DJ Schematic/HomeTown Villians
Columbus, Ohio, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Recalling when Wu-Tang and Przm were king
The compilation disc Hometown Villains opens with an intro discussing how hip-hop doesn’t give artists much opportunity to achieve Rolling Stones-like longevity.
While one could make a counter-argument—citing evidence such as Biz Markie coming to the Icon or the old-school hip-hop showcases that happen every year—there is a great deal of validity to the charge that hip-hop has a very short-term memory.
That’s especially true in a city like Columbus that is built around a university.
Hometown Villains is refreshing because of its townie focus on raw Columbus hip-hop. The production is provided by the project’s curator, DJ Schematic, Vintage, DJ Inform and the late local legend DJ Przm.
And the Przm era is in full effect on this CD, from the lo-fi mastering to the emcees. Bru Lei of Przm’s group Spitball is on nine songs, fellow Spitball member Eclypse raps on two songs, and Hometown Villains also has appearances from Columbus hip-hop staples Flip the Early Riser, Mike Blast, Super Dave and Metro of SA Smash.
Even the songs that don’t have immediate connections with Letter People (Przm’s collective) reek of raw hip-hop. One example: “Out the Sky,” by Ayce the Prophet of Stonecraft, intertwines a zillion classic hip-hop titles and quotables over a gritty Schematic beat.
Hometown Villains amply references and includes hip-hop that may not be trendy, but is 100 percent essential.
A Hometown Villains show will be held at 9 tonight (July 15) at Kobo, 2590 N. High St. On the bill are Stonecraft, Eclypse the Pretenatural, Supa Dave, Metro and DJ Scheme.
Wes Flexner - The Other Paper; written by Wes Flexner
Discography
Hometown Villians-2010/LP, Mixtape
DJ Schematic Feat. Hometown Villians:
-Under Your Hat/Single
-The Low/Single
-Turn Back Time/Single
-Super Diesel/Single
-Villian's Way/Single
-Hometown Hustle/Single
-The New Earth/Single
-We Got It/Single
Photos
Bio
Hometown Villians consists of DJ Schematic who is the producer, beat maker, and DJ for the crew, and emcees Flip the Early Riser, Supa Dave Haze, Metro of S.A. Smash, Ayce the Prohfit & Shinobi Shaw the 7th Sign(Stonecraft), and Bru Lei & Eclypse the Pretanatural (Spitball). Hometown Villians originates in Columbus, Oh although only 4 members were born and raised in Ohio. The crew come from a heavy Hip Hop culture dating back to 1997 that originated on the Ohio State University in the early 1990's circa Groove Shack Records. The members have watched local Columbus underground artists rise to international prominence such as RJD2, Mhz, Copywrite, J Rawls, Rashad, Blueprint, Stalley, and S.A. Smash(R.I.P Camu Tao). The members honed their artistic skills through performing in open mic battles and studying recording techniques in studio sessions. Some members have been involved in other rap groups in the past,that are now defunct due to mitigating circumstances. The crew members share alike influences in Hip Hop groups along the lines of Gangstarr, Odd Future, Talib Kweli, Pharell Williams, Slum Village, OutKast, Wu-Tang Clan, Common, Kanye West, and Dr. Dre. The motivation and sheer determination to create music is what brought the Hometown Villians together to record the debut mixtape/lp 2010. Only 500 copies of this project are in circulation but the response has been powerful. Online stores such as AccessHipHop in San Diego, CA and record stores such as Grammaphone in Chicago, IL have carried this release. The Hometown Villians are well known in the Columbus, Oh area where the 2010 album was promoted the heaviest. The goal of the group is to build a national and international buzz within the Hip Hop genre, through online and traditional marketing and promoting resources. In order to satifsy the Hip Hop purist, the artistic goal of the Hometown Villians is to recreate the confidence and mystique the Hip Hop artform once possessed. With a mixture of hard and gritty beats, smoothed out with a laid-back, classic Hip Hop sound, the emcees in Hometown Villians are able to please the young and old-school Hip Hop fan with lyrics that comment on the realities of the consequences when intelligence is hard at work . We create music with a guaranteed "shelf-life." Our music is guaranteed to stick to your bones!
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