5:30 p.m. (and between sets) / DJ Dev From Above
Though the names might be similar, Seattle’s club turntablist “From Above” is worlds apart from Mumbai’s electro DJ Dev. Holding down the ones and twos for the likes of Common Market and Helladope, Dev From Above’s skill can almost be gleaned from the company he keeps. Almost.
6:30 p.m. / Sol
Sol has been rapping since fifth grade and developing his skills with studio time since age 12. On his recent pair of Dear Friends EPs, he’s never sounded better—the rhymes are tighter, the flow smoother, the swagger bolder, the stoner raps higher. Even his singing voice sounds better on the hooks. Sol’s been trying hard to escape the “young MC” tag, and his skills on the mike are helping him achieve that goal.
7:30 p.m. / Eighty4 Fly See preview.
8:30 p.m. / JFK aka Ninjaface
Fresh off the June release of Building Wings on the Way Down, Jeff The Filipino Kid—also known as half of Rhymesayers duo Grayskul—is more poignant and introspective than ever. Calling it the “definitive statement on the past 15 years of his life,” the Virginia transplant’s record applies his staccato delivery to topics ranging from the tongue-in-cheek “High School Sweet Heart” to the darkness of “Paranoid.”
9:30 p.m. / Hi-Life Soundsystem
Long one of my favorite local spitters, Khingz is an MC with vicious flow and eloquent lyricism—and judging by his reader-chosen win as Seattle Weekly’s 2009 Best MC, I’m not alone in that. Most recently he’s teamed with Godspeed’s B-Flat and Crispy to live the Hi-Life, and though he’s more than capable of holding his own, Khingz makes an equally strong impression in a group setting. If his Gabriel Teodros collabo as Abyssinian Creole was an introduction to that, Hi-Life Soundsystem is proof.
10:30 p.m. / Victor Shade
Ryan Abeo’s now-deceased brother-in-law Jimmy once detailed the superhero identities he thought best suited a number of his relatives. After learning of his assignment, the alter ego of Marvel Comics android superhero The Vision, Abeo—better known as Common Market MC RA Scion—took it to another level. Collaborating with local producer MTK, the Victor Shade project hosts a slew of hardbody beats and good-vs.-evil narratives. The connections might not be literal, but everyone can relate to a good identity crisis.
