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If Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert had a kid, they'd probably both feel a little queasy afterward. But if that baby survived his second year and grew up to be an MC named $trick9, we'd like to think they'd shed a tear of pride then he dropped rhymes like this.
Scott Alexander, Playboy.com - Playboy
Bringing together hip-hop and bluegrass — two genres from opposite ends of the musical spectrum — under one roof seems like a hoot to 26-year-old Des Moines rapper Nick Strickland, a.k.a. $trick9. Check that: a hootenanny.
Strickland’s eclectic musical taste and sense of humor is the impetus behind the first-ever Spring Hootenanny to be held Saturday at 9:30 p.m. at the House of Bricks, 525 E. Grand Ave. The show features performances by $trick9 and other hip-hop performers like The Truth and Cowboy Clark, as well as bluegrass pickers Mr. Barber’s Neighbors and DJ TouchNice. It also includes the coronation of the 2007 Spring Hootenanny Pork Princess Pageant [the gal with the best down-home country attire] and the inaugural Hootenanny Beard Face Off where the winner of the beard-growing contest walks out with the facial trimmings of his competitors in a zip-lock bag.
“We got tired of doing regular shows at clubs,” says Strickland. “People like it when there’s a theme and the audience can get involved and we give them the opportunity to get dressed up. It’s a lot of fun.”
This isn’t the first time Strickland has organized such an event, nor will it be his last. Earlier this year he promoted the Winter Formal at another downtown club, which he said drew rave reviews from the audience. If all goes well he plans to coordinate four annual concerts at local clubs, each one with a different theme. Plans are already in the works for Summer Heat, an outdoor hip-hop event tentatively slated for June.
“I like to do this gonzo hip-hop thing where we bring other styles of music together,” Strickland says. “We asked Mr. Barber’s Neighbors to stoop low enough to share the stage with us. They’re very talented. And Cowboy Clark, who now lives in New York, has agreed to come back with his big belt buckle and hat and flag-waving songs to help us out.”
Strickland is no stranger to satire. His stage persona is that of a rapping conservative politician, which some describe as the fictional offspring of Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert. Truth be told, $trick9 is the byproduct of Strickland’s real-life love of gangster rap and politics.
“It started a couple of years ago,” says Strickland, who campaigned for presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. “I really enjoyed gangster rap, but I couldn’t really do that. So I use the role of a conservative politician to talk about my guns and political stuff. One of the great things about hip-hop is you can be topical and offbeat.”
To download $trick9’s humorous songs and videos visit www.yostrick9.com. Admission to Spring Hootenanny is $10.
- Cityview
Discography
2008 Mother Earth
2007 The White Poison Mixtape
2006 White Lightning from the Right Wing
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Bio
"If Jonathan Swift and Stephen Colbert had a kid, they'd probably both feel a little queasy afterward. But if that baby survived his second year and grew up to be an MC named $trick9, we'd like to think they'd shed a tear of pride when he dropped rhymes like this," said Scott Alexander, Playboy senior editor.
Alexander is referring to the Des Moines rapper's song "A Modest Proposal," one of the fourteen tracks on $trick9's debut album, Mother Earth. As the title suggests, "A Modest Proposal" is $trick9's hip hop re-imagining of the classic Jonathan Swift essay suggesting poverty could be solved by eating babies.
Sound disgusting? This song is actually being used in the classroom to teach students the meaning of satire.
"As an English teacher I'm always looking for ways to help my students relate to and understand the literature we study by connecting the literature to their world," says Pamela Bradley, from Santa Susana High School. "$trick9's "Modest Proposal" is an intellectually astute modernization of a classic work. While staying true to the ideas in Swift's 'Modest Proposal', Strick9 offers up music that is hip, fresh, and entertaining. My students love it! A+ Strick9!"
While $trick9, AKA Nick Strickland, 27, has been performing live and online for over several years, Mother Earth is the first full-length studio album he's released. Oscillating back and forth from satire to social commentary, from poetry to story-telling, the album is at the same time gut-bustingly funny, socially introspective and musically explosive.
Unlike most hip hop acts, the beat is not laid down by a DJ or a drum machine, rather by the 515’s tenured live hip-hop band known as The Truth. Drawing from vastly divergent backgrounds, The Truth belt it out thick and funky.
The mastermind of melody, Matt "Matty J" Jesson, was classically trained on piano and plays a host of other instruments on the album from the electric guitar to the melodica. Drummer Justin "Billbotics" Bristow hails from the metal scene but wasn't afraid to pick up a djembe when he needed to and Mother Earth also shows off his considerable beat boxing talents. But the highlight of the CD just might be the scene-stealing antics of bassist Duke. When he's not laying down the low end, he's screaming ranting at the top of his lungs, acting as hype man and Greek chorus of the album.
While most rap CDs have guest appearances from other rappers or other musicians, the only collaboration on Mother Earth is with former Iowa gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon. Lil Iqbal is the true story of a child laborer named Iqbal Masih who spoke out against sweatshops in the mid 1990s. Knowing this is an issue close to Fallon's heart, and also knowing Fallon's musical talents, $trick9 asked him to play accordion on the track.
"America's shopping habits hurt the poorest of the poor in ways most of us who live in comfort can't imagine," said Fallon. "Globalization's casualties are many -- and mostly dark-skinned. Hit especially hard are the poor and young, children like Iqbal, who suffer and sometimes die for the sin of cheap stuff. Through his art, $trick9 challenges all of us to pay attention and adjust our lives accordingly."
The architecture of Mother Earth was first drafted through a set of demos, tracked in the early spring of 2007. Using combination of live sets and basement demo tapes, the track list was created and the album's direction was born.
"It's a complete album," said Duke. "All of the great elements of storytelling are presented in a cohesive piece. This is what has been missing in music for years."
And that's no understatement. The album is meticulously thought through, designed as a continuous act, changing and evolving.
"I think we've created an experience," said $trick9. "It's not just a collection of hot dance tracks."
The songs bounce, forcibly exerting the power of the lyrics they pave.
"We had played live shows using a batch of songs we had put on an earlier EP," said $trick9. "Most of the songs were still evolving and the writing process was well underway. By the time we were ready to hit the studio, we had a real catalog to work from."
From the original batch of songs, $trick9 & The Truth culled the final fourteen and headed into Capp Audio Productions studio in early July of 2007 to begin tracking the album.
"Production flew on this album," said Matty J. "But, maybe we were just really organized."
Through the sessions, the band captured the energy of their live show, while crafting a precise sonic experience.
"Everything is cohesive, thick and warm," said Billbotics. "The rhythms pulsate. It's unlike 99.9% of the hip-hop you hear these days. I'm not going to say it's like Pink Floyd rapping, but it is atmospheric and heavy, all at the same time."
Mother Earth is available on iTunes, in stores and online at yostrick9.com.
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