Righteous Movement

Righteous Movement, winner of Sacramento State's first Battle of the Bands, will perform a free show on campus today at noon in Serna Plaza.

Natives of Sacramento, the band said it hopes to bring a whole spectrum of hip-hop to the current state of hip-hop culture. Influenced by artists such as Nas, Rakim, De-La-Soul and 2Pac, the group said it feels its versatility enables the members to conquer a variety of styles found in both old-school and modern-day hip-hop culture.

Righteous Movement MC and Sac State journalism major Tais said that for more than four years in the music business, the group has been spreading its message of progression toward bettering yourself.

The name Righteous Movement might make the groups music appear to religious hip-hop, but the progression covers more than that. It's progression in all facets of life, Tais said.

The movement all started when Tais met vocalist S.O.L. in an American River College audio class. Theek, also a vocalist for the group, was added to the equation when he met Tais at work.

Tofu, known for his DJ and production skills was always hanging around with the artists, so officially adding him to the group just made sense. Plus, the addition of Skurge, who has networked with numerous local artists including Turf Talk and Mistah FAB, gave the group a hood presence of "grimy b-boy battle rap."

Fresh off the "Vans Warped Tour," shows have been keeping the group busy lately as it prepares for its performance at Sac State.

Sac State accounting major Brent David said "the battle of the bands showing had lots of energy and their confidence made you believe in their music."

"The college tours helped us reach that audience looking for that new type of music," Tais said.

In addition, performing with respected artists KRS-One and Little Brother at Harlow's in Sacramento was a milestone for the group, Tais said.

Collaborating with local artists is nothing new to the group; they have worked with local artists Zion I, Doey Rock, Bueno and Bucho, to name a few.

Derek Taylor, a music major from San Francisco State said, "The Righteous Movement brings a raw and organic presentation to hip-hop with its party rockin', politically talkin' and up rockin'."

"The city respects us," S.O.L. said.

Having the right blend of not too back pack and not too thug brought the group this far, Tais said. The group likes the energy and party music vibe attached to the recent Hyphy Movement and said good music is good music no matter the genre attached to it.

Nominated for Best Local Hip-Hop Artist in the 16th annual SAMMIES awards was an accomplishment even though they didn't come home with the win.

"It was a learning experience and a step in the right direction," S.O.L. said.

Righteous Movement's current release, "While You Wait," features the hit single "Uprock," which is the surefire joint to get any party jumping. With production by in-house producer Tofu along with local up-and-comers J-Synth, Veterano and DJ Epic, the beats behind the tracks are definitely on point.

In the process of finishing its next release, "CP Time," the group said the upcoming single "Bumper to Bumper" will be sure to turn some heads.

Martin Wood can be reached at mwood@statehornet.com

Check back with statehornet.com for video clips from the concert.
- CSUS State Hornet

You've probably never heard of Righteous Movement. Unless you’re a drum-and-bass devotee, it’s likely you don’t know about Underground Movement Sounds (UMS), either.

That’s all going to change. UMS, a collective of local musicians, is growing, and quickly at that. Built around drum-and-bass DJs Slim and Tofu, UMS started focusing more on hip-hop in 1999. Righteous Movement got together in earnest about a year ago, combining Slim and Tofu with MCs Tais, S.O.L., Theek and Skurge. If that’s not enough bodies for you, there are plenty of extra names. Skurge’s alter egos include P.R.O.F.I.T. and Lenny Lawless, while Slim and Tofu morph into Jubae and Ouch! Add in producer Rick Reed and consider that Tais does beats as well, and that’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen.

The music doesn’t suffer, however. Righteous Movement is versatile without sacrificing consistency. The drum-and-bass influence is evident; with deep bass and the breakbeats spaced out, most tracks offer a sound that’s both heavy and spare. That’s a solid foundation for the group’s four MCs, who share the mic easily, with a slight southern drawl suiting both P.R.O.F.I.T.’s laid-back pontifications and Skurge’s breezy braggadocio. Both voices mix seamlessly with S.O.L.’s East Coast swagger or Tais’ articulate wordplay.

