Justin Schell 612 to 651

There will be some big changes around these parts in the coming weeks. New site design, lots more media.

In the meantime, check out some of my other online presences:

My documentary, We Rock Long Distance

612 to 651 on YouTube

612 to 651 on Vimeo

612 to 651 on Flickr

Since I got back from Ghana last month, I’ve been busy cutting together some initial videos from my trip to Ghana with M.anifest. I came back to Minnesota with many, many new friends, memories, and 35 hours of footage. Here are the videos I’ve put together so far, with PLENTY more to come.

These first two I cut together while we were still in Ghana. They’re short recaps of what we did that week.

The last “recap” video I cut after we returned from Ghana. We ran into some technical problems (failing hard drives and power outages) so I couldn’t finish it in Ghana.

And here’s a few different musical nuggets captured at various points during the month:

This afternoon, my producer Lauren DeSteno and I launched our first fundraising campaign for We Rock Long Distance. This feature-length documentary follows three Twin Cities hip-hop artists who use their music to collaborate across geography and generations: M.anifest, Maria Isa, and Tou SaiK Lee.

At the end of October, I will travel to Accra, Ghana for a month with M.anifest to document his collaboration with his grandfather, world renowned ethnomusicologist and composer J.H. Kwabena Nketia, as well as follow him on a 10-city tour throughout Ghana. Here’s a preview of what’s to come:

We need your help to make this happen. Please visit our Kickstarter page and support the project. A donation at ANY level helps!

And spread the word! Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, re-post our fund-raising and project updates to your social networks, write an article, take a photo, make a video, however you see fit to help us tell this story!

Thanks for your support!

This is my music video for “Red States,” off of Guante and Big Cats’ debut LP, An Unwelcome Guest It features footage from their release show at the Bedlam in December, as well as some footage I shot at a band rehearsal a few weeks beforehand.

You can purchase the record at most good record stores in the Twin Cities or on iTunes.

Rather than picking the best albums or best concerts of the year, I decided to take a more personal approach to the “Top 10″ ritual. Below are 10 of the best moments that I experienced in hip-hop over the past year, organized chronologically rather than by quality. I’m honored to have been part of so many of these events, and big ups to those artists and fans who made them possible.

1. Somali hip-hop on New Year’s Eve (12/31-1/1)

Last New Year’s Eve, hundreds of Somali youth packed one of the Minneapolis Convention Center’s Ballrooms. I filmed the show, since a number of the performers that night were Somali hip-hop artists that I wanted to interview for my project on immigrant and refugee hip-hop here in Minnesota. As they danced in 2009 amidst swirling lights and thumping beats, I realized that the night encapsulated much about the life experiences of Somali diasporic youth. There were performers from Minneapolis (Dem Supa Staz) Rochester (Kay), Seattle, (Mo-Man) and even as far away as London (Aar Mantaa), places that have all developed substantial Somali populations both before and since the Civil War. Some women had their heads covered, others were uncovered and dressed to fit any downtown Minneapolis nightclub. As I walked through the ballroom, snippets of both Somali and English conversation struggled to be heard over the sounds of Lil’ Wayne and T.I. And, unfortunately, the substantial security presence attested to the fear and suspicion that surrounds so many Somali youth, both here in Minnesota and beyond.

2. Hip-Hop Against Homophobia (1/23, 6/13, 6/14, and 6/27)

A few weeks later was the first “Hip-Hop Against Homophobia” event, held at the Nomad in Cedar-Riverside on one of the coldest nights of the year. For most folks, hip-hop and queer politics are polar opposites; the organizers of Hip-Hop Against Homophobia wanted to show not only that this ain’t true, but what can happen when organizers from both hip-hop and queer rights circles come together. Instead of an adversary, they discover a new partner in the fight against the underlying inequalities that hurt so many people, regardless of who they sleep with. Despite the sub-zero cold outside, the Nomad was absolutely jammed, surpassing any of the organizers’ expectations. The venue even had to be locked so that no one else could get in. This was just the beginning, as the organizers held two more concerts in June, as well as a discussion event about organizing around queer rights in and through hip-hop.

3. University of California Berkeley Hip-Hop Conference (4/17-4/18)

Anybody who has spent time with me knows that I have a very vexed relationship with the “academic” study of hip-hop, even though that’s what I’m doing in the end. I’m made uncomfortable by ideas that hip-hop somehow “needs” academic attention to become respectable or meaningful. I was excited to meet and chop it up with like-minded folks at the Berkeley Hip-Hop Studies conference in April. Many of the papers showed the role—and power—that scholars working within univeristy and academic settings can bring to discusisons of hip-hop, while at the same time not dominating the conversation in a way that takes it beyond those artists and fans who make and listen to hip-hop. Shout outs to Popmaster Fabel, H. Samy Alim, Davey D, Kendra Salois, Dawn-Elissa Fischer, d. Sabela Grimes, and the whole Berkeley crew for putting on an inspiring weekend.

