Corvallis Hip-Hop Coalesces

“It is about the culture you live, it is not just sayin, ‘Yo I do hip-hop’. You gotta live it.” - Pras, Fugees, from the movie "Rhyme and Reason"

Hip-Hop is something that is felt, and is ongoing. It is the culture that was created by a significant group of people participating in documentation of culture and lifestyles, tendencies and changes. Hip-hop began as, and has continued to become, a multifaceted mode of communion; a stage for future generations to grasp. Local hip-hop artists across the nation, however specifically in Corvallis, Ore. take part in the maintenance and expansion of hip-hop. 

In Corvallis a conglomerate of local music artists under the name Starfleet: Nappy T, Original Intelligence, Kidd Fresh, Self Med, Mikee and PHNV, have taken seed and are performing regularly at Interzone on Monroe Street. The group consists of four rappers, three producers and two artists with overlapping roles of EDM/Trap. On Saturday, Feb. 7 the group performed to a full coffee shop of supporting locals and passers-by.  

Old school hip-hop goes down deep, known through America’s mesh-pot of diversity through forms of gospel, jazz, blues, disco, and rock and roll. From these rhythms with a twist of poetry, the environment of the artists became hip-hop.  The wave of hip-hop culture from the 1970s onward, pronounced itself dynamically as a representative tool of the people.

Through the four main pillars of facets - rap, scratch, graffiti and dance - came the energetic vibe that carried the movement by way of street language, street fashion, beat-boxing, and the entrepreneurial aspect of business. Without all of these elements, hip-hop would not be as effective as a vehicle for change and social impact.

Like all popular music, media and a monopoly industry will, and did, play its part in the development of hip-hop culture. In the movie “Rhyme & Reason” starring Too-$hort and B-Real by Peter Spirer, the voices of hip-hop artists concluded that the reason why they participate in hip-hop music and culture is not because of the money, but because of the power it holds and the strength it brings between people.

Record labels and contractors made a lot possible in the production area and universal recognition of hip-hop, but there was a slippery slope to pay for getting involved in the wrong labels. Ultimately you risk losing your authenticity, or life.

Not all hip-hop has been lost in the influence of media, money and external influences. Local music is still strong in its cultivation, sticking to the roots of hip-hop.

“Working together has pros and cons. We are competitive with each other so one person’s hard work pushes hard work out of another. Plus everybody brings something else to the table whether it’s a skill, a different way of thinking or just energy. We learn and grow from each other,” said Nappy T.

One of the artists, LBCC student, Jamaal McGinty, is known as Kidd Fresh who rapped alongside a CHS graduate Turlough, Scottel, Nappy T , who is part of Eloquent FU6$.

“To make people think and look at the things they have ignored for a long time. . . I like being clever through my music in a way that raises awareness, but also at the same time I will sometimes aim for some party shit because that's what sells, and I have ambitions to take this further than a hobby,” said Kidd Fresh.

In his music, Fresh strives to find balance between genres and subjects, essentially what’s coming from the heart and what’s going to sell.

“[The] most influential artist has to be Tupac. I know it sounds cliché, but what he did as an artist and as a person really inspired me. His poetry, his lyrics, his actions, his views, all of it inspires me. It really is way deeper than rap. Pac was an intelligent thug who saw deeper than the surface. That's what rap, and music in general, means to me,” said Kidd Fresh.

Self Med, a 2014 CHS graduate, performed his EDM Trap sets bringing in the new artistry of the generation.

“The most influential artist was not any rapper, but a music producer; Onra. Hip-Hop got a little lost for a minute, rapping about materialism and other things. It definitely has changed. I'm more into the EDM aspect, how hip hop turned into trap. My purpose is to create vibes that can be transferred through air, to get people on a different level of consciousness.”-Self Med

When it comes to their goals as a local artist group, Aaron Ojeda, Self Med, hopes for expanding to recruit new artists and create clothing.

“You need a solid beat, top-notch production and outstanding promotion. You need a dejay also, so it is really teamwork that makes a dream work, which is the name of a song by one of my favorite rappers Dizzy Wright,” said Fresh.

“Cause Hip’Hop is the way you walk, talk, live, dress, act, see, smell, fuck, shit, fuck. Ya Nah’mean?  It’s all dat right there”- RZA, Wu Tang Clan, from the movie "Rhyme and Reason"  

By the end of the show, the artists and audience left sweaty, vibrant and vibin. The crowd of locals and OSU students from high school age to parental supporters of artists, stuck around outside on the sidewalk discussing the quality of their experience, and inside the art filled, multi-room cafe catching a late night coffee and treats while surrounded

“Hip-Hop is like a vehicle, you can use it to go anywhere you wanna go.”- Romye, Arrested Development, from the movie "Rhyme and Reason"

If anyone is interested in buying music from the above artists and/or starting a hip-hop culture club, please contact Georgia Ry at The Commuter, Twitter or Facebook.

At a glance:

Suggested Movies: Rhyme & Reason, Biggie & Tupac

Artists: Biggie, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Too-$hort, B-Real, Wise Intelligent, Biz Marks, Mac Dre, Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, Lauryn Hill, Mary J.Blige, and Romye from Arrest Development, Tribe Called Quest, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Keep your Eyes out for Local Artists Shows!