The Vermont Hip Hop Awards are up and running; Nominations Round runs until this Sunday at Midnight and the Final Ballot gets announced the next morning. Based on the spread so far, there might be some major upsets and surpises when that happens.

Earlier today, we inched past the halfway mark: more than 50% of those nomination ballots are now in. I am impressed overall by the mutual support. Artists who are straightforward fans of one anothers work is a crucial condition for the long-term longevity of a music scene. Darwinism definitely gets results, but over time, it also tends to burn the whole house down.

But none of that is the biggest news this week. That would be a two way tie between a wild-ass new Jarv video and a new project from Young Brazii.

Better Days is, I believe, the first "album from prison" in 802 history. The circumstances and the campaign behind FREE BRAZII may overshadow the LP itself, but it's a bright, banging piece of work, with siithemagician and Benburt handling much of the production. The raw sound quality on the vocals only makes it all that much more urgent. A tightly wound set overflowing with ideas and asides, it's a landmark release.

Jarv's new music video for "Getting You Up To Speed" involved Entirely Way Too Much Work, clearly, but hot damn, all that extra effort was worth it. It's a giddy, goofy celebration showcasing the upper limits of Jarv's fast-rappin' precision. Safe to bet he's got one hell of a busy summer coming together...expect tour date announcements soon.

On the shows front, January is shaping up to be a slower month, dominated by the regular grind of Reks-N-Effect going down every Monday night at Sugarbush.

You can still get busy in January, though: FEMCEES GOT BARS is going down Saturday, January 14th at The Loading Dock, which is just across the New Hampshire border in Littleton. An evening devoted to "The Ladies of Hip Hop," the bill features Omega Jade, Heady Betty, and Afrobella (winner of the first GET LIVE RAP COMPETITION over in Morrisville last September), alongside sets from Katie Ladubz, LadyMaverik and Hood Mona Lisa. Interestingly enough, the venue is BYOB for those 21+ and able to prove it, so if you see a tired, filthy pig farmer posted in the back with a 12 pack, well, come say hello. All Ages, $10 in advance.

The next weekend, we turn our attention to Charlie O's World Famous, one of the finest dive bars in this or any other state. The Montpelier mainstay will be hosting the latest installment of the "Mavstar and Friends" series. It's a treat for old school heads. The lineup includes Forest Gray, not seen in these mountains for quite some time, freestyle legend MC Humble, Boomslang's own Sed One, Old Growth Souljourner and, of course, Mavstar. Yet the most essential ingredient, as I’m sure all those artists would agree, is the event-runnin’ & deck-destroyin’ force of nature that is DJ Kanganade holding everything down for the evening. The man is truly a pillar of our scene. Stop taking him for granted. 21+, free show.

Remember, there are only 359 days left to make your mark on 2023.

So far this week on THE FEED: Hakim XOXO, Jibba the Gent & Rico James, Creezy Bands, Flywlkr ft. Lood, a Chris Dizzy hosted posse cut, and ... VT Union ft. Sean Price. Yeah … that Sean Price. Keep the submissions coming. You can reach me through the inbox or the instagram.

Once again, it is time.

The Vermont Hip Hop Awards are an annual juried assessment of the scene, a means of measuring respect more than success. Success matters a lot, don't get me wrong, but this right here is a community affair, a consensus of peers.

Everyone knows what to expect this time around so we're kicking things off immediately, no prelude, no hype. Nominations are open, from now until January 8th. You can nominate as many names as you like for each category, you do not have submit nominations for every category. (But that would be mighty nice.) That Nominations Ballot email went out this morning.

The top five nominees in each category will make it onto the Final Ballot, which goes up on Monday, January 9th. Voting closes on the 14th and come Sunday, January 15th, we announce the winners. That's that.

Some important changes this year:

First off, the jury pool is way bigger, which is necessary and good. Last year the VTHH Academy list was 86 people, 77 of whom voted in both rounds. This year we've got over 130 voters so far and it's still growing.

Second, there are a few changes to the lineup of categories. We're going a little top heavy this time to test out some new ones: Artist of the Year, Best Live Performance and Most Improved have been added and Rookie of the Year has been cut. (There was too much confusion over what that meant last year, and despite ending in a three way tie, none of the winners were exactly rookies.) Artist of the Year is your pick for the biggest name of 2022, period. Best Live Performance and Most Improved are hopefully self-explanatory.

Despite all my high-minded fancy talk about doing a physical awards ceremony this time around: yeah, nope. Too much work, too much money, and too many conversations to had about sponsorship, scope and location. I had also assumed that, like 2020 and 2021, January would see another "seasonal variation" spike in Covid cases; fortunately I was wrong on that.

Ultimately, it is unrealistic to expect other people to put in work for free, so I'm limiting this to what I know I can deliver. I am very open to talking about expanding this for next year. That would involve, at minimum, venue and equipment rentals, catering, sound, security, videography and photography, and printing both promo flyers and physical awards for the winners.

Next year, though. We've got time. Meanwhile, get those nominations in, and if you want to participate, get in touch. Expect to be asked who you are and what you do; this is not for fans, family and friends. This is for us. Thank you for understanding.

Way back on January 4th, I called it: "2022 is going to be a legendary year, a triumph of youth culture that inspires more youth culture for a decade to come." I made dozens of other calls that day, many of them hilariously wrong. Yet, like any self-respecting prophet, I prefer to evaluate my track record based solely upon my successful predictions.

