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Capital Hill Block Party: Up-and-Coming Artists Steal the Show

Written by Jake Greene. Published: Monday, July 26, 2010.

Seattle may be known as the grunge capital, but this weekend’s Capital Hill Block Party showed that the city’s hip hop scene is making its presence known. And it wasn’t just the usual suspects. Save a certainly-ill set from Macklemore on Friday (which I missed, as did everyone with a normal job), and the Blue Scholars on Sunday brought out the expected masses of underage admirers, but it was the up and coming artists that made serious noise.

On Friday, J.Pinder had Nuemos full and loud despite rivaling the start of MGMT’s set outside. Pinder looked more comfortable than ever before, and kept the crowd with their hands up from the time he hopped on stage until his exit with Code Red EP‘s “Go Far”.

Saturday was packed with hip hop, starting with the one-year anniversary of promotion group Members Only on the rooftop of HG Lodge. The day-long party had a BBQ, cheap beer, and performances from a who’s who collective of Seattle artists, from RA Scion (of Common Market and Victor Shade), Sol, LuckOne and others.

Saturday afternoon Seattle hip hop hit the streets at the Vera Stage, with SOTA, Spaceman and Grynch. Even though SOTA has been playing shows on a consistent basis, this performance was a slap in the face to anyone that was oblivious. The trio’s energy on stage was contagious, leaving the teenage-filled crowd going wild. Aside from a technical glitch that left Tay Sean’s mic cutting out during “Extrahelladope” (a problem that continued into Grynch’s set as well), the group held it down for the 20-25 minute set that included features from Helladope, Katie Kate & P.Smoov. SOTA also showed off their uncanny ability to market themselves, throwing a giant inflatable cube into the crowd that read “SeaCal”, in reference to the group’s bi-state roots. With the musical talent and marketing prowess, it’s hard to imagine they will be openers for long.

Sport ‘n’ Life’s Spaceman hit the stage next, and per usual, captured the energy with his charisma. Spaceman’s set was complete with plenty of jumping — on speakers, steps and anything he could — eventually leading to a crowd-surfing finale. The set also included an appearance from Neema and Rockwell Powers on an unreleased track that had the crowd jumping up and down.

Once Spaceman exited the stage, it was clear who the crowd had been waiting to see. Grynch entered the stage to accept a reaction and the spotlight that has long been reserved for Blue Scholars and Macklemore. The young crowd rapped along to nearly all of the lyrics. With the transition from Grynch’s rendition of Skee-Lo’s “I Wish” to the sound of Grynch’s Volvo attempting to turn over, the crowd went nuts, and making it apparent why the video now has over 200k views on Youtube. The crowd, the atmosphere, and the lady in the front row who had Grynch sign her boobs (rappers have it made), were all signs that the King of Ballard isn’t far from taking reign of Seattle and beyond.

Other highlights:

The Stayhi Bros (Vitamin D and Maine) rocked a rare set, performing “Auto Tune Her” and “Home” from Jake One’s /White Van Music/.

Atmosphere had thousands in attendance for their set on Saturday, a crowd that rivaled the size in attendance for MGMT on Friday. The group showed its near-cult status, as most fans seemed to know the words better than Slug.