If you live outside of Seattle you may not have heard of Blue Scholars, but today they are an integral part of the city's hip-hop scene like Starbucks is to coffee, Pike Place Market is to shopping, or the Space Needle is to the skyline.
The group was forged back in 2002 at the University of Washington, and follows the format of great duos like GangStarr, Erik B & Rakim, and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - with one man making beats, and one man writing rhymes. Blue Scholars are: Sabzi (the DJ) and Geologic (the MC). While they have always been a Northwest operation, they are on the verge of breaking out to a much wider audience with big things on the horizon in 2011.
Back in 2004 the group released their first album, the self-titled Blue Scholars, on a small scale in the Pacific Northwest. The album received a great deal of local recognition, and rightfully so. With smooth, jazzy beats and conscious lyrics the album is a hit across the board. Lyrically most songs provide socio-political commentary, and tip their cap to Seattle. The production conjures images of rainy days spent inside warming up with a cup of coffee. Front to back it's a great album that everyone should have in their rotation.
Blue Scholars "Sagaba"
Blue Scholars "Burnt Offering"
In 2007 Blue Scholars had developed a great local following after their debut album, and with subsequent tours that saw them open for acts like Kanye West. They dropped their sophomore release, Bayani, on the masses, providing listeners with the same level of quality production and rhymes that made the self-titled a Northwest hit. All 25,000 hard copies of Bayani were sold, prompting the group to issue a re-release of the album dubbed Bayani Redux two years later.
Blue Scholars "North By Northwest"
The group has not released a full length LP since 2007, but a series of EP's have tied fans over in the meantime. In 2011 the streak will be coming to an end as the duo is set to drop their third full length. The album, titled Cinemetropolis, is an ambitious record. It is loosely being labelled a concept album, with cinematic themes playing out in both the production and the lyricism. The real interesting aspect of the album is that it is being released independently. This allows the group to maintain it's progressive nature without being compromised by the demands that come with being signed to a label. This is an album by the people, for the people - and, bottom line, it should go a long way towards putting Seattle hip-hop even more on the national radar.
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