So here we are, hours away from 2012.  What a year its been.  Below you will find a list of The Word TV’s favorite Hip Hop artist and groups that we have been following closely in 2011.  Make sure to keep your eyes on then in 2012

Eligh

Eligh, a self-described “genre-breaking, obsessive bass fiend” has continued to sustain himself as a salient figure for over fifteen years within the increasingly fickle and rapidly revolving world of hip-hop. The Los Angeles native has maintained his respected status by fearlessly veering from a the traditional trajectory which is often limited to beats and rhymes. Instead, Eligh has chosen to fabricate projects that incorporate the gritty sounds of the UK dub scene, the unorthodox styling of indie rock, the lush guitars and honesty of folk music, and the complexity of jazz, all without losing the listener in a musically esoteric composition.

2010 sees Eligh releasing his seventh official solo album on November 9. The album, Grey Crow, almost exclusively produced by Eligh, is a testament to his resilience against a drug addiction that nearly took his life five years ago. Grey Crow will be the first official solo release from Eligh since 2003’s Poltergeist. Even with the seven-year gap between solo projects Eligh continued to contribute to a plethora of projects within that time frame which, most notably include, Living Legends albums, “Classic” and “The Gathering”; The Grouch & Eligh, “No More Greener Grasses” and “Say G&E!”; Eligh & Jo Wilkinson, “On Sacred Ground: Mother & Son”, and many more.

Eligh’s musical interest was piqued as middle schooler, and along with some friends formed the now defunct, yet legendary Log Cabin crew. That same crew would ultimately end up producing many of Los Angeles’s prominent hip-hop figures, including future crewmates, Murs and Scarub. After a stint in the Bay Area, which lead to a serendipitous gathering of minds, ideas and styles that formed the now world famous Living Legends crew, Eligh returned home to Los Angeles. Since returning home, Eligh has tirelessly produced classic material, being the main contributor to what many would dub the trademark, “Living Legends sound”. Outside of being a studio musician and rapper, Eligh has relentlessly toured and has performed on stages across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia and continues to deliver a captivating live show with his trademark rapid fire delivery, whether as a solo act or with his Legendary brethren. As a producer, Eligh has provided music for notable acts such as Living Legends, Murs, Rass Kass, El-P, wrestler John Cena, and continues to be a sought after producer by his peers.

http://elighmusic.com

Pigeon Hole

Pigeon Hole makes rap anthems. Using a mash up of samples, synths and lo-fi recording techniques, the duo carve out a sound that is unique in modern hip hop. A sound that will see the new group become a mainstay amidst a world wide underground of trend hopping and disposable music.

Hailing from the left coasts’ talented Sweatshop Union, Pigeon Hole has established themselves both with their powerful live shows and their acclaimed debut record, Age Like Astronauts. The album brought listeners into their world – a world of small town nostalgia, unrequited love and disillusion with the modern state. Oh, and it’s fun. Released this past summer on Urbnet records, the songs have grabbed the attention of radio, press and fans alike.

Pigeon Hole is Colin McCue and Lee Napthine, aka Dusty and Marmalade. They met at school on Vancouver Island then began making music and doing shows together. By 2002 they joined Sweatshop Union – a super group built of up and coming Vancouver hip hop artists. It didn’t take long for word to spread. The band was signed to Battle Axe Records that year, and EMI the following year. Using this platform, Pigeon Hole logged close to five hundred shows across North America and built a resume that reads like this:…READ MORE

NEAK

If your father performed alongside Funk & Soul legends like James Brown & Sam Cooke, and your older sibling was deep into Hip-Hop production, chances are being a product of your environment meant only one thing…
Following the path his family set before him, Chicago-based Hip-Hop artist Neak draws vivid verbal portraits which find inspiration in the spirit of 1980’s Hip-Hop & U.S. culture. The “War on Drugs,” failing Reaganomics, and increasing violence within poverty stricken areas only strengthened the resolve of the then fledgling Hip-Hop movement, and it’s this concept of perseverance and reclamation that guides Neak’s artistry.

Since 2010, Neak has released two volumes in his ’84 mixtape series (8000 total downloads), both of which are hailed as “underground classic[s] with an electric/soulful feeling, and rooted in the core of hip-hop.” Currently Neak is fresh off a release of his newest project “Neak Rock,” a Pete Rock tribute album presented by DJBooth.Net, Fake Shore Drive, Refined Hype, Prefix Mag & YNotMyDream; which has currently reached over 50,000 downloads and counting! Recently fresh from releasing his #illRaps Series (featuring artists such as Slot-A, Pugs Atomz, Sincerely Yours, Mike Schpitz, etc.) He is now currently working on his next project entitled, “Love Greater // The Prequel,” with production from Slot-A, INTLMC, Rashid Hadee. This upcoming project will be presented/sponsored by DJBooth.Net, Earmilk, and Prefix Mag.

