|
What’s up y'all? This is your friendly neighborhood “unrefined plebian” Samfry with another edition of One for the Treble. (Thanks for that description, Chucky, I think I’ll roll with that. Now if only you could stick to “Police Blotter” and stories concerning gentrification and leave hip-hop to the experts, it would be all good. All the SAT vernacular in the world can’t save you from the simple fact that it’s pretty much the consensus that you are just flat out uninformed as far as hip-hop is concerned, homeslice.) For this issue I chatted with one of the biggest champions of the local scene I know, the 2004 recipient of the Mayor’s Award of Hip-Hop Excellence, Georgio Brown. Georgio is the man behind one of the longest running public access hip-hop-oriented shows (along with “Music Inner City,” which was created by the triple OG Gordon Curvey, whose show has been on the air since Samfry was in high school). “The Coolout Network” airs Friday evenings at 11:30pm on public access channel 29/77. Shouts out to Coolout’s Kitty Wu and the homegirl Noni Cavalerie.
First off, what’s your story? I understand that you are a native of Harlem and came up during the formative years of hip-hop and you have an interesting perspective. Tell us a little about you and your experience.
I was born in Harlem in April of 1963, my pops was from Jamaica, my mother is from the South. I come from a rough-ass neighborhood. I grew up watching the cats in the playground with the turntables and the huge speakers that drew massive crowds every weekend. That was hip-hop and I was fortunate to witness a birth of phenomenon. Although I couldn’t rap, sing or dance, I was still drawn to hip-hop as a culture. So when I got my first video camera at age 18, I made it a point to document my hip-hop experiences.
Growing up in Harlem, did you know any artists or groups that later made it big?
Doug E Fresh went to the same highschool that I attended and I have been following his career ever since.
What brought you to Seattle? Were you in the armed forces stationed here and ended up loving it like a lot of other cats?
I came here for a wedding, of all things. My older sister Beverly was getting married in 1991 and I liked it. I put in some job applications and bam, within three weeks I had a job.
I understand that you have been covering local hip-hop acts for quite some time now (13 years). what are some of your favorite experiences over the years in dealing with the NW scene?
Just going to the shows and watching young cats evolve over the years. Some of my earliest local footage was with Rocaphella, Source Of Labor, Sincemilla… and seeing them blossom to what they are now. Topspin and Rocaphella are some of the hottest DJs in the town, and I’m proud to say that I was there in their formative years and that I gave a chance for cats who didn’t have access to other media outlets like BET and MTV to showcase their craft.
I’m curious, Georgio. What is it about the Seattle scene that has endeared you as much as it has?
I’ve had a lot of opportunities to bounce, being that I’m from New York and I have a few connections in the Big Apple. But I prefer a grassroots approach, and the fact that the majority of Seattle’s talent is virtually untapped, I like to refer to the Northwest as the last frontier. Seattle, Portland and Tacoma are areas whose resources are yet to be fully realized on the hip-hop side of things.
How did you initially land your public access gig?
When I arrived in Seattle, I had my suitcase and my video camera. I attended a couple of events and documented some local cats doing their thing, then I tuned in to public access and found out how easy it was to get a show. Around the same time, I attended the Art Institute to learn more about the art of photography and to hone my craft.
What’s in Georgio’s CD player? What acts local or otherwise gets Mr. Brown’s juices flowing?
Locally, I’m really feeling that Blockburners CD. The Lac Of Respect album is nice, yo. Nationally, I would say Jay Z’s “Black” album and I’m also a huge Bad Boy fan. On the R&B tip, I’m really feeling that Angie Stone and the Anthony Hamilton CD.
What is your honest opinion on the current local scene?
I think cats need to genuinely pull together instead of always just yappin’ about it. A lot of folks will actually say that they’re not a “hater,” but then turn around and bad-mouth the next man. Most cats don’t realize that hate is a disease and nothing good can come as a result of hatred. There are too many avenues and opportunities for growth these days to see folks stoop to the level of hatred and jealousy. You have your seaspot.com, you have promoters out there doing their thing as far as landing gigs for local artists, etc. We need more unity. Period.
|
