---
Lawrence's ever-growing local hip-hop
scene
By Rory Flynn, Jayplay writer
As the needle hits the record and the
bass line drops, the emcee clinches the mic with a tight fist. A drop of sweat drips off the brow of the lyrical mastermind and hits the stage floor. As the beat kicks in, the crowd starts bobbing their heads to the percussion jumping out of the speakers. With the stage presence of a messianic prophet, all eyes are on the emcee. Rhythmically he drops rhymes,
Lawrence emcee Approach lays down rhymes in front of a massive crowd at the KJHK wax clash at Liberty Hall. Photo courtesy of www.kjhk.org.
awing the crowd with a linguist's vocabulary. Throughout this symphony of beats and rhymes, you catch yourself in the moment and say, "Damn, this is some next shit!" With the crowd of fellow hip-hop heads, you exit the show being force-fed flyers of all sizes and colors, and you wonder if that show can possibly be topped.
Where are you? Right here in town,
That's right, Lawrence, Kan.: a recognized Midwestern Mecca for local hip hop artists.
Lawrence has hosted many of hip-hop's pioneer acts, such as KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Mos Def and De La Soul. By selling out these shows, Lawrence shows its support of famous hip-hop acts, but the local hip-hop scene has gained national, and even global, rec
ognition, as well.
Edwin Morales, local promoter and owner of Downplay Productions, says that the Lawrence community has shown great support of the hip-hip shows he has promoted. He has promoted shows in Lawrence since 1999 and started a weekly Friday night hip-hop event called Project Groove in 2001. "Lawrence is always looking for a fresh sound
that many local hip-hop acts have been able to provide," Morales says.
Lawrence has local, independent record labels that are helping propel the progression of its hip-hop culture as well. Sean Hunt, owner of the Lawrence-based hip-hop label Datura Records, explains the mark Lawrence is making on the national scene.
have hip-hop artists from Kansas releasing groove-based and darker hip-hop off independent labels that are being heard nationally and across the globe. Now that is not the case," Hunt says. Hunt is a local hip-hop artist that raps under the moniker Approach.
"Five years ago it wasn't possible to
Approach has received national recognition for his music including a fourstar review in the Fall 2004 Los Angeles-based music publication URB for his album Ultra Proteus. He has toured nationally and in Europe with the hip-hop group, Souls of Mischief. Approach has gained additional fame through his collaboration with Oh No.
laboration with On No,
West Coast producer
and brother of hip-hop
mogul Madlib. The two
have put together an
entire album, which is
set to be released sometime
in early 2006.
The Kansas City/Lawrence hip-hip group Deep Thinkers, also on Datura Records, is soon to reach recognition from the Eastern hemisphere. As a Japanese hip-hop label contacted Datura to release the
these independent labels," Hunt says.
Another turning point in the popularity of Lawrence's hip-hop scene has been the start of the Web forum Lawrencehiphop.com. The site was started in 2001 to post shows and promote local artists. Today, it is one of the most popular tools for hip-hop fans in Lawrence and the Midwest to find out about upcoming shows or post comments on recent releases.
Pick these up
Andrew Giessel, creator of the site, started it as a medium to help fans and musicians chat online and "swap beats":
Check out these Lawrence/
Kansas City area hip-hop
artist releases:
"Lawrence has always had great desire and artistic drive for hip-hop. The Web site just gave these artists a way to share their talents. It has now created a ripple-effect as more and more artists in Lawrence are being inspired," Giessel says. Giessel, now pursuing a Ph.D in Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School in Boston, says the evergrowing hip-hop scene in Lawrence competes with many east cost cities such as Boston.
- Approach, Ultra Proteus, Datura Records
- Soundsgood, Biscuit's and Gravy, Datura Records
- DeepThinkers, Necks Move,
  Datura Records
Deep Thinkers album Necks Move this October in Japan.
"It is crazy to think that these record labels from around the world are hearing the music local artists such as Deep Thinkers and myself are releasing on
*ID & Sleeper, Displacement,
Mush Records
- MacLethal, TheIndependent Success Story, Datura Records
Hip-hop is rapidly
growing in Lawrence and there appears to be a bright future for its local beat conductors and rhyme spinners. Certainly their sound will echo loudly in the venues of Lawrence. Soon it may ring loudly throughout the rest of the world.