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flawless Archive
Bad Habitat Perform Live at Club Calabash – Portland Hip-Hop
Northwest hip-hop group Bad Habitat of Surreal Music perform live at Club Calabash in Downtown Portland, Oregon – Portland Hip-Hop
Bad Habitat members Flawless and Dru Manchu clown around in the “green room” at Club Calabash. That night was crazy yo. The rule of the week: Don’t try mackin on Dru’s girl, or you will receive a foot to your face.
Flawless lighting up a… cigarette. Yeah a cigarette. He smokes those right? yeah that’s what it is.
Lady of Surreal Music hard at work as usual. Props to you girl, keep it up!
Hip Hop in Downtown PDX yo. Flawless and Lady of Surreal Music Portland Hip-Hop tycoons.
From Left to Right: Lady, Flawless and Northorn Lights of Surreal Music affiliation.
Portland Emcee Dru Manchu talks of world domination and the show Lost at the same time. weird? no pretty normal.
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Diezel P, Luck-One, Bad Habitat, Northorn Lights at Bendistillery 1/8/2010 Bend, Oregon
Diezel P, Luck-One, Bad Habitat, Northorn Lights at Bendistillery 1/8/2010 Bend, Oregon
This was a great show in Bend, Oregon at the Bendistillery, Bend’s best concert venue (especially for hip hop). Portland hip hop artists Bad Habitat (Dru Manchu, Flawless and Damian Grey), Diezel P and Luck One headlined this event. These, and other Portland hip hop artists frequent Bend as much as possible since it has a booming hip hop community. Stay posted for more info about hip hop shows in Bend, Oregon.
Bend Hip Hop – Northwest Hip Hop – Portland Hip Hop – Surreal Music – Bad Habitat – Luck One – Diezel P – Northorn Lights
New Underground Hip Hop
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Bad Habitat Bio
Bad Habitat is the hip-hop equivalent of The Three Musketeers, with the swagger of a young Rat Pack, and a style all their own. Forming early in the summer of 2008, Dru Manchu, Flawless, and Damian Grey have since stolen hundreds of shows, amassed a loyal fan base, and built a reputation as “One of the most underrated groups in the Portland hip-hop scene…” (Willamette Week). Intent on making intelligent, yet danceable music, Bad Habitat has developed an aggressive, progressive sound that incorporates real life lyricism mixed with over the top braggadocio and an original flavor of beats.
Although hip-hop at its core, their influences from a variety of genres have resulted in a brand new sound that shatters the traditional genre confines of what constitutes hip-hop, while remaining true to the roots of the art form. From true heads to casual hip hop fans, punk rockers to teeny boppers, Bad Habitat has managed to find firm footing on a previously undiscovered common ground, bridging the gaps between genres that have no rightful place blending together. Yet somehow, they make it work…
With more than three years performing experience behind each of them individually, (over a decade in Damian’s case) Bad Habitat’s combined lyrical prowess is just as impressive as the beats they choose to devour. Each member brings his own unique polished style to the table, be it the consistent punch-lines from Manchu, the quick attacking syllables from Flawless, or the raw emotion and “been there, done that” attitude of Damian Grey. Gaining attention with their high energy live show, they literally burst onto the scene, performing over 115 shows in their first year together. Bad Habitat has conquered almost every notable venue in their region, as well as traveling as far as Sacramento, CA and Seattle, WA, rocking heads along the way.
Regarding former member DJ Cuttah: He is presumed to be dead most likely eaten by Manbearpig or Opera.
Bad Habitat are the self proclaimed 3 Musketeers of NW hiphop, although their membership currently includes 4 members: emcees Dru-Manchu, Flawless, and Damian Grey, along with DJ Cuttah. Damian Grey is better known as Trafek of the long established SE Portland crew Trash Heap, and was the last member to join Bad Habitat. Dru-Manchu and Flawless are former members of the Portland supercrew The Surrealest. Despite being a recent addition to the NW hiphop scene Bad Habitat has already built a strong reputation centering around a high energy live show and the charisma of its members. Bad Habitat is based in Portland, Oregon.
