Cashmere Crool, Gee Slab and 30 $ALE$ with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
It was nice to feel energy building at a steady pace around Nashville hip-hop in 2024. While we didn’t see local rappers on local stages every weekend, it felt like less and less of a surprise to see Nashville MCs booked at spots from The 5 Spot to The Blue Room at Third Man Records to The Basement East and beyond. See also: The Nashfeels dance party, which encompasses lots of genres but frequently centers hip-hop, sold out Brooklyn Bowl time and again, and the crew got tapped to participate in the super-size Blavity House Party at Municipal Auditorium.
Continuing the theme of live events, Regeneration — aka the father-son duo of jazz trumpet master Rod McGaha and ace rapper Mike Floss — made its auspicious debut. Meanwhile Brian Brown celebrated the 10th anniversary of his first EP 7:22, and the Six One Trïbe collective spearheaded a new tradition with a massive 615 Day party, both at The Basement East. That went down the same day as Tennessee Equity Alliance’s fifth annual Black on Buchanan festival in North Nashville and the day before the second annual Bridge to Broadway block party outside the National Museum of African American Music.
The Trïbe celebrated their new LP Beginning of 4Ever, and individual members dropped lots of work this year as well, including Gee Slab’s first two solo releases in four years — Expect to Win and You Ain’t Gotta Like It — and Blvck Wizzle’s soulful Skoot Muzik. Sweet Poison, who supported at 615 Day, has had a handful of strong singles and a great feature on 2’Live Bre’s “Cashville Chick,” while FoundHoney took charge on “Charlie Brown,” a single with a heavy beat about knowing what you want in a relationship. Daisha McBride dropped her most confident work yet on her People Like Me EP, and right before Thanksgiving The Rap Girl went viral once again with a freestyle recorded on the street in L.A. with Canadian pop duo Crash Adams.
Chuck Indigo at The Groove for Record Store Day, 4/20/2024
Relative Nashville newcomer R.A.P. Ferreira’s The First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap, a collaboration with producer Fumitake Tamura, features some of the finest wordplay like swordplay in the game. Sadly, real estate issues led to the closure of Ferreira’s record shop and venue Soulfolks (where he recorded much of the album) in November. Starlito, now an elder statesman of Music City hip-hop, brought as many deep thoughts and powerful bars as ever to Imposter Syndrome, while Chuck Indigo brought all of his formidable storytelling skills to bear on Until I Get There. Ron Obasi, K.O.N, Case Arnold and others also released excellent work this year that rewards a deep dive. There’s lots more room to grow, but the wealth of talent is unbeatable.
Talking with stellar songsmith and producer Brittany Howard, counting down the year’s top local albums and more
