As of late, I started to feel the interest in underground hip hop (maybe even live music entirely) amongst my Minneapolis/St. Paul brethren was limited at best. A lot of very talented artists (not necessarily Interlock or our associates) have had to play to some meager crowds in the past year. This is obviously to some fault of their own via lack of promotion and/or general business savvy. But much of it has to do with the fact that there are continually more and more artists trying to share a spotlight that is limited in size due to our market. Being a fan first and a participant in the hip hop scene second, it’s concerning to see some of the founders, the new hot talent and even the hip hop hobbyists (the phrase can boggle your mind if you let it) play to empty clubs.

Last night’s Kanser release party for "Future Retro Legacy" has restored a great deal of my confidence in the support of live music by Minneapolis/St. Paul. A couple hundred people, who have a million other options for Saturday night entertainment, decided to come out and show Kanser and Interlock some love. Old school Kanser fans (many of these people have been showing support since before I had even graduated from my Heman underoos), new Kanser fans and people who were just looking to have fun all came out in force. Not only did they come out, but they got fucking live. People just seemed to have had a damn good time. I did.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m very appreciative this show happened to be a(n) Kanser/Interlock spot but this could have been any local hip hop/indie rock/jam band/etc show and my excitement would still be on full. It’s validating to see that people still give a shit and want to have a good time. Pictures from the show which prove this will be posted sooner than later.

Collectively we have to keep this momentum building. Including myself, there has to be a conscious push to get our asses out to shows. Not to completely discredit everything I’ve said up to this point but we can all start by coming out to the Interlock banger on May 9th at the Triple Rock(shameless plug). But we can build upon that with continued support of all the great artists from MPLS.

Rhymesayers, Big Quarters, Background Noise Crew, Ernie Rhodes, Hecatomb, GOB, Doomtree, Dred I Dread, Tru Roots Crew, Unknown Prophets, Long Doe Records, Mujah Messiah, Heiruspecs, The Chosen Few...many, many more. Keep showing love for live hip hop and live music in Minneapolis so all these artists can feel warm and fuzzy.

Mike