Rise and shine

Local hip-hop gets the 3rd Degree

by John O'Neill

Though 20 years have passed since Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" first inched up the national charts, it's now that Worcester's underground hip-hop scene -- relegated to house parties, college talent shows, and the occasional club gig -- is poised to break into the mainstream. And like the handful of young punks which kick-started the infant Wormtown movement in the late 1970s (eventually overhauling the club scene), rappers, for years flying under the "Wortown" flag, are the next generation to watch. It's the most important development in Worcester music since Wormtown; and Wortown's been a long time coming.

"I don't think there has ever been a consistent venue where hip-hop bands could showcase their skills, and people could say, "Oh, I can go there and check out some local talent,'" says Billy Pain over cocktails at Cafe Abba. Pain will celebrate the release of his debut disc, Scorpion Summer, at Abba this Saturday. "If you want comedy, you go to Aku Aku; if you want rock, you go to the Lucky Dog. There wasn't anyplace for rap and hip-hop."

A local triumvirate -- Mingo (Domingo Guyton), Kaz (Jerry Kazarian), and Pain -- are the masterminds behind 3rd Degree Records, the rap/hip-hop label attempting to shake up Worcester's popular music scene. Having met while attending Worcester State College in 1994, Mingo and Pain began rhyming together at house parties, performing as Raw Flow, an act that would eventually be nominated for a Boston Music Award in '96. Mingo has since relocated here from his childhood digs in Mattapan to work and to concentrate on building 3rd Degree's roster and reputation.

"Everyone was talking but not doing anything. Everyone I know has a CD comin' out," Mingo says of the decision to start a label. "So where's the CD? Everybody's waiting for someone else to put 'em in -- like Wu Tang's gonna come and snatch them up and put them in the van! We're running this like a business."

"It's like building a house," Pain adds. "We got to lay down a good foundation. Once we get the house up we can start adding people to the rooms."

Judging from 3rd Degree's first two discs, I'd say the concrete is setting fast. Both Mingo's My Ride EP and Pain's Scorpion Summer are two of the year's most promising releases -- a solid representation of the diversity within the Wortown scene. Mingo rolls along with a laid-back, smooth approach, while Pain staggers and jerks with off-kilter killers. If they were boxers, Mingo would be up on his toes, jabbing and dancing; Pain would be bleeding and swinging roundhouse from his heals at everything in reach. Mingo would steal your girl and love her down; Pain would feed her a 40 and be out of the car before his pants were zipped.

Mingo has an instant anthem with "Beantown-Wortown," where he trades off props between duel homes of Boston and Worcester. He sings about his love for his car in the title track, while he disses the halls of academia in "The Graduate" and sends out an ode to fallen friends on "Eternaluv." Pain answers with the should-be classic "I Don't Love You," boasts his ass off on "I'm on Top," and takes on the world in "Nuclear Winter." Equally enjoyable for very different reasons, the discs are pushed beyond run of the mill with the behind-the-scenes secret weapon, Kaz, whose production is flawless. Not simply rapping over drum loops, the 3rd Degree crew build solid structures through collaborative writing and have a willingness to share the mic. And that's not to mention an absence of the competitive ego inherent within Hip-Hop Nation.

"I lit the cigarette [with my disc], and Pain took it and threw it in the gasoline! There was a big hole in the cement," Mingo laughs. "I know what he's like with a paper and pen, the way he puts words together. He studies himself. He can be in the studio all night if he doesn't like one verse."

"We've got dozens of tracks. We go till we get stuck, then we move on so it sounds fresh," says Kaz, who will have his first disc ready to go in September. "Sometimes it takes two weeks to get it, or [we] finish it the next day."

Next up for the guys of 3rd Degree is a three-way vocal collaboration slated for August, and hopefully future releases from locals Diamond T and Alchemist. They also intend to draw more attention to the Wortown hip-hop community, as well as attract larger labels interested in investing in 3rd Degree projects.

"We're gonna stay here [in Worcester], we aren't going to pack up," says Pain emphatically. "I know there's talent in this city, we just gotta support each other. Don't ask for a free CD, buy it; and then I'll buy yours. If we get support from each other, we can take it to the next level."

"Rap has been here. I've been doing stuff here since I was 16," says Kaz, who at nearly 30 is a scene veteran. "A lot of groups haven't done enough [for themselves], and the press hasn't paid attention to it. A lot of people who have been doing it for a long time have given up. It's a good enough reason to [continue on] to make your own music just to have something to listen to."

Local Buzz

In the not-quite-lucid affair referred to as Junk Sculpture, bassist Paul Smith has been replaced -- at least temporarily -- by Seven Hill Psycho Brian Silver; and guitarist Wayne Winslow, who walked off the job two months ago, is apparently back in the fold. Woodgrain Theory's future (and so-far really neato second album) remains uncertain with the defection of Joe Vecchio and Alan Palubeckis. Vecchio leaves to drum for a cruise-ship jazz band; Palubeckis plans to travel and contemplate life. Downchild will take a little trip down the Mass Pike to the Big Apple for a third showcase for Atlantic Records. We interpret this as a good sign. Cross your fingers! Dr. Chris Van Kleeck, "the singing psychiatrist," has his second disc, The Doctor is Out, ready to go. Folk faves Chuck and Mud and trombonist Lennie Peterson lend a hand. Durand Wilkerson and the Soul X-Press have signed a management deal with United Artists. Local promoter-deluxe Dan Hartwell has left Commercial Street. Nobody's Hero, made up from the remainders of the oft-lamented Halobox, are gig-ready and, from all reports, better than their previous incarnation. Look for their first batch of recorded material by late summer.