4. Presentation at Sheridan Middle School (4/27)

In April, I was contacted by Summer Dien, who works at Sheridan Middle School in Minneapolis, to give a short presentation about my work with immigrant and refugee hip-hop to 6th and 7th graders at the school. They were mostly Hmong, except for two Ukrainian girls. We discussed the basics of the elements of hip-hop as I played some songs and video for them. The kids really dug it, asking a lot of great questions and sharing their own experiences with hip-hop. In what has to be one of my favorite moments of this or any year, all of the students sent me hand-made thank you cards a few weeks later.

5. Last Dinkytowner Show (5/30/09)

On May 30, the Dinkytowner held its last show before closing its doors forever due to massive debt. I’ve been to many shows at the Dinkytowner and there wasn’t any venue quite like it in the Twin Cities. It really seemed like it was its own little world down there in the basement, across the street from one of the previous landmarks of Twin Cities hip-hop, Bon Appetit. Unsurprisingly, the Dinky was jammed, hot, smelly, and it sounded as good (and bad), as ever. I made a little video about it, and thanks to everybody who shared their memories with me.

6. Maria Isa Street Politics Release Show (6/5)

Maria Isa celebrated the release of her fantastic sophomore LP, Street Politics, at First Avenue’s Mainroom. It was great to see a Twin Cities hip-hop artist other than a Rhymesayer rock that stage to a packed house, and Maria and her live band killed it. Along with a who’s who of openers, including I Self Devine, Dance Band, Muja Messiah, and Mayda, Maria and her full band put on an incredible performance that had everyone in the house movin’.

7. Boom Bap Village (7/2-7/3)

Every July 4th in St. Paul, Hmong from around the country and around the world come together for the annual sports tournaments. In addition to the sports, though, there’s a large vendor area where many Hmong artists sell their latest music and videos. For MCs, DJs, and b-boys/b-girls, however, this tournament has traditionally not been a space where hip-hop is welcomed with open arms. Because of this, Tou SaiKo Lee and a number of others organized “Boom Bap Village,” a 2-day hip-hop event held in St. Paul that gave Hmong hip-hop artists from around the country a space to perform. There were MC battles, poppin’ battles, b-boy battles, and performances from artists like Tou SaiKo, Plucky Xiong, Duce Khan, Tsis K, the Blackbird Elements, and DJ Nak. Boom Bap Village showed not only  the many talented Hmong hip-hop artists out there, but also that these artists and their fans can dispel people’s expectations and assumptions by coming together in a peaceful, constructive way through hip-hop.

8. K’naan at the Fine Line (7/7)

If you don’t know who K’naan is, you should. He’s a Somali-born MC who fled the country after the Civil War erupted. He lived in Minneapolis for a short time before moving to Toronto. His Minneapolis performances, then, are always sort of a homecoming for him. Backed by a full band, K’naan’s set at the Fine Line was no exception, as Somalis in the crowd waved flags and screamed along with his every word. The best moment of the concert, one that had many n the audience in tears, was his largely acoustic performance of “Somalia,” a version that predates the one recorded for Trobadour.

9. Up In Arms concert for Fong Lee (10/3)

On July 22, 2006, Fong Lee, a 19-year old Hmong man, was killed by then Minneapolis police officer Jason Anderson. His family has since sued the Minneapolis Police Department, but a judge ruled against them. On October 3rd, artists and activists gathered at Macalester College in a sign of remembrace, protest and, solidarity. The list of artists was staggering: e.g. bailey, Sha Cage, Guante, Maria Isa, Poetic Assassins, Michelle Myers, Bao Phi, Tish Jones, Magnetic North, Nomi, PosNoSys, and others all joined a chorus demanding for justice. As I looked over the crowd, the show brought home more than any other point in my life the power of hip-hop and poetry to unite people of different backgrounds in the stuggle for justice, and that those differences that usually serve to divide people can’t stop people from coming together.

10. Going over lyrics with M.anifest (October 15)

An artist I’ve worked with a lot over the past two years is M.anifest, having filmed a number of his shows and written a couple different pieces on his music. We met in October so we could go over the lyrics of his debut record, Manifestations. Some of the lyrics I needed help with were in Twi, while others were English words I just couldn’t make out. Transcription and translation quickly turned to storytelling, however, as ‘Fest talked about the creative process of these songs, the circumstances behind recording the songs, and how he’s changed as an artist in just a few short years. Currently, I’m transcribing The Birds and the Beats, and looking forward to another session.

