Fort Collins Hip-Hop

yeah, it exists, and it's better than you think

by kyle garratt

The cipher – it’s one of the simplest and longest tenured parts of hip-hop consisting of emcees in a circle providing lyrics and beats off the top of their head. From a distance it may look like the beginning of an after-school fight. Move closer and witness an artistic expression as old as hip-hop itself.  The talented kick rhymes and beats off the head and the fans move with the flow.

It could be said that every city's hip-hop scene is an ever-expanding cipher. The better the talent, the larger the crowd interacting for the love of the music. An idealistic view for sure, but possibly one that fits Fort Collins’ hip-hop artists.

"I started to write songs because I wanted to make stuff that I wanted to hear," said Josh Price aka emcee Evolution: "I got sick of the radio. All this jewelry rap and stuff with no affiliation to hip hop."

You are not likely to see Price on Cribs walking a cameraman through the house that rap built, a situation common to Fort Collins hip-hop artists. Fort Collins is not large enough to attract the big name acts that appear on MTV, and the local artists are not the type to emulate such acts. Fort Collins artists are decidedly more KRS-One than Lil’ John. Their influences are artists who can make artistic social commentary as opposed to those who try and see how many songs can be created without actually using a full sentence.

College towns fuel music scenes by providing the ideal age group who seem willing to spend money on live music and drinks. College towns also provide a melting pot of diverse talent from many other areas. Luckily, Fort Collins wasn't spared the unique talent, and maybe no local act defines the word unique better than Qbala and Evolution.

Emcee Qbala is a short, skinny woman who pairs perfectly with Evolution, a tall bald man whose physique has earned him the nickname “Fatbody.” The two play off each other for an incredibly energetic live show, and collaborate on tracks that cover subjects ranging from losing loved ones to masturbating with a bucket of Crisco.

"What makes a good hip-hop song is when you want to rewind it because it gave you a feeling and made you think about something you can relate to your life," said Evolution. "You turn on the radio and it's like, I don't have five million dollars and I can't relate to having a Bentley on 24's. It's just nonsense to me."

Part of what the local artists strive to do is fight the stereotype that hip-hop is an art form promoting a gangster lifestyle and based on materialistic ideals.

"I think a lot of people have a negative outlook on hip-hop," said emcee Neuse One of Subject. "We don't talk about violence in our raps, we're just out here to have fun and get people together."

Neuse One pairs with emcee Habit to make the group Subject who shares manager Adam Kawamoto with the group Hoodlums n Havoc. Both groups provide a polished live show conducive to a party atmosphere and perform with each other frequently.

"Getting on stage is fun, it's why we do it," said emcee Habit. The energy conveyed through their music has helped win the H n H boys national acclaim through a worldwide contest created by Psychopathic records.

Emcees Jokesta and Dirty D, aka Hoodlums n Havoc, recorded three tracks from "40 oz," the band's full-length CD released at the end of 2005, and sent them to Psychopathic records. Based on the strength of the songs, they were selected to participate in a contest based on live performances and placed in the Top 10, making them one of three Colorado-based hip-hop acts to place in the Top 30. The other two artists were Cyqul and MNB, from Denver. MNB won the competition and a record deal from Psychopathic records.

Dirty D and Jokesta sport white contact lenses for their live performance and baggy clothes and tattoos all the time, which might fit them for society's bad guy stereotype, but don't confuse the two with gangsters.

"You listen to "40 oz" and it's just a party album," said Jokesta. "There really isn't anything bad on there."

Both Subject and Hoodlums n Havoc realize that no Colorado hip-hop acts have left their footprint on the national scene and strive to be the first act. In the near future they would settle for growing enough to go on tour.

"We strive for constant growth," said Dirty D. "Keep pushing it, doing what we do and keep everything positive."

Hip-hop is still a new art form in comparison to other forms of music. It is barely past infant stages in Northern Colorado. In a society where bad news is big news, it is no wonder hip-hop is known more for its feuds than its foundations. Fort Collins artists have a noticeable respect for the roots of hip-hop and insist it is a positive art form.

