Spaceman

...and ineffable Spaceman. You better know about my dude Space—he's a beast with swag to go, and a damn energetic performer. Surely you've heard this Sportn' Lifer rock the anthemic "Fly Den a Mufucka," and you might have even done the dance that goes with it. Space hooked my ears when he spit, "You'll get burned more than Get Rich or Die Tryin'" on Fatal Lucciauno's fucking brilliant The Only Forgotten Son LP.

- By Larry Mizell, The Stranger

I’m sure I’ve used this space to enthuse about my man Space before, but after seeing him burn down The Corner at the Rendezvous a couple of weeks ago, I’ve got to pump the level of my advocacy up to a fever pitch. In English: Spaceman murdered shit. The star quality he brags so well about is more apparent than ever—and, better still, instead of letting his considerable swag do all the talking, he brings dope music to the show (sounds like he’s going real hard in the studio right now) and rocks a crowd with authority, confidently roving stage and crowd like the ravenous young gun he is. Hungry-as-hell and humble-for-real are a rare combo and a big up to rappers that aren’t assholes! - By Megan Selig, Larry Mizell, Line Out Blog

Much as I hate to give any ink to the company that drains my scrill every month, please pay your damn Comcast bill just so you can get your blog-scouring game proper—otherwise you'll miss out on the new debut single from Sportn' Life Records' Spaceman, "This Is That Fire," produced by none other than Jake One. Space is headlining his first show this Friday, February 13, going down at Chop Suey with JFK, Scribes (it's his 21st birthday!), Sol (it's the CD release for his very promising debut album, The Ride), BYC breaking, and BeanOne on the decks. Do the right thing. - By Larry Mizell, The Stranger

Anyone who made it out to Chop Suey this past Friday night got a chance to see Seattle's Spaceman put on an impressive display of MC showmanship. From the moment I walked in the door, admittedly late, I was captivated by Spaceman's stage presence as I could tell he knows exactly what it means to be an MC. The Sportn' Life Records artist didn't pause for even a moment and kept hitting the crowd with track after track of pure firebrand hip-hop.
Speaking of fire, here's a new Spaceman track called, "This is That Fire," released last week. The production was done by one of the city's best beat-makers, Jake One, and you get a good feel for where Space is at artistically on this song. Jake did a good job of giving Space a hood beat with an eery Friday the 13th feel to it, so it was good to actually see Spaceman perform the track on Friday the 13th. If you've yet to hear "This is That Fire," check it out below.
- By, Jonathan Cunningham - Seattle Weekly

2. Spaceman
The eccentric, proclaimed sex symbol of Sportn’ Life records may have all the skills necessary to become the first Seattle MC since Sir Mix-A-Lot to hit the mainstream. Working on a mixtape that is expected to drop soon, Spaceman may rock one of the livest solo sets Seattle has to offer, turning any venue into the wildest club around, throwing himself into the crowd and starting a mosh pit, not to mention a charming personality on stage that makes all the ladies hit the high notes. Spaceman has also been introduced to the national music scene, joining GMK and J. Pinder on Jake One’s White Van Music track “Big Homie Style”
- JGreene

The young guy has arrived...finally. It is now time for the world to be introduced to Spaceman. Today Spaceman released his "Greetings Earthlings The Mixtape". Personally, I have been waiting on this one for waaaaaayyyy too long. First saw Space a few years back as a hype man for D.Black and thought to myself..."I kinda like this cat". Space has slowly worked his way up the ranks at SnL, and now his time has come. You can pick it up at his blog or at the link below. Don't forget to hit up the dude on twitter and let him know what you think (@Spac3man). I'm glad to finally see him gettin his shine, he is a real personable dude. I brought back some of the previous videos for y'all to peep as well.

The first is a little viral freestyle put out by the SnL crew...shout out to DeVon, Jen, D.Black, Fatal, and the whole crew.
- Benny

I'm an unabashed Spaceman fan. Besides being one of the top live performers in the city in any genre, he's also one of the most ferociously gifted MCs, both in terms of his writing and his delivery--a rare combo. So when I saw the title of his new mixtape, Greetings Earthlings, I felt sorta disappointed. (You can download it for free here.) I don't give a damn how interstellar your name is, the last thing the local hip-hop scene needs right now is another sky-scanning astronomer freaked on the far-outness of the cosmos. Bo-ring.

