Humboldt Hip Hop
The Future
Humboldt hip hop is a product of this place and time. As musicians in a rural area defined both by college and redneck audiences, the artists here are creating music that is unlike any other hip hop.
The chance to live a full life and to document your experiences with music is important. Humboldt hip hop musicians are creating the sounds unique to this place, often literally including their children. The crucible of family and fraternity coupled with the redwoods and ganja make Humboldt hip hop distinctive.
Despite the regional skills and marketing possibilities, the future of Humboldt hip hop is up for grabs. While the televised version of the hip hop lifestyle might be champagne and half-naked women, in Humboldt the artists are holding down second jobs and laying down tracks after the kids have gone to sleep.
Every artist covered in this story shared their frustrations about being taken seriously as artists, and the level of work that it takes to succeed. Garth Culti-Vader, Nac-One and Potluck are struggling to balance tradition with innovation. And while the musicians get older and take root in the community, their experiences become about diapers as much as ciphers. The music produced reflects those changes and offers a new template for the next generation of artists, contributing to the ever-changing phenomenon that is hip hop.
Maxwell Schnurer is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Humboldt State University. He is the co-author of Many Sides: Debate Across the Curriculum , contributor to Terrorists or Freedom Fighters: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals and the 2006 AK Press book Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of Mother Earth . He is a semi-frequent contributor to Adbusters , Bad Subjects and the Times-Standard . He can be contacted at freedom@humboldt.edu.
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on the cover
Railroad!
Proposed lines ‘set rich blood a-tingling’ in early 1900s
Some Other Proposed North Coast Railroads
Choo-choo Fantasies
Exposing this east-west rail nonsense
seven-o-heaven
Undeterred Will
Will chides Andrew for lack of attention to detail and makes plans for his inevitable victory.
Recent on the cover
May 17
Ring of Fire
Sun and moon will perform a rare pas de deux in Humboldt skies on Sunday
May 10
District Soup
Racing for the top county seat in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd districts
May 3
A Place in the Woods
As park closure deadline nears, a scramble to save what we can
Today
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Flow 2012 Fashion Show
STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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