"Hip-hop has been one of the biggest things in bridging gaps around the world as far as bringing people together," said Tremayn Jackson aka emcee Yours Truly. "To see this music that came from a ghetto, urban lifestyle spread all over the world says a lot about its potential to make ties and erase all the craziness we have in the world."

Yours Truly is tall with long dreadlocks, which provides him with a large stage presence. He could almost be intimidating if he didn't recite his lines with an ease that almost makes it look as if he is not trying.

Jackson appears incapable of breaking a sweat, even when opening for KRS-One, but he focuses on expansion, despite his relaxed demeanor.

"I want to keep writing and expanding in terms of networking and collaborating," said Yours Truly. "For something to happen in Fort Collins the people who listen to hip-hop need to become a tight-knit community and realize there is talent here."

Getting noticed as a hip-hop act in Fort Collins can be like getting noticed as a sprinter in a speed walking competition. Fort Collins is somewhat of a jam-band type of town and the roots of hip-hop are embedded in urban New York, far from Horsetooth Reservoir and Old Town. Record executives aren't combing The Aggie looking for the next buzz, but the music scene is alive in Fort Collins.

"There are loyal fans here for sure," said Habit. "It's cool to see people come out and rep the city and have a fun time."  The crowds will always be there in a college town where an entirely new group of thousands of young people will enter the university alone each year to bring new tastes and sounds to the music scene.

"I appreciate the openness here," said Michael Norris aka emcee Verbal. "Anyone can come do a show here and I see the opportunity to create a buzz."

Verbal combines with Michael Robinson aka DJ Kaotic to form Company of Strangaz. This Mississippi-based duo moved to Fort Collins about two years ago and didn't bring any of the crunk, dirty-south sound with them. A sound with more synthesized beats and echoing shouts than structured verses.

"I'm not proud of it, it really makes me upset," said Kaotic: "You have real hip-hop and this crunk sound is so far away from that. Nobody even has dj's anymore."

Verbal's southern drawl is ever-present in their music, but Company of Strangaz’ music is unique and calculated. Their first record, "New Day," represents five years of work and promotion, one of the many signs of the progression of Fort Collins hip-hop. The CD was released on August 20 by Intelligent Design recordings, the record label started by the same duo.

"Actually making a record and putting it out is not the hard thing," said Verbal. "The promotion, getting your name out there with ads, stickers and posters, that's the hard part."

The new trend in Fort Collins hip-hop is for groups to tackle the hard and the easy. Hip-hop has always had a street hustler's mentality of self-promotion and many local acts are combining their love for the music with their ability to market themselves.

Company of Strangaz is not alone in recording and promoting themselves. Landmark Entertainment is an entertainment company founded by Darrin Williams, aka Diverge, and Cale Farnham, aka The Clurk, formerly known as Ethix. The company was founded two and a half years ago and puts together shows at The Aggie and The Mishawaka Amphitheatre to promote Colorado hip-hop. Diverge and The Clurk recorded their album "Split Sessions" in Right Mind studios, a studio they own in Loveland.

Last year Diverge and The Clurk were joined by Leo Fairbanks, aka Dr. Oscify, to create the group, The Secondary. Like others, the Landmark guys realized they could increase the scene by promoting and putting on their own shows. The best way to lay the ground work for a good hip-hop scene is to actually go out and create it.

"No one was really throwing any shows," said Diverge. "We realized that to get a good show it was easiest to throw it ourselves. It exposes us as artists and as an entertainment company as well."

Landmark started with small gigs in Greeley and Fort Collins before making connections at The Aggie and Mishawaka. Last summer Landmark Entertainment brought national acts such as Blackalicious to Mishawaka on June 11, and Zion I to Rock the Mic at Mishawaka on July 29, and will be presenting Cali-Agents at The Aggie on Sept. 7.

"You start out going to shows and think you want to be part of it," said The Clurk. "We're the ones putting on shows now, and we have control of how we present ourselves. It gives you more say in how the scene should be."

