Crane City Music Vinyl, CD & Tape 6 Items

“Avada Kedavra Deluxe,” by Seattle rapper AJ Suede, is a 21-track, self-produced, self-referencing, double-vinyl labyrinth of experimental boom-bap. Building on a signature style that Spin magazine describes as “stream-of-consciousness rhymes, containing everything from socio-political commentary and blunted cinematic allusions to psychedelic visions,” Suede’s creation is as compelling as it is unclassifiable. On the first LP, Suede demonstrates his substantial skills as a beatmaker and rapper, chopping up what Seattle’s Kexp calls “the smoothest, jazziest, weirdest samples” and overlaying parkour bars about Grunge, success, and social justice. From the first cut, “Nebuchadnezzar,” which New York’s Major Stage describes as a “powerful chant-like hypnotic loop,” these 10 tracks capture an elusive mood of too many hours inside watching YouTube and trying to piece together fractured connections. The album’s title is derived from an Aramaic spell: “Let this thing be destroyed.” On the second LP, Suede invites 13 guests to “destroy” the original songs. This disc of remixes and reworkings showcases underground voices from across the Northwest (Seattle’s Wolftone, Khrist Koopa, Portland’s Fines Double), from across America (New Jersey’s Fatboi Sharif, California’s mudwater, Ohio’s Lord Olo, New York’s Bloodblixing), and around the world (Tel Aviv’s Argov and Japan’s Wazasnics). Seattle rappers Astral Trap, Blake Anthony, Mika’il, and Greg Cypher are featured on a bonus “posse” cut. With “Avada Kedavra Deluxe,” AJ Suede has tapped into the moment, using what Deeply Rooted Hip-Hop calls “a subconscious steeped in the mystical.” As Kexp says: “Quite predictably, the whole album bangs.”

* The eleventh record in the Crane City Music collection * Only one pressing of 500 copies on individually-numbered 140g black vinyl * Cover design by Seattle artist Damascus Purnell * Liner notes by Martin Douglas (kexp) * Specially mastered for vinyl by Adam Gonsalves (Telegraph Mastering)'

Here's a split vinyl of quarantine protest jams from two Seattle heavy-hitters: AJ Suede & Specswizard. Both artists were inspired by 2020's Black Lives Matter protests, mask-wearing, and stay-at-home orders to produce boom-bap tunes that could only exist in the 21st Century. Insomniac magazine praises the pair's 'next level lyricism.' The Seattle Times picked AJ Suede's brilliant 'Long May We Rain' as one of the best albums of 2020. On the flip side of this cross-generational split LP, you'll find the vinyl-only 'Lost Gems' project from Specswizard. He's a veteran of Seattle's scene, releasing dozens of self-produced albums and EPs since his start in 1988. On his latest, the familiar sound of buzzing amps and tape hiss makes way for major-key soul turned into pensive bangers. Specswizard’s low, late-night-in-the-living-room baritone conjures the feeling of recording in a cramped apartment while the neighbors are sleeping. Still, the beats knock like side doors and his narratives hover like heavy rain and cumulus clouds of weed smoke. Together, these two records provide a powerhouse portrait of Black life in the American Northwest today. Only 500 individually numbered copies have been pressed.

The seventh record in the Crane City Music collection
The 140g black vinyl pressing is limited to 250 copies and individually numbered
There is only one single pressing. Once these are sold out, they’re gone for good
Cover photography by visual artist Izzy Vibes
Specially mastered for vinyl by Adam Straney (BreakPoint Mastering)

Crane City Music is proud to release Bobby Ro$$ from accomplished Seattle rapper and visual artist Perry Porter. His first full-length, Bobby Ro$$ is a vibe-heavy hustle through the landscape of art, blackness, and self-love. On it, he inhabits the alter ego of Bobby Ro$$, the trap music avatar of the much-loved PBS painter, Porter uses snippets of interviews with cultural luminaries such as Kara Walker, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Maya Angelou as a narrative lattice to paint himself into the canon of black art.

Originally from Tacoma, Washington—by way of rural Spanaway—Porter grew up playing drums and rapping over his own beats. His first foray into hip-hop was as half of buzzy local duo Sleep Steady, who received much acclaim in the Pacific Northwest and placed two songs in major video game titles (EA Sports UFC 2 and Cyberpunk 2077). He has since released several solo mixtapes, including 2018’s critically-acclaimed Channel Surfing mixtape.