But don't judge a mixtape by its title, kids, 'cause save for a skit gently lampooning the wannabe astronauts among us by Sabzi (?), Spaceman sticks with what makes him such a compelling figure (see above). He treats language with an endless fascination, and, as a result, drops some inventive lines. Like this: "Seattle heroin flow/I inject it with the Space Needle"; "I'm built for any beat/You can ask my architect"; and, my personal favorite, because I'm from them thar parts, "I'm like Tampa Bay/ 'cause I've got a lot of Bucs." And if you think it's all clever braggin' raps, try "SXSW CMJ," a heartfelt, strangely comedic portrait of the artist as an anxious up-and-comer. Stay grounded, Space.
- Kevin Capp

Sportn' Life Records' own Spaceman (pronounced Spaace...MAN) always makes an impression, sorta like a hammer and chisel. When I first saw him—at the SnL 5 year anniversary show—I was amazed that this dude had what looked like two phones, an iPod, and possibly a smallish large hadron collider on his white patent rap utility belt. Clearly the dude was on some futuristical shit. It almost overshadowed his rep as a rapper at that moment for me, even though on one of my favorite local albums of the year (and since)—Fatal Lucciauno's The Only Forgotten Son, he still managed to stand out, grrrowling "you'll get burned more than Get Rich Or Die Trying", which struck me as particularly clever. Soon enough, though, I'd hear the guy actually rap live—and I said, "fuck the clothes."

A cut like "Fly Dena Mufucka"(recorded by the Kingzmen, his original group with the now perhaps-retired MC Joe King)—comes suddenly and dangerously to life, Frankenstein-style, when Space's lightning bolt stage demeanor sells it; all of a sudden, putting your hands in the air seems like something you'd want to do. Then, his gravel-chewing performance on Jake One's "Big Homie Style"—where he slayed everybody with, among other lines, "my name's Space, you gotta look up to me"; this was one of those step-up moments, and his stepped-the-fuck-up bars and new mastery of his dungeon-dragon voice (something like Heltah Skeltah's own Rockness Monsta) separated him from the pack, and quick. After a star-making performance at The Corner, it was a wrap—Space was the talk of the town.

Since, Space has been biding his time, killing shows, working on tracks with ex-Saturday Knight DJ Suspence, licensing music, and making a shit-ton of guest appearances on other peoples songs, a few of which are included on this, his first mixtape Greetings Earthlings. Yes, Spaceman is definitely prone to being the spaced-out rapper that Geologic describes on the new Blue Scholars track "Paul Valery", but is it aimed at him? Probably not, seeing that Sabzi pops up on Greetings...deriding rappers from space (and there's more than a few of these from Seattle right now).
There's some commercial baby powder in the mix, but it's mostly dope, including some new-to-me joints (a few of them over tracks from that guy Drake) like the "The Killers" with Fatal Lucciauno and the frustration memoir "Fear Me". - Larry Mizell, Jr

With the Blue Scholars and Common Market leading the Seattle hip hop revival in the early part of the last decade, the stereotypical image of the 206 rapper became inseparable from backpack rap. The current Seattle hip hop scene owes everything to Blue Scholars, but today’s Emerald City hip hop has a niche for just about everyone. The city boasts a handful of very talented up and coming producers with a wide range of styles, with the primarily synth-based styles of P Smoov and Brainstorm to the sample-based style of producers like Ryan Lewis. The next generation of 206 emcees includes everything from gangster rap acts (D. Black, Fatal Lucciauno), to lighthearted acts like Fresh Espresso, Helladope, and the Physics (and yes, Seattle still calls itself home to backpack rappers like the KnowMads).

Spaceman’s latest mixtape, Greetings Earthlings, is further proof that Seattle hip hop is thriving. From the outset, Space displays a connection with his hometown that flows in his very veins, claiming that he has that “Seattle heroin flow, I inject it with the Space Needle.” As the mixtape continues, he draws on traditions from all niches of the Northwest hip hop scene and crafts them into a niche inhabited only by himself and Dyme Def.

