I’m still too tired from last night to expand on Club Crooks beyond this slideshow and post.

When you listen to Cloudy October’s The Aviator is Dead, you get the sense that this is as close to handcrafted that Hip Hop gets. Warm real instruments combined with his cool nonchalant voice make for a perfect handshake to my eardrums. No hipster attitude or bullshit public facade to build up as a cocky god of the mic, just his honesty and intelligence and of course good beats.

The most outstanding aspect of Aviator is Dead is Cloudy’s rhymes and cadence. Smooth truth and smarmy observations laid on heavy while never getting boring. Check out his lyrics for Vagabond.

I stole your library card
I stole your library card
this is your liberry card(ah ha)
Look what I’m holding its Golden

I stole your library card (look at what I’m holding its golden you know now that I stole it)
I stole your library card
It’s your liberry card
I I told you I stole it

I bet the air is thin up there
was my life taken or was it given well
pain and drugs left me devastated

no education degradates me
my president is black but my neighborhood is segregated (boooooooooo!!!)
whites wed denial down the aisle of deceit
the poor for ever holds their piece until their souls released
now thats a lot grease covering peace
when Deniece keeps a fleece and ski coat from greece
i was at the flea market sipping some tea
with my brothers the Enforcer and Que the MC
I’ll seek the flame and that change you can keep it
what’s cents when the presence of the pretense is frequently indecent

I’m not picking up the phone (yeah)
Because I’m out shopping for a home
‘Cause I’m a bum I’m a man with no household
I just got a cardboard box and
I’m not picking up the phone because I’m out shopping for a home
I spend most my time alone ’cause I’m a bum
I’m a man with no household

Recently I’ve been to the precinct please bring me
my slippers What should I wear TO dinner
also for my interviews can I wear that ugly suit
what did you put in this food, I’m lucky I’m not darker
you couldn’t get much harsher if I were a telemarketer
I’m on the drums like Marvin Gaye and Karen Carpenter
if short hair is the sign of a prisoner
I’mma close the blinds when/while my mind is taking visitors
time and the blood on my hands produce colors to die for
now I’m rich enough to protest so
if my mistakes make experience the best play
then place it on my resume and the set the date
I could be an astronaut, a fireman, a drug store
a person that gives hugs more maybe even plug four
my paradise is a pair a dice and a scarred whore, before
I used to pour on to this hard cardboard but now I’m homeless

I’m not picking up the phone
Because I’m out shopping for a home
‘Cause I’m a bum I’m a man with no household
I just got a cardboard box and
I’m not picking up the phone because I’m out shopping for a home
I spend most my time alone ’cause I’m a bum
I’m a man with no household
BREAK TIME

WHAT I NEED WITH PROPERTY, WHEN I GOT ALL THIS SKIN
I CAN SLEEP ON/OFF, or UNDER THIS HERE BRIDGE

i’m not picking up the phone, i’m not picking up for you, i’m not picking up the phone,
i’m not picking up the home I’m not sticking up for you

we the great great great Grand children of slaves
white mans property you best behave
born in the land of the raped and the used
I guess this makes me nameless too

Damn! That’s a lot of work and thought. I think most of my friends could relate to that. Plus the cd artwork is awesome. From a design point of view it’s a great piece. Die-cut, metallic ink on grainy natural substrate make it even more visceral leaving a deep impression when you handle it.

The best part of Cloudy October’s The Aviator is Dead is that it’s free here to download.

Check out a short clip of him at PDX POP NOW!.

This Saturday after Mick Boogie at Rockbox, get your face to the Crown Room and dance it off with Club Crooks and Dr. Adam and DJ Salinger from my hometown of Tucson Arizona. Being that it’s free and the place is great for dancing, you can’t go wrong being at the Crown Room.

Seriously, for Portland this one of the best nights in town. DJ’s  Easter Egg and Izm take their music seriously and know fo sho how to work a crowd and  party.

“For this August’s Club Crooks, we are bringing in special guest DJ Salinger from Tucson! As always, we will have residents DJ Izm & Easter Egg on the decks with the support of MC Mr. Marcus on the microphone plus local DJ guest set by PDX’s own Doc Adam!

This night will consist of all the dope jams, new and old, from hip hop, r&b, reggae, dance hall, club music, and anything else it takes to get our dance floor poppin’. This is a FREE event so come in and wait for your favorite songs to be played!

plus local DJ guest set by PDX’s own Doc Adam!”

Easter Egg (Nathan Pham)

One of renegademag’s favorite artists in Portland, Drew Wheeler who illustrated our December issue, shows us what he can do to an old weather worn wood fence. A really cool time lapse video by Panama Jesperson. Enjoy.

Stephan Gray’s newest video shows off his talent and the excellent rhymes of State Of The Artist. This is impressive just on the basic level of being a video and given that

As the debut video from the SOTA boys, Stephan does a great job of blending the Seattle and Cali flavors with quick cuts volleying between LA and Seattle.

All this made possible by the rad crew at Members Only who are flexing the talent they have.

SOTA – “Extrahelladope” (Official Music Video) from Stephan Gray on Vimeo.

Here’s a few shows Members Only is putting this month.

Absolutely perfect music for this rainy Sunday. Not abrasive or banging just grooves that compliment an inner space, Dropping Gems’ newest release Orbit is a compilation of  Cascadian artists that share a very common sound. A sound that is steady but hardly boring. Ranging from accomplished producer The Great Mundane to long time musicians  Gumar and His Magical Midi Band, Orbit has the feel that it was done with intelligence and somber reflection. Introspective and fun, Orbit will be perfect for trips to the coast or out to a party in the woods, wind blowing through the car and sun on your face. Dropping Gems is going to be a serious force to be dealt with. Starting with two releases that are smart and solid they are hitting all the right spots.

Check out Brown Bears’ Broken Robots for a perfect example of the mood of Orbit on Renegade Radio.

Nico Luminous’ newest album is an example of what soul can do for electronic music. Understanding the need for human connection seems to flow out of this album. It’s like a strong firm handshake that doesn’t squeeze too tight or shake it too hard. The mood on Bass Muze is definitely Cascadian. Dark rhythmic and gritty soul layered with that touch of knowing when a song can have more power the simpler the structure and knowing when to throw out a sonic mind fuck of sound and texture to get the point across. With a heavy influence of Dubstep Bass Muze is of course, bass-y, so even heads can get into it while the casual listener isn’t turned off by the glitch of electronica.

The whole album is solid, with no stand out song. The “best” song is the grimy Dirty Girdy which is available to listen to on Renegade Radio.

Or snatch up a free limited release at these sites.

FREE Download/2pac bootleg:
http://streetritual.bandcamp.com/track/me-against-the-world-souljah-crunk
Link to the FULL release @ Addictech:
http://www.addictech.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=52227