Big World Breaks

Before Macklemore popped tags, before Shabazz Palaces got off the spaceship, and before Sir Mix-A-Lot professed his butt-lust, Seattle hip-hop history began with a group called the Emerald Street Boys. Formed in 1981, two years after “Rapper’s Delight” made its local radio debut, they started building a fan base thanks to the wild house shows in “The Valley” (Madison Valley in today’s real-estate parlance). Taking cues from the innovative New York sound-system parties being developed by Afrika Bambaataa, the Emerald Street Boys put their own, artier spin on that New York scene.

“They would hook up multiple TVs throughout the whole house and simultaneously play hip-hop videos they had recorded,” says Aaron Walker-Loud. “This is when they were teens—these were crazy, unsupervised house parties being held on a semi-regular basis.” Later, Walker-Loud explains, the Emerald Street Boys dance-battled MC Kool Moe Dee during a Seattle tour stop—and, if the crowd reaction was any indication, defeated him. (The Boys’ DJ “Nasty” Nes Rodriguez also founded and hosted the West Coast’s first exclusively hip-hop radio show, FreshTracks on KKFX.)

Most casual Blue Scholars or Moor Gang fans might not know how deep this city’s hip-hop lineage truly runs, but married curators Walker-Loud and Jazmyn Scott are hoping to change that with The Legacy of Seattle Hip-Hop, which opens Saturday at the Museum of History & Industry. Both have deep personal knowledge of the local scene. (In fact, Scott’s father was that local DJ who first played “Rapper’s Delight.”) They’ve compiled a massive treasure trove for this interactive show, which spans more than 30 years of history. The exhibit frankly celebrates the unique values of Seattle hip-hop.

“One of the things that has been a running theme... is community,” says Scott. “It’s not necessarily about becoming really famous and getting huge notoriety, it’s more about a pride in being from Seattle and repping Seattle. There are all types of people here that do all different kinds of hip-hop, but that’s a continuing theme no matter who we talk to.”

Two artifacts in the show illustrate just how seemingly different, but united, the Seattle hip-hop community is. First is Macklemore’s giant furry coat, made famous by the “Thrift Shop” video. Nearby is Raz Simone’s giant furry coat—featuring two dead foxes sewn onto the collar—from the “Hometown” video. Both rappers celebrate their Seattle roots in their music and both tackle social-justice issues in their lyrics, but the relationship between the two is a bit murkier. (Raz Simone openly criticized Macklemore in this year’s “Macklemore and Chief Keef.”)

“Both of the jackets are so ugly and furry and big,” Scott laughs. “To see them both side by side, think about who they belong to, the context in which they were worn, the dialogue that’s happening right now—I hope it creates dialogue between the people who see it and the people who they belong to.”

“It’s interesting to have these two MCs who are in the heated middle of this conversation,” adds Walker-Loud . “We’re not trying to create a Don King orchestrated beef, though.”

Mostly, the curators just want people to have fun, and maybe get their hands a little dirty in the interactive exhibits. Walker-Loud is excited about a mixing station featuring unreleased music from two of Seattle’s most celebrated producers—Jake One and Vitamin D. Museumgoers will be able to manipulate the individual song components and learn how all the pieces form a hip-hop beat. Interested parties can also learn how to break-dance on a dance floor from an instructional video produced by Seattle’s most famous B-boy crew, Massive Monkees, who recently joined Macklemore for his music video and MTV VMA-opening performance of “Downtown.”

Walker-Loud explains, “A lot of what has happened here in Seattle is the result of a decision people made through these community centers and educational centers to mentor and teach future generations how to break-dance, how to DJ, how to rap, how to produce. Like The Pharmacy, Vitamin D’s facility: He’s mentored MCs and producers there for over a decade, just offering his wisdom and help.” He also cites Massive Monkees’ outreach and education at their studio, The Beacon. “We want to continue that spirit with this show.”

It’s a spirit that should be evident during this Saturday’s opening festivities, which will feature a public graffiti wall (with artist Specs Wizard) and upcoming young MCs and producers including Nya J, Romaro Franceswa, and Upendo Moore (this last still in high school). “They are really going to help illustrate where the future is moving,” says Walker-Loud.