As a visual artist, Porter’s dreamlike watercolor portraits and lush murals have been shown in galleries across the country. His notable collectors include several NFL Seahawks players. He incorporates live painting into his performances and is currently planning a 30-city pop-up painting tour of record stores for Spring 2020.

Bobby Ro$$ is the seventh record in the Crane City Music collection, a library of the hottest recent hip-hop albums from the Pacific Northwest on wax. The record assembles a wide variety of Seattle- and Tacoma-area talent, including producers Chong The Nomad, Jamie Blake, and Khris P, alongside rappers Blake Anthony, Romaro Franceswa, and Jarv Dee. The Crane City “Black Excellence” edition of Bobby Ro$$ is limited to 250 copies on black vinyl and features a cover designed by visual artist Izzy Vibes and liner notes by music journalist Martin Douglas.

Perry Porter has opened for national touring artists such as Joey Badass, SuperDuperKyle, and The Flavr Blue, and performed to sold-out crowds at 2019’s Capitol Hill Block Party music festival.

* The brand new record from Seattle’s own “Queen of Rap,” Gifted Gab
* Two distinct hip-hop sounds: An A-side of hard-hitting gangsta murder rap, with sweet R&B on the flip
* Pressed on clear red vinyl and limited to 1,000 individually numbered copies
* Cover design painted by Gifted Gab herself
* Specially mastered for vinyl by Adam Straney Fresh off a year playing the top music festivals in America--Austin City Limits, Bumbershoot, Heiro Day, House of Creatives and Music Tastes Good--Seattle's own "Queen of Rap," Gifted Gab, has dropped her latest project, "Cause & Effect."

It fittingly arrives on national weed holiday 4/20 and opens with a warning to stay away from that poor quality bam. This record is a premium strain ten-track opus, with no features, and one lone producer, Antwon Vinson. Spark your best blunt and play it loud, ‘cause this chronically high sound is gonna trip you out.

“Cause & Effect” shines a light on both sides of Gifted Gab’s singular style, mixing complexity with wit, confidence with seduction, bars-upon-bars with R&B melodies. Half of the album is hard-hitting gangsta murder music, while the flip side is effortlessly smooth, "for the after-party, the kickback. When you finally got the one you’ve been vibing with all night up close and personal," as DJ Mike Ramos describes in the liner notes.

This is uncompromising, in-your-face music free of bullshit. Gifted Gab's lyrical dexterity and street-smart prowess marries the '90s hip-hop sounds of female emcees Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Bahamadia with Bay Area legends like Mac Dre and E-40. Fans familiar with her unrestrained rap style, wall-to-wall classicist flow and combative, codeine-dipped blunts, may be surprised on the B-side by singing and harmonies that even your mother might approve of. The entire album features a fresh sound supported by real ass musicians: Max Watters on guitar, Andrew Imanaka on bass, Medearis Dixon on keys and sax, DJ Vega on the Technics, and Antwon Vinson conducting the crew. And not only can the multi-talented Gifted Gab rap your ass off and sing sweetly, but the cover art is also an original painting by the artist herself.

Two singles from the album, “Eye on Em” and “That Way” are part of a Spring 2019 North America-wide college radio campaign mounted by Airplay Junkie radio promotions.

Seattle underground hip-hop label Crane City Music is proud to release a special, limited-edition vinyl version of "Cause & Effect" on transparent red vinyl. The record is the color of blood and love, both appropriate analogies for its twin sides. The vinyl edition is has been specially mastered by Adam Straney, has liner notes from DJ Mike Ramos and is limited to 1,000 numbered copies. (The record will be distributed worldwide by Light In The Attic.) Grab one before they're gone for good. The music is also available online on all major streaming services (iTunes, Google Play, etc.)

Gabrielle "Gifted Gab" Kadushin was born and raised in Seattle, WA's Central District. She's shared stages with DJ Quik, Rakim, Cam'ron, Slick Rick, Method Man, and Lupe Fiasco, and received accolades from hip-hop heavyweights XXL, VH1, and Dope. TIME magazine counts her amongst the top seven female rappers in America right now. In 2016, she curated & headlined her own eight-city tour. Her collaboration with Blimes Brixton, “Come Correct,” received viral attention and over 15 million video views. And let's not forget her stature as first lady amongst the many men in the Moor Gang, Seattle’s answer to the Wu-Tang Clan crew.