I've used a million florid adjectives to describe the growth of our scene in recent years, but 2022 has been, plain & simple, explosive. That's not hype, only a description. By my count, I've been introduced to just over a hundred new artists in the past 52 weeks. All of them are putting in work, releasing projects, playing shows. The field has never been so huge; but that also means the field has never been so crowded. With dozens of popular acts competing for the top spot in a small state, it's never been harder to get attention for your work. Let's start there.

Local music scenes are, in general, grubby & brutal meatgrinders, a slow motion car crash of disillusionment. There is also free beer sometimes. During those rare stretches when a local music scene blows up, things change completely but they do not, necessarily, improve. For most participants, the dynamic just shifts: from Crabs In A Bucket to King Of The Hill, from fighting over scarce resources to fighting over big chances. That shift is going to dominate 2023.

Don't let it dominate you. Avoiding that bullshit entirely should be at the forefront of your mind. It does no good for you, me or any of us. So before we get into celebrating 2022 in detail, let's look at how to improve 2023 first.

Sonically, the scene is more diverse than ever. That's partly due to the sheer size of the field, sure, but the heavy lifting comes from some adventurous artists pushing boundaries. A surefire way to carve out your own lane is to carve out your own sound first. That does not require re-inventing any wheels. Crews like Blu Pak and Write Hooked are both proof that you can make straight up pop-rap music and still have a blast doing it. The way their personalities shine through is a big part of their success.

There's also artists having success far further from the mainstream. Humble Among is a shining example, building up a Youtube following with constant, quality content, and working hard for the larger Juggalo community. I've loved the nightmare bass-heavy aesthetic of everything I heard from SYIERR this year, everything I’ve heard from ZEKI has been innovative and fully realized, I've been impressed with the consistency & musicality of Xistential, and Prince LooD aka YVNG OHM has been earning his way onto bill after bill the old fashioned way: high-energy, killer live sets.

This is not intended to peg any of those artists as existing outside of the scene, or even fighting the establishment. (In fact, I think all of them will be big influences on the next few years of new artists.)

As for the mainstream, well, shit is pretty weird these days. For two decades now, every genre on the charts has been getting lobotomized one single at a time, drugged-up and stripped-down to the point they all start to sound the same. Many of the submissions I get lately baffle me, flat out. A generation raised on mumble rap and Soundcloud emo stars born to die young, their output bears zero resemblance to anything I'd recognize as hip hop.

That's not for me to decide, though. Never was, never will be. If you can gain fans, stream numbers, and sell tickets making music that you and your audience call "hip hop," no amount of gatekeeping or old head grumbling will change that. So while I don't "get" new artists like Tyler Serrani or Conmac or Nxrthstar, their fans sure as hell do, and they've memorized every word of it, too.

Besides, it's not like great rap music is going extinct, here or anywhere. 2022 was an overflowing fountain of boom baptisms, packed with outstanding offerings from grumpy old heads who still stubbornly insist upon rapping their ass off. Phree Speech, a last minute offering from Scott Phree and HAZE HOLIDAY, is packed with quotable bars ("pressing play's equivalent to getting laced with pepper spray") over uncompromising filthy beats and I loved it. Bulletproof Dolla is at the peak of his powers lately, Just Cauz has been on a warpath, and Ferragamo Face got signed to a world class management team at Secure The Bag Entertainment. Boxguts staked a permanent place at the table with his latest LP, Royal Water, and of course, Raw Deff x THEN WHAt and Jarv both dropped masterpiece grade projects in 2022. (That's The Others II and The Amalgam, respectively.)

What I'd love to see in 2023 is more shows that unite all of these diverse threads, more live opportunities outside of Chittenden County, more national touring acts taking on local support when they play Vermont, and ... rap battles. It is way past time to bring that back. Onstage or on wax, iron sharpens iron and beef always yields buzz.

Another great strategy for beating the crabs in a bucket problem? Build your own scene outside of Burlington. David Phair of HLR and Vermont's own Zulu Nation chapter has been doing this for years in Bethel, the Maiden Voyage crew built their name doing this in Windsor, and the Event Genesis team has created a grassroots renaissance in record time down at Castleton this year. Zenbarn in Waterbury has evolved into a major hub for hip-hop culture post-pandemic, and that's very necessary. Finally, Big Homie Wes has put up some truly wild numbers this year, networking across New England and creating constant opportunities for indie artists over in Lamoille County. I don't think anyone in the state did more to raise their profile this year with nothing but DIY hustle, but Pleasant Boys and Real Ricky both belong in that conversation, too. Salute.

Hell, you don't even have to leave Burlington to build your own scene. Mister Burns proved that, Charlie Mayne proved that, Hella Fader proved that, and few crews have ever done it better than the Queen City Kickback team. A2VT have been racking up fans around the world and getting tons of press along the way, and they've done that almost entirely on their own. In addition to regularly rocking shows and releasing new tracks, Omega Jade runs a great hip hop blog of her own, funny, unfiltered and extremely supportive, too.

One of the most interesting new projects in the 802 this year was the launch of PROVISIONS, a label / brand / imprint type deal run by Garrett Heaney, who embodies the "Executive Producer as Entrepreneur" ethos. He's much more on the DJ Muggs end of the spectrum than DJ Khaled, but the logic remains the same: buy the right beats, find the right artists, and retain sole control of the final product. So far, PROVISIONS has been a vital bridge between the local and global underground.

All of these success stories are open books. Using the device you're reading this on right now, you can study up on the blueprints these artists used and draw up a game plan of your own. It's all just work; discipline, routines and strategies.

