For years I have sought my own hip-hop home team, a cadre of nerdy rappers that are suitably close to my uniquely rural locality. Little did I know that such a clique was available a scant hour away in the nearby hub of Charlotte, NC. I was lucky enough to make the acquaintance of The ThoughtCriminals, fronted by my boy Mikal kHill on MC Frontalot's last tour. With a full band setup that employs everything from biting guitar leads to homebrew DS blips and triple-teamed lyrics centered on subjects like the Ninja Turtles, it was clear fairly early on that these fellow Carolinians were indeed the droids I was looking for.
Last week the guys performed a benefit for the same venue that introduced them to me, The Milestone Club. And as cool as the concept of the band trying to help out one of the South's historic dives truly is, the most fascinating thing to come out of the show was the announcement of their forthcoming "tour."
Note the quotation marks.
This isn't a tour in the traditional sense, but rather an interesting variation on the theme. Rather than taking their show on the road, The ThoughtCriminals are instead bringing the rest of the country to NC as part of their Standing Still 2010 Tour.
Every date of the tour will take place at Charlotte's Milestone, and each performance will pair The TC's regional flavor with amazing rap acts from across the US. Though full dates have yet to be announced, the following have already been confirmed:
- July 11th w/ Forever Famicom (Mega Ran & K-Murdock) & Florida's Bleubird
- July 28th w/ Cincinnati's Mr. Dibbs
- August 13th w/ Rhode Island's Prayers for Atheists (Jared Paul/SFR) & Balto's Height
- September 24th w/ the incomparable Dual Core
It's really rare that we're able to coax this caliber of hip-hop so far down the coast, so anyone within driving distance is strongly encouraged to come out join in the fun. Also, be sure to keep a keen eye on The ThoughtCriminals' official site and the band's Facebook event page for further details as they become available.
This is not a (stationary) tour to be missed!
4 comments:
I hadn't thought about it until this very moment, but I think it says something about DC that our local "nerdcore" artists are Navi and killsaly. Neither of whom fit snugly in the genre, both of whom are pushing the boundries, both of whom could walk away from nerdcore at a moments notice and focus attention else where with out missing a beat.
Not sure what this says about DC, but it's something.
It says you have at least 2 artist that aren't involved in hardcore or house music? ;)
Thanks so much, man!! Can't wait to see you there. :)
Looking forward to it, brother!
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