Scott says her hope is that “The show isn’t going to be something you just look at that’s real museum-y. You are going to be involved. People who don’t know a lot about hip-hop are going to get a chance to learn how to do some of these core elements that make up this culture—how to write rhymes, how to produce, how to dance. Who knows what that will inspire moving forward?”

Kelton Sears is Music Editor for Seattle Weekly. He can be reached at ksears@seattleweekly.com. Follow him on Twitter at @keltonsears. - Seattle Weekly

There aren’t many brass players of renown in modern pop music, but if you’ve ever seen Macklemore and Ryan Lewis perform, you’d probably recognize trumpeter Owuor Arunga as the beacon of positive energy manically running around stage and blowing into his horn with childlike glee. The Kenyan native has been making waves in the Seattle music scene since his formative days playing in Garfield High School’s jazz band, and has since gained national attention as the third cog in the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s musical machine; touring across the world and bouncing around stage as duo’s trumpet maestro and unofficial hype man. Arunga reconnects with his Seattle jazz roots this weekend as part of Timeless—production company Big World Breaks 10th anniversary show—on July 19 at the Neptune Theatre (part of the free Nights at the Neptune series). The performance features talent that spans multiple generations including Arunga, some of the teachers who mentored him, the Seattle JazzED program’s summer ambassadors, the Washington Middle School Drum Line, and more.

For our latest Fiendish Conversation, we chatted with Arunga about adapating to play with different artists, using music as a weapon, and traveling to the Moon.

What part of the Timeless show are you most excited about?

I’m just looking forward to the reunion. (Big World Breaks founder) Aaron Walker-Loud was kinda like my big homie. Then you have Robert Knatt, who was my first jazz teacher. Then you have Clarence Acox who was kind of the teacher who refined my performance skills, and one of the people who first put me on a world stage. It’s like a lineage of different levels of mentors all coming together. As you grow, you realize that it’s kind of a circle, like if you watch The Lion King - the circle of life. So now we’re working on the next generation of mentors and apprentices. So that’s what I’m looking forward to; watching the continuum of musical community happen.

Speaking to that, who are the emerging young talents in Seattle that you think people should check out?

I would definitely say Otieno Terry; incredible vocalist. Just like everything he does on the microphone right now is golden. I would say for me, he’s the one that stands out. He’s a young guy, great voice, great attitude, great work ethic. I think he’s going to go far. Really far.

You seem to constantly be bouncing and around and playing all types of shows: jazz, hip-hop, etc. What makes you want to stay so active?

I just love all music. Coming up in Seattle, I was just playing every day and every show is different. One day I’d be playing with the Sounders marching band. The next day I’d be playing with Wheedle’s Groove. The next day I’d be playing with Kore Ionz. The next day I’d go do a show with the Physics. And then I’d shoot over and do a show with Mac and Ryan. And then I’d go play a show with Big World Breaks. It was always part of the fabric of my journey as a musician to constantly challenge myself and try to understand music like a language. So I’m still trying to manifest that constantly. The trumpet’s the type of instrument that is unforgiving, so you constantly have to engage it and engage different styles of music.


And right now, I think the style of shows that I’m doing is more based on a purpose, where before it was like… I just wanted to master my instrument and I didn’t care (about what the show was). I was like, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” But now its more like, “How can we use music more as a tool, as a weapon, and recognize the platform that we’re privileged to have right now to do something greater?” One of my mentors, Louis Reyes Rivera, would say, “(Use) music as a weapon,” not just music for the sake of music, but music for a purpose. Music as a higher calling, but also music that can serve. So that’s what I try to embody.

So if music is a weapon, what are you trying to fight?

Well, if you look at the 21st century, I feel like it’s, to a certain degree, the generation of underserved youth. You know, like everybody’s is going to say, “Back in the day we had analog records and things were so much better! [Laughs] The quality! People cared about what they said.” And I think that’s mostly true for music education, and education as a whole. I think today, we’re kind of struggling to keep the cultural context of American music rooted. Like you listen to KUBE 93 and its Old School Lunch, and it’s Nelly on the radio. When I think of Old School Lunch, I think we should really go back, you know what I’m saying?

So that’s, in a metaphoric way, kind of like what I feel is going on. We have underserved youth, specifically in music education, and if you go to the Central District or the South End or these areas where they’re kind of hidden, you don’t hear about this stuff that goes on there the news. You hear about the negative things, but you don’t hear about everything else; the things we really need. We hear about the war on drugs, but we don’t really hear about the war for education. And that’s really for me what the weapon is: the weapon of sound, the weapon of love, the weapon of camaraderie, the weapon of sharing.

