Shimon - 1000 Paper Cranes

Shimon is an incredibly talented unsigned cat who has worked with the likes of Brother Ali. He has a great repertoire of music that is straight golden. Here is one gem - the track "1000 Paper Cranes:"

1000 Paper Cranes by Shimonhiphop

Northwest On The Come UP

I'm in the process of putting together a mixtape to really put BOI on the map. The first

official Blood Is One mixtape will focus my sights squarely on my hometown - Seattle, Washington.

Seattle is a far away place. When hip-hop has traditionally popped out of New York City and southern California, it's easy to see why Seattle's contributions to the genre have been overlooked. After growing significantly, the Seattle hip-hop scene has made significant inroads in its local vitality but a national scale still isn't recognized on a national level.

You should be recognizing it though! Seattle has several goldmines of unbelievable talent. One of the most incredible and overlooked is the tenacious and unique Sonny Bonoho, a Tacoma rapper who can be seen in giant trucker hats and cowboy boots. He is something else. I dare you to watch the video for "Get Down," from his album Out Of State, without laughing out loud:



Even more incredible is Sonny here in his video "Zig Zag," with the esteemed Money B of Digital Underground!



You gotta love it.



JFK (Jeff the Filipino Kid), born Jeffrey Bautista, is from the same region as Sonny but produces a far darker blend of hip-hop. Signed to the esteemed and respected Rhymesayers Entertainment record label of Minnesota as part of the duo Grayskul, JFK has only just recently branched out with his own solo album. I interviewed him for that album in an article for Earthwalkers Magazine, a Seattle based travel magazine operated by the locally renowned Caroline Li:

Jeffrey Bautista, best known as JFK (Jeff the Filipino Kid) and nickname, Ninja Face, has been a lasting presence in the Pacific Northwest's hip-hop scene for several years. He started within the Northwest artistic collective, Oldominion, and eventually teamed up with fellow rapper Onry Ozzborn to form the rap duo Grayskul. As Grayskul they toured nationally through the United States and released two albums on the independent hip hop record label, Rhymesayers, based out of Minnesota.

Hip hop has taken him all over the world. He started touring in 1999 and has been throughout Europe, collaborating with artists such as Picos Pardos of Spain.

Performing overseas with artists from varying cultures and regional backgrounds has achieved resonance with JFK. "It's awesome to work with artists outside of the States. It's a good way to promote music that way. I hope to work with more artist oversees," he said. "The best party of touring to me is being able to share your music with people all over the map and being able to travel to cities you've never been to or to revisit other cities."

Visit Earthwalkers to read the entire article.


Both JFK and Sonny Bonoho are locally established, and the rookies of the NW game need their own attention. Carl Roe is an up and comer who just got out of the Army Infantry (Fort Lewis is not that far from Seattle proper) and is seeking to immerse himself in the national music scene. His songs are available at www.ourstage.com/profile/carlroe, where he is part of the Coors Light Search For The Coldest competition. You can help him by going to www.searchforthecoldest.com and voting for him.

Carl Roe is coming into music at a good time. Maybe it's due to the recession, social change or social networking, but independent artists are taking off like I've never seen before. With the ability to completely be their own managers and producers, there's no longer middle men and artists can get back what they put in.

JFK Flying Down

An article ran today on the rapper JFK, based out of Seattle, in Earthwalkers Magazine. JFK is one half of the duo Grayskul, alongside Onry Ozzborn (who also has a new album out) and has been doing hip-hop in the Northwest for a long time. I've met him on numerous occasions at concerts and have seen him once or twice feeding his children at restaurants, where I didn't approach him out of basic respect for him and his child. I hope the article lifts his profile among an international audience:

Jeffrey Bautista, best known as JFK (Jeff the Filipino Kid) and nickname, Ninja Face, has been a lasting presence in the Pacific Northwest's hip-hop scene for several years. He started within the Northwest artistic collective, Oldominion, and eventually teamed up with fellow rapper Onry Ozzborn to form the rap duo Grayskul. As Grayskul they toured nationally through the United States and released two albums on the independent hip hop record label, Rhymesayers, based out of Minnesota.

Hip hop has taken him all over the world. He started touring in 1999 and has been throughout Europe, collaborating with artists such as Picos Pardos of Spain.

Performing overseas with artists from varying cultures and regional backgrounds has achieved resonance with JFK. "It's awesome to work with artists outside of the States. It's a good way to promote music that way. I hope to work with more artist oversees," he said. "The best party of touring to me is being able to share your music with people all over the map and being able to travel to cities you've never been to or to revisit other cities."


JFK is also a father and has full time job outside of music. He admits his lifestyle is strenuous and trying. "It's not all fun and games like most would think, just imagine late nights and early morning driving every day out of the week for a month straight. Having to be in a new city every night is very exciting but it's a lot of work."

To put things in perspective, last summer JFK released his solo album, Building Wings On The Way Down. It was time to tell his story.

With a solo effort, JFK said he was able to really let loose with his own persona. "I had an opportunity to tell my story. I had a lot on my chest that I needed to get off and this record was a perfect way to do so. I wanted to make my record in an autobiographic fashion, [with] more storytelling style to get the listener to follow," he said. Songs from Building Wings On The Way Down, retrace significant phases and experiences in JFK's life that have led him to his current state of mind. While working on his solo album, he had the liberty to say what he wanted to say and express himself by sharing experiences that he wasn't able to when he had to share an album with other artists.

As much output as JFK has put with recordings, and he has done a lot, he attests that performing is his first joy. "I love to perform. I like being on stage performing whatever – solo material, group material, I guess I just like the attention. I've worked hard to create music and I love it when it is appreciated." With a masterful flow and verbal linguistic capability, it's no wonder that he likes to show it off.

Brother Ali, Rhymefest and Political Activism

Following is video of Brother Ali speaking on rapper Rhymefest's political activism. The video was put together by the website RubyHornet.com. Speaking on it for his Facebook profile, Ali said, "It was amazing to see Rhymefest's leadership in his community and the show was really fun."

Brother Ali - Real As Can Be

I finally went and out and bought Brother Ali's EP/DVD The Truth Is Here. He put the album Us afterward but The Truth Is Here has a full concert DVD included. I'm making the album available through the Amazon to the right.

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