Perhaps the most important strategy in that toolkit is how you release your music. Two of the best examples you can study from 2022 are what the North Ave Jax team did for Lazy, but I have goals and what Jarv did for The Amalgam. I'm not going over them again here, but the key takeaway is you should have all of your assets ready to go before you announce your next project. Don't rush that process. If you're unhappy with the results you're getting, the only person who can change that is you.

But let’s get back to everyone else.

Big picture. Huge headlines. Broad strokes.

Perhaps the single biggest story of 2022 wasn't about anyone here. The return of the music business as a functional touring industry has been a seismic shift, and we've had some big shows come through the state this year. (Too bad about Lil Pump, though.) We've also had the open mic scene catch fire again and seen a proliferation of new platforms & opportunities for new artists and veterans passing through.

There are ten thousand moving parts that all have to work perfectly in order to survive another year in the music business. Fans buying tickets & merch is the engine that drives artists paying money for photography, videos, graphic design, printing, recording, mixing and mastering. This is a very partial list. We are still squarely in the middle of a rare window of opportunity as this industry rebuilds itself. The work you are doing, right now, matters more than you know.

Photo courtesy of Timberline Media, who do superb work.

Past that? I don't think anything mattered more this year than the announcement, promotion, last-minute cancellation, re-booking and 48 hours flat Higher Ground Ballroom sellout of Love, Kelly's "Fall Fest" celebration with 99 Neighbors and North Ave Jax headlining. That was a lot of stress and work and Kelly Butts-Spirito handled it gracefully, too. Uniting both of the biggest success story arcs Vermont has seen lately, delivering one of the best stage shows in years, exposing some of the most dangerous weaknesses in Chittenden County governance, and amassing more media coverage & visibility than any other story along the way. Master class.

A close second was Fattie B's return with his GUMBO LP. Fresh off a brush with death, Kyle Thompson managed to thread together a massive swath of Vermont's hip hop scene, old and new, and deliver an embarrassment of riches along the way. If I was constrained by the pretense of journalistic ethics, I could never say some shit like that, because I myself am on that same album, but it's true enough that I hardly have to say it. That joint is, objectively, a milestone of a moment in time.

Last year, Konflik's comeback was the big story to me personally, and once the results came in for the first annual Vermont Hip Hop Awards, it turned out I was far from alone on that: he took Best Emcee, Best Album and Best Song. He didn't relent one bit in 2022, delivering a new album and playing shows constantly around the country. One cannot shake the feeling his story is still just getting started.

I have mentioned, at least twice, the unavoidable triumph of "The New Wave." Then there's the other, even more recent "New Wave." Things change too fast these days, and anyone who can outlast multiple hype cycles is doing well, doing great. No question, Rivan, Flywlkr, Hakim XOXO, Real Ricky and Kami OK! are still standing strong. Moose Got Tha Juice and Bilé have both cemented their place and delivered their best work yet this year. Some new names I expect to see gaining fans and building buzz in 2023: ABULLET, Gutta, Lifting Lighters, Phoenix Ashby, Topia, and especially, ZEKI, a prolific madman in all the right ways. The trifecta of NorthEastYoungin', Sad Boy Julius and Xistential are shaping up to be a serious threat, too, with increasingly professional quality control on every front.

We have only begun to see the impact of marijuana money sloshing around the state. We've seen a lot of new sponsor logos on flyers this year, with Forbin's Finest and Tall Truck taking an early, aggressive lead. Last night in Waterbury, Rebel Grown, one of the 802's best kept secrets, held a coming out party of sorts at Zenbarn, bringing Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna to the heart of Vermont. Expect a lot more of that in '23.

Finally: some of the biggest stories of 2022 won't be visible until 2023. 99 Neighbors have been busy prepping an expansive third wave of legendary art, North Ave Jax has some huge surprises tucked up his sleeve, the entire Street Religion crew is plotting (yet another) big comeback, and Young Brazii is about to release an album from jail to kick off 2023. The work that Spacey Jones has been putting in with Maine-based supergroup The 6ix is only beginning to pay off, and they've already been selling out shows across New England.

Vermont Hip Hop Dot Com had another busy year; eleven thousand IP addresses came through to engage with a little over thirty thousand chunks of content here. I posted far less of that content than in recent years, but having the archives stacked four years deep made up the difference: for the first time ever, Google search results drove more traffic here than Facebook or Twitter. Big winners on that front: 99 Neighbors, North Ave Jax, Jarv, Heady Betty and Pleasant Boys. You can't fake organic buzz. (You can still buy pretty much everything else, though.)

In preparation for this too-long recap, I spent some time reading over earlier coverage. A couple themes emerged: no matter how much work I put in any given year, I still wrap up feeling like I haven't done enough. That will never change. I also mention, several times per year since 2018, bringing on new writers for the website. While I have posted some guest pieces from Humble Among and run regular columns like The Five Spot, nobody is exactly lining up to work for free. That will likely never change, too, so the best I can do next year is bringing back a steady stream of artist interviews.

I am blessed & cursed to be running the only inbox for "Vermont Hip Hop" in the known Universe. I have put many new arrivals in touch with both local promoters and clutch collaborators who will help shape the future around here, and hopefully helped out with advice and feedback along the way. I deeply appreciate how much the new generation of artists truly want constructive feedback on their work. We will be introducing a new feature about that later this month.

A couple of urgent demands from the backwoods follow. You don't need to heed this advice because it's coming from me, a hick nobody. Do it because you know it's true.

In 2023, the bar for sound quality in the 802 is set at "professionally mixed and mastered." That is the bare minimum, that is the starting gate. You're not taking yourself seriously with the iPhone demos and DIY engineering and you cannot expect others to take you seriously. Remember, your real competition isn't other local artists, it's 50,000 songs being uploaded to Spotify, every single day.

