What's Up! Magazine

There is something happening in the Northwest. Have you noticed? Hip-hop music appears, on the surface, to be in steep decline. Most of its visible stars, the ones on T.V. and mainstream radio, seem to be assimilating into one giant, blinged out parody of themselves, with endless repeats of similar themes and less and less innovation being exhibited. Nas famously said “Hip-hop is dead,” and it appeared damn near so. But there is hope. Something different is happening to hip-hop music and culture in the Great Northwest. And Bellingham has homegrown talent here who are, in that classic hip-hop journalism saying “Making noise”—one of them being The Productionists.
When considering The Productionists’ music, one must understand what is happening regionally to understand where these guys are coming from. Northwest acts are original, they actually make you think (always more than mere eye candy), giving you more than the whole We in Da Club, It’s Goin’ Down, I Got My Drank and I’m Ready to Fight stuff that have been thrust at us so thoughtlessly and relentlessly by MTV and BET for, what, 10 years now?
Portland and Seattle are leading the way with these independent, original acts. Top group Blue Scholars (coming to Bellingham this month), a fantastic Seattle duo, is signing with major labels and producing big, fancy music videos that are pretty cool, and, here’s that word again: original.
Here in Bellingham we have The Productionists. Their lyrics say things like, “People, we got it locked, it’s the hip-hop culture,” and frequently reference their love for and allegiance to the Northwest.
Clint Westwood, who MCs (raps) and DJs and is one of four group members, looks the part of a front man. He sports colorfully tattooed arms and rock star sunglasses and wears white t-shirts baring hip-hop slogans or artwork.
Bags, who sings, is considerably older than the others but adds an awesome layer to their sound by soulfully crooning hooks and providing a funky atmosphere. They are a lot of fun to see live, and their music pretty much guarantees dancing will ensue.
“We’re trying to encourage more cooperation amongst local artists, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening,” Westwood said. “There’s a whole new element Northwest artists can bring to hip-hop.”
These boys play with purpose and for a reason they believe firmly in, which translates well to their recorded material. They released a disc called Weapons of Mass Production in 2006 and are working on new material for a summer release. Check out the track “Pride” for examples of this. They don’t appear artificial or phony either. As Mikex2 said, “We’re family men. We rap about our reality, not drugs and guns and stuff. We bring our reality, just four hard workin’ guys, really.”
Eric Snyder, a.k.a. Mr. Snyder, plays guitar and keyboard for the group. “Being in this band allows me to represent myself musically,” he said. As is apparent in their music, his background is more rock music than rap. Their sound is filled with spacey, trippy guitar licks and driving drums that force you to nod your head to the beat.
As this Northwest hip-hop music continues to thrive, Bellingham is right in the middle of it, proving that this is no flash in the pan.