What’s the key to being able to adapt and play with so many diverse artists?

I think there are three major lessons I’ve gotten. One of my teachers, Bobby Sanabria always said (the key was) hard work and attention to detail. Another teacher of mine—Ahmed Abdullah, who was really close with Sun Ra— always said that discipline; there’s a certain level of discipline you have to put into it. And the other lesson I got was from this book, The Artist’s Way. There was a chapter where Julia Cameron talked about how you have to suck in order to get good. You don’t just like pop out of the womb incredible: you have to put yourself on the line, you have to be willing to make mistakes, you have to be willing to embark on that journey. You don’t expect to hit your target right away. Really you are the target and you’re working on cultivating something.

And when you take those three things, first of all you’re open to trying new things. Then second, you’re open to practicing them until you get to a point of mastery. And third, you know that anything is possible. I think those three things are a way of being an artist. You’re able to reinvent yourself, you’re able to step into different themes and take on different characters, and look at music less as a craft and more of an adventure, a dream state, a place that taps into the imagination, a vision. And you start to meld those two worlds—the craft and the adventure—into something that is an expression of who you are. And everything you do just ends up being a connection between art and life.

If you weren’t a musician, is there any other line of would’ve wanted to pursue?

A gigolo. Definitely a gigolo. In Prague. I’d be a gigolo in Prague.

Do you have a pre-show routine?


No doubt. Definitely. [Laughs] Absolutely. Before every show… it’s kind of mystical though. [Laughs] There’s a mantra that I tell myself and try and tap into. Because I play shows every day. And even with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, for instance, we (perform) like it’s a play. So you’re doing this play and you’re doing it every day in a different city and it plays mind games on you. So I really try to tap into that mental state where you’re able to relax and you’re able to call upon the beautiful faculties of the mind and kind of ground yourself; become present in the moment. I have a prayer and I have certain mental faculties that I try to align and become more aware of. There’s like thirteen of them that I just constantly say over and over again. And the more I say them, I become more and more relaxed and my body knows that okay, now it’s go time. It’s time to get in tune. So yeah, I just talk to myself for 30 minutes, play really low, long tones, and that’s how I do it.

Having been along for the ride as Macklemore and Ryan Lewis rose to stardom, are there any moments that stick out as particularly crazy or meaningful?

I feel that a lot of the times we work the people with whom we work is because like minds attract. And for me, I’ve always been somebody who’s into self-actualization. And the craziest thing for me is to realize that if you think of something and you really focus your energy and mental attention towards it, it happens. So literally you’re limitless in what you’re able to do. For instance, if I wanted to go visit the Moon in ten years, if I focused every day on getting to the Moon, I probably would get there. There’s a 99.9 percent chance that in 2024, I’m going to be sipping a piña colada on the Moon. And that, to me, is crazy. The fact that everything real comes from an idea and a monastic dedication to focusing on that idea. That’s insane. It’s like a license to do whatever. That’s amazing to me. That would be the craziest thing, the idea that anything is possible. - Seattle Met

Tucked into the basement of a house on the edge of Leschi's Frink Park, a recording studio serves as home to One Family Inc. Productions and its understated "house band" Big World Breaks. Whereas most bands have some sort of frontman, this one has a drumming director: Aaron Walker-Loud.

Introduced in 2001 to Seattle break-dance crew Massive Monkees while working with bands Iguales and The Flood, he was later surprised by an invitation to back up a series of break-dance battles and workshops at Bumbershoot in 2004. Meshing extensive jazz training and hip-hop influences, Walker-Loud involved the newly formed Big World Breaks with dancers, then singers and eventually rappers, acting as studio musicians and live concert instrumentalists for local artists from Blue Scholars and Gabriel Teodros to Helladope and Dyme Def. In 2009 they released their debut album, 4 Those Lost, which featured nearly 30 guest artists.

"There are always going to be different types of featured vocalists or dancers or DJs that rotate in or out, but Big World Breaks enjoys being the home base for helping our town enjoy each others' art," he said, "and creating a place where all the different followers from different neighborhoods and cultures join each other on neutral ground through the music."