Stop fucking around with half-ass cover art. In a world where we've all been reduced to consumers, if a product looks cheap, it is cheap. I saw way too many artists slapping dollar store cover art over hundred dollar songs this year. You will only hurt yourself by rushing the process and cutting corners. Make everything matter and you'll get better results.

And for both those reasons: don't hesitate to delete old stuff altogether, or re-do it and release it again. Especially when you're getting started. If you've been making music for two or three years now, that's a small bottle of ink poured into the Winooski River. Just focus on building the leanest, strongest audiovisual porfolio you can present to new fans. Worry about the quantity once you establish the workflow behind the quality. Do the hard work first.

Believe it or not, all this word salad excess is me keeping it brief. As dumb as it is to celebrate an ever-expanding beat on a never-changing salary, buddy, I do.

The past four years have been wild to witness. Everything ends eventually, but the most salient fact about the growth of Vermont Hip Hop so far is that we're not even at a plateau yet. Every year has been bigger, faster and more insane than the one before. My only prediction here is a cinch: 2023 is going to be the new high water mark, full of legendary moments and music.

The 2022 Vermont Hip Hop Awards kicks off ... tomorrow. No Days Off 2023. Stay safe and keep thriving. I love you all.

Happy Solstice & Merry Christmas. 2022 has been an insanely busy year for the scene, one I never managed to adequately cover here, because it was an insanely busy year for me, too. C'est la vie & etc.

And hot damn, what a finish this December has been. Mister Burns has launched a weekly hip hop showcase, Reks-N-Effect, at The Reks over at Sugarbush. You may recall that venue has been the site of some legendary lineups before (with some steep ticket prices) but this is a mere five bucks at the door to catch some top notch bills, combining touring and local talent. Oh, and he's pulling that off in addition to doing a whole tour this month; the Rapping For Presents run with C. Shreve The Professor.

I understand there was also something rather huge going down in Burlington recently.

Courtesy of David Cloy Photography. Kelly Butts-Spirito having a peak moment with a couple hundred friends.

On Friday, December 9th, 99 Neighbors and North Ave Jax sold out the Ballroom at Higher Ground under the banner of Love, Kelly. It will come to be seen as a decisive turning point: both of those artists have sold out the Ballroom on their own merits already, of course, but this show proves the need for an even bigger stage.

The "Fall Fest" lineup was originally supposed to be an outdoor show at City Hall Park in downtown Burlington, but it was cancelled at the last minute thanks to the same mix of cowardice and incompetence that has characterized Miro Weinberger's entire administration.

Come summer 2023, I expect to see an outdoor festival somewhere in the 802 devoted, entirely, to the explosion of young talent I have taken to calling "The New Wave," thanks to the same mix of laziness and hack journalism that has characterized my entire run here at Vermont Hip Hop Dot Com. Any enterprising promoter with a cooperative, capable venue could easily pack a six to eight hour bill full of artists with organic buzz and real box office draw, too. It's not a matter of if, it's not a matter of when, it's just a matter of who steps up to make it happen. And I think we can all make a pretty safe bet on that one.

Another bigtime re-scheduled event is coming right up: the Rebel Daze NYE Celebration at Zenbarn rights a historical wrong, finally bringing us the Cappadonna and Inspectah Deck show that was supposed to happen last year. The Rebel Grown team does world class work and this party should be no exception. The local lineup is shaping up nicely, too: Sed One and DJ Kanga were both recently announced.

For now, well, that's that, bud. I'm proud of pretty much everybody, I gotta say. "Pretty much" is only a hedge against some dipshit grievance that will come back to me after this gets published. I think I'm proud of everyone with no qualifications. You did the best you could, and then some.

I won't recap any of that here, though. That all comes after New Years and I am, regrettably, already working on the big ol' "2022 in Review" joint. (Here’s 2021.)

Far less regrettably, I am also working on the Second Annual Vermont Hip Hop Awards. (Results from last year are archived here.) For anyone just getting up to speed, this is a juried award with just over a dozen categories that gets decided by two rounds of voting: first the nominations and then the actual winners. It covers the entirety of 2022, anything released this calendar year is eligible.

Which brings us to you. Over the course of the past 355 days, Vermont has seen the debut of more new artists than ever. The jury for the 2021 awards could and should have been bigger, too. If you're involved in the scene and you want to participate in the Awards this year, let me know. (You can use Instagram now, too.) Thank you in advance.

This offer also extends to producers, promoters, DJs, graf heads, breakers, videographers, photographers, managers and mixing engineers. It does not extend to friends, family and fans. Online popularity contests always favor competitors with the biggest reach, which is why we've seen high school and college students beat out artist on record labels. The VTHH Awards is still a popularity contest, of course, but it's about the respect of your peers, not the size of your fanbase.

Good luck to every last one of you. Thanks for putting up with me. See you next year.

The big news this week is ... well, hard to say. Down bad with an ugly illness that's got me struggling to remember my damn passwords at work, it is safe to say I am less informed than ever. I'm betting that Jarv's new album dropping on Friday takes the cake, though.

I spend a lot of free time giving free advice to young artists these days and the biggest question is always, at the core, the same: how can I reach more people with my music? When you look at the most prominent and successful 802 artists, one thing they all have in common is doing smart, strategic promotional rollouts for their new releases.

Jarv announced The Amalgam a month in advance. He had all of his assets in place already, offering a preview track ("Getting You Up To Speed") and laying out some extensive merch options, including a custom skate deck. He told everyone to look forward to a single/video, "Focus," and then followed that up with another single/video, "Blue." The result: well over 50,000 views combined, with no label machine or tastemaker influencers to drive traffic. That's juice, and Jarv earned it by touring constantly and converting fans across the country.