BONUS TRACK: B-Girl Be 2009 (9/19)

Although a family emergency made it impossible for me to attend, I have to mention B-Girl Be here, as the organizers perservered through the recession and ressurected the celebrated hip-hop event. Encompassing dance performances, youth education, and a block party, the event—much in the same way as “Up in Arms”—worked to foster collaboration throughout the different elements of hip-hop. The brilliantly painted exterior of Intermedia Arts is only one product of a conversation that continues to cross both social and geographic lines, an example, like so many of the events on this list, of hip-hop being so much more than people think it is.

No doubt 2009 was a rough year for lots of folks. Way too many people leaving us too soon, 2009 couldn’t leave soon enough. But there was also so much positivity, building, and perseverance in the face of adversity, conditions that could’ve easily led to apathy, despair, and resignation. No year can be perfect, and I’m not expecting anything less than a confusing, aggravating, exhilarating, and sometimes bewildering mix of highs and lows in 2010.

Keep keep on.

First Date is a strong, if somewhat limited, debut for Analyrical. The St. Paul MC, originally from Kansas and who did a stint in Eau Claire before coming back to Minnesota, is a member of the Background Noise Crew. Led by CEO, producer, and living hip-hop encyclopedia Egypto Knuckles, the crew also includes producer Phingaz, and MCs Tonekrusher Smith, Status Reign, and T.Q.D. (who released his own debut album this year, Clench, Grit, Breathe).

Analyrical embodies much of what it means to be a Twin Cities MC, though sometimes to the point of predictability. He namedrops the appropriate venues on both sides of the river (Dinkytowner, Turf Club, and even the historic online forum DUNation), as well as including a Twin Cities dedication song (“66612”). On this song, with Rudy Van Gelder-sounding jazz drums dominating Spanphly’s production, he talks about all the different types of MCs in the Cities, the “backpackers , abstract gangsters, and all the like.” He’s certainly not a gangsta rapper, yet is hard to pigeonhole just as a backpack rapper, even though most of the characteristics are there.

Production duties on First Date are handled by a cast of characters, including fellow BNC-member Phingaz on “Put ‘Em Up,” as well as Katrah-Quay of 4Shades, Dimitry Killstorm, and fellow St. Paul MC and producer Orikal. There are great musical details spread throughout the album, whether it be the 8-bit sounding snares on “Sky is Burning,” the brake drums on “Put ‘Em Up,” or the accordion melody on “Penance.”

In addition to the TC rep song mentioned above, the album is laced with plenty of lyrical wordplay and one-liners, giving songs like “Tick Tick” and  “Sky is Burning” their verbal punch, an effect helped by his lower-than-expected voice. On “More Than,” he echoes many an MC who want to make their work “more than” just music, more than just rap. There’s the emo-ish conclusion of “Penance,” with a vow to own “up to all my bullshit,” with apologies “to all my ex-lovers and all the jobs I ever quit.”

Unfortunately, none of these songs really serve to separate Analyrical him from the dearth of MCs currently vying for stages throughout the Cities. There definitely is a sound to Twin Cities hip-hop, but when an artist veers too close to it, as Analyrical seems to on First Date, the listener is left wanting a greater balance between reppin’ one’s home town and developing a style and voice regardless of geographic location. All that being said, though, there’s definitely enough here to a warrant a second night out.

My belated review of M.anifest’s free mixtape, The Birds and the Beats, is live over at the Twin Cities Daily Planet.

Watch this week for reviews of Lightning and Thunder, Vol. 2 and Analyrical’s First Date. Sorry I couldn’t write them before their respective release shows this past weekend, I was laid out cold by the flu.

Big ups to B Fresh and the folks at Blame It On Hip-Hop for putting this together. I’m honored to be sharing judging responsibilites with Davey D, Rosa Clemente, JLove Calderon, Ernie Paniccioli, and B-Girl Rokafella!

Deadline is February 15th, so folks interested should get on it!

My review of the debut record from Guante and Big Cats, An Unwelcome Guest, is over at the Twin Cities Daily Planet. Check it out, but more importantly, check out the record and the show this coming Saturday. More info can be found here.

Here’s a bit of the review:

Part Cormac McCarthy, part Woody Guthrie, and part Public Enemy, An Unwelcome Guest is an intricately woven poetic and sonic excursion through landscapes mental, emotional, and physical, cementing Guante and Big Cats!’s status as two of the best emerging artists within Twin Cities hip-hop.

Alphä performing “Disneyland” at the Lounge in Minneapolis, MN. For more from Alphä, see his MySpace.