THE ROOTS OF SEATTLE HIP-HOP have survived through every freeze — now the city is seeing a new sprout from underground. The national release of Common Market’s self-titled debut this month on the new label Mass Line follows a period of what looks like fast growth for a few groups, but has really been a slow climb. Common Market’s DJ, Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi), who also makes beats for Blue Scholars, has seen local opportunities opening up. “The scene in Seattle, it feels like, has been changing; there appears to be a lot more listeners.” Sabzi and Geologic (George Quibuyen) of Blue Scholars surfaced first in 2004, with an introspective attitude and politicized rhymes over cool, laid-back beats. Common Market, with Sabzi and MC RA Scion (Ryan Abeo), has a more uplifting, energized sound driven by RA’s urgent, animated delivery. The words pull out the struggle to question social systems, to build a community and empower youth. This is all part of a plan — as RA says, “I think I would feel remiss in my efforts if I wasn’t trying to present something substantial.”

Social critiques and personal accountability outside the gilded cage of major-label money? Sabzi points to current underground hip-hop as a new light. “It’s become like the new punk rock. I used to go to punk shows, and was really politically identified with what punk rock was about. That spirit is now developing among hip-hop.” The punk rock spirit comes through in Common Market’s lyrics, and also in their goals. “We want to draw connections between the music people listen to and the work they do, the political views they have,” says Sabzi.

The track “Every Last One of Us” is a boom-bap rallying cry for a community in the middle of a revolution. There are a few policy suggestions (“educate the kids with every dollar from the lottery”), but the main thrust is the call-and-response hook over a reverberating East Coast beat. “Who shall emerge from the dust? / Every last one of us!” RA Scion admits that he’s always been more connected to East Coast hip-hop. Although working with Sabzi has opened him up to different styles, he says, “I’ve just had this reluctance to embrace anything that didn’t sound like it came from New York.” Sabzi agrees, saying, “His delivery is very much like the style of someone who has mastered the style of 1993.” In one sense, he’s taking hip-hop back to a simpler time, before the bling, when it seemed like a real social force.

That doesn’t mean the sound is stale, or deliberately retro. One of the best tracks on the album, “Re-Fresh,” is probably the most laid-back, but the New York influence makes it a catalyst for action rather than apathy. It opens the album and draws the listener in with sunny horn samples and a light, soulful bass line. Tight shoulders drop back and minds clear — it’s the farthest thing from a chronic chill-out track. “At the time I was listening to a lot of Pete Rock — that boom-bap sound, based on breaks and strictly vinyl samples,” says Sabzi. “When I made the bulk of the instrumentals here I was definitely trying to chase a sound — specifically an East Coast thing.”
RA and Sabzi may not be shooting for a distinctly “Seattle” sound, but they are working toward a real Seattle community. Starting Mass Line is one way they hope to push for change.

“There’s so much power in hip-hop,” says RA, “and there’s such a tremendous opportunity for us to collectivize our efforts.” The four Mass line artists — RA, Sabzi, Geologic and Gabriel Teodoros of Abyssinian Creole — all work with youth in some capacity, and feel that the root of any change in hip-hop and broader culture begins with introducing new ways of thinking to middle school and high school kids.

“Seattle is a very small town in its mentality, but there’s potential,” says Sabzi. In this town, “kids are conditioned to look for their culture in mainstream media, and not in the street.” That’s what Mass Line and Common Market hope to change, by strengthening an environment that encourages the desire for home-grown culture. “When that thirst is very potent, and the conditions are around you where you can start it on your own,” says Sabzi, “people will do it.”

www.commonmarketmusic.com