Local Seattle Bands: Blue Scholars Rock the Mic
I’ve never been one to really listen to local bands in my area. It’s not that I do not like music, nor am I against indie music. I just never get out to live shows and so it’s very difficult for me to hear new music in the area. A few months ago though, I was driving to the store and I heard a song on the radio that had an excellent beat to it and great lyrics. I was really curious to know who this band was and why I had never heard anything by them before.
Shortly after I learned the name ‘Blue Scholars’ and drove home as fast I could to look up whatever I could find on them. I was led to their website where I learned more about this band that no one had heard of but everyone should. Made up of only two members, on the front mic is Geologic spitting out lyrics and rhymes while Sabzi spins the records in the background.
The result is a fresh new sound in hip hop that is a high cut above all the rest. What puts them out above all the rest is their smart lyrics placed over original beats. With lyrics that really speak out on the emotional instability and the invisible walls that separate the social classes, the lyrics speak out volumes.
Not afraid to go after larger targets though, one only has to listen to the lyrics of ‘Blink’ to know their views on the current state of things in the country and the administration. “To your so called commander-in-chief/ I’m telling you the man is a thief/In his head he holds a plan to ban your freedom of speech/To build a pipeline and put Afghanistan on a leash.”
Self Portrait is another song that speaks loudly about the life at the bottom of the ladder for the youth. “Shorty feels the pressure on his shoulders as he’s liftin it/ Wonders why the elders always tell him not to question it/ Options at the bottom of the ladder got him desperate/ But all he ever wanted was a weapon to protect him with”
Seattle and Hip Hop have never really gotten along. Every hip hop artist that has come out of the area has gone on to die in a pool of obscurity only to be revived on ‘where are they now?’ special on VH1. Blue Scholars revive hope that someday soon a voice will rise from the area and speak everything is on their mind and do it well. If you want a band to watch, watch Blue Scholars. The star in their sky is the brightest out there and when it explodes, it’ll be a super nova all over the music scene.
