Sean Anonymous - Sean Anonymo

Whether Sean Anonymous knows or makes a conscious effort to do so, he is going down the road of being Minneapolis’ “People’s Champ”.  And if you didn’t know, Big Zach (aka Zachariah of Kanser and More Than Lights), has held this unofficial title for many years.  On the surface Sean doesn’t bare any resemblance to Zach: quite short in the presence of the tall, lanky Zach // unabashedly new school from the skinny jeans to the thrift-store glasses in contrast to Zach’s grunge-era backpacker outfits of XXL tee’s, baggy pants and ball sneakers // moves in quick, frantic motions versus the Ent-like hippy swag that is Zach’s confidence.  But the way that both have come up is the same.  Zach is a legend in Minneapolis' freestyle history winning multiple Loring Past Bar battles and owning the Dinkytowner.  I first caught Sean’s wit and somewhat spastic flow at the tail-end of an era of freestyle battles shortly after the Dinkytowner closed in May of 2009.  While some freestyle emcees focus on punch lines it was clear to me that Sean not only had punch lines but his brain and mouth worked so fast that he could come up with three times the amount of words in the same verse and luckily had a flow that would render it intelligible.  This skill unfortunately doesn’t translate well to written lyrics.  In some of Sean’s early recorded work I always felt that 1) he tried to cram too many words in a verse and 2) had a thin, high voice that was hard to listen to over an extended period of time.  This is quite a shame, because these weaknesses in the studio actually translate to an amazing live show.  His live shows earn instant respect and spur excitement that don't translate in the studio.  I went into his new album with hesitation because I think Sean is a fantastic emcee on the battle scene and as a live performer, just not on tape.

To my delight “Sean Anonymo” sees Sean Anonymous finding his stride and finding his voice.  My two biggest aforementioned hang-ups have all but been remedied.  He is more selective with his words and is more focused on a flow matching the beat and energy of the song instead of impressing with his staccato vocals.  And I believe it to be a combination of vocal-chord maturity, more smokes and studio mastering, but his voice, while far from full-bodied, is no longer ‘tinny’.  While his voice still doesn't quite match some of the braggadocio, it at least suits his style.

The standout track for me is "Sunny" where Sean effortlessly sets a scene of inviting a down-and-out lady into conversation and ultimately making her outlook brighter.  Whether the lyrics are directly based a real life event or not, it is something that is Sean through-and-through.  It's a track that I would use as an introduction of Sean Anonymous to someone who has never heard him.

Hype tracks like "Hands High" and "No B.S.", while fun, don't seem to deliver the earnestness that is intended.  Maybe it's because I've seen these tracks performed live and the vibe is impossible to deliver through speakers.  Luckily for everyone there will be plenty of opportunity to catch Sean Anonymous at his best: live and direct from the Nomad.  He's celebrating his first official solo debut with two back-to-back nights this Friday and Saturday.  If you've never caught this up-and-coming Minneap emcee I highly recommend checking out the shows.  And if you are familiar with him I'm sure I'll see you there. 

Lookbook CD Release Show @ Kitty Cat Klub

Tonight in Dinkytown with Zoo Animal and Shahs.

2nd half of the week preview

THURSDAY

Hip-Hop Thursdays at Spring Street Tavern: I'll be DJ'ing with Big Trey at the Spring Street Tavern from 10 to close. Holler at me for some free stuff!

Last of the Record Buyers presents Content Under Pressure: a very dope concept where randomly selected producers and emcees will be thrown together in a studio and have a few hours to create something. They then perform the song mere hours later. This all goes down at IPR. For an in-depth run-down peep the video:

FRIDAY

High Energy option:

BOMP V: Already in it's very successful fifth iteration, the BOMP! party keeps the formula simple. They bring in DJs that get people dancing no matter their style. It all ends up working because the young, hipster crowd is open-minded and just wants to shake their ass. Come through for partying without any pretenses.

