It's no hip-hop hotbed, but Boston's beat goes on
In the three decades since rap was born at house and block parties in the Bronx, nearly every major geographic area in the nation has claimed its place in the hip-hop game. Aside from New York and Los Angeles, home to many rap artists, there are Nelly and Chingy from St. Louis and the Roots from Philadelphia. The Bay Area has Spearhead and the Coup, Atlanta is represented by OutKast, and Detroit can boast of its "8 Mile" local boy made good, Eminem.
Somehow, that national acclaim has eluded Boston. There have been commercially successful rap artists such as Guru of Gang Starr and Ed O. G., and critical favorites Mr. Lif and the Almighty RSO. But without a big breakout artist -- someone like New York's 50 Cent or Atlanta's Ludacris -- to focus the attention of rap fans, Boston has never been viewed as a hotbed of hip-hop.
Yet the city has long enjoyed an underground scene with rap artists as devoted to their music as any of the acts on MTV or the Billboard charts. For the fifth year, the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge will host a diverse mix tomorrow night at the Boston Hip-Hop Fest. Among those scheduled to perform are Porn Theatre Ushers, 7L & Esoteric, Edan, Insight, D-Tension, OVM, T-Max, Invasion, Higgenz, Kabir, Pace Won, and Lyrical Buddah.
As the city's premier event for local hip-hop artists, the fest has become a vital avenue for Boston to showcase its rap community, which has long struggled for relevance and respect.
"Boston's not a city like other major cities where you can go out and see hip-hop every night," said Jason Katsohis, better known as Mister Jason, DJ and producer of Porn Theatre Ushers. "Fans here are very knowledgeable, and a lot of them are hip-hop purists, but there's never been a certain night or club that really stands out like in New York or San Francisco. So that's why the hip-hop fest is so important for the local scene."
With Katsohis's partner MC Nabo Rawk, the Porn Theatre Ushers, who are reminiscent of early Beastie Boys, have been part of Boston's hip-hop community since 1997. Their 2000 EP, "Sloppy Seconds," was nominated for a Boston Music Award
for rap/hip-hop album, and the duo made a splash with their underground hit "Me & Him" in 1998, which Katsohis described as "an apex in Boston hip-hop." "It started with Ed O. G. and RSO, who took it to the next level," he said. "Then in 1997 and 1998, there was this huge wave of underground people like 7L & Esoteric, Afrobatik, and Skitzophrenics. It was really flourishing, and every night you could actually see hip-hop."
But the city was unable to sustain that momentum, which could have built Boston into a hip-hop player.
"It has something to do with a little brother syndrome with New York," said Kabir, who released his fine new album, "Fuel for the Fire," earlier this year. "A lot of artists need to gain recognition through New York and generally do that by moving to New York.
"And there's an environment in Boston that a lot of people in hip-hop feel," he said. "There's a sense that Boston is such a puritan environment that the majority of clubs don't really want hip-hop."
If there is such a feeling, it doesn't affect the Boston hip-hop fest, which has been a popular event. Though Boston is "basically a rock 'n' roll city," Katsohis said, "hip-hop is at a point where it's so commercial, it doesn't matter if Boston has a big scene or not. If someone is playing, people will go to see it."
The desire for live hip-hop has kept artists like Kabir working steadily for much of the year. He will play his first Boston hip-hop fest tomorrow, featuring a medley from his latest CD. "I've definitely been part of lots of nights like that before," Kabir said.
What has separated Boston rappers from the national community, Kabir said, is a greater dedication to developing the music than landing headline-grabbing deals with major labels.
"There are a lot of independent artists here in Boston, which I think is amazing," he said. "I think that helps the hip-hop scene here because there are so many people committed to putting out music on their own terms.
"If I shopped my record to every major label, maybe I would be further down the road in terms of selling records," Kabir said. "But I like putting out my own music on my own terms. When my record is done, it's done. I have no one telling me it needs to be this way or that way.
"Of course, in theory I would love to have millions of people know my music, but you always have to ask yourself at what cost," Kabir added. "I also don't feel ready for a big record label. A label that isn't independent would only be interested in me if they felt like I could create revenue for them. Right now, I feel like I have a good thing going. I'm not making tons of money doing it, but I definitely feel like I'm pushing myself in the right direction."
Katsohis, who is working on the Porn Theatre Ushers' next album, "Taxachusetts," due out next year, says events like the hip-hop fest will allow Boston's rap community to continue pushing in the right direction. The show is an opportunity to promote various styles, from gangsta rap to socially conscious hip-hop, he said.
"There's a lot of diversity in the scene, and this is a communal effort to get people together," Katsohis said. "That's what hip-hop can do, and we have to use the chance to show the rest of the country what we can do, and that we can inspire other people."
