Seattle is known for many things: coffee, the tech industry, and of course, rain. But hip-hop is not on that list. We asked people on the street which rap artists come from Seattle, and the only ones they could think of were Macklemore and Sir Mix-A-Lot. None had heard of a rapper who has lived here his whole life, M-Eaze.
RadioActive's spring 2013 workshop. Clockwise from left: Program Producer Jenny Asarnow, Youth Producers Varun Dhananjaya, Riley Guttman and Nolwenn Delisle, KUOW Senior Editor Jim Gates, April show host Ann Kane, Youth Producer Yafiet Bezabih, Program Producer Lila Kitaeff.
By RadioActive Youth Media and Ann Kane and Sarah Rosenthal and Le'Jayah Washington and Varun Dhananjaya and Riley Guttman and Yafiet Bezabih and Nolwenn Delisle
RadioActive hosts Sarah Rosenthal and Ann Kane bring you stories created by the newest generation of RadioActivians. They reported these stories as part of RadioActive's 2013 spring workshop:
Seattle's Chinatown-International District is home to many commercial establishments. Think about the legions of great Asian restaurants, boutiques, even pet stores. Now meet the ID's first hip-hop dance studio: The Beacon. It's one of the newest participants in Storefronts Seattle, a collaboration between neighborhood businesses, the city and Shunpike, an artist support organization.
Laura "Piece" Kelley is a Seattle hip-hop artist, poet and educator who encourages young people to create music that expresses their lived experiences. A self-described single mom, high school dropout with no college education, she's worked with household names such as Drake, T.I., and KRS-One, and she once read a poem for the Dalai Lama himself.
