Project Blowed
Project Blowed refers to a open-mic workshop, its affiliated hip hop crew, and the two compilation albums released by that collective. The Leimert Park workshop is the longest running open-mic for Hip-Hop in the world.[1]
The Good Life
The roots of Project Blowed can be traced back to the Good Life Cafe, a Health Food Center in South Central Los Angeles, California.[2] In December 1989 Promoted by owner B. Hall and her son R. Kain Blaze, the Good Life offered a workshop-like atmosphere for aspiring MCs, poets and musicians to hone their craft. On Thursday nights from 8-10pm, artists were allowed to perform one song in an attempt to entertain the cafe audience. Artist had the option of performing written songs, or freestyling. When a performance was not up to par, the audience would begin a chant of "Please pass the mic!" and the performer was forced to end the performance by passing the microphone to the next artist scheduled to perform. Performers were also disqualified for cursing.
"Young people needed a place to go to develop their own art. The no-cussing policy wasn’t about us being uptight church people, it was about wanting the atmosphere of a serious arts workshop. Most of the crowd respected the rule, some said it made rapping more challenging, that it created more respect and brotherhood." -B. Hall, Interview This Is the Life
Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Lenny Kravitz all reportedly attended the open-mic.[2]
"The Good Life was a renaissance period in hip hop." -Cut Chemist, Jurassic 5 Interview This Is the Life
Blowedians place a heavy emphasis on the ability to freestyle.[3] NoCanDo of Customer Service was the 2007 Scribble Jam freestyle battle champion.[4][5] Otherwize defeated Eminem to win the 1997 Rap Olympics. In 1999 P.E.A.C.E. of Freestyle Fellowship finished 2nd place at Scribble Jam. More recently, Blowedians such as P.E.A.C.E., Phoenix Orion, Busdriver and Thirsty Fish have appeared on G4TV's Freestyle 101 with NoCanDo, Sahtyre, VerBS, and Dumbfoundead competing in the World Rap Championships.[6]
Project Blowed Compilation Album
In 1994 Aceyalone and Abstract Rude produced the original Project Blowed compilation album.[7]
The landmark recording showcased wildly diverse local legends[8] whose common bond was a desire to expand the musical, thematic, and lyrical horizons of hip-hop. Originally circulated independently, the limited run CD was subsequently purchased and traded by fans internationally- becoming something of a cult classic. The album would later achieve an even greater status amongst fans and collectors alike as many of the artists featured (Aceyalone, Volume 10, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude, etc.) would go on to have varying levels of mainstream success.[9][10]
Project Blowed CD
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Artist(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Jurassick" | Home Grown Beatz | Aceyalone, Spoon Iodine, C.V.E. | |
| 2 | "Who's There?" | Self-Jupiter | ||
| 3 | "Strength Of A.T.U." | Digiak | Abstract Rude | (of ATU) |
| 4 | "What A Pity" | DJ Wolf | Riddlore & Ngafsh | (of C.V.E.) |
| 5 | "Don't Get It Twisted" | Digiak | Figures Of Speech | Jyant & Eve |
| 6 | "Hot" | JMD | Freestyle Fellowship, Horace Tapscott, Underground Railroad | |
| 7 | "Once Upon A Freak" | CV Shack Productionz | Tray Loc | (of C.V.E.) |
| 8 | "Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood" | J-Sumbi | Dolla Holla | |
| 9 | "Solo Is So Low" | Fat Jack | DK Toon & B Cartoon | |
| 10 | "This Evening" | interlude | ||
| 11 | "Heavyweights Round 2" | Mathmattics | Peace, T Love, Aceyalone, Nefertiti, Self-Jupiter, BJ, Ganjah K, Medusa, Ko Ko, Myka Nyne, Volume 10 | |
| 12 | "Funky Commercial Break" | Digiak | Funky Trend | |
| 13 | "Second Chance" | interlude | ||
| 14 | "I Don't Know" | Fat Jack | Abstract Rude, Aceyalone, Riddlore | |
| 15 | "Yeh Man" | Digiak | Abstract Rude | (of ATU) |
| 16 | "Narcolepsy" | Cee Vee Beat Down & Hip Hop Kclan | C.V.E., Rifleman aka Ellay Khule | |
| 17 | "I Think?" | Aceyalone | Aceyalone | |
| 18 | "Maskaraid Part 1 & 2" | Fat Jack | Abstract Rude & Aceyalone | The A-Team |
| 19 | "Treble And Bass" | Vic Hop | Abstract Rude & Aceyalone | The A-Team |
Bold denotes a group.
Project Blowed 10th Anniversary Compilation Album
In 2005, to commemorate the 10 Year Anniversary of the first platinum Project Blowed Compilation Album- Project Blowed/Decon Records released a follow up album packaged with a DVD. The Project Blowed 10th Anniversary CD and DVD was Executive Produced by Aceyalone & Peter Bittenbender, with Badru Umi also Executive Producing the DVD.