Musically and lyrically, Righteous Movement shares in George Clinton’s famous maxim about freeing both your ass and your mind. They prove you can stress positivity and drop intelligent lyrics while avoiding the superior, overly intellectualized tone assumed by too many independent MCs. Whether on a gritty floor-shaker, such as “Heavy Rotation,” or the down-tempo jazz of “Magnificent,” the rhythms are supple and the melodies are sugar-sweet.

So, the group is ready musically; now it only needs to be heard. That’s a position, Skurge noted, that’s not at all unique in the capital city. “There’s so much talent out here, and it’s virtually unknown,” he said. “There’s a lot going on here that’s just waiting to erupt.” Skurge described Sacramento as a potential “next Seattle”--making it the millionth city to earn that dubious post-grunge moniker.

There’s a paradox to always being next, however, and Righteous Movement is painfully aware of it. Sacramento can nurture acts as diverse as Cake, Out Hud or Die Trying. How many of those acts can afford to stay here, though? The Quannum clique, started by Sacramento native Gift of the Gab and DJ Shadow (then a University of California, Davis, student), had to move to the Bay Area to make things happen. “We’ve been thinking about moving and taking what we have to L.A. or San Francisco or even New York,” Skurge confessed. “The thing is, I don’t want to leave and forget about Sacramento.”

None of the group’s members wants to leave their hometown, however, and they all insist there’s a vibrant scene here. Tais has no problem with paying dues but says local hip-hop acts have to face additional obstacles. “The cops try to lock it down. They try and keep it pretty here. Venues are hard to find, especially when you’re new to the scene; people are kind of standoffish. That’s what we’re experiencing now.” When it comes to hip-hop, Skurge offered, “they automatically assume there’s going to be problems.”

Still, the group is determined to succeed here. The UMS label continues to diversify, giving home to members old (MC Da Spokesperson, who named UMS) and new (disarming soul chanteuse Laura). Skurge compares the collective to the early days of Wu-Tang. And in keeping with that comparison, UMS is set to unleash a slew of releases, from a label compilation to a Righteous Movement full-length. The group hopes this weekend’s hip-hop showcase will kick open a few doors and wants it known that its doors are already open. “We’re constantly looking for new talent,” Skurge explained. “Anyone that’s doing anything positive, we’re down to work with them. Whether it be punk, rock, hip-hop--any genre. We wanna start repping local artists.”

- Sacramento News & Review

Wednesday, Sept. 19

HIP-HOP SHOW

RIGHTEOUS MOVEMENT

The local hip-hop group Righteous Movement performs at a free lunchtime concert. Noon. Serna Plaza, Sacramento State, 6000 J St. Free. (916) 278-6997 - Sacramento Bee

ACLU lawyers take note: freedom made its biannual comeback to Yolo County this past Saturday, June 2. It was KDVS’s fifth edition of “Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom,” hosting 16 musical artists in the backyard of Plainfield Station, a biker bar out near Davis.


Peel out, Bananas. All photos by Michael Harkin.

Despite the weird mix that panned all the vocals to the PA on the right, Sacramento garage-rock veterans the Bananas got even the most copiously sunscreened attendees out of the midday shade of the picnic table area, especially with the closing “Nautical Theme,” the kind of oceanographic, whistle-punctuated nugget that lends credence to their respected stature among the denim-clad garage dedicates.


All clear: Battleship.

Due to a slightly late arrival, Battleship had a somewhat truncated set, but the Oakland band showed they could shout “hit and sunk” without the dark ambiance of a nightclub: their boss brutality was as much of a beat-down as the Central Valley heat that day. Long may they float!


Your car is waiting: Valet.

Valet made the trip down from Portland, Ore., producing a droney mood with her vocals and heavily delayed guitar that called to mind kraut-minded shoegaze, especially Pygmalion-era Slowdive, and the drowsy, bleary feeling of opening your eyes after an afternoon nap -- as the Damned would say, “Neat neat neat."

