Upbeat Rap Music

Pressure, Playlists, Puppies, Presumptions, Plants, Premieres

The Taglagas EP (3 of 4) is in the final stretch of mixing and mastering, and I waver between excitement and dread. The image above is the album artwork for this forthcoming EP, continuing a theme that began with the artworks for Tagsibol and Tag-init. Three songs have never felt this heavy. Overall, though, I’m upbeat. The Seattle show I’m co-headlining to celebrate the EP release is only 35 days away. Tickets are still available.

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May, a Top Three month, is cruising quicker than most other years, running all the yellow lights. This first PNW heatwave of 2023 a fortnight ago was high mild, nothing like the 2021 heatwave when it hit over 100 degrees for three days straight. This one felt like a trailer for something bigger. Almost too hot, unless you were stuck inside and upstairs without a fan or AC.

Outside, it was what I’d describe as extra warm. Out here, and I’m sure in most American metro areas in the season-affected North, extra warmth coincides with: 1. the air being extra warm, 2. people from the colder places saying (repeatedly) that it’s too hot, and 3. the sudden increase in frequency and decibel level of music being played outdoors.

In backyards and passing cars, during that pocket between mid-spring and early summer, the rise in temperature coincides with the rise in music volume. In Seattle, and in the South End in particular, the current dominant form of loudly-played music is rap, or rap-adjacent (R&B, Dancehall, Afrobeats), and has been for at least the last twenty years. Back in the day, before the advent of massively multigenre music festivals like Coachella, festivals were genre-specific. Seattle’s lone radio station with a rap/R&B format, KUBE 93.3 FM, hosted their big annual festival in the summer through the 1990s and 2000s. It was called Summer Jam, inspired by other “Urban” radio stations who threw similar festivals with the same artists.

As summer approaches in Seattle, we catch a glimpse of what it feels like far down the coast most of the year. In other words, we briefly get to act like California, but with fresher air and seafood (for now). West Coast rap in particular matches the current seasonal vibe best. There’s no trace of harsh winters or hurricanes in these songs. The regional pep in our step is perhaps reflected in song tempo: historically, West Coast rap music average beats-per-minute has been faster compared to other US regions (South, Northeast, Midwest). Lots of 2Pac. Not as much as in years past, but still lots. The neighbor, who is older than me, was bumping Luniz “I Got 5 On It” last week. The coffee shop I walked to this morning was playing Dilla and local hip-hop.

And me? I’m playing this: Brownouts 2: Rappers with Puppies, a two-hour-long Spotify® playlist of nathan but rap (here’s the Apple Music version). All regions, all eras, all upbeat! A rap smorgasboard for extra warm days, fit for this eclectic, electric city. Warning: explicit lyrics, just like it says on all our album covers. (Also, I’ve added the Playlists page to the menu, an archive of playlists I drop along the way.)

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Writing has been going great, thanks for asking! As I write this book, Seattle figures heavily in the math, and I’ve found my bibliography in the history department lackin. So I’ve made more time to do research on Seattle history when, aha, I chance upon a book I’ve long had on my list to check out but never got around to: Seattle, Past to Present: An Interpretation of the History of the Foremost City in the Pacific Northwest by Roger Sale, published by The University of Washington Press. I found it browsing through a vintage shop in Port Orchard, WA modestly priced at $6. Amazon got it listed at $4 with free shipping. I could’ve skipped this $6 copy, waited a few days, saved $2, and received a random in a package with “Oh my god, Becky, look at that box” printed on it. Instead of doing that, I did the humane thing and bought this store’s copy. Sometimes $2 is worth it for an origin story.

Seattle, Past to Present doesn’t stray too far from its literary genre—one dominated by white men retelling the story of the white man’s arrival and all who followed them. Chapter 1 describes the flora and fauna, the weather and the geologic features, and hints at what this city is destined to become. Chapter 2 fast-forwards past the entire history of the native people of this region and begins when the first whites arrive in 1851. From that point on, lots of important men, places and dates fly by with a sprinkling of natives, nonwhites, women, immigrants. To fill some of the big gaps left from Roger Sales’ book, I got The River That Made Seattle by BJ Cummings, next in the queue, recommended by a friend on Discord. Cummings’ book centers the Indigenous Duwamish land and people, past and present.

I’m not trying to read every page of every book about Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, but I’m hoping to use source material that represents many different perspectives and experiences, especially ones historically not widely-researched or documented. So, if there are any worthwhile or must-read books on Seattle or Pacific Northwest history (or history in general) that I should check out, please let your boy know.