Biography
The roots of Project Blowed can be traced back to the Good Life Cafe, a Health Food Center in South Central Los Angeles, California. In December 1989 Promoted by owner B. Hall and her son R. Kain Blaze, the Good Life offered a workshop-like atmosphere for aspiring MCs, poets and musicians to hone their craft. On Thursday nights from 8-10pm, artists were allowed to perform one song in an attempt to entertain the cafe audience. Artist had the option of performing written songs, or freestyling. When a performance was not up to par, the audience would begin a chant of "Please pass the mic!" and the performer was forced to end the performance by passing the microphone to the next artist scheduled to perform. Performers were also disqualified for cursing.
"Young people needed a place to go to develop their own art. The no-cussing policy wasn’t about us being uptight church people, it was about wanting the atmosphere of a serious arts workshop. Most of the crowd respected the rule, some said it made rapping more challenging, that it created more respect and brotherhood." -B. Hall, Interview
Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Lenny Kravitz all reportedly attended the open-mic.
"The Good Life was a renaissance period in hip hop." -Cut Chemist, Jurassic 5 Interview
Blowedians place a heavy emphasis on the ability to freestyle. NoCanDo of Customer Service was the 2007 Scribble Jam freestyle battle champion. Otherwize defeated Eminem to win the 1997 Rap Olympics. In 1999 P.E.A.C.E. of Freestyle Fellowship finished 2nd place at Scribble Jam. More recently, Blowedians such as P.E.A.C.E., Phoenix Orion, Busdriver and Thirsty Fish have appeared on G4TV's Freestyle 101 with NoCanDo, Sahtyre and Dumbfoundead competing in the World Rap Championships.
In 1994 Aceyalone and Abstract Rude produced the original Project Blowed compilation album.
The landmark recording showcased wildly diverse local legends whose common bond was a desire to expand the musical, thematic, and lyrical horizons of hip-hop. Originally circulated independently, the limited run CD was subsequently purchased and traded by fans internationally- becoming something of a cult classic. The album would later achieve an even greater status amongst fans and collectors alike as many of the artists featured (Aceyalone, Volume 10, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude, etc.) would go on to have varying levels of mainstream success.
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