Historical past
It wasn’t till the late Seventies and early ‘80s that the musical style and tradition of hip-hop emerged like a tidal wave upon America. The style has since solely grown in recognition and now regularly dominates modern-day Billboard charts.
In Austin, main the cost within the late ‘80s was the pioneering native hip-hop artist Donnell Robinson, identified higher by his stage identify MC Overlord. Overlord, a St. Louis native, had moved to Austin for faculty however dropped out a yr later to launch what could be a 30-year rap profession. Whereas there weren’t many phases the place rap was welcome, particularly east of I-35, he boosted the careers of younger hip-hop artists by that includes them at a downtown membership referred to as Hip Hop Metropolis.
Among the different hip-hop venues of Austin’s previous value mentioning embrace Purple River’s former uptown membership Spiros, Hip Hop Metropolis’s successor the Sanitarium, and the Catfish Station. The Catfish was one of many preliminary flagship hip-hop venues in Austin and had an excellent run from 1987 to 1995. SXSW’s Andre Walker and music blogger Matt Sonzala have been answerable for the preliminary bookings of hip-hop artists on the international music pageant starting in 1994 by the 2000s. Famously, the pageant launched many music careers, together with Erykah Free who was found at a showcase on the Catfish by a Common Music scout and shortly remodeled into the Dallas legend Erykah Badu.
Essential to the late ‘90s and early 2000s was a neighborhood selling crew referred to as Hip-Hop Mecca which was based in 1997 by David Crump and Doug Mecca. The crew was well-known for placing on roadshows and introducing the state and nation’s burgeoning hip-hop scene to Austin along with native performers like DJ NickNack and MCs Nook and Smackola, the latter of which shaped Austin’s unique Dirty Wormz with DJ Crash. The aforementioned MC Nook also called Charles “Nook” Turner, based a company referred to as Jump On It in 1996 with the intention of uniting the local people by leisure, internet hosting summer time music occasions for East Austin households. After being on hiatus for a couple of years, Nook continues to run Bounce On It occasions together with his spouse to at the present time.
One other beloved Austin music fixture Terrany Johnson, in any other case often known as Tee Double, continues to make music to at the present time. Tee based a non-profit referred to as the Urban Artist Alliance in 2012 to coach and encourage younger generations of city artists.
For years after the closing of the Catfish Station, it was uncommon to see hip-hop exhibits west of I-35 within the salad days of Austin hip-hop. Nonetheless, there have been a couple of locations just like the Black Cat Lounge, which showcased all kinds of music in its 17-year run together with rap exhibits, and Austin’s notorious Again Room (presently Emo’s East). Close to the top of its time, the expertise patrons on the Again Room began reserving acts like Bun B, Devin the Dude, and native expertise Bavu Blakes after a number of years of profitable SXSW hip-hop showcases. Blakes constructed his personal legacy in Austin as one of many first native hip-hop artists to play at ACL Festival. Within the constructing the place now stands the Parish, Blakes partnered with Tee Double, Traygod Shekhem, and multi-instrumental wizard D-Madness to host the weekly “Hip Hop Humpdays” occasions at Sixth Avenue’s Mercury Lounge.
Within the modern-day musical panorama of Austin, hip-hop tradition thrives. In 2010, the then-19-year-old Sascha Stone Guttfreund based Scoremore Shows, now one of many largest hip-hop and EDM promoters within the state. Now underneath possession of C3 Presents, Scoremore nonetheless books giant acts for occasions and festivals reminiscent of JMBLYA and Mala Luna.
