Namir Blade, 30 $ALE$ and AndréWolfe wow the crowd with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
Throughout its lengthy history, Nashville’s hip-hop community has frequently relied on DIY spirit — and elbow grease — to build the infrastructure that wasn’t readily available. In the late 1990s and early Aughts, there were a few ways to find out about local rap talent, including DJ nights at The Pub of Love near 12th and Porter, occasional spotlights on radio station 92Q and more frequent ones via Beats, Rhymes & Life on Vanderbilt’s WRVU. And there was Club Med, a Saturday night hip-hop showcase that packed crowds into Vandy-adjacent restaurant Mediterranean Cuisine, a second-floor spot on 21st Avenue now home to Sarabhas Creamery. After the kitchen closed for the night, a set of turntables would appear, along with some can lights and sheets of cardboard for the b-boys and b-girls to throw down upon. The P.A. seemed to sway along as the dancing crowd shook the floor — and sounded like it suffered a few falls in its time — and on a cool night the heat from many bodies fogged over the windows, hiding the fire marshal’s nightmare from the outside world.
Makeshift Club Med may have been, but the excitement coming from the rappers, the DJs and the audience was undeniable. As I approached The Basement Friday night, that same spirit seemed to be everywhere as fans queued up for hip-hop collective Six One Trïbe’s show; the second of two gigs at The Basement that night, it was a release celebration for the group’s new single “Paradise Lost.” I’ve been to plenty of record-release parties, but this one felt more like an actual party than any I can recall.
While the early show wrapped up, an impromptu tailgate session filled the venue’s small parking lot with chatter and laughter; when the doors opened, members of the ever-evolving collective as well as fans and friends took over the back porch. Aaron Dethrage, a Trïbe co-founder who’s helmed production on the pristine-sounding records released by the Trïbe as a collective, took over front-of-house sound for the show, and several times during soundcheck you could hear someone yell “SIX! ONE!” over the P.A., followed by the response “Triiiiiiibe!” from the whole room in unison.
Namir Blade with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
When the clock struck 10, Corduroy Clemens took the stage to greet the eager audience. After a few seconds, he said he had to take a phone call — which I assumed to be a bit, but it seemed he was literally waiting on this call to start the show. After a minute, he reappeared and the party got back on track. Over the next hour, different groupings of MCs from the Trïbe’s deep and varied lineup rotated on and off the small stage, passing around mics for their verses. Each member is strong on their own, but seems unstoppable in pursuit of making great music when they add their strength to the collective. While it felt like everyone in the shoulder-to-shoulder audience chanted and hollered during the show, nobody cheered louder or bounced harder during a given song than the Trïbe members who were out in the crowd. That genuine feeling of support is part of what I love about the group, and maybe that’s true for all their fans.
Ronni Raxx and Rio Tokyø with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
Namir Blade has been living in Los Angeles for a hot minute, but he was back in town and brought out his frequent collaborator Jordan Webb, as well as Cashmere Crool, who was decked out in a very D-beat vest covered in studs and leather paint. The trio broke out into “Aloof,” the closer from Webb’s 2023 EP 2 Piece & a Biscuit. The rotation continued with Ronni Raxx — who dropped her own single “Call You Latr” last year in addition to standout contributions to the Trïbe’s LP Reset for the Rejects — the wordy rhymes of Negro Justice, the towering presence of Stepson and the ever-enthusiastic HB Mandella.
Cashmere Crool, Gee Slab and 30 $ALE$ with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
The stage stayed full to overflowing, but the highlight of the night was the live celebration of the “Paradise Lost” single, with AndréWolfe, Blvck Wizzle, Riø Tokyo and the Trïbe’s wise elder statesman Gee Slab (who has Expect to Win, his first solo LP in years, on the way in March). “Paradise” is something of a departure for the Nashville collective, reminiscent of Aquemini-era Outkast. It’s a big, echoing downtempo piece that showcases all four MCs’ individual talents, from Slab’s poetic molasses drawl to Wizzle’s André 3000-esque melodicism, from Tokyo’s elegant cadence to AndréWolfe’s expansive R&B sensibilities.
The only thing that could have made it better: It seemed a shame that there’s no way to actually buy a copy of the single, since a physical version doesn’t exist. Designer Quin created an incredible cover — akin to the best Hollywood poster designs of midcentury master Saul Bass — that would look killer on a 7-inch. (You can buy shirts and hoodies from their online shop, though.) Regardless, Six One Trïbe consistently makes Music City hip-hop fans proud of their town and leaves us energized about the future of rap here.
The Spin: Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
The hip-hop collective celebrates its new single 'Paradise Lost'
Negro Justice with Six One Trïbe at The Basement, 1/26/2024