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Portland Mercury on the PortlanD Rap Scene
Few hiphop performers can style a written flow as well as Sleepyhead, and even fewer can project a larger-than-life image of themselves on a listener who’s never seen them. His stellar recorded presence might lead to a mental picture of a six-foot scrapper with a battle record to match his spoken swagger. Were that the case, he might be Portland’s favorite rapper. But at five feet and change, and looking to be about 120 pounds, Sleepyhead—his nom de reality is Kevin Elder—is a bit like a tiny pilot who climbs into the cockpit of a hulking robot to record rap records. Good ones.
I first heard of Sleepyhead back in 2003 when a song of his, “Rip Van Winkle,” played on DJ Kez’s KBOO radio show. The slow, warm-hearted funk of the beat mixed with Sleepyhead’s cascading cadence reminded me of all the best elements of fun hiphop (which is probably why I taped the show and played back that song about five times in a row). “Rip Van Winkle” is on Sleepyhead’s first release, Narcolepsy, and to this day stands as one of my favorite tracks ever.
In the intervening five years since the release of Narcolepsy, Sleepyhead has dipped in and out of the local rap scene and now mostly collaborates with Portland electronica luminaries like Copy and Casiocity. The few times that I ran into him around town I would always bug him about making a new record, but to me it seemed like he had gotten his fill of the rap scene and had moved on to other creative endeavors. Thankfully, this month Sleepyhead has proven me wrong by dropping another stellar disc, No School.
A gradual change in Sleepyhead’s musical inspiration over the years is present in the production and overall sound of No School. The album features fewer sample-based creations and more glitchy tracks, a divergence that takes the record further from the traditional sonic meanders of hiphop and more toward the laptop beat scene. “[The change] really wasn’t intentional,” says Elder. “I just knew so many people making beats, and my friends are making those kinds of beats.”
This transition for Sleepyhead was not that surprising, and besides, Portland’s underground rap scene never really assimilated Sleepyhead—he of small stature, poof-ball hat, and thrift-store wardrobe. You can’t front on a guy for naturally gravitating toward friendlier stages. “[My music] is kind of leftfield in comparison to some of the other members of the hiphop scene around town,” he explains. “I’m really a [hiphop] purist in a sense. Still, you have to keep it interesting and stop recycling the same music over and over.”
While Sleepyhead is still making good hiphop, he’s just not creating it with the co-sign of many other established members of that group. Hip hop in Portland, and the nation over, has splintered, with fans of any one of its multiple shards not necessarily fans of the others. Still, true heads can appreciate good hip hop from the street side, the backpack side, and from anywhere else as well. Sleepyhead’s musical locale is not one populated by Timbs or LRG, but it is home to fresh beats and rhymes, and while it may be out of your comfort zone, that doesn’t mean it ain’t dope.
- The same is true for many Portland hip hop artists. While a few have came from gangster backgrounds, most are just normal hip hop people. What does that mean? well most folks have it rough growing up. That’s one of the main contributing factors for whether or not people like hip hop. Studies show that people who grew up poor or in broken homes gravitate to subversive culture like hip hop. That being said, Portland is not an extremely violent city. In fact it is very peaceful. There are random violent events and gang violence in certain neighborhoods, but for the most part the extent of the violence is street fights and bar brawls. While most “hip hop” music that can be found on the radio contains content about Money, Cars, Bitches and Drugs the real hip hop music that comes from the Portland hip hop scene is true to the roots of hip hop. It is about culture, the streets, life. It is conscious, open minded and enlightening. It can also be in your face, violent and offensive, but thats still a major step up from the garbage that plays thousands of times a day on the radio. While I am not familiar with Sleepy Head, I am familiar with a lot of hip hop artists in Portland, and this article could include any one of them as contenders for up and coming, unique, influential and brilliant hip hop artists.