* The latest vinyl offering from Seattle’s hologram funk soul singer SassyBlack
* Special-edition four-song EP containing the missing musical accompaniment to the Black Panther movie
* Pressed on 7” vinyl in multiple colors, limited to 500 individually numbered copies
* Cover design by visual artist Wutang McDougal
* Specially mastered for vinyl by Adam Straney

Wakanda Funk Lounge” by SassyBlack, is a svelte slab of hologram funk delivered directly from the Black Panther nation of Wakanda. This four-song EP contains the chart-topping hits from that nation’s funk lounges, and rising star, SassyBlack.

SassyBlack is a "blaxploitation, sci-fi warrior queen" and is also a multi-talented, space-aged songwriter, beatmaker, composer and singer. Her music has been described as “electronic psychedelic soul,” with roots in experimental hip-hop, R&B, and jazz. Her voice has been compared to that of Ella Fitzgerald, Erykah Badu, and Georgia Anne Muldrow and her beats owe a debt to Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones. Like Queen Latifah, she sings, raps, is an actor and produces all her own music. Before going solo, she recorded and performed as half of the Afrofuturist hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction. Her music has received attention from Okayplayer, Afropunk, The Fader, Pitchfork, Bitch magazine and more.

Her brand new “Wakanda Funk Lounge” EP has been recently released as a 500-copy special-edition 7” single on Seattle hip-hop record label Crane City Music. The cover was designed by visual artist Wutang McDougal and each copy is pressed on colored vinyl and is individually numbered. The music is also available online on all major streaming services and can be purchased digitally through Bandcamp. It’s funky music that reminds us that Wakanda’s main export is “VIBE-ranium.”

In describing the project, SassyBlack says that “Wakanda Funk Lounge is about black freedom. When I think of “Black Panther,” it is talking about black freedom, so much that we have our own secret space. What would be freer than a Wakanda funk lounge?”

This is not her first sci-fi or superhero-themed project. SassyBlack performed at 2018’s Emerald City Comic Con, and her 2016 full-length album, “No More Weak Dates” contains numerous references to Star Trek. In an interview with Hearst publication Shondaland, she explains her sci-fi fascination: “Star Trek and Star Wars have always had bars and concerts. There’s no culture without music… And so Black Panther’s M’Baku invites me to come and perform in one of Wakanda’s funk lounges. This EP is the music I perform there. And where it gets crazy is that I’m like, ‘Listen, I have to leave Wakanda now because I’m going to go join Starfleet.’ [laughs] It could technically work.

* Two records for the price of one: The solo debut from THEESatisfaction’s Stas Thee Boss backed with EDM star Chong The Nomad’s first EP
* Pressed on 140g spattered vinyl in multiple colors, limited to 750 individually numbered copies
* Reversible cover design by Seattle artist Jennifer Campbell
* Specially mastered for vinyl by Adam Straney / This split LP from Seattle hip-hop label Crane City Music provides two entry points into that city’s flourishing underground hip-hop scene. It’s two records for the price of one! “S’WOMEN” is the highly-anticipated solo debut from THEESatisfaction’s Stas THEE Boss, while “Love Memo” is a runaway EP success from EDM wunderkind Chong The Nomad. Both artists are producers, singers, beatmakers and queer women of color creating distinctive music that expands our very definitions of genre.

Each project has amassed a wealth of accolades and album-of-the-year nods from national and local publications such as Pitchfork, Tom Tom Magazine, Earmilk, The Seattle Times, KEXP radio, and The Stranger. Chicago’s Dusty Groove Records praises the split vinyl, citing “hypnotic, abstract hip-hop vibe, moody beatcraft, insistent beats, and vocal samples... It's solid all the way.” Seattle Weekly calls this release “a perfect pairing.”

Chong The Nomad’s “Love Memo” landed “2018 Record of The Year” acclaim from The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, The Stranger and radio stations KEXP and 107.7 The End. In their review, The Stranger praised Chong The Nomad’s techniques of live-sampling ukulele and beat-box harmonica, alongside “heavy funk beats, marbles-scrambling bass frequencies, and torqued distortion… Holy shit.” NYC’s Tom Tom Magazine says that “multi-instrumentalist and producer Chong the Nomad is shaping the future of dance music.”

Pitchfork called Stas Thee Boss’s “S’WOMEN” a “sharp solo debut doused in heartbreak and identity.” She subtitles the record, “an aquatic explanation of failed female companionships.” Most songs are dense 120-second pops. French chefs have a name for their tiny, tasty morsels: “amuse-bouche” or “entertaining to the mouth.” Let’s call these songs “amuse-oreille” because they greatly entertain the ears… They’re little explosions of audio delight.

The first pressing of “Love Memo & S’WOMEN” is limited to 750 individually numbered copies. Every record is a different color with spatter accents.