Project Blowed 10th Anniversary CD
| # | Title | Producer(s) | Artist(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "4343 Leimert Blvd. L.A., CA 90008" | |||
| 2 | "Enter the Kaos" | Riddlore | Aceyalone, Busdriver, Longevity, NgaFsh | |
| 3 | "Who the F*ck Is You?" | PMG | Aceyalone, Riddlore, Abstract Rude, Busdriver, Rifleman | |
| 4 | "Live @ the Blowed" | Longevity | Customer Service | Y-Not, Kail, SP83, A-oK, NoCanDo, JoeSue, Choice, Psychosiz |
| 5 | "Villains" | C.V.E. | C.V.E. | |
| 6 | "The People" | Omid | Sach, Pigeon John, Rifleman | |
| 7 | "Sound Boy Murderers" | Fat Jack | Abstract Tribe Unique | |
| 8 | "Too Underground" | Kenny Segal | Busdriver | |
| 9 | "Sounds Like" | Nobody | Hip Hop Clan | Rifleman & Pterradacto |
| 10 | "What's Your Aim?" | Re.4m | Acid Reign | |
| 11 | "Cray Crazy" | Thavius Beck | Aceyalone, Busdriver, NoCanDo, Subtitle | |
| 12 | "Jazzy Girl" | Toca | Myka 9, Busdriver, Xololanxinxo, and Toca | (Freestyle) |
| 13 | "Astro Pimp" | JB | Cypher 7 | |
| 14 | "How You Been?" (Homegirl) | Jizzm High Definition | Otherwize | |
| 15 | "What It Do?" | PMG | Medusa, Mr. Perkins, Black Silver, Volume 10 | |
| 16 | "Do Unto Others" | Beat Science | Aceyalone | |
| 17 | "13th Month" | Kenny Segal | Abstract Rude, Busdriver, Phoenix Orion | |
| 18 | "Mama & Pappa Raised Right" | DJ Drez | Pterradacto, Aceyalone, Jah Orah, NoNsToP | |
| 19 | "Battle Prone" | Myka 9 | Myka 9, Power Tung, Wreek One | |
| 20 | "Ruff Rhymes" | Longevity | Aceyalone, Longevity | |
| 21 | "Doing What We Love" | Beat Science | Jah Orah |
Bold denotes a group.
Project Blowed 10th Anniversary DVD
The packaged DVD that accompanied the 10th Anniversary CD included footage from the 10th Anniversary concert itself, with performances by Freestyle Fellowship, Hip Hop Clan (Rifleman Ellay Khule and Pterradacto), Busdriver, Phoenix Orion & Sunfire, Medusa, Haiku D'Etat, 2Mex, and a collective posse cut featuring freestyles and flows by Aceyalone, Abstract Rude, Chu, Myka 9, P.E.A.C.E., and Rifleman Ellay Khule.
Also included on the DVD was a 15-minute documentary about the Project Blowed open mic, consisting of interviews with veteran Blowdians such as Aceyalone, newer Blowdians such as Kail of Customer Service, and influential figures such as Ben Caldwell, founder of "KAOZ Network" where the Project Blowed Workshop is held every Thursday.
The DVD also featured the following music videos:
- "Mic Check" by Aceyalone
- "Calistylics" by C.V.E
- "Knownots" by Haiku D'Etat
- "I Think," by Aceyalone
- "Moonlit Skies" by Aceyalone
- "Give it Here" by Aceyalone, Ahmad, and Pep Love
- "All Day" by Abstract Rude
- "My Mamma Raised a G" by Medusa.
Project Blowed Expansion
With the expansion of the Blowdian roster to include newer groups such as Customer Service, the Swim Team, and the (SIS)tem, Project Blowed has since opened an additional workshop in California's Inland Empire to accompany its primary location in South Central Los Angeles' Lemert Park District.[11]
Original Location
- Los Angeles, California
Hosted by J-Smoov with substitute host E.Crimsin.
Expansion Location
- Inland Empire, California
Hosted by Ganjah K
Additional Locations
Hosted by Phoenix Orion
Hosted by Tray Loc (C.V.E)
Legacy & Influence
- Rock & Roll Band Rage Against the Machine has a cover version of Volume 10's "Pistol Grip Pump" on their 2000 cover album Renegades.
- Project Blowdians are prominently featured in numerous video games including Tony Hawk's Underground, The ESPN NBA 2K Series and All Pro Football 2K8.
- Aceyalone appears as a playable character in ESPN NBA 2K6 and NBA 2K9.
- Project Blowed was used as a recurring filming location in the 90's sitcom Moesha starring Los Angeles singer & entertainer Brandy.
- Project Blowed & Project Blowedians have been featured in numerous documentaries and reality television shows including MTV's True Life (starring Chris "CP" Phillips), and Paris Hilton's The Simple Life (featuring Carmella).
- The 2006 movie "Camjackers" stars Phoenix Orion and several Blowdians make cameos throughout the film.
- Ava DuVernay's 2007 film This Is the Life documents the Goodlife Era of Project Blowed.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Leimert Park, Los Angeles, Leimart Park History.
- ^ a b "Down for the Good Life,"
- ^ Liner Notes
- ^ *Scribble Jam Magazine
- ^ Scribble Jam Winners
- ^ JumpOff TV
- ^ Abstract Rude interview from larecord.com
- ^ "Livin' the Good Life,"
- ^ Aceyalone chart positions at Billboard.com
- ^ Volume10 chart positions at Billboard.com
- ^ Busdriver interview from larecord.com
- ^ "Ava DuVernay: This is the Life,"
- "Down for the Good Life," Brendan Mullen, L.A. Weekly, June 21, 2000.
- "Livin' the Good Life," Nicole Balin, The Source.
- "Ava DuVernay: This is the Life," interview by Jon B, "UGS Mag," May 13, 2008.
- Liner Notes for Mikah 9's Timetable, Dave Tompkins, 2001.
- About Project Blowed ProjectBlowed.com
- JumpOff TV World Rap Championships
- Scribble Jam Freestyle Battle
- G4TV Freestyle 101