Fellow blogger Travis Hay, of Ear Candy fame, first piqued my interested in Seattle hip-hop group They Live! We were standing in the beer garden at this year's Capitol Hill Block Party, comparing notes on who we planned to check out. And Trav mentioned that the key players in They Live!, including Stranger hip-hop columnist Larry Mizell, were from local rap group Can-U, a group I liked. According to Trav, yes, they're named after the Roddy Piper movie, and there's also some weird conceptual thing involving "dro bots," which are only visible after you smoke enough "dro" or something. And Travis was even planning on checking them out on the Neumo's stage in lieu of the first night's headliner, the Jesus freakin' Lizard on the main stage.

Now that last part is just crazy talk, and I couldn't follow suit. But I did download They Live's debut album "The Dro Bots Saga" on iTunes, which is pretty tight. (Nice use of a Gary Numan sample, fellas.) And I made a point of checking them out when they dropped in on Hell's Kitchen last Friday, with a little help from our local boys, Revengers. Check my Art on the Ave post for a clip of them. Or click the clip below for a snippet of They Live at the Kitchen. But you might not want to open at work. In case you haven't heard, rappers like to yell and cuss and stuff.

Hmmm. Now what could make that Fall Out Boy tour that's headed to WaMu Theater on April 10 more appealing? What could make all those 14-year-old girls in the audience screech even louder?

Apparently, 50 Cent, who has joined the emo-pop band's Believers Never Die Part Deux tour, Universal Music announced today.

That bears repeating. 50 Cent. Fallout Boy. Together. For some reason. You know, it's about time someone catered to the demographic that both thinks Pete Wentz when it's not bustin' a cap in a @#%@%#@@#.

But before you get all excited, 50 Cent is only playing five tour stops, only one of which (Dallas) has been officially announced. FOB will apparently be letting the cat out of the bag out on this site.

Pop publicity firm Biz 3 just announced tour dates for British hip-hop phenom Lady Sovereign, and they include a May 21 stop at the soon-to-be-re-opened Crocodile Cafe. I'm kind of underwhelmed by her Cure-sampling new single "So Human" (click the YouTube video). But the mash-up of cuts from next month's "Jigsaw" release is pretty tight, and can't wait to see her do the new stuff live. Anyway, great warm-up for Sasquatch. And feel free to listen to Lady Sov, aka Louise Harman, from my last interview with her here.

Public Enemy’s Chuck D spoke to a group of University of Puget Sound students earlier tonight at the school's Schneebeck Concert Hall.
ERNEST JASMIN

Public Enemy’s Chuck D just wrapped up his lecture on Rap, Race, Reality and Technology at the University of Puget Sound’s Schneebeck Concert Hall, a meandering talk that sometimes had the feel of a two-hour freestyle with all the tangents that the iconic rapper packed into it. During an informal, non sequitur filled two hours, he’d bounce from Barack Obama to the Notorious B.I.G.; from politics to the sad state of American hip-hop; the importance of world travel to a history of how saggy jeans went from prison yards to a mass marketed fashion trend.

The transitions may have been jarring at times, but the underlying message he delivered to a few a few hundred college students was pretty clear: Take advantage of educational opportunity, be true to yourself and don’t let your intellect be dulled by “weapons of mass distraction.” Click the "more" button to read a few quotes I managed to jot down for those who missed it.

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In December, I reported that Broadway Center had plans to host a local hip-hop gala in June. But those plans could be in jeopardy since the center is still looking for a partner to take on half the production cost.

Click the more button to read the letter that was sent out to event planners. If you've got some extra cash sitting around and always wanted to get into the rap promotion game, maybe you'll give ol' Luke a call.

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Public Enemy's Chuck D will be the main attraction Wednesday (Feb. 4) at the University of Puget Sound's Schneebeck Concert Hall. And I caught up with the hip-hop legend for a story running in our SoundLife section Tuesday. But before that hits your doorstep, here are a few audio clips from my chat with Public Enemy No. 1.

Pt. 1: Barack Obama

Pt. 2: "Kanye West is the Elton John of hip-hop”

Pt. 3: Had to ask him about Flavor Flaaaaaaaaaaav!

Just got done interviewing Chuck D for a preview of his appearance next week at UPS. And among the many topics we covered were Crew Grrl Order, a group on his Slamjamz label, and the disparity between male and female success in hip-hop. While lots of folks have penned songs about Barack Obama, C.G.O. pays musical tribute to Michelle with "First Lady." Check it out here.

And it goes without saying that you should check back for clips from the interview in the next few days. Cheers!

Chuck D -- the man who lent his booming baritone to such Public Enemy hits as "Fight the Power," "Welcome to the Terrordome" and "Bring the Noise" (where I got the name for this blog, actually) -- is coming to the University of Puget Sound. He's been booked to appear at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 at Schneebeck Concert Hall for Black History Month, UPS announced today. It's a speaking engagement, not a rap performance; and maybe he'll touch on his more recent careers stints as a political pundit, Air America radio host and head honcho of his own record label, Slamjamz Recordings. Tickets are $10 and are only available through the university; 253-879-3419 for details.
WALTER LEAPHART

Travis McCoy (shown here at the Tacoma Dome in 2007) will be at KeyArena with his Gym Class Heroes band mates on Sunday (Jan. 25). Good money say’s “Cupid’s Chokehold” will be on the set list. But I wouldn’t bet on Travis’s recent ex, Katy Perry, being on the tour bus.
ERNEST JASMIN

Gym Class Heroes will be at KeyArena Sunday night with Lil Wayne’s I Am Music tour. And recently I hooked up with Matt McGinley, the band's drummer and co-founder, for some quick phone time. Click on the links to hear some of what we talked about and a few clips from the band’s new album, “The Quilt.”

