ON January 20, 1966, Reverend John H. Adams of First AME Church told the Advisory Committee to the US Civil Rights Commission Hearing, “Seattle is one of the few cities left in America which can solve its racial problem before it becomes unsolvable.” In this statement, Adams spoke for numerous Black, Latino, Native, Asian, and white residents who “still summoned the courage to believe in a peaceful racial future for the city and the nation,” wrote Dr. Quintard Taylor in The Forging of a Black Community. But that optimism has yet to be fully justified. Over ensuing decades, racial tensions have been further enflamed by such issues as police misconduct, educational inequities, and increasing gentrification. Taylor concluded: “Indeed, Seattle’s apparent success, and its underlying failure, in its race relations paradigm has been its meticulously crafted image which promoted the illusion of inclusion.”1
When it came to actual inclusion, hip hop led the way. Legendary New York MC KRS-One once stated that hip hop was less about race and ethnicity, and more about skill, ideology, and authenticity. Past examples of racial diversity in hip hop included Puerto Rican contributions to the development of break dancing and the acceptance of white rap groups in the late 1980s and early 1990s such as the Beastie Boys and 3rd Bass in New York City as well as Latino artists like Kid Frost and Cypress Hill in Los Angeles. The local scene in Seattle demonstrated this multiracial dynamic early on with the seminal meeting of Filipino DJ “Nasty” Nes Rodriguez and young Sir Mix-A-Lot at the Rotary Boys & Girls Club in the Central District. It could be argued that Seattle is one of the more inclusive environments in all of hip hop, as over time African Americans, Africans, Asian/ Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, whites, Latinos, women, the disabled, homeless, and others have all been represented within various elements of local hip hop. Potentially complex interactions between diverse groups of people could be simplified with hip hop functioning as a common point of cultural interest.
As it relates to inclusion, it is worth specifically noting the shift in hip-hop discourse around LGTBQ issues, albeit provided by straight-identifying Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s “Same Love,” which up to that point had been overwhelmingly demeaning and homophobic. In the song’s aftermath, New York artist Young MA, whose 2016 debut single “Ooouuu” went multiplatinum, credited coming out as the turning point in her career. Jay-Z released the track “Smile” on his 2017 album 444, in which his mother revealed she was a lesbian. Lil Nas X announced he was gay in 2019 while his smash single “Old Town Road” was in the process of breaking the record for longest running number-one hit of all time atop the Billboard “Hot 100.” The fact that space had been created for one of the great established figures in hip-hop history, along with record-breaking, history-making newcomers, to challenge hip hop’s LGTBQ status quo speaks to a legacy of local music, which literally extended concepts of liberation and equity worldwide.
Although inclusion existed, there is no question that misogynistic attitudes and inappropriate behavior—a characteristic of hip hop and society in general—were also present in Seattle. As such, local hip hop was not immune to the backlash, both directly and indirectly, associated with survivors of abuse coming forward and seeking justice. In 2016 Afrika Bambaataa, founder of the Universal Zulu Nation, parent organization of 206 Zulu, faced accusations of sexually abusing boys and young men dating back to the early 1980s. Russell Simmons, cofounder of the Hip-Hip Summit Action Network (HHSAN), which also had a local chapter, and local promoter and businessman Dave Meinert, former manager of the group Blue Scholars, were both accused of past sexual assaults in 2017 and 2018 respectively, as the #metoo movement emerged and demanded accountability.
As the second decade of the twenty-first century drew to a close, several trends asserted themselves within Seattle hip hop. One of these represented the continuation of the relationship between hip hop and local politics, as activism entered the electoral process. Beginning in the late 1990s, Seattle went from one mayor publicly blaming hip hop for a nightclub shooting (Paul Schell) to the next mayor instituting the annual Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Hip-Hop (Greg Nickels). The vacancy left by disgraced Mayor Ed Murray’s resignation amid charges of sexual misconduct meant Seattle would have a new mayor in 2017. Enter attorney, activist, and spoken word artist Nikkita Oliver, who represented the Seattle Peoples Party. The connection between hip hop in Seattle and spoken word had been reinforced in 2005 when Melissa Noelle Green was awarded the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Hip-Hop in the Spoken Word category and by the work of people like Laura “Piece” Kelley. Oliver’s candidacy connected with dis-enfranchised voters and highlighted such issues as police reform, homelessness, and affordable housing—all of which resonated within the local hip-hop community. She ultimately received the third most votes in the mayoral primary, narrowly missing a chance to advance to the general election.
One of the hallmarks of Seattle hip hop has been the use of innovative approaches and styles to generate both artistic and economic success. Local super producer Jake One demonstrated impressive musical range by joining with Los Angeles–based, Grammy-nominated singer Mayer Hawthorne in 2015 to form the funk/soul duo Tuxedo, which released and toured behind three acclaimed albums. This trend remained a defining characteristic of the region as Seattle’s book-end Grammy Award–winning artists announced new nonmusic business ventures in 2019 when Macklemore became part owner of Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders FC franchise, which subsequently won the 2019 MLS cup. Sir Mix-A-Lot introduced his line of custom slot machines for casinos called “I Like Big Buck$.” His venture raises an interesting point. The immovable staying power of the message and continued relevance of this song some thirty years after its release—from comprising an answer on the game show Jeopardy, a recipe for “Baby Got Back Ribs” in Snoop Dogg’s 2018 cookbook From Crook to Cook, to countless other references and parodies—suggest “Baby Got Back” may not only have had the greatest impact on modern popular culture of any rap song but perhaps any other song in any other genre period.
