Hip hop and strippers brought to you by The 87 Stick Up Kids

Last night I set out to see Intuition lay it down at Crazy Girls (the strip club) in Hollywood. This was my first experience being a patron of such a fine establishment. Contrary to popular belief, I have never set foot in a strip club until last night. It was pretty mellow and mild as far as the girls were concerned...a lot of fun really. I'm a fan of burlesque, but this was much more obvious than a saucy burlesque show. Aside from my shoes sticking to the floor it really wasn't anything like I had pictured it to be. While the hip hop show was the main draw for me the girls definitely helped with the ambiance. They all looked like they could easily be suicide girls especially my favorite Miss Malice. It was kind of like being in a rap video LOL.

When I arrived at Crazy Girls I walked straight to the back of the club where there was a merch table and asked about the other artists performing that night. I had never heard of The 87 Pick Up Kids before last night and it was their merch table that I wondered over to. They eagerly tried to explain what their style of music was and then I just decided to buy the EP. I often spend $5 bucks on a cup of coffee so why not spend that on some local independent talent. The 87 Pick Up Kids are made up of Deacon, Nashville, Squishy, and DJ Rockwell and their EP is titled Out 4 Fame. I spent some time chattin it up with DJ Rockwell about MC's, influences, and his personal style while watching the girls shake their money makers.



Intuition was first up on the line up and he killed it. The girls were on stage dancing and flirting with him during his set which made it even better. Next up was King Fantastic with some gritty and grimy beats and hard hitting lyrics. They weren't quite as playful with the girls, but gangster as f**k! And last but not least, The 87 Stick Up Kids brought the house down. Their big & bouncy booty shaking beats got the crowd movin and shakin along with all the lovely stripper ladies. Not to mention the diverse rap style of all the MC's that mix together perfectly to make a delicious hip hop smoothie. They were playful, silly, and wildin' out. These boys are clearly overflowing with love for hip hop. When I left the show I instantly popped the EP in the CD player and I had to listen to it on full blast. The influences of the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, NAS, and De La Soul are strong in the Out 4 Fame EP. Honestly the best $5 dollars I've spent in long time and such a happy accident.




The 87 Stick Up Kids are holdin down a residency at Crazy Girls once a month I believe. If you don't have an aversion to strip clubs and you've got $10 bucks to go to a great local show, you should definitely make it out to see these guys. Check out their website to get a taste and get info on upcoming shows www.the87stickupkids.com.

POS - Audition & Never Better...like finding treasure!

POS – Pissed Off Stef or Stefon Alexander. A Minneapolis native with musical roots planted in punk rock. After an initial hostility towards hip-hop, Stefon quickly graduated to rap as a musical expression and outlet. Now he is a member of the Rhymesayers family for life!

The gift of POS – Never Better, released February 2009, was bestowed upon me a couple weeks ago by a dear friend. And a week later I received the preceding album, Audition which came out January 2006. It’s clear in both albums that POS has an alternative approach to hip hop music. Sampling punk rock bands and drum & bass loops masterfully mixed into diverse beats with luscious lyrics laid on thick.

Audition serves as a wonderful stepping stone from the first album to the third. Lyrically Audition is on point, honest, and truthfully raw. Speaking to the little punk rocker and the wanna-be thug b-girl in me all at once. Each song laced with beats that serve as an homage to the hip-hop songs I grew up with from A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, and De La Soul. The basic bouncy beat on the song “De La Souls” is driven by 3 deep cello notes reminiscent of early 90’s De La Soul songs. The 3 deep cello notes cut like a knife directly to the heart of the listener. “A Teddy Bear and a Tazer” serves as the birth place of this brilliant mixed big band sound that is almost James Bond like with POS speakin on freedom and independence. Jazzy beats moving slow like molasses and some gritty tribal rhythms on other songs carry through an extremely eclectic collection of stories on this album.


Never Better and the albums title could not ring more true for this artist. I experienced this album before listening to Audition and I about lost my little mind. Having grown up with a particular affection for drum & bass beats, the album Never Better spoke straight to my soul. The beats are not traditional at all and innovative in a way I’ve never heard or seen before. Illustrated particularly well in the song “Purexed” with the hook “try to find the beauty in your face, try to find the beauty in the baseline”. The song starts with a slow magical ambient sound that builds up to a light break beat and then bursts into a magnificent drum & bass explosion. The tone of POS’s voice in this song is radiant and strikes the perfect balance of chill evoking composition. A treasure trove is discovered in the album Never Better with succulent layers of gold buried in each song creating a compulsion to listen to every track over and over to find new sparkling bits and pieces within the whole.

POS is a true crossover artist, perfectly illustrated by both Audition and Never Better. There is a little something for everybody and I would be hard pressed to find someone that doesn’t at least enjoy if not fall in love with POS. I really can’t wait to hear more from this artist and see what direction he goes in next.