Davis’s the Standard Tribesmen, including two dudes from the Sores, played jittery mutant surf-punk and exemplified the age-old American tradition of multitasking: the vocalist employed all available limbs, playing guitar while tapping out rhythm on a bass drum and hi-hat.


Psyched about Righteous Movement.

Hip-hop group Righteous Movement likewise represented the local region with their life-affirming verse and exemplary backing band. The instrumental breaks were as tight as what they spun in their collective rhymes.


There are bubbles - and spots - in my Lemonade.

Lemonade finished off the night: it took a few minutes for the crowd to get its collective head around their echo-fied groove, but as the set went on the spacey noodling and yelping gave way to infectious, danceable beats that got a strong response.

Despite not boasting names as big as some KDVS have hosted before (Erase Errata, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Growing), the festival was stellar, and the entire 10 hours ran beautifully. The sun was out, the sound was mostly well-engineered, and a 10-minute wait or a quick 180-degree turn to the other stage was all that separated you from the next performance.

The “Operation” will be returning sometime this fall, likely September or October. For more on what’s up in and around Davis, check out KDVS and their accompanying record label, KDVS Recordings.
- The San Francisco Bay Guardian's Misuc Blog

"Sunday Single" gets down to one of the best hip-hop songs that's come this way. It's a track called "What's a Man" by the local rap group Righteous Movement. The instrumental loop and beat thump with a warm but mournful feel, while the rappers muse on thoughts of masculinity. Think of it as rap's answer to "Real Men" by Joe Jackson. To hear the song, go to www.SacTicket.com/ sundaysingle.

RIGHTEOUS MOVEMENT

Song: "What's a Man"


Style: Conscious hip-hop with an edge

Members: Tais, Pheek, Skurge, S.O.L., DJ Tofu

Influences: "You've got to start with the foundations," says Tais. "KRS-One, Rakim's a heavy one for us, De La Soul. But we're even influenced by the new school crews like Little Brother. Our sound, it's a little bit of old and new school. A lot of people think hip-hop is dead, but there's cats like us that are still doing it and staying true to the elements."

Story behind the song: "We got the beat and it has so much emotion to it," says Tais. "During that time I was just thinking about all the elements that society deems about being a man. There's positive men out in the world and don't get proper representation - 'You can't cook, you're unemotional, you're dogs.' On this one everyone dug deep to pull this one out."

On the Web: www.therighteous movement.com

- Sacramento Bee

This article was published on 07.10.08.

No seriously, what time is it? Damn, this story is late. No, I mean, it’s really, really late. The interview with Righteous Movement took place months ago—in the winter. And here it is, just in time for summer. Sorry.

But hopefully, though, if anyone understands the predicament, it’s the guys from Righteous Movement, who are set to release their new album Colored People Time, if not soon, then pretty soon. CP Time, they say, addresses lateness and all the other aspects of time: history, the present, the future and pretty much everything in between.

Sitting with Tais in his Midtown apartment, along with DJ Tofu de La Moore and fellow emcee Skurge, it’s hard not to notice a void. The group’s two other emcees, S.O.L. and Theek, are missing. Well, not missing, but they’re, uh, late.

Skurge is mellow, especially when compared to his dynamic stage persona. Tofu and Tais, on the other hand, are amped up and ready to talk. Tais is thoughtful, careful as he explains the reasoning behind their controversial album title.

“We were supposed to come out with this album a year ago—but we didn’t want to rush it, so we kept pushing it back,” he says. Righteous Movement fans have been waiting for a full-length album since last year’s jaw-dropping teaser LP While You Wait, a stunning set of songs that recalls the frenetic energy of Organized Konfusion and street knowledge of KRS-One. “Our goal is good music, and when you have five cats trying to agree on good music, it takes longer.”

You see, people, quality takes time.

But Colored People Time, no matter how it might sound, isn’t just about the literal stereotype of colored folks always being late.