Naming Nas, Mos Def, Common, Lupe Fiasco, MF Doom, Elzhi, Jay-Z, etc. as his main lyrical influences, Neak preserves the aesthetics of real Hip-Hop; authenticity, originality, excellence all evoke a heartfelt emotion for listeners of his music. Neak is looking to tour in support of his “Love Greater // The Prequel” project; which is scheduled for release early 2012.”

www.neakundefined.com

INDIGO KIDS

Once again Vancouver emcees Axiom and Kapok join forces to bring you their signature sonic frequencies as the Indigo Kids. Another incarnation of the group includes the rich voice of Ashleigh Eymann, who has been a major aspect of the groups past projects and live shows.

Indigo Kids ‘Higher Forms’ will be available at www.jellyfishrecordings.com on November 1st, 2011. They expand the channels of their message, as this release is also accompanied by several music videos courtesy of Arrius Videography. The album features Panther and Claire Mortifee as well as Manitou out of France. All the cuts are handled by the skilled hands of DJ K-rec and the production is lead by Axiom with additional beats by Kapok and long time Jellyfish collaborators HeadSPace and AstroLogical.

Shad

Shad is certainly no stranger to critical praise, but he’s never let his presence in the spotlight affect his art. His fan base has graciously received both of his previous albums, but it was the Canadian release of his third LP, TSOL that piqued new levels of international interest, making evident a need for an extension to other audiences.

The son of Rwandan immigrants, Shadrach Kabango’s unique first-world experience informs an appreciation for his role as a musician. Born in Kenya and relocated to Canada shortly after, Shad relished his adolescence growing up outside of Toronto where he became fluent in French and English. It was during these formative years that he was initially exposed to hip-hop culture, awe-stricken by the music of true-school graduates like Common, Rass Kass and Outkast. This trans-cultural upbringing rendered a well-rounded young adult, educated on hardship and cognizant of the many opportunities he had been afforded.

D-Sisive

There was a time in Derek Christoff’s life when he didn’t have many words. It’s not that he didn’t have a story. But he was stuck on the start.

In the late 90s, the young MC known as D-Sisive came up quickly in the Toronto hip-hop community with a string of well-liked singles, but his burgeoning profile was stopped cold with the illness and death of both of his parents in a six-year span. Grief and depression stole his creativity and motivation for the better part of a decade, but in a moment fit for fable, his lyrical inspiration returned suddenly one day while singing along to the Beach Boys on the radio. It was the new start D-Sisive’s story needed. And he hasn’t stopped since.

2008′s The Book EP was nominated for a Juno and its single “Nobody With A Notepad” won the SOCAN ECHO Songwriting Prize. 2009′s Let the Children Die was longlisted for that year’s Polaris Music Prize (and would later get an elaborate send-off with a full-band live funeral after legal issues forced it out of production). The same year, he released Jonestown as a free download. Less than a year later, we got Vaudeville, and a year after that, the Jonestown sequel, Jonestown 2: Jimmy Go Bye Bye, back and forth between his story and others’. Along the way were a series of Hijacked singles, with D-Sisive rapping his own words over the music of such songs as Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” and Sigur Ros’ “Festival,” an homage to just some of his comprehensive influences and tastes…READ MORE

Damu The Fudgemunk

“Very refreshing to hear a young cat with that much soul. Exactly what’s been
missing from the game … soul.” Marley Marl

Born and raised in Washington D.C., Damu is the son of two classically trained musicians; his mother was a pianist and his father was a drummer. Yet, he wasn’t quick to tell them about his affinity towards music.  “When I got to junior high school that’s when I knew I wanted to do music,” Damu says in his calm voice. “Even then I kept it a secret. Your parents are always trying to claim what you get from them. You get their eyes, their nose, etc.”  Initially, he started MCing but chances are an introverted MC isn’t going to be heard. Realizing that his passion laid behind the beat, Damu quickly started studying and absorbing every song he could hear—sample by sample and drum pattern by drum pattern.

“Once I understood how hip-hop worked I started doing graffiti, buying records and of course I wanted to DJ,” says Damu, who now owns around 10,000 records. “Some of my [production] influences were K-Def, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, RZA, Erick Sermon—that was the core music I was listening to in 1998. From a sample standpoint, I was into Kool & The Gang, James Brown, Frank Zappa, Bob James…the list goes on.”…READ MORE

Jellyfish Brigade

Jellyfish Brigade is the result of a collaboration that started in the fall of 2009, unknown to ½ of the duo. As a recent transplant to Portland, OR, Jeffrey Acciaioli (aka The Great Mundane) found a place to lay his head in the home of a talented MC, Lucas Dix (Hives Inquiry Squad). While Jeffrey spent his days at work, Lucas found unfinished instrumental compositions on Jeffrey’s computer and began to reinvent them by adding his lyrical finesse. Jeffrey’s music inspired Lucas to stray from preconceived styles of hip-hop and instead focus on expanding his vocal capabilities and songwriting styles. Jeffrey eventually realized that Lucas was breathing new life into compositions that had long been ignored, and thus, Jellyfish Brigade was born.