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West Coast Hip Hop Debate
Santotzin on www.stinkzone.com
“This one is from Santotzin of the real BROWN RECLUSE in Portland, Oregon
www.brownglass.com www.geocities.com/santotzin/Santotzin.ht ml
The Thorn gots mad styles…From Old Dominion to Evil Hands, Trash Heap to Jus Family. Crazy love to all the kids doin it and crazy peace to all the haters, support your locals and we’ll all come up, dummies! Peace to Manic D, MiNos, Uziah, Guzu, Jason “JJ” Cutta and my Brown Recluse homies. Check out: Afro Funk @Conans on Mon, Thorn City Improv @Ash Street Saloon on Tu, The Cut Hut @Cobalt Lounge on Wed and Trash Heap @Oak Grove Bar & Grill on Fri.Peace www.brownglass.com”Word Santo
I don’t know if those shows are still going on but you can probably still catch most of those acts at those locations. Damian Grey aka Trafek of Trash Heap is now with Bad Habitat of Surreal Music and A Product of Broken Homes. They rock Club Calabash, Ash St, Pine St, Rodders, Barracuda, The Roseland, and Berbatis to name a few. Portland hip hop at its finest yo.
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Indamix Records
MYG and Indamix Records are a staple in Portland Hip Hop. As one of Portland Hip-Hops most succesful artists, MYG has made a name for himself online and on the streets.
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Super Happy Wax
MR. MR’s BIRTHDAY BASH! on Super Happy Wax
Only $5!!! Great roster plus special guests!!! Come party
Attached Image
Super Happy Wax on Access Hip Hop
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NPR Reports about Northwest Hip Hop
The Best Hip-Hop of the Pacific Northwest
by Kevin Cole
At the top of the West, hip-hop is thriving. From the righteous rhyme of Blue Scholars and Ohmega Watts to the infectious party-rap of The Saturday Knights, here’s a taste of the region’s best hip-hop.
1. Blue Scholars
Loading…The Seattle hip-hop duo follows its excellent self-titled debut and the equally strong Long March EP with a stunning album that sets the bar ever higher for Northwest hip-hop. Sabzi’s production is still warm and soulful, but it’s more confident, varied and distinctive. Geologic continues to grow as a rapper, combining his smooth, laid-back flow with smart, plain-spoken rhymes rooted in being a self-professed ordinary guy. His blue-collar perspective shines a bright spotlight on race and class issues, while also providing stirring inspiration for the city and country to do better.
Bayani (Rawkus)
2. Ohmega Watts
This Portland rapper/producer’s second solo album is another expansive set of underground hip-hop, combining an eclectic sound and a variety of styles with socially conscious lyrics.
Watts Happening (Ubiquity)
3. Othello
The third solo album from this Seattle born-and-raised member of Portland hip-hop crew Lightheaded is a first-rate, flag-free set of upbeat underground hip-hop with plenty of old-school flavor.
Alive at the Assembly Line (Hip Hop Is Music)
4. Grayskul
Part of the Northwest hip-hop collective oldominion, the Seattle duo of Onry Ozzborn and JFK brilliantly reconstruct a variety of hip-hop styles on Bloody Radio. While the sinister vibe of the group’s debut can still be found here, it’s filtered through everything from crunk and double-time to underground emo, bringing a wider stylistic range for the duo’s smart and imaginative lyrics.
Bloody Radio (Rhymesayers)
5. The Saturday Knights
This Seattle group makes its debut with a fun four-song EP of irresistible, party-rocking hip-hop with live instrumentation, including some crunchy rock guitar riffs.
The Saturday Nights (Light in the Attic)
Kevin Cole hosts The Afternoon Show on KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle & KEXP.org. Discover music through a diverse mix of new releases, “sneak-peaks” at forthcoming releases, seminal vintage tracks, rarities, B-sides, and exclusive in-studio performances.
