Fresh off of tour with Too $hort, Equipto will come from The Bay to Olympia for the Toast To The Grads Celebration at The China Clipper in downtown Olympia Saturday, May 30.



Equipto, renown for his underground presence as an elite MC and his acclaimed collaborations with Bay Area legend Andre Nickatina on their Horns & Halos Trilogy album set, will join Olympians Xperience, Junkyard Gang and Puget on stage to rock a party in honor of the graduating class of 2009. The half-Japanese half-Colombian rhymespitter is working on two new releases — one is a mystery album, and the other features exclusive production from Seattle beatmaster Bean One.



“I love the Pacific Northwest,” said Equipto while at a San Francisco recording studio. “The people and the atmosphere are real cool … I look forward to a good time in Olympia.” 

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the tickets are $5 — 21 and older.

Joe Budden is oficially a suck MC ... if he can even hold th etitle of MC

I would usually refuse to even address ignorance as obvious as the following within the pages of The 25360, however I consider Joe Budden’s recent actions to be an act of dishonor, disrespect and a reflection of his short-sighted character (at least for the moment that he opened his mouth) … I am referring to Joe Budden’s widely seen Internet video of him questioning the validity of Method Man, Redman, Grandmaster Melle Mel and many other MCs who are elected in Vibe Magazine’s bracket of the top MCs. Budden was upset that he was not on the list in a more prominent spot and had the nerve to question the immortal, pioneer and hip-hop legend Grandmaster Melle Mel. Shame … Here is the video for your own eyes and ears.



The response from Melle Mel is wonderful.

New releases

Eminem: Relapse

Method Man & Redman:Blackout 2

Andre Nickatina: Ugly Money 2 (CD/DVD)

The Most Valuables: UTFO, Skeezer Pleezer

UTFO is unfortunately one of the legendary hip-hop groups that did not receive commercial success that their legend is deserving of, but for real hip-hop heads and the cats who were around to experience the electricity of Kangol, Dr. Ice and Mixmaster Ice — we all know that the Untouchable Force Organization aka UTFO was a monster group spawned from the ranks of fellow hip-hop legends, Whodini.



With Skeezer Pleezer, listeners were taken on a wild party-esque ride through the world of this lyrically-vicious trio. Tracks like “Split Personality,” “Kangol and Doc” and “Pick Up The Pace” demonstrate the arts of storytelling and party-MCing that combined witty lyricism, humor and death-blow delivery … Y’all young MCs can learn a lil’ somethin’ from UTFO. The rhythmic side of UTFO, similar to that of Whodini, is also apparent on tracks like “Where Did You Go?” and “The House Will Rock” — exemplify the big beat of the mid-’80s immediately before crack-cocaine altered the landscape of the urban United States and hip-hop.



Failing to mention my personal favorite DJ and scratch mentor, Mixmaster Ice would be a travesty and a sign of ill-respect. Mixmaster Ice is prominently featured throughout Skeezer Pleezer in tribute form, denoting the era’s esteem and majestic regard that DJs were once held with. UTFO survived although their careers ended in the late ’80s, but Kangol actually earned his Ph.D and is an instructor in college in New York … as I say — “The best rappers are SMART.”

Jose "Luvva J" wins 2009 KAOS Programmer of the Year

What an honor it has been to write for The 25360 since August of 2008, and I want to affirm my position as a representative of hip-hop with all my endeavors. With that said, I was recently humbled and honored that Live From I-5 with LUVVA J received The Programmer’s Award as Overall Best Radio Show at The KAOS Radio Awards in Olympia, Sunday April 17. The hip-hop community is rarely recognized, and ever rarer is it that we share our victories … I host my show because I enjoy it, and I enjoy that others like it. It was truly an honor … It don’t stop till the casket drops.



Winners Train, Losers Complain … Do Yo’ Thang!!!



Peace & Love

 

Jose S. Gutierrez Jr. is an editor, writer and producer. A graduate of Washington State University and student at The Evergreen State College, he writes and edits the Pacific Northwest section of OZONE Magazine and hosts and produces Live From I-5 Radio (since ’89) every Friday at 3 p.m. on KAOS 89.3 FM (www.kaosradio.org) in Olympia.