I can recall eating a particularly delicious lumpia once,
sometime in 2003, in a long-gone spot in downtown Seattle called the
Vesper Lounge—at the original CD release for the self-released,
self-titled album from Seattle crew Blue Scholars. The beer was cold,
the lumpia hot, and the stage was nonexistent; rather, it was a
cleared-out space in a restaurant that held fewer than 100 people at
best—but all present were excited to witness an intimate
performance from what was clearly one of the city’s most promising new
groups.
Even then, the energy around Geologic and Sabzi, and their debut
album, was palpable, their momentum undeniable—but nobody could
have guessed that in five short years, the Scholars would be Seattle’s
(and arguably, the whole Northwest’s) most visible hiphop act; and even
that doesn’t quite do them justice. The Scholars’ emergence dovetailed
with a long-hinted-at groundswell of a new generation of great hiphop
music in the area, just as their own up-front political consciousness
struck a chord with legions of students (and parents) who in turn
became the vanguard of a fanbase that the scene had never before
enjoyed. Blue Scholars’ aim is not fame; rather, they hope to nurture
yet another generation to push our region further.
Geo and Sabzi take their role as cultural curators damn
seriously—last year they headlined The Program in Seattle, a
sold-out, wall-to-wall five-night festival of the very cream of NW
hiphop (naturally including PDX pillars Cool Nutz and Siren’s Echo)
that put our green corner’s beats, rhymes, and life fully on blast. Via
The Program and its exquisitely marketed wave of online hype and
real-time streaming video, they succeeded in extending the entire
region some good game—that remarkable net savvy has helped them
infiltrate the consciousness of hiphop listeners nationwide and beyond.
Indeed, the machine behind Blue Scholars and their label Mass Line
Media is cannily efficient on a level rarely seen round these
parts—inspiring likeminded artists to take note (or to just
grumble on the sidelines).
Their progression is not just counted in the gushings of bloggers or
those long hours logged on the road, either; the plaintive, oceanic
sound bed and grim, determined raps of their sophomore album (first
released in conjunction with NYC’s Rawkus Records)—the critically
acclaimed Bayani—signify artistic daring to match their
over-scrutinized power moves. Instead of mere singles, the Scholars
have kept the material fresh by releasing digital-only EPs that have
whetted the appetite of fans old and new since Bayani dropped
last year.
Gearing up to hit the road with the premier West Coast underground
crew Hieroglyphics, and fresh off an appearance at the Sasquatch!
Festival, the Blue Scholars head up an impressive lineup to benefit
Portland-based nonprofit Music for the Schools. Geologic and Sabzi have
made giving back—especially to hungry young folk—as much a
part of their hiphop as kick, snare, and hi-hat. And somewhere,
sometime, in some coffee shop or restaurant or wherever, some kid that
learned from that example is going to make their start—and hopefully that lumpia’s gonna be just as good.