Low Key option:

Treehouse Records Night at King & I Thai: I've been meaning to get to this music night at King & I. The music nerds at Treehouse Records will be taking over the sound at King & I all night and will be playing records from their personal collection. Deep crates are guaranteed.

SATURDAY

Twin Cities Battle League MC Battle Round 2: I've been meaning to get to one of these, but I haven't. I can't vouch yet for the quality of the contestants, but the fact that it's lasted 2 and a half seasons means that it can't be bad. Will there ever be anything like the Loring Pasta Bar battles? No. But at least people are keeping the freestyling art form alive and well. Come through to catch emcees cut their teeth and maybe even catch the next big Minneap rapper. I know that Sean Anon came up through this and caught the attention of Big Zach. It goes down at the Blue Nile off Cedar.

I almost forgot and this is what I'm looking forward to the most this weekend. Digitata is a Minneapolis electronic band with melodic instrumentation almost as sexy as the absolutely sultry and smokey vocals of Maggie Morrison. Their sound is hard to describe, but the experience is like being shrunken down to the size of a flea inside a cotton ball laced with LCD and fiber optics running through each magical cotton strand.

They will be performing and releasing an EP after being on hiatus for over a year and a half. The show is free and, even better, there will be awesome art from Eric Lee, David Jensen, and Chance Orth at the First Amendment gallery. For more details check out the City Pages article. It starts at 7:00 with Digitata performing around 9:00.

Digitata, "What's Cookin'"

Big Quarters CD Release show in review

Disclaimer: Big Quarters always brings the energy when they perform.  They just brought even more for their release show at the Triple Rock.  In particular, I've never seen Brandon as intense as he was.  He had his listen-I'm-trying-to-teach-you-dummies-something screw-face on most of the night.  From a technical standpoint, these brothers always come correct during their live shows.  When most rappers up the intensity level they end up slurring and just not enunciating.  But dudes were crystal clear with their delivery and messages.

Speaking of messages, the crowd was fully involved and down for all of the knowledge that was dropped by the talented guests throughout the night.  Host Big Zach even dropped some classic jewels from his impressive catalog.  I Self Divine came through for "Instinct" (you had to be signed up for BQ Direct to get that one from their April feast), P.O.S performed "One On the Lip", Crescent Moon performed "Wipe the Dust (produced by Brandon)", and Mankwe Ndosi through down with Medium Zach at the end of her set.

Big Quarters CD Release show TONIGHT!

It's finally here.  It goes down tonight at the Triple Rock.  Doors are at 9 but I highly recommend buying tickets before hand online to guarantee you get in.  I predict that this show will sell out with the quickness especially with dope opening acts: Mankwe Ndosi, Kill the Vultures, Alissa Paris and hosted by the bigger version of Zach, New MC (aka White Jesus, Zachariah, Big Zach...).  Be there!

Zachariah (you're host for the evening), "Sub Shop" from White Jesus

Haha!  I bet you'll never go to Erbert and Gerbert's again!  More jokes, chilling and good ole fashion hip-hop can be expected throughout the night.

That Minneapolis bull$#!+, we back on it! (Black Blondie's CD Release in pics)

Have I mentioned yet how much I love Black Blondie?  I do just a little bit of a lot.  I went to their sold out CD release show at the Triple Rock last Friday.  The whole show was amazing.  Chastity Brown brought some much-needed soul to Minneapolis and worked magnificently as back-up vocals to Samahra. M.anifest and Fundamentalist brought some of that old-school DJ/emcee chemistry with a bunch of new-school skittles.  I can't say enough about how great it was to see Fundo work a perfectly executed intro/outro to the set and fit in a bunch of strategically placed scratchademiks.  Muja even came through to perform "Dirty Ashes."  And then there were the ladies... they all looked even more beautiful than they usually do.  Nobody expected anything less because it was their big night and the Rock was packed with fans.  If they're within driving distance of you, don't miss them.  Before you know it, they'll be doing shows where the only way you can see them is on a jumbo screen.   DJ B-Rock