The most recent Rock the Mic festival was the second annual show and was a joint production by Landmark Entertainment and Sett Buxx Presents. The aim of the show was to set the bar for local hip-hop, featuring local acts The Secondary, Hoodlums n Havoc, Subject, Qbala and Evolution, Phunny Pharm, and Improv, among others. Sett Buxx might be one of the biggest examples of hip-hop's growth in Fort Collins. Co-owner Mike Shaffer describes Sett Buxx as a multi-purpose company for event coordinating, booking, graphic design and intermediate negotiations between venues and acts. They dealt more with rock, punk and metal acts until about eight months ago when they started promoting hip-hop shows.

"It was not a conscious effort to get involved in hip-hop," said Shaffer. "The environment opened up, and we were a little more on top of our game, so that allowed us to get involved."

The involvement of promotional companies like Sett Buxx represents a level of professionalism not seen before in Fort Collins hip-hop and places the music at a strange cross road. Artists and promoters agree that there are many talented acts in Fort Collins, but you are not likely to struggle through a packed house the next time drum and bass bless The Aggie.

"We saw something in hip-hop worth promoting and now it's time for the artists to step up their game and take it seriously on the artistic and promotional level," said John Bridgeford, co-owner of Sett Buxx Presents.

Go to a hip-hop show and you might notice that the people you saw in the crowd earlier are making their way to the stage to perform as the show goes on. A certain portion of the crowd at any given hip-hop show in Fort Collins will be other performers. What Fort Collins needs is crowds of fans to provide energy to the performers, not just other artists.

"Another way this scene is different is we have no fans anymore," says 1865 of Lafayette. "Everyone is an emcee or a beat head or whatever. We need our fans back."

Most of the artists seem to believe that Fort Collins had better support four or five years ago when bands like Listen made a name for themselves, but they feel it coming back.

"You've got a college town, and you always have new kids coming in so it's going to grow," said Kaotic. "You've gotta bring something innovative and new to the heap because there's always the heap out there."

The heap stays the heap because there is no movement behind it or the buzz died out or the timing was wrong, or the music was just plain bad. Good music can only be good music for public use if the public supports it. There will always be music out there and for certain groups to rise above the rest they need a following often created by slick promotion.

"The scene here is strange because the support is lacking, but there are a lot of good underground artists at the same time," said Your Truly. Spreading the word through the streets is not a foreign concept to hip-hop artists. The idea of handing out flyers and bringing people off the streets in to shows is not likely to scare many hip-hop artists. While less pleasant than making the music, making the buzz isn't out of a hip-hopper's ability.

"If you're proud of what you're doing then you should have no problem going out and letting everybody know about it," said Verbal.

Hip-hop is not an art form with deep roots in Fort Collins. A new and inventive approach is not going to offend the old-time people who built the scene in Fort Collins. Hip-hop is still so young here that the public is still learning to accept it and therefore doesn’t seem ready to support a large number of acts. Almost all of the local artists work other jobs to fund their music. The money made from their music is not likely to make the down payment on a diamond-plated pimp-cup.

"Fort Collins is not a place that grows hip-hop out of necessity, and there's not a lot of cash involved. I don’t think New Belgium will be sponsoring a hip-hop show. The only reason to do it is because you love it," notes Shaffer. "People have pre-conceived notions about hip-hop shows and Fort Collins shows aren't like that. People will be surprised."

"Music goes in cycles, and hip-hop is just like any other music," said Dr. Oscify. "I think hip-hop is starting to cycle back into popularity."

And that's real hip-hop. Not the crunk sound dominating popular airwaves today and not gangster rap either. This is music reminiscent of the early 90's hip-hop where originality came before the gold and the hoes, when the circle and the cipher represented continual energy between the skilled and the viewers. It was an outlet of self-expression rather than a list of material possessions.

"Rap music is something you do," said Evolution. "But hip-hop is something we live. The way we talk, dress, think and view things. It's in you all the time, it's a consciousness."