Some newer names who began to increase their profile musically benefited from a helping hand. Similar to Sir Mix-A-Lot, Macklemore’s meteoric rise allowed him a platform to promote other local artists. On the 2017 single “Corner Store” Macklemore featured two up-and-coming artists, Dave B and Travis Thompson. Following a performance of the song on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Dave B opened for Macklemore in front of a sold-out house at Seattle’s Key Arena and headlined a show himself at the Neptune Theater in the University District in advance of his 2018 album Pearl. Coming off his collaboration with Macklemore, Thompson, from the southern suburb of Burien, signed a deal with Epic Records and released his album Reckless Endangerment in 2019.
From hip hop’s beginnings in the Central District and the South End, its cultural ripple effects, in addition to relentless gentrification, have expanded the traditional borders of Seattle hip hop. The manner in which up-and-coming local artists earned their notoriety reflected both old school and new school methods. If one of the older methods of gaining artistic traction was getting “put on,” or receiving support from a more established name, and scaffolding within the local scene, then the newer style was more Internet-based. Lil Mosey, from the northern suburb of Mountlake Terrace, posted his music on Soundcloud in 2016 and rose to fame by amassing nearly thirty million views on YouTube for his video “Pull Up.” In 2018 he released his debut album Northsbest and was named to the 2019 XXL magazine freshman class.
“Nasty” Nes Rodriguez, without a doubt one of the most pivotal figures in Seattle hip-hop history, influenced the local scene with producing the group The High Children, billed as the “only true electronic hip-hop band in the music business.” They appeared on the legendary national radio show Sway in the Morning in 2017. Meanwhile, Gifted Gab of Moor Gang highlighted the quickly shifting landscape of the Central District, joining with Bay Area artist Blimes Brixton to form the duo Blimes and Gab (aka BAG). The pair filmed the video for their 2018 single “Come Correct” in front of the soon-to-be demolished Red Apple Market on the Paul Allen–purchased corner of Twenty-third Avenue and Jackson Street. Dave B and BAG toured nationally together in 2019.
However, in the seemingly never-ending fight against gentrification, Africatown continued landing solid blows. The Africatown Land Trust was formed in 2016 following a historic development agreement for the Liberty Bank Building at Twenty-third and Union. Soon after opening in 2019 with 115 units, the building received the Affordable Housing Finance Award in the Urban Development category. The project across the street, Africatown Plaza, has nearly 150 affordable units planned.
These trends indicated the high level of activity and change within the scene as arguably the most successful decade in Seattle hip-hop history came to a close. This success was reflected in the embrace of hip hop by venerable local cultural institutions such as MOHAI and the annual Folklife Festival. An extension of this movement was the 2018 establishment of the 206 Hip-Hop Archive at the University of Washington by Dr. Third Andresen. This collection, a tribute to the creativity and durability of the local scene, elevated the UW among high-profile institutions that have initiated hip-hop archives and collectives. They include Stanford, the University of Michigan, Columbia, and Harvard. The 206 Hip-Hop Archive recognized that which remained local, such as 206 Zulu and its fifteenth anniversary celebration in 2018. Others aspects, like the Seattle hip-hop media landscape, shifted in 2016 as Larry Mizell Jr. who—after twelve years, had become the longest tenured journalist to continually cover hip hop in Seattle—left The Stranger as well as radio hosting duties on his KEXP show Street Sounds. Stas Thee Boss (Stasia “Stas” Irons), formerly of THEESatisfaction, was named as Mizell’s replacement. This movement in local radio continued in 2019 as Casey Carter was named host of The Come Up Sunday nights on KUBE.
For most of the 1980s, much of the world outside the Pacific Northwest regarded Seattle hip hop dismissively, if at all. The double whammy of geographic isolation combined with an initial hesitation by the national mainstream to embrace hip hop created a lag that the region has subsequently made up for. Today there is no question that the accumulated expressions, successes, and innovations over forty years have cemented the city’s legacy as a creative force within hip hop. However, for all of the achievements produced over the decades, the nature of the culture is less about looking back and more about forward movement. Awards, championships, and incorporated entities can inform local legacy, but with its focus on youth, creativity, experimentation, and new forms of expression, hip hop remains oriented toward the future. This future only takes shape as fresh generations of DJs, graffiti writers, artists, b-girls and b-boys, MCs, beatboxers, teachers, journalists, fashion designers, researchers, promoters, broadcasters, filmmakers, activists, and others interpret what hip hop means to them in the context of their own lives and experiences.