Skurge—who, by the way, could easily double as The Cosby Show’s Theo Huxtable in his post-“jammin’ on the one” days—seems to loosen up as the interview progresses. And he’s glad to expand on the real concept behind the new album.

“It’s a two-sided coin … and I wanted to flip it; we feel like it’s time for our people to raise ourselves up,” he says. “It’s our time to start moving toward a better life. A lot of the stuff you can never forget, but at the same time, you have to move forward—”

He’s interrupted by DJ Tofu.

“We should call our record label Reparations,” he says, laughing, then continuing in his best female secretary voice: “Reparations Records, how can I help you?”

S.O.L. and Theek wander in about 45 minutes late. Theek—self-described as “Bill Cosby and a little bit Sidney Portier”—wears a black rag around his neck, an ironed T-shirt and a clean pair of black-and-white Vans. S.O.L., as usual, has on a pair of Timberlands. Not that shoes have anything to do with music, but there’s an undeniable vibe, style and individuality to each member that sets Righteous Movement apart from other hip-hop groups. They’re guys you’d want to hang around with after the show.

Despite his tardiness, Theek jumps right into the conversation, talking about last year’s Vans Warped Tour where Righteous Movement was invited to perform on one of the stages. He said as they walked through the parking lot full of different kinds of music fans, he remembers one kid in particular who stopped to talk. “I hate rap,” he said, “but you guys were great.”

Theek added: “You have to take pride in that.”

When they’re all sitting around a table, you realize that these days, it’s hard to find a hip-hop group with all black members. The days of the Fat Boys and Run-D.M.C. are gone. The rap demographic has changed, and Eminem is listed as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, emcee of all time. Like rock ’n’ roll before it, traditionally, black hip-hop has taken over white suburbia, and in turn, white suburbia has taken over hip-hop. To see an all-black group that attracts a broad fan base is, well, comforting.

“It’s a plus,” says Tais. “I think that people get the perception that all black people are the same, but [with Righteous Movement], you see there’s diversity inside our group.”

It certainly is a good time for hip-hop.

But on the flip side, time hasn’t always been on hip-hop’s good side. That is, it’s hard to stay relevant in such a young man’s game—it’s a brutal truth, and something the members of Righteous Movement have thought long and hard about. After all, they’re not in their teens anymore.

“As much as you’d like to, you’ll never get another Illmatic out of Nas,” says S.O.L., whose own rhyme style is varied and interesting, and at times can be oddly reminiscent of the Queensbridge, N.Y. emcee. “People grow and experience—and not always how you want. I can never see De La Soul falling off. Or I can never see Common falling off … or especially that nigga Black Thought falling off. But some artists change and grow.”

For such a self-aware, thoughtful and calculating group of artists who study hip-hop like it’s an ancient text (sometimes even to a point of tedium), it’s hard to imagine that Righteous Movement will fall into the ugly mouth of time and be swallowed whole like some of their less savvy predecessors (Onyx? Da Bush Babees?).

“We are changing the studio that we are recording out of. We noticed a difference between our old material—the richness and the quality of it; the new recording studio didn’t have the same fullness. We don’t know whether it’s a technological thing or whether it’s just plain old soul and spirit, but we’ve been trying to lay some stuff down at the new spot and it just don’t—”

Skurge pauses, trying to find the proper words to complete his thought. “It’s like a Jheri curl that don’t quite work.”

Ah yes, the Jheri curl metaphor. Perfect.

Their meticulousness carries over into the studio, of course, and from the looks of it, Colored People Time is going to be nothing less than a masterpiece.

“We put a lot of thought into our hooks … because we got a lot of flak when we told people what the album title was going to be. They were like, ‘You’re setting black people back 100 years!’” says Skurge.

Theek adds, “When you’re four black emcees and you name your album Colored People Time, you really have no room for error. We’ll be held accountable.”

People need to loosen up a little. Judging from the early signs, Colored People Time will be intelligently done; it’ll address issues, be politically relevant, musically profound, lively, party-rocking and maybe even, you know, a little late.

- Sacramento News & Review