As the project continues to unfold, Jellyfish Brigade exposes a mythology of love, adventure, creation, sorrow and triumph. They reveal an honest reflection of the perfections and struggles encountered daily. Jeffrey Acciaioli’s emotive instrumentals swirl around Lucas Dix’s delivery, weaving their narratives into a soundtrack for self-discovery and preserving the time-honored art of storytelling.

This is a tale of lost and found and lost and so on. This is a legend about creation, friendships and letting go… Discovering the delicate beauty in everyday mistakes, escaping the drive of guilt, and rattling your weaknesses by fulfilling your passions. This is an album that touches the souls of the baton twirlers, the adventurers, the teachers, the students, the conjurers of brilliance, the blissfully clueless, the romantics, the silent listeners, the revolutionaries, and the shine chasers.

http://www.jellyfishbrigade.com
http://www.facebook.com/jellyfishbrigade

EVIL EBENEZER

Evil Ebenezer-The Seductive Power of Evil

Hailed as “the best new voice in Canadian rap” (Exclaim Magazine), Evil Ebenezer has become the voice of a generation that doesn’t want to grow up, get a job and give up their childhood dreams. With a mastery of cadence, he captures the neurotic soul of our times with eccentric dysfunction, humour and epic darkness all told with his trademark butter smooth delivery. This West Coast legend, has shared stages with the likes of the mighty Souls of Mischief, Ra the Rugged Man, Planet Asia, Devin the Dude, Tech Nine and the Beatnuts. Spending his time touring North America he met up with a couple deviants from Vancouver and created something truly hideous. Along with cult sensation Snak the Ripper and Young Sin he formed the super group Brass Tackz. The group joined the Warped Tour 2010 to play for crowds of 20,000 screaming fans. In the interim, our twisted hero has created his solo masterpiece, Evil Eye, and is once more taking to the road to “shatter the expectations of hip hop fans” (Spin) with his, “Pulp Fiction like adrenaline shot to the heart performances” (Urb) converting strangers to obsessed fans. This is the Evil your parents warned you about.

http://www.evilebenezer.com

Vokab Kompany

San Diego band Vokab Kompany (San Diego Music Award “Best Hip Hop” act 2011) began gaining national notoriety based on the success of their song “So Bright” and it’s appearance in international car company KIA with their 2010 Summer Sales Event Commercial and on The Today Show with Al Roker. The success continued into 2011 with another national commercial, collaborating on the single “Burn it Down” with fellow band mate; saxophonist, Jesse Malloy, and his production duo ‘Crush Effect’. . Their collaborations with artists such as; Lincoln Parish (Cage The Elephant), Killer Priest (Wu Tang), The Grouch and Luckyiam (Living Legends), APlus (Hieroglyphics), Main Flow (Mood), Lateef the Truthspeaker, Dj Vadim, Random Rab, Jboogie, Mutaytor, Souleye, RadioActive (Spearhead) and Signal Path have also helped push this young band into the national spotlight.
Vokab Kompany is an electronic, soul influenced hip-hop band from San Diego. Their 7 piece band (keyboard / synthesizer, drums, bass, guitar and violin accompanies the two lead singers/MC’s Rob Hurt and Burkey Baby. You’ll also often finding them incorporating other unique performers such as stilt walkers, burlesque dancers, clowns, hoola- hoopers guest musicians and belly dancers.

http://www.vokabkompany.com
http://vokabkompany.bandcamp.com/

Slakah the Beatchild

What do you get when you mix the flavor of Raphael Saadiq with the musical genius of J-dilla, then
throw it in a pot and season it with a little Stevie Wonder & Quincy Jones? A glimps into the soulful
fresh style & sounds of Slakah the Beatchild. The rest cannot be described in words, only through sound.

Raised in the small city of Sarnia, Ontario, Slakah the Beatchild relied on a modest collection of vinyl
handed down to him by his parents to satisfy and fuel his musical curiosity. At the age of 10 his mother
was tired of little Slakah banging on her pots and pans as drums & enrolled him drum lessons
and later piano & vocal. This laid a strong foundation for his ability to understand music theory.
After several years of sleepless nights in the studio mastering his craft, he started to become know first
in Toronto and shortly after in Europe.

His first international release entitled Soul Movement vol. 1 on BBE records showcases Slakahs skills
as a producer, artists & writer. The project features tracks with music companions such as Divine Brown,
Drake, Shad.k, Ayah & more. Soul Movement vol.1 has quickly won the praise and respect of a wide
variety of music lovers around the world, leaving them in high anticipation for more.