The Year Of The Showoff, Part 1 | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop
source: http://Showoffhiphop.com
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You hear it in the instantly head-nodding sounds of the Jazz-tinged “Come Around,” and again in the irresistibly body-rockin’ sounds of the Soul-drenched “Life Is Short , you hear the past-meets-present sounds of 21st century boom-bap throughout in-demand deejay/producer Statik Selektah’s just-released showcase for Hip Hop’s likely last generation of true lyricists, 100 Proof (The Hangover).
While there is not merely one organization keeping this ‘90s-influenced sound alive in 2010, there is one force that will surely claim the crown as the standard bearers of said sound by year’s end, and that label/movement is simply known as “Showoff.”
And what’s the Showoff sound specifically? “Hip Hop that doesn’t suck!,” exclaims emcee extraordinaire Reks in response to that question, reciting the tagline on Showoffhiphop.com and the mantra of his label home at Showoff Records.
“I can’t really describe it better,” says Statik Selektah of Showoff’s modus operandi. “There’s just so much shit out there that comes out between the blogs and all these Internet radio shows, and I think our stuff stands out a little bit more. So I take pride in that.”
DESTINED TO SHINE
Showoff launched inconspicuously in 2003 as a street marketing company. Doing more than just putting up posters and stickers, the Boston-based firm began their first year in operation by handling all of the northeast marketing for 50 Cent and his G-Unit sneakers line through Reebok, as well as for another Reebok/Hip Hop union in Jay-Z’s S.Carter kicks. Additional clients soliciting Showoff’s services in those early days ranged from Lacoste cologne to music projects for Def Jam, Atlantic, and Universal Records.
“I started putting out 12”’s at the same time, different vinyl,” recalls then mixtape titan Statik Selektah. “And, I just needed a name, so after brainstorming a bit my man Clinton Sparks helped me come up with it. It’s funny ‘cause I actually said a whole different word to him, and he goes, ‘What did you say, Showoff?’ And I was like, ‘Uh…yeah that’s what I said.’”
Showoff’s expansion in 2006 from solely a marketing operation to include a full-fledged record label happened rather uneventfully with the imprint simply slapping its logo that year on Termanology and producer DC’s Out The Gate to help further the exposure for Statik’s longtime friend, and fellow Lawrence, Massachusetts (a.k.a. “Lawtown”) native, Term. Showoff subsequently handled what Statik describes as “a real, real independent release” for New Hampshire-based duo Granite State with The Breaking Point.
Read more here.................
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1493
While there is not merely one organization keeping this ‘90s-influenced sound alive in 2010, there is one force that will surely claim the crown as the standard bearers of said sound by year’s end, and that label/movement is simply known as “Showoff.”
And what’s the Showoff sound specifically? “Hip Hop that doesn’t suck!,” exclaims emcee extraordinaire Reks in response to that question, reciting the tagline on Showoffhiphop.com and the mantra of his label home at Showoff Records.
“I can’t really describe it better,” says Statik Selektah of Showoff’s modus operandi. “There’s just so much shit out there that comes out between the blogs and all these Internet radio shows, and I think our stuff stands out a little bit more. So I take pride in that.”
DESTINED TO SHINE
Showoff launched inconspicuously in 2003 as a street marketing company. Doing more than just putting up posters and stickers, the Boston-based firm began their first year in operation by handling all of the northeast marketing for 50 Cent and his G-Unit sneakers line through Reebok, as well as for another Reebok/Hip Hop union in Jay-Z’s S.Carter kicks. Additional clients soliciting Showoff’s services in those early days ranged from Lacoste cologne to music projects for Def Jam, Atlantic, and Universal Records.
“I started putting out 12”’s at the same time, different vinyl,” recalls then mixtape titan Statik Selektah. “And, I just needed a name, so after brainstorming a bit my man Clinton Sparks helped me come up with it. It’s funny ‘cause I actually said a whole different word to him, and he goes, ‘What did you say, Showoff?’ And I was like, ‘Uh…yeah that’s what I said.’”
Showoff’s expansion in 2006 from solely a marketing operation to include a full-fledged record label happened rather uneventfully with the imprint simply slapping its logo that year on Termanology and producer DC’s Out The Gate to help further the exposure for Statik’s longtime friend, and fellow Lawrence, Massachusetts (a.k.a. “Lawtown”) native, Term. Showoff subsequently handled what Statik describes as “a real, real independent release” for New Hampshire-based duo Granite State with The Breaking Point.
Read more here.................
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1493