Seattle-based KEXP presents a diverse mix of music, live performances and podcasts from indie-rock, punk and hip-hop to old-school soul and world music.
NPR Reports about Northwest Hip Hop… but doesn’t mention much about Portland Hip Hop. Oh well, what does NPR know about Sandpeople, Illmaculate, Bad Habitat, Sleep, Luck One, etc. While Portland hip hop hasn’t blown up nearly as much, it has gained a lot of fame worldwide in the underground hip hop community.
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What Wikipedia Says about Northwest Hip Hop… haha
Northwest Hip Hop History
via Wikipedia
Pre 1993: the first phase
During the late 1970s, high school kids from the Rainier Beach, Rainier Valley, and Central District areas started to perfect early hip hop forms of dancing in the northwest defined as bopping. Many of the local underage clubs and high schools in south Seattle held formal contests called bop-offs where dancers would compete against one another. There were also informal bop offs that occurred at house parties and school yards where urban kids “called out” one another to compete. Some of the more prominent dancers (or boppers) during this period were James “PJ” Daniels, John “Sir John III” Arnold, James Croone, Pojo, Snake, among others in the south Seattle area. Bopping, also known as poppin, was seen as the precursor for many popular forms of urban style dancing today.
In the early 1980s, soldiers positioned at Tacoma’s military bases provided the foundation for a growing hip-hop fan base in the Northwest. This increased demand for hip-hop coincided with some of the first hip-hop dances in Seattle, which were held at public-housing recreation centers and featured the Emerald Street Boys and Anthony “Sir Mix-A-Lot” Ray. Simultaneously, “Nasty Nes” Rodriguez launched the Northwest’s first all-rap radio program, Fresh Tracks, and soon Nasty Nes began airing self-produced tracks by Sir Mix-A-Lot, as well as the Emerald Street Boys, MC LeRap, PDQ, and Andy Hamlin. As Seattle’s music scene evolved, so did the Seattle breakdance and graffiti crews; with B-Boy groups Silver Chain Gang, Circuit Breakers, Breaking Mechanism, Paradise Breakers, Floor Rockers, and the Incredible Connection Crew. Graffiti writers included Spaide, DadOne, Spraycan, Duck & Shame, SoloDoe, Image 8000, Kaze, Mr. Clean, Kould, Skeme, KeepOne, Nemo, MoeLove, and Skreen. In 1985 Nastymix Records, the Northwest’s first hip-hop label was founded with the local release of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Square Dance Rap”, which sold approximately 75,000 copies. Nastymix Records gained national recognition with Sir Mix’s 1988 “Posse on Broadway”, and reached its peak in 1993 with Mix’s Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for “Baby Got Back.” Unfortunately this prestigious award was bestowed after Nastymix’s last culturally influential release, Criminal Nation’s 1992 album Trouble in the Hood, and thus harkened the demise of the Northwest’s sway over popular rap music. In 1992, Portland’s Jus Family Records was established by Bosco “Bosko” Kante and Terrance “Cool Nutz” Scott, and would go on to become an enduring Northwest hip-hop institution. The foundation of Jus Family Records is important, as it would continue to release records throughout the three phases of Northwest hip-hop and would shape and be shaped by the culture accordingly.
1993 to 2002: the second phase
With the departure of Seattle hip-hop from the national scene came the long absence of Northwest hip-hop, and with the success of Sir Mix-A-Lot came countless hip-hop heads and hopefuls including E-Dawg, the Elite, PD2, Moving Target, Little Boy Productions, Silver Shadow D, and CAVE’. Seattle hip-hop culture was confined to the only venues that would play hip-hop, all of which were in Seattle’s traditionally African-American neighborhood, the Central District (referred to in Seattle as “The CD”.) In 1993, Jonathon “Wordsayer” Moore of Source of Labor approached Caroline Davenport of Tasty Shows, who was responsible for booking a popular Seattle venue called RCKCNDY. After weeks of persistence, RCKCNDY became the first venue outside of the CD to host local hip-hop shows, and the second phase of Seattle hip-hop took its first faltering steps.
