June 5, 2007 Renton rap outfit Dyme Def—comprising MCs Brainstorm, S.E.V., and Fearce Villan along with producer Bean One—drops its insta-classic Space Music, establishing a more mainstream, radio-friendly brand of Seattle hip-hop. According to Brainstorm, aka Michael Celestine, the spontaneity of the project leads to the production of more than 50 songs.
June 1, 2010 DymeDef releases its follow-up, Sex Tape. Intent on challenging the norms of Seattle’s politically conscious hip-hop with songs like the glossy, moan-laced “Wet Dreams,” reception to the explicit album is subdued, especially when compared to Dyme Def’s first release. After promoting Sex, the crew spends the end of the year regrouping.
“If you want to listen to Space Music, listen to Space Music,” says Brainstorm, “but that’s not something you should expect every time we decide to put out a project.”
February 2011 After many delays—including one brought upon by the birth of his son Eli—Brainstorm drops The Celestine Prophecy, his highly anticipated solo debut. A seven-track lyrical barrage, the album is short in length but not in substance. Trying to re-establish his, and his crew’s, position among Seattle’s best is a task Brainstorm takes seriously.
Summer 2011 Officially reunited with Bean One, Dyme Def plans the release of its next project, P.T.O. (Paid Time Off), the end result of an ongoing bimonthly release series entitled “Pay Day.” Along with a new record, the crew has big plans, including solo material from all three MCs, a new production collaboration between Brainstorm and Bean One under the moniker Yuk Brothers, and of course show dates.
“People are going to see—this year is going to be just like the year Space Music came out,” says Brainstorm. “I hope everybody’s ready, because you’re going to hear them saying, ‘Damn, these guys just can’t lose.’ ”
