In the last 5 years, I have had the pleasure of working with several local artists and got to see some very talented people, who can put on amazing live shows, and do things I can only dream about in the studio. I have listened to over 100 local albums from several different genres, but I can say with certainty MC S.aV.’s “Starkiller” is not only one of my favorites, it is in a league of its own. I would even go so far to say that MC SaV is the hottest rapper in Seattle, WA, not named Macklemore.
From the very first full length track “Bruce Wayne” to the final cut “Bad Boys” (my personal favorite), SaV brings it lyrically and with a flow that is unlike most rappers today. I think it’s also safe to say we know who his favorite superhero is. While I don’t fault him, I’m more of Hulk guy myself, though. Bruce Wayne was one of the first few songs I ever heard from him when I watched the video, which was very well done by Kaven the Kid.
Do yourself a favor and watch that video and you’ll see a few things: First, SaV is not your typical “local rapper” with false hopes of making it big. Second, you’ll see a video that is better done than a lot of the big rappers videos (I’m looking at you, Nelly, with your flying car in ‘Just a dream.’). Third, thing you will see is that the Seattle music scene is very much alive, and full of talent that the world hasn’t seen since the early 90’s when we ushered in the grunge era. Further proof that MC SaV could be the hottest rapper in Seattle, WA, not named Macklemore.
MC SaV has several skits in there, which I am against on albums. I’ve never understood the point. You get a laugh the first time through, then you just move on and wish there was another song on them. His skits are funny several times through, though. The first one is a call from Obama, the second is Jay Z, and the final is from LL Cool J. They are short enough that you don’t have to just reach for the skip button, and funny enough that you’ll find yourself impersonating the voices later on. Things get a little darker on “League of Shadow” showing that his range is very broad. It also hammered home the love for Gotham’s finest, and featured Young Noble. Then, on the title track he actually brought in some heavy hitters in Crooked I, and Bizzy Bone.
The track is exactly what you’d expect, almost 5 minutes of bragging about how good he is, and if you’ve listened to every track up to this point, it would be hard to argue with him. Even with the bigger names on the track Sav still shines bright. The final track is, as I mentioned earlier, ‘Bad Boys’ featuring Pacific Game. It’s hard to listen to this track and not get yourself pumped up. After one listen it made it’s way to my ‘work out’ playlist. From references to Jay Z’s reasonable doubt to the infectious heavy beat, to the catchy easy to sing along chorus, this song fires on all cylinders and I hope there is a video coming out for it very soon.
You can check out the entire album for yourself on Spotify and iTunes. He’s got a show coming up in October in Las Vegas, NV at the Summerlin Street Festival. Check out his website at www.skillsandvariety.com. In a city with a deep music history like Seattle, the up and coming rapper has the skills (and variety) to be one of it’s shining stars and next big things. In fact, MC SaV could even prove to be the hottest rapper in Seattle, WA, not named Macklemore. Keep your eye out for him, and if you’re a rap fan be sure to check out this album, and YouTube “Frankenstein Flow.”
Blog by Andy Lapic