The RVA Videos You Missed in 2017: HIP HOP/RAP/TRAP

by | Dec 29, 2017 | HIP HOP & RAP

For over a decade now, Richmond has had a varied hip hop scene supported by a small group of OGs that took it upon themselves to make a scene. Richmatic at the old Twisters (now Strange Matter) comes to mind as a good example of how it worked in the early 00s — the creation and trading of cassette mix tapes, pinned up fliers on telephone poles, and smoked-out house sessions around campus were the only way for people to even know about what was going on. The hip hop scene around VCU took its cues from the thriving nationally-recognized Richmond punk scene to bring things together. However, as members of the scene started breaking out, the supporters started choosing sides instead of supporting the scene as a whole.

Meanwhile, the city government was going out of its way to shut down any places that supported hip hop (and really any culturally relevant movement that wasn’t sanctioned by the corporate class). There was a mass exodus of rappers making their names in other cities and only occasionally coming back to the small underground fanbase here. By the time RVA Magazine started in 2005, the local hip hop scene had lost its momentum.

But since those days, things have come back around. The early supporters became older heads, and started helping the younger generation organize while supporting them with their experience, resources, and attendance. Today, we have seen a hip hop renaissance in the sound of Richmond. The work coming out of this town is our sound made by our people, and it’s reaching across the country.

Do you know Noah-O was on Sway In The Morning this year?
Have you heard the underground classic Trick Dice by Nickelus F & Shawn Kemp?
How about Decemba by Divine Council and Andre 3000 of Outkast last year?
How about Hypebeast shouting out The Mutant Academy?

If you haven’t its ok. You can miss a few things. The point is our town is on the come up and along with music out of the Mid Atlantic region that includes chart toppers DRAM, Goldlink, and N.E.R.D out of Norfolk, it seems like the future is now. So check it.  Some of the following love the city, some of them hate it, but the important thing is that their work is doing Richmond proud.

VER$ACE CHACHI X SPACE GOD, ‘2K1234 HOLOGRAPHIC’
Jan 4, 2017

DIVINE COUNCIL, ‘Dirtbags In Distress’
Feb 2, 2017

NOAH-O + DJ MENTOS, ‘Raindrops’
Mar 26, 2017

JOHNNY CIGGS, ‘White Linen’
Apr 3, 2017

FLY ANAKIN, ‘Brainwash’d / E. Broad St.’
Jul 12, 2017

MCKINLEY DIXON, ‘The Everyday People’
Aug 18, 2017

NOAH-O x FAN RAN, ‘Too Official’
Sep 7, 2017

DF, ‘cantswim’
Oct 27, 2017

FLY ANAKIN, KONCEPT JACK$ON & TUAMIE, ‘Grandma’s Spot’
Nov 13, 2017

MICHAEL MILLIONS, ‘SIRENS’
Nov 28, 2017

YOUNG FLEXICO, ‘Fish Aye Shaw’
Dec 4, 2017

AND THESE RVA HIP HOP CLASSIC ALBUMS

NICKELUS F & SHAWN KEMP, TRICK DICE [FULL ALBUM]

DIVINE COUNCIL, DB$B (Full Mixtape)

 

Salty Oldman

Salty Oldman

A veteran writer from Richmond who’s seen it all. Don’t take what I write too seriously—I certainly don’t.




more in music

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 12 Hotspit

“This interview was a blast. You know it’s a good one when even the editing (work) is fun. Join us in this episode as we discuss the creation of this wonderful band, their goals, and the process of building the perfect lineup (it’s tough), Crayola House and unwanted...

Sound Check | Miramar, New Lions, Friday Junior & More!

The rain can’t keep us down. Even though it has been pouring for a week, the shows are still going on, life continues despite it all! Got a show coming up? New single? Simply want someone to talk music? I am your guy at griffin@rvamag.com....

Photos | Dave Matthews Band Draws Record Crowd in Richmond

Dave Matthews Band played to a capacity crowd at Richmond’s new Allianz Amphitheater on Tuesday night, delivering the venue’s biggest show since it opened earlier this year. Roads around the Riverfront were closed off as thousands of fans packed into the area,...

Play Music I Love, With People I Love, For People I Love

When Jeff Gorman of Illiterate Light steps on stage, it’s not hype you feel, it’s heat. Not the kind that grabs at you immediately, but the kind that builds steady, loud, and unflinching. Just two guys onstage with a sound that hits like a full band. Offstage is where...

When the Music Ends, The Bukit Hedz Begin

I came across them one night, sitting in the grass at Kanawha Plaza. Two men, buckets stacked like makeshift toms, a lone snare resting in one lap, framed by the warm glow skyline of downtown Richmond. Beside them, a sign made the economics clear: VENMO DRUMKEEM....

Because None of This is Important, All of It Is.

Amid feedback loops, flickering lights, and fleeting connections at Get Tight Lounge, a local sound tech finds clarity in the chaos and meaning in the impermanence. by Eric Kalata I had to go across town first, to a different venue, to grab the microphones and...