Earthdance 2010: THE WEST COAST HIP HOP MASSIVE

THE WEST COAST HIP HOP MASSIVE
Featuring: Lyrics Born, Gift Of Gab, Lateef the Truthseeker

Earthdance Laytonville is excited to present a very special “one off” showcase featuring some of the West Coasts most celebrated MC’s, including…

Lyrics Born
One of the most critically acclaimed and best-selling independent hip-hop artists of this era, Lyrics Born is not the type to sit still. While recording his fourth solo album, completing new projects, and making decisions at Quannum Projects, he still averaged over 150 sold-out shows a year. He's a whirlwind.

His breakthrough solo debut, Later That Day, was a huge indie seller and one of the top 5 most critically acclaimed American hip-hop records of 2003 alongside Jay-Z's The Black Album and Outkast's Love Below/Speakerboxxx. With the release of Everywhere At Once, rapper/producer Lyrics Born finds himself part of a new vanguard of hip-hop artists like Gnarls Barkley, M.I.A., and Kanye West who are pushing the edge with compelling yet instantly accessible sounds.

Everywhere At Once reveals the full breadth and depth of his skill and vision: minimalist grooves, reimagined electro, East Bay greasy funk, devoluted punk, futurist dancehall, postmodern blues, tomorrow's slappers. He's an artist who is not interested in the limits set by the market or even his past triumphs.

Read more: www.myspace.com/lyricsborn

Gift of Gab
Gift of Gab made his name as the technically adept MC in the vaunted underground rap duo Blackalicious, in partnership with producer/DJ Chief Xcel. Blackalicious issued their debut single, "Swan Lake," on SoleSides in 1994, and several more followed, establishing their underground reputation and leading to a tour of Europe. They began work on a full-length album, during which time SoleSides shut down and reconfigured itself as Quannum; however, the process was long and laborious, as Gift of Gab struggled with an alcohol problem that took several years to overcome. Finally, in 1999, Blackalicious re-emerged with the A2G EP, whose "Alphabet Aerobics" electrified the underground and marked Gift of Gab as a prodigious new talent. That talent was confirmed by Blackalicious' first two full-lengths, 2000's NIA and 2002's Blazing Arrow, which elevated him to the status of perhaps the most underappreciated elite MC in hip-hop. In the wake of Blazing Arrow's critical hosannas, Gift of Gab branched out with a number of guest appearances, recording with the likes of DJ Vadim, British hip-hoppers New Flesh, and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Gift of Gab embarked on a solo project for Quannum with two Seattle-based producers, Vitamin D and Jake One. Advance single "The Writz" appeared in late 2003, and the album itself, 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up, arrived in the spring of 2004. Reviews of the production work varied widely, but overall the record -- a smooth, mellow affair -- solidified Gift of Gab's position as one of the top MCs of his time, underground or otherwise.

Lateef The Truthspeaker
Oakland native Lateef the Truth Speaker first made his contribution to the West Coast hip-hop movement with "The Wreckoning / Latyrx" single in 1996. Thanks to the production backings of DJ Shadow, microphone contributions from Lyrics Born and financial help from SoleSides' Records, Lateef followed with the EP The Quickening (The Wreckoning, Part II) that same year, along with his first full length Latyrx in 1997.

MAIN STAGE