"But that all takes money." I hear this complaint again and again. No doubt, most things cost money in our late capitalist shitshow. "Nowadays it costs money to breathe," as Jadakiss told us, but discipline and creativity will take you places that money alone cannot. You can see this with upstart artists like Sadboy Julius, Real Ricky, Pleasant Boys and ZEKI: they're constantly creating new content for their audience. It's all engaging and it's all free promo.

IT’S VINNIE PAZ, BABY. Photo courtesy of Rico James.

Live shows are another force multiplier that money cannot substitute for. The December SHOWS Calendar is up and, thanks to the diligence of Mister Burns, it is generously packed. Two notable dates coming right up: on Friday night at Radio Bean, local jazz-hop outfit The Most Wanted will be teaming up with Canuck-based experimental duo The Lyonz. This lineup is highly recommended. Then, on Saturday, well...

That's one hell of a hot ticket, and Green Door has become an improbable but undeniable BTV cultural hub in 2022, hosting local and touring hip hop artists alike. The "Mavstar and Friends" umbrella could easily evolve into a franchise unto itself; the man is a widely respected, easygoing cultural diplomat who moves with ease through every corner of the 802's many scenes.

Since Fattie B made the cover of Seven Days last week, there's been a notable trend of 802 hip hop trailblazers getting some richly deserved major media shine. This is encouraging and long overdue. First up, legendary DJ and entertainer Craig Mitchell opened up for an astonishingly intimate profile piece that was published in VT Digger. (Note that Kayla Duvel's powerful piece was originally run on the excellent hyperlocal site The Winooski News.)

Next up, Vermont Public ran a too-short but on-point interview with DJ Melo Grant of the long-running Cultural Bunker show on WRUV, which has been mandatory listening for decades of hip hop heads, young and old. And today, Rajnii Eddins and Omega Jade made the cover of the Burlington Free Press. Huge. Please keep it coming.

Finally, a last minute announcement via Dan Pomerantz of Rebel Grown: Wu legends Inspectah Deck and Cappadonna will be returning to Zenbarn in Waterbury for a New Years Eve celebration. More on that soon — but for now, I gotta get back to work and I forgot my damn passwords yet again. Stay safe out there.

Time is short, life is hectic, but there's no way I can pass up using this photo again. It's a tradition around here. I hope this dispatch finds you doing well, doing good, doing great.

A big congratulations to Ferragamo Face, who recently got signed to Secure The Bag Entertainment, Ryan Kane's upstart management / music conglomerate. That's a big deal and it's well earned, besides: the man is one of the best spitters to pass through Vermont. Looking forward to a flood of new material from an often elusive artist.

Fattie B has a big old cover story in Seven Days this week to commemorate the release of GUMBO, and it's an important read, encompassing both a lot of local music history and a lot of real life shit worth thinking over, especially as we lurch towards what Americans meekly refer to as "The Holidays."

In that article, Mr. Bumbalattie talks about re-evaluating his life in the face of his own mortality, something our culture is not very good at grappling with. The corporations who control that culture idolize youth, glamourize consumers and encourage adults, at every turn, to act like children. Yet no matter what kind of "identity" you chose to buy in our vast strip mall of products & poses, you're going to die the same as anyone else.

Time wasted is gone forever. I often joke about being somewhere South of stupid for running this website but there's a damn good reason for doing it, and despite my many shortcomings, this still manages to be an important hub. The only question is how to do it better. I hope that process can continue for years to come, but I also hope that someone in the new generation will start working on the platform that will someday replace this. Maybe that's you.

It feels like living in a science fiction novel to type that We Are Heading Into 2023, but shit, here we are. My two big questions for the next twelve month run: how to get more voices included here and how to deal with the fact I'm back to regularly releasing my own music. I will not lose any sleep over either of 'em, though. These things take care of themselves.

Finally: an important show is coming up on Saturday, December 3rd. The "Mavstar and Friends" showcase is basically a test balloon / pre-party for the return of Anthill Collective’s very legendary, very necessary 3rd Thursdays shows in 2023. Very appropriate, then, that the lineup is a bold cross-section of our busy scene and a strong selection of local talent.

More immediately, for BTV locals looking for somewhere to be this Friday, there's a great lineup at Radio Bean on Friday night: Lifting Lighters, foz., and breakout Castleton duo Pleasant Boys. Five bucks at the door. Life is good — beautiful, even.

Vazy and Learic, hurting feelings in person somewhere (Metronome?), pre-Covidian Era

In the past month, I have received a cool dozen emails out of the blue from artists who recently arrived here and don’t know where to get started. I have given pretty much all of them the same answer: you have to get started in real life. Every element of hip hop is inherently social technology, a live event, a human connection.

So does Burlington need another hip hop open mic event? Fuck yeah, it does. More than one, in fact: we need multiple venues providing regular outlets for young artists, and we need them in all 14 counties, not just the moneyed plains of Chittenden. Mister Burns was first out the gate with his Second Nature series at Orlando’s, a venue currently threatened by whining neighbors who somehow didn’t realize that living in downtown BTV would be loud.

This is why you need redundant solutions: an entertainment permit can be a fleeting thing in a city full of progressives who live to complain. So I’m grateful that local legend King Mecca is stepping up to host the new Smash Tha Stage series at Einstein’s Tap House starting next Saturday, November 19th. The lineup is filling out nicely, with a great mix of sounds and styles, all of ‘em talented.