The alternative/grunge music scene soon dominated the Northwest’s musical image, and in both Seattle and Portland this contributed to the troubled adolescence of local hip-hop. The Teen Dance Ordinance, which had been in effect since 1985, made it almost impossible for most Seattle venues to book all-ages shows. Consequently, the first club to book Seattle hip-hop outside of the Central District since the decline of Nastymix Records, RCKCNDY, was closed down due to a persistent failure to break even. The social turmoil of Seattle during the late 1990s (The World Trade Organization Protest), the city’s outspoken political opposition to President George W. Bush, and the despised Teen Dance Ordinance characterized the socially conscious style that defined Northwest hip-hop after 1993, a style that was continually strengthened as the hip-hop culture was attacked and labeled as violent and disruptive. On August 26 Bartell Coleman was shot in the leg outside of a Cool Nutz show at LaLuna, a popular night club in Portland. The shooting was not linked to the concert inside the club, but Drugs and Vice Detective Bill Calder, when asked how LaLuna might avoid future problems, stated, “Not having hip-hop shows.” After several complaints about disruptive behavior outside of another Portland club, Belmont’s, following shows by DJ Chill, also on Jus Family Records; Belmont’s ceased playing live music. For several months afterwards, hip-hop shows were not booked to Portland clubs. In 2002 the Teen Dance Ordinance was lifted and replaced by the less draconian All-ages Dance Ordinance and hip-hop began its powerful Northwest resurgence.
2002 to present: the third phase
The departure of the TDO in 2002 meant small Seattle venues could afford to host local hip-hop and consequently Northwest hip-hop blossomed under the influence of Seattle’s enthusiasm. Currently, the Northwest maintains a self-perpetuating underground hip-hop movement, a culture that is maintained almost entirely by word of mouth, local interest, and internet exposure.
The Minneapolis based Rhymesayers Entertainment, a quickly growing record label, has signed multiple artists from Seattle (Boom Bap Project, Grayskul, Jake One, and Vitamin D), which also contributes to its growth. Blue Scholars and their label Massline Media are also beginning to receive national attention.
Portland Hip Hop has also recently grown to be a power house in the Northwest hip hop scene.
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Bad Habitat
Portland Hip-Hop
Bad Habitat of Surreal Music
Bad Habitat are the self proclaimed 3 Musketeers of NW hiphop, although their membership currently includes 4 members: emcees Dru-Manchu, Flawless, and Damian Grey, along with DJ Cuttah. Damian Grey is better known as Trafek of the long established SE Portland crew Trash Heap, and was the last member to join Bad Habitat. Dru-Manchu and Flawless are former members of the Portland supercrew The Surrealest. Despite being a recent addition to the NW hiphop scene Bad Habitat has already built a strong reputation centering around a high energy live show and the charisma of its members. Bad Habitat is based in Portland, Oregon.
that habitat doesn’t look that bad from here.
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Bad Habitat Members
Flawless, Damian Grey, Dru Manchu
Flawless: From the Beaverton Area, Flawless has been laying down dope beats and quality flows for years in the Portland Area. Flawless is Portland Hip Hop.
Dru Manchu: From South East Portland, Dru Manchu gets mad props on his rhyme skills and word play. He is a real fresh rapper from Portland. He represents Northwest Rap and Dru Manchu is Portland Hip Hop.
Damian Grey: Damian Grey formerly known as Trafek is a Portland Rap veteran. With former group Trash Heap, Damian Grey, or rather at that time Trafek, he made a name for himself as a master on production and flows. Damian Grey is Portland Hip Hop
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