Now employing a "rotating but tight-knit family" of musicians, Big World Breaks has been involved with large-scale concert collaborations since 2007. In 2009, its Summer and Winter Classic shows featured some of Seattle's best and brightest hip-hop artists. This Saturday's Spring Classic at Nectar Lounge includes longtime partners like Hi-Life Soundsystem and Spaceman, who hosted the first Classic. Helladope and Tiffany Wilson are newer additions, which Walker-Loud called "a long time coming."

"I try to weave together a presentation where the artists are rotating and the product is more of a collection of themes and moods that everyone weaves in and out of," says Walker-Loud. "It's good to see heavyweights in the town being more interactive."

Though combining MCs and backing bands has become more frequent in recent years, Walker-Loud is confident of the continuing potential of instrumental involvement in a continually evolving scene.

"Hip-hop was born out of people reinterpreting and re-envisioning musical tapestries to support new types of movement and new types of vocal work," he said. "There's a lot of potential for great hip-hop to happen when you blend live instruments with digital. The sky's the limit—it just depends on the way the culture moves." - Seattle Weekly

Blue Scholars, Common Market, and Gabriel Teodros played sold out shows at Neumo’s on Dec. 30th and New Year’s Eve. Blue Scholars were accompanied by a backing band for the first time ever, called Big World Breaks. Bass player Camilo Estrada spoke by phone and broke it down.

“The shows went off real well,”? said the super low key Estrada. “At midnight for New Year’s Eve, we played James Brown’s “˜Gonna Have a Funky Good Time’, and there was definitely a surge of energy doing that song as 2007 rolled in.”?

Other treats were a medley of Yung Joc’s “It’s goin down”?, Curtis Blow’s “The Breaks”?, and Curtis Mayfield’s “Move On Up.”? They also played with Dr. Dre’s “Ain’t Nothin but a G Thang”?, which Camilo said the crowed reacted to with bumping glee. Sabzi broke out the talk box for a Zapp song. And the Blue Scholars song “Long March”? was extended and given new life as a live take.

“It was cool to see emcee Geologic and DJ Sabzi react to the songs being fleshed out by a live band,”? Estrada said.


Sabzi was on keys instead of his usual decks and samples. The band consisted of Estrada on bass, Aaron Walker-Loud on drums, Andy Coe and Dan Rapport on guitars, and percussionist Teo Shantz. There was also a four man horn line of Ben O'Shea on trombone, Dan Roseth on Sax, and Jason Chambliss and Owuor Arunga on trumpet.

Most of the guys in Big World Breaks have been playing together since Garfield or Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, so they're a pre-tightened unit. Musically, they were raised playing with each other. The community centers on Walker-Loud's "˜One Family Inc. Studio', where the guys jam and record constantly. One of their current projects has been working with breakdance troupe, Massive Monkees. They have been composing and coordinating music for the Monkees to use live and possibly for a DVD. (onefamilyinc@gmail.com for info on booking recording time at One Family Inc.)

Estrada, who is a sophomore in music at Cornish, said all signs were that Geo and Sabzi were happy with the shows and reaction was good. He said, "I think we'll probably do something again in the future."? And as Cornish classes start back up again, let us think of Camilo with his fingers attached to his bass, riveting through scales, and playing for 7 hours a day. He's a monster.
- The Stranger

All aboard! The night train...

Is James Brown as important to hiphop as Kool Herc? Nah, homie. James Brown is as important to hiphop as, say—drums. Heartbeats. Oxygen. The sun in the sky. Feel me?

James Brown is waay bigger than hiphop—but as proponents of this culture that owes so very much to his massive contribution, we must pay homage to the creator. The best way to do that this week is definitely waiting for you Saturday, February 3, at Nectar Lounge, where the one and only Big World Breaks and our own international superstar breakers Massive Monkees host 4 the Love—A Tribute to James Brown.

"James represents the gatekeeper at the crossroads," says BWB's Aaron Walker-Loud, "standing between everything that came before and everything that came after. He took traditions of African music, blues, jazz, gospel—and he gave birth to R&B, soul, funk, and hiphop. It's an African and New Orleans tradition to make a lot of noise, to make a lot of music for the departed, so that's what we're doing on Saturday. I wanted to draw from all these different spheres of music—I'm talking singers, musicians, MCs, dancers—and have them represent in this, an audiovisual memorial for James Brown." Some of the guests rocking with Big World this weekend are Gabriel Teodros, DJ BlesOne, BYC, Amos Miller, Jumaane Smith, GodSpeed, SoulChilde, and Mash Hall's Bruce Illest.