Over in Lamoille County, Big Homie Wes has grown some broad shoulders, putting in hard work to carry the local scene more or less on his back. I never would have expected to be writing that Morrisville is becoming a hot spot for hip hop, but 2022 has been full of surprises. Up next, Wes will be debuting the first Training Grounds Open Mic at the Oasis Cafébar on Friday, December 9th.

Events like these are essential oxygen for a growing scene. The networking, the visibility, the advice, the space to workshop ideas, the chance to check out your competition; such forums are a delicate balance of encouraging newcomers and enforcing standards. This year I’ve witnessed a lot of new artists change their tune once they realized how big the field was and how high the bar was set. The sooner you get serious about your artform, the better.

Hopefully I’ll have more open mics to announce next month. Hopefully this inspires someone to build that platform in their own backyard / favorite watering hole. At minimum, you’ll need a venue with a reliable sound system and someone who knows how to (actually) use it. You’ll need someone on deck to run beats and background music during slow spells: a “DJ,” we used to call them. And you’ll need put in work promoting it, too.

It’s not an easy commitment, but the payoffs of having regular events are considerable. You can attract sponsorship deals, you’ll always have a date available for touring acts looking to cram another evening into their schedule, and if you’ve got your brand connected to it, well, that’s you earning name recognition and credibility like clockwork. Just planting seeds, bud. Think it over.

Once again, this installment of the occasional ROUNDUP column is 100% focused on artists who don't get enough shine. Some of them are being mentioned here for the first time ever. That makes for a highly mixed bag, of course: not everyone is ready for the spotlight.

That said, here it is anyway.

Adnan Djozo - On To The Next

I love the aesthetic: this cat just loops up some sweet, simple, swinging drum loops and then vibes out on the keyboard. And it works pretty much every single time. I have enjoyed everything on his Soundcloud over the past year and dude just keeps improving. I'm surprised more 802 emcees aren't hitting up Adnan Djozo for production, but these things take time.

Creezy Bands - Stories

I was told that Creezy Bands put in more work than anybody in 2022, and holy shit, there is a case to be made there. His Soundcloud is a vertical wall of singles, and you have to scroll down for a long damn time to reach 2021. "Stories" was a standout cut on his Big Bands, Small City project, which just dropped this week. Put a promo team behind this kind of output and his 2023 might become a major story.

SlomoboyZ - reasons ft. Hakim XOXO

The SlomoboyZ crew are completely inscrutable, weird as fuck, enjoyably insane. "reasons" is a small slice of their recent release entitled, ahem, "The Legend of the SlomoboyZ - Act 1: SunSflameS." That project is perhaps best enjoyed in full, but this sample featuring Hakim XOXO should give you an immediate sense of whether or not you're ready for that.

Topia - Different ft. Isaac and the Brain

Another baffling cut, but don't misconstrue me, "Different" was a highly enjoyable ride on the good headphones. The vocals here are often more textural than lyrical, leaning out into the plugin abyss so far they're more like instrumental solos. And it's cool. Topia's catalog is worth digging through, lots of creative approaches to melodics instead of the same minor key trap intervals everyone else uses.

yung dor - NOTTA PLAYER (REMIX)

I was flat out surprised by how smooth this was. Right on, bud. yung dor handles what could have been an awkward recording session with charisma and range, nailing persuasive takes as both rapper and singer here. Poking around the rest of the catalog, it's clear this is a young artist finding their way, but hot damn, lots of potential here.

Phoenix Ashby - Pimp Anarchy

Phoenix Ashby is a young artiste who brings a lot of flavors to the table. In the second half of 2022, his quality control has been improving sharply with every drop. He’s got a dynamic voice, a punk aesthetic, and can write some choice lines, too, so it will be fascinating to watch Mr. Ashby evolve further next year.

4EYE$ - This One ft. Be Rich

No question, ol' boy has some hard work to do on both the performance and production fronts, but I have to give him credit for sticking to what he knows. Considering where we are, it's sad how few songs about driving around in trucks get submitted to my inbox. That said, this track is still more demo than finished song. The bar is set very high these days when it comes to making an impression.

Yung Pharma - The Third

Finally, a slice of, well, I'm at a loss here, I admit. Why doesn’t this click? No question, the kid can write some rhymes. The flow patterns bob and weave, and the cadence is pretty on point throughout, too. But overall, it's so full-spectrum corny that it's hard for me to sit through. That beat is not helping. Either way, there is probably a huge market for this, so perhaps Yung Pharma will dominate the industry for decades to come. Long may he reign.

It took slightly longer than the 24 hours I predicted, but sure enough, the upcoming North Ave Jax x 99 Neighbors show sold out yesterday afternoon. It’s a wild achievement and an important milestone, but perhaps even more importantly, it allows VTHH to get back to covering everyone else for awhile. Cheers.

The big headline this week is the miraculous resurrection of the "Fall Fest" bill featuring dual headliners North Ave Jax and 99 Neighbors. No question, that's a victory, but it also illustrates a problem: Burlington has a hip hop scene that needs more room to grow. And it doesn't exist yet.

99 Neighbors already sold out the Higher Ground ballroom. North Ave Jax already sold out the Higher Ground Ballroom. It's awesome to see them both return, together, with a promoter who fought to keep tickets at $5 to give back to the fans who made all this possible. But something needs to happen by next summer to make it possible to do something like the original Fall Fest plan without having bureaucrats shut it down. Again.

This new wave is too big for our biggest venue. Something has to give.