Spaceman does continue the break from the typical mold of the “conscious Seattle emcee.” Instead (as his moniker suggests) he follows the current trend of the Martian rapper. Even with the plethora of this subgenre (KiD CuDi, Lil’ Wayne, Dyme Def), Greetings Earthlings stands out. Unlike CuDi, Spaceman exclusively raps instead of relying on singing/epic instrumentals. Unlike the current incarnation of Wayne, Spaceman actually utilizes witty lyricism and rhyme schemes.

Greetings Earthlings proves to be a poor man’s Space Music (a compliment for nearly any mixtape). This doesn’t come as a surprise as many of the Space Music songs were recorded while DD was still on Sportn’ Life. Synth beats provide the backdrop for many tracks on each project (“Get It N”), though while Space Music tended to sample older songs by Eric B & Rakim and Jay-Z, Greeting Earthlings relies heavily on Drake samples and instrumentals.

It’s clear with this effort that Spaceman takes his music seriously, but what makes this mixtape and albums like Space Music excel is the amount of fun that the artists have making their music. An artist’s enjoyment can pervade an album and leads to a much more enjoyable listen. Not every track on the album relies on social issues or saving the world (see “Starship,” “L’s Up,” “Get It N”), but on the flip side, not every song centers on women and partying (see “SXSW/CMJ,” “Lust 4 Life”). The result is a project that draws on some of the best aspects of the Seattle hip hop scene—a mixtape that is primarily a celebration of fun in both hip hop and life that still doesn’t turn a blind eye to the larger social conscious.

The combination of these traits presents the listener with a better picture of who this “Martian rapper” is as a person. It’s clear that Spaceman cares about his friends, family, and community, but he also acknowledges his own tendencies to drink, womanize, and party—an honesty that reminds me of the content of Macklemore’s early material.

Greetings Earthlings isn’t a perfect mixtape. It has its stumbling blocks (“Forever (NW Remix),” “What Up Freak”), but also has more than its fair share of cuts (“Intro 40,” “L’s Up,” and “Fear Me” among others). At the end of the day, the mixtape simply provides us with a very enjoyable listen. He’s a very raw talent at the moment, but Spaceman is an artist who is fully capable of carrying the banner of Seattle hip hop on the national stage and, with this release, needs to be included in any further conversations regarding the future of 206 hip hop.

Summary
Cuts:
“Intro 40”
“Starship”
“Get It N”
“SXSW/CMJ” feat. J. Pinder
“L’s Up!”
“Lust 4 Life”
"Dream"
“The Killers” feat. Fatal Lucciauno
“Fear Me”

Meh:
“Forever (NW Remix)” – I was surprised that this collaboration didn’t lead to better results. The only emcee that really kills his verse is Grynch. Brain re-uses a line he used on “I Got You,” while Logics and Space provide us with verses worth sleeping on (personally, I find it a little lazy when rappers use “Sleepless” and “Seattle” in the same bar). I wasn’t a big fan of the original and this was one of the few bad tracks I’ve heard from these rappers.
“What Up Freak”
“Fly Dena Muf*ka”

Grade: 8.3/10

Verdict: At times relies a little too much on Drake samples. Though he tops the Young Money rapper at several points (“Lust 4 Life,” “Fear Me”), this prevents Spaceman from fully forming his own unique style. Still, Greetings Earthlings is definitely worth the download particularly for those of you who are fans of Seattle hip hop or Dyme Def circa-Space Music. It should serve as a fairly solid introduction to a very successful career.

Peace, Love, & Seattle Hip Hop, - Word Is Born

...4/22 (Rendezvous) One thing you cannot miss on Spaceman's recent mixtape Greeting Earthlings is that the man loves the ladies like nobody's business. The space he is most into has nothing to do with what's beyond the earth's atmosphere, but that which is between the legs of the gentler sex. Spaceman is a fucking poet, and a very talented one at that. True, he has other things to say about life, the city, and the state of hiphop. But these concerns are only digressions; the main concern, the activity that fills a good part of his mixtape, is the coupling of human bodies and the generation of pleasure, fluids, moans, and eruptions. Not space but sex is the place, Spaceman's place. - Charles Mudede