BWB is the live performance army of One Family Inc., the company started by Walker-Loud and Zach Self (from the crew Anthem, among other projects). Walker-Loud himself has been a town fixture since his days drumming in the Garfield High Jazz Ensemble, and has since led such highly regarded groups as the Flood and Iguales. One Family, based in their full-service music studio, puts in nuff work within the community doing workshops, music instruction, and band management seminars in schools and venues throughout the Sound.

"Big World is basically the One Family house band," Walker-Loud laughs. "We just wanted to give our crew a name to represent us outside of the studio; we wanted to form a like-minded collective like the Soulquarians, the Funk Bros., or the JB's." The dozen-plus BWB (check www.myspace.com/bigworldbreaks for the whole crew roster) has been making quite a name for themselves around the scene with their trump-tight chops and heavy sound, most recently as Blue Scholars' live backup for BS's New Year's Eve blowout at Neumo's. Currently they're working on production and live instrumentation for break crews like Massive and BYC, as well as studio work for the Scholars and up-and-comers GodSpeed.

This seems like just the opportunity to honor the Godfather—I hadn't had the chance to properly commemorate Brown since he passed—and this still doesn't come close to doing justice to one of the most important cultural icons of our (or any) time. Simply the greatest of all time—Say It Loud.

- The Stranger

If you can imagine a merger of 1940s-era jazz big band, Spanish Harlem–style boogaloo from the '70s, and the Roots circa 1990, then you'll have a grasp of the music that Seattle's Big World Breaks is making. On their latest album, 4 Those Lost, many of the city's most prominent hip-hop and R&B figures contribute a hodgepodge of sounds that coalesce quite nicely.

With 19 tracks, the album is broken down into three stages. Sonically, Stage 1 is for the b-boys, which is fitting since BWB initially got its start at break-dancing events. You'll hear fast-paced horns and percussion on songs like "Transform" and "Morning Sun" that are perfect for poppin' and top-rocking. But within that section there are some slower jams, like "Trouble Don't Last," featuring Toni Hill, with an uplifting message like a church hymnal.

Stage 2 ventures toward the spiritual, as cuts like "Beep Beep" and "Prayers in Trinidad" celebrate life. On "Emerald City Step," perhaps the album's best track, a variety of first-generation MCs from around the world, including Yirim Seck (Senegal), Khingz (Haiti), Gabriel Teodros (Ethiopia), and B-Flat (Virginia), rap about where their "mamas come from." Stage 3 is more for the lovers, with slow, jazzier compositions like "Raining Down," featuring Isabella Du Graf. There's something for everyone here, and listening to 4 Those Lost might help you find yourself. - Seattle Weekly

(Nectar) It's a séance. Can you hear us, Godfather? We will assemble at Nectar to enter the funk trance. We chant, "Soul Brother Number One," and our Ouija board becomes the dance floor. Big World Breaks (of One Family Inc.)—Seattle hiphop's backing band—will relay the King James Brown message and music through mediums Gabriel Teodros, SoulChilde, Amos Miller, Bruce Illest, Jumaane Smith, GodSpeed, and DJ BlesOne. The Massive Monkees and BYC breakdance crews will conjure with agility and put their spin on the dearly departed Minister of the New New Super Heavy Funk. Spirits will be roused; things may float across the room during this night of apparitions, headstands, and the music of James Brown provided by the hiphop conjunction of One Family Inc. TRENT MOORMAN - The Stranger

"...The next night at Nectar, there's a big ol' Big World Breaks bro-down featuring Khingz, Isabella Du Graf, Jerm, Delrico, B-Boy Fidget, Clockwork's Miguel Rockwell on the decks, as well as DJ Collage... all hosted by Laced Up reps Godspeed and my dude Cassius... not to mention the open circles with members of Massive Monkees, BYC, and Fraggle Rock Crew! If you remember the all-star BWB band selling out their James Brown tribute show last year (or killing it with Blue Scholars at the Program), you might wanna get tickets early!..."

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=537695 - The Stranger