Konflik and Nastee sat down with Golden Hour for an outstanding history lesson, with a lot of music business gems along the way. It feels almost offensive to call what the Golden Hour team is doing a "podcast," this is basically independent television; this is documentary art. Travis Card is one of the most inherently hilarious human beings in the 802 and a perfect host for these freewheeling conversations.

On Monday, I posted up 22 impolite suggestions for the best song of the year, and understandably, there were many misunderstandings as a result. That was not a list of nominees; I don't choose nominees.

The Vermont Hip Hop Awards goes down every January, from here to the burning end of the United States of America. Both the nominees and the winners are chosen by a jury of voters, all of whom are artists, promoters, DJs, graf writers, breakers, and local legends. Obviously, that jury pool is going to be bigger next January, because the scene has grown tremendously. (If you didn't vote last year and want to vote this year, get in touch.)

And remember: there are still 54 days left until we close the book on the craziest year Vermont Hip Hop has ever seen.

Things I Am Grateful For: Having too much to report on. Wave Cave Radio Show on 105.9 FM The Radiator. A new generation of artists who take feedback like adults twice their age. Omega Jade growing a platform for independent artists from the 802 and beyond. Getting previews of incredible upcoming projects pretty much every week. Vego Harris and Sammy Chan putting up god body work all year long. Venues around the state booking hip hop shows. Wes The Best presiding over a full-on Rap Renaissance over in Lamoille County. It's been a damn fine year.

Finally, there's been a lot of salt in my inboxes lately, so let's wrap with a quick reality check: most of you aren't going to make it. As much as you want the validation of being told you're on the rise, you're next up, you're killing it right now, you also know that isn't true because of the real world results that you get. If you can drop a music video on Youtube and still have less than 100 plays a month later, you have a problem, and that problem has nothing to do with this website.

Because this is one of the only platforms that 802 hip hop artists have, it appears far larger and more important than it actually is. In fact, my reach here is tiny; mostly just other local artists, promoters and journalists.

So this website won't drive fans to your music. The opposite is true: one of the most successful posts this month is a Pleasant Boys song I posted on THE FEED … three weeks ago. It's still getting 10+ visitors per day and they're mostly finding it on Google. Get it? Their fanbase, their buzz, is driving traffic to this website. They did that. Not me. That’s why they’re on the bill at Higher Ground on December 9th.

I'm not your publicist and I'm definitely not your cheerleader. Nobody is going to do that work for you, but you. As Prince Lood says: "Get back in the booth."

Huge props to Love,Kelly for turning this around so fast. After Fall Fest got cancelled at the last minute due to sheer animal panic at city hall, BTV's new generation of hip hop fans were left in limbo. What promised to be the latest landmark in that success story got shut down with no solution in sight. Until today.

Two of the most prominent hip hop acts in 802 history will be teaming up to rock Higher Ground on Friday, December 9th, along with a dynamite roster of supporting talent. TICKETS ARE FIVE DOLLARS AND THIS WILL SELL OUT VERY FAST, as in, probably today. So get on that.

As Kelly put it: "We fought to keep the tickets only $5 because this is about uplifting our community and we want anyone who gets one early to be able to be there no matter if they have bread or not." Better yet, proceeds go to the Burlington City Arts artist fund.

In closing, it's pretty hard to miss noticing that the solution for this whole debacle did not come from Burlington city government -- it came from the private sector, from the music business. That's how it had to be. Burlington City Arts is a non-profit full of great people doing great work, but they never had the experience or skillset to deal with something this big.

There is a valuable lesson in real-world politics to be had from the saga of Miro Weinberger, a broadly unpopular Democrat who has presided over a dozen disasters, still winning the mayoral election three consecutive times. It's easy to say Burlington could do better, but in reality? Nah. They really can't.

And that's Democracy™! Get out and vote today.

This is, of course, clickbait. You know how deeply obnoxious people will float something completely out of pocket absurd, and once the inevitable backlash hits, they fall back on how they were “Just Trying To Start A Conversation?” Well, bud, that’s me.

When we ran the first annual Vermont Hip Hop Awards last January, one of the most common comments I got was from people admitting they simply hadn’t paid very much attention. So this time around, I’m going to be agitating a great deal in the interest of getting 802 artists to actually listen to each other’s work — not to mention paying attention to our DJs, graf writers, and breakdancers. First up, though, let’s take a tour of some contenders for the “Best Song” category, all in alphabetical order.

This is incomplete, imperfect and irresponsible: let’s go.

99 Neighbors - “Static”

The Hometown Heroes were fairly quiet this year, working on personal growth and side projects aplenty, but this 99 Neighbors single was a huge dose of adrenaline with a show-stopper of a guest verse from Wahid. He does that a lot these days.

ABULLET ft. Hakim XOXO - Top Opps

I had slept on ABullet, but when Bilé calls you “the artist everyone should be mentioning in every convo,” well, that carries some weight. His Soundcloud catalog is some heavyweight drill menace, but this track with Hakim XOXO really stood out.

Bilé - "mad 4 it"

Speaking of Bilé, that dude had one hell of a run this year. It’s genuinely hard to narrow it down to a single track, but like I said in Seven Days last month, if you can overpower a beat this crushing with nothing but vocal takes, that’s a real achievement.

Blu Pak - "Crusin' Round"

UVM crew / label Blu Pak had a huge impact on the scene this year, thanks to a big roster with serious talent, not to mention exquisite quality control on the production tip. Again, hard to narrow it down to a single cut but “Cruisin’ Round” is a flawless West Coast party anthem, and a classic waiting to happen.

