Midnight Spotlight: City Slickers

Each week, 889@Night will recognize local unsigned talent and promote their music on air as well as on our website. We highlight the talented few who stand out amongst a crowd. This week starting today, August 13th, 2012, we are highlighting local rap group City Slickers and playing their music at midnight and 12:30 am every night this week.

What happens when you take a double dose of consciousness and swagger then mix it with soul? You get three artists committed to bringing you real lyrics from a true Hip Hop perspective. You get real talk filled with intelligence; you get the City Slickers. Capital J, T Hustle, and DJ Bobby Bangers have a simple mission: they want to change your perception of what hot is, one rhyme at a time.

City Slickers are just what is needed. A team that combines mainstream accessibility with underground ethics, City Slickers is not about labels, but the music. Forged in Boston, MA, City Slickers create Hip Hop that combines lyrics and soulful production. The City Slickers crew provides a real and balanced view of the urban life experience. The good, the bad, the triumphs and the defeats all get told by their ghetto philosopher point of view. Never too mainstream for the underground or too underground for the mainstream, City Slickers are about creating 100% authentic Hip Hop.

The group’s latest chapter began when Capital J and Tommy Tony decided to start collaborating. They both realized that they had a love for true Hip Hop. What started as one song grew into the next great voice in Hip Hop. J’s talent for witty songwriting and Tommy’s hard hitting street angled rhymes was a natural match. The chemistry was so strong they felt they had something special and started building the City Slicker sound.

And what is that sound? A mix of the best of Hip Hop’s then and now. The City Slickers wear their influences proudly on their sleeves. Artists as varied as Jay Z, The Roots, The Native Tongues, Common, Public Enemy helped frame the CS view of Hip Hop. CS is a break from the current state of Hip Hop. Beats and rhymes about real life is the CS agenda.

The music is going to take you on a trip. Life, pain, spirituality, and fun, are all a part of the City sound. Each member brings a different piece of the puzzle. Tommy Tony has a youthful street swagger; DJ Bobby Bangers provides the turntablism to their live shows and recordings; Capital J provides the consciousness; the sum of the parts is true Hip Hop that is full of the head nodding beats and clever rhymes that pull you along for the ride. What makes the City Slickers music work is that they are not preaching. They are opening up their lives for you to see yourself. They are walking with you; showing you the way they see the world.

Now with their untitled debut in the works as the first project off Brick Records and Pollymore Music Group’s joint venture, City Slickers are looking forward to bringing their energetic live show to the world. And their series of mix tapes is building a buzz on an international level. But even getting to the top is not their major concern. Tommy explains, “People have begun to take rap too seriously. It’s like you have to be locked in a box and anytime you step out of it, people are ready to take your head off. Don’t matter though. People gonna love us no matter what.”

For more information on City Slickers, follow them on Twitter.

By Malcolm Gray

If you liked this, check out:
Midnight Spotlight: Free Life
Mixtape Mayhem: Lap of Lux