Part 1: Being cool with never fitting in

Part 2: Meeting Travis and bonding over Tool and KRS-One

Part 3: Recording "The Quilt" with their homie, Patrick Stump

And a few new cuts you may hear in concert ...

Cookie Jar

Blinded by the Sun

Drnk Txt Romeo

A few months ago, you might have read my grumbling about Lil Wayne being overrated. But I gotta admit, the guy's grown on me these last few months. I've even had "Dr. Carter," "Phone Home" and "La La" from his latest album, "Tha Carter III," in super heavy rotation on my iPod this week. And now we all have another chance to check him out live again, on Jan. 25 at KeyArena. And this time let's hope his plane/tour bus shows up hours before the concert, and not after it kicks off, like at this year's Summer Jam. For realz!

On the 25th, Weezy will have support from the king of the Auto-Tune effect, T-Pain, Gym Class Heroes and Keri Hilson. Tickets are set for $39.75 to $125.75, with a special pre-sale for KUBE 93 click members starting at on Friday (Dec. 26) before they become available to the general public, at 10 a.m. Saturday. Find more important info here.

The other day, I posted an earlier version of my story on the Tacoma Police Department and Pantages Theater getting sued over that E-40 concert in today's paper. And it didn't have this info from South Sound about the Tacoma Hip-Hop Coalition and Broadway Center's hip-hop outreach forums. Thought a few of you might be interested:

Local hip-hop fans picketed Broadway Center in the immediate aftermath of the E-40 show being called off, saying they were unfairly profiled and stereotyped by police and local venue owners.

In response, Broadway Center has hosted a series of hip-hop outreach forums, seeking ideas on how to best include hip-hop at their venues and alleviate safety concerns.

“They have been among the most positive and enthusiastic community dialogues that we have had,” Fischer said. “The very diverse group of people that we’re working with is really excited about where we’re going and how we’re working with them. And it’s been just incredibly positive.”

Those meetings lead to the Tacoma Hip-Hop Coalition, an independent group of local hip-hop performers, entrepreneurs and fans. The group has been organizing a local hip-hop showcase that is scheduled to take place at Broadway Center next June, Fischer said.

“We’re really letting this coalition of people who have gathered follow their own enthusiasm,” Fischer said. “And this is the direction they want to go. And so we’re trying to bring our skills and abilities forward to support them in doing that.”

“Hopefully this will be a groundbreaking event,” Tacoma Hip-Hop Coalition spokeswoman Tiffany Sanders said.

The Coalition’s next meeting will be held at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts, 1504 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; 253-306-6615 for more details.

Remember that controversial E-40 concert that got called off at the Pantages Theater back in March, and the picketing that followed? Well, on Thursday a lawsuit will be filed on behalf of Rottweiler Records' Kyle Nephew and Tracy Miller, the couple behind said show, seeking an unspecified damages from the Pantages and the Tacoma Police Department, according to the couple's lawyer, Thaddeus Martin.

In case you’re not up to speed, Nephew and Miller booked popular rapper E-40 to headline the Pantages in March. The couple said they paid for extra security for the event, hiring 19 off-duty police officers and 25 security guards, a force they felt excessive for an even that would have drawn about 1,000 fans. But Broadway Center pulled the plug just days before the show would have taken place anyway, citing Tacoma police concerns about safety and possible gang-related imagery in ads and on performers' MySpace pages.

Miller said she and her husband lost around $40,000 altogether, and the fiasco has left them in financial shambles.

“Kyle and I have been pretty much been ruined and haven’t done a show,” Miller said today. “We couldn’t get a venue (for E-40.) My credit is just ruined. We’re probably filing for bankruptcy. We’re pretty much barely hangin’ onto a roof over our heads.”

Martin supplied the News Tribune with a copy of the lawsuit he planned to file in Washington Superior Court, which seeks unspecified damages for “emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, pain and suffering, personal indignity, embarrassment, fear, anxiety and anguish, economic loss, damage to career and other general and special damages which will be proven at the time of trial.”

A claim asking for $400,000 in damages was filed on the couple's behalf on Aug. 18, according to the City Clerk's office.

Broadway Center has taken steps to warm up to the local hip-hop community since the March incident and subsequent protests, beginning with a series of hip-hop summits aimed at alleviating safety concerns and figuring out the best way to include hip-hop at their venues.

The Tacoma Hip-Hop Coalition came out of those meetings. The group is looking for performers and financial backers for a local hip-hop gala it plans to host at Broadway Center in 2009.

“Hopefully this will be a groundbreaking event,” group spokeswoman Tiffany Sanders said.
The group’s next meeting starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Dash Center for the Arts, 1504 Martin Luther King Jr. Way; 253-306-6615 for more details.

I've put in calls to the city attorney's office and also plan to follow up with Broadway Center. I'll post more details as I learn 'em.