Way of Thinking, which is anchored around the single Fashion Show.