Bulletproof Dolla - "Something 2 Nothing"

Veteran St. Albans spitter Bulletproof Dolla is one of the most slept-upon emcees in the state, for my grubby money, and his recent run of material is the best production and sound quality he’s ever had. This track in particular is still on rotation up here on the pig farm, lean, clean and undeniably dope.

Cam Barnes - "Mantra"

Cam Barnes dropped his best project yet in 2022, “don’t boil the ocean,” and the opening track has really stuck with me. Just a piano loop and vocal booth, and that’s all the man needs.

Charlie Mayne - "Peppermint Tea"

There’s a lot of personal picks on this list, opinions, but Charlie Mayne’s new single / video is a non-negotiable fact, and will likely make the final ballot come January. I don’t need to offer much else here; the dude has too much juice. Don’t front.

Fattie B ft. Jennifer Hartswick & Dwight Seon - “Kiss The Trees”

Fattie B’s new album GUMBO was a monumental piece of work and there are a lot of strong contenders there. Even so, this joint stands way out to me — it captures a vibe and nails it for four minutes straight. Jennifer Hartswick is impeccable on both the hook and the trumpet work, and Dwight Seon’s energy is a perfect compliment to the track.

FLYWLKR x Hakim XOXO - FLYKEEM

It’s no secret that me and the new generation coming up don’t agree on very much, but this right here? A ton of bricks and funky as fuck, too. Props to Caleb Lodish and David Chief on the beat, and FLYWLKR and Hakim XOXO both do it justice, bigly. Potent stuff from two of the most promising young artists in the 802.

Gutta - “Movie”

Gutta’s first three tracks showed potential, but it all came together so well in “Movie” it was downright alarming. The beat, the lyrics, the performance, all of it is cold, stark, and compelling. If he can maintain every release at this level from now on, nothing can stop him.

Jarv - "Focus"

No question, Jarv has had a banner year between his touring and his collaborations, but “Focus” is going down as an all-time 802 classic. Funny, catchy, matched with a dope lo-fi video, this is a track that only he could have made. Pre-order The Amalgam now, especially if you want to get a physical copy before it sells out.

Jibba The Gent x Rico James - "Allo"

The duo of Jibba The Gent and Rico James have been putting up solid singles this year, but their latest is the best yet, and it’s a tour de force track from Jibba, displaying his range, influences and charisma. Too many quotables to count.

Kami Ok! ft Hakim XOXO - “heyshawty”

Another outstanding Hakim XOXO feature, this Kami Ok! single was a highlight track for a talented, tight-knit community of collaborators on a legendary run this year. Plus everything sii the magician touches is gold.

Konflik ft. Son of Tony - "No Peace"

Konflik’s second LP Head of a Snake, Thumbs of a Thief is wall to wall quality goods; this just happens to be my favorite single song off that project. His chemistry with Buffalo emcee Son of Tony is electrifying stuff, and the mutual respect makes for some amazing verses here. Props to Nastee for another monster of an East Coast beat.

Landon Sears ft. conswank - Leopard Print

This one is kinda cheating a bit, I admit. Landon Sears is a god-mode polymath from Nashville, but this does feature 99 Neighbors star conswank — not to mention the best hook I’ve heard from anyone this year. I’ve had this on repeat for awhile now.

Mavstar ft. MC Humble - "Alpha Centauri"

Mavstar has been upping his game something fierce in recent years, but this single / video is a real turning point for him. He’s perfecting his recipe and delivering the goods like never before. MC Humble gives it everything he’s got, and that Nastee production (and the Sammy Chan video) do the rest.

North Ave Jax - "Eastside"

An unavoidable anthem and the most successful rollout of the year, too. From the preview to the video to the remix, Love,Kelly has treated this catchy killer like the golden ticket that it is. Hell, North Ave Jax could just as easily cinch the nomination for "Play Dumb," too. This team is on fire. But you knew that already.

Provisions ft. Pajama Sam, A-F-R-O & Subtex - "End of Time"

There were a ton of great songs on the debut Provisions project Know Thyself, but this recent single is my favorite joint yet. Three wildly different talents, all having a blast trying to one-up each other over a hypnotic Pajama Sam beat. And that Subtex closer is something special, too.

Raw Deff x Ren Thomas x Jibba The Gent - "Get The Memo"

Relentless, neck-snapping bars. This is one of the strongest boom bap bangers of the year so far.

Rico James ft. The Aztext - “Music Keeps Calling”

Rico James dropped a legitimate AOTY contender with his compilation LP Language of Spirits. He also brought back The Aztext for this funky, smart single about how impossible it is to quit hip hop, no matter how long you’ve been in the game. Two dynamite verses, but then again, Pro and Learic have been doing that for decades now. What else could we expect?

Robscure ft. rivan - Pilot

Similar to that Charlie Mayne joint, “Pilot” is, objectively, one of the best 802 rap tracks of the year. Robscure delivered an incredible project with Air, but rivan delivers one of the best verses I’ve heard from any of you in 2022 on this right here. Turn it up and tell me I’m lying.

Yung Breeze - "Mr. T"

Yung Breeze just dropped an outstanding single / video, “But I Wonder,” yet to me, this one was his best track so far in 2022. Granted, the man is about to drop a whole album and really complicate the shit out of that decision pretty soon here. Meanwhile, this is grimy, claustrophobic, and hard as a cinder block.

If you disagree with any of these picks, if you think I fucked up badly by leaving something off, well, shit: I’m just trying to start a conversation, man.

It was just a few days back that Windsor emcee & Maiden Voyage veteran Jarv announced his next album, The Amalgam, was going to drop soon, and already, he’s breaking off another single with a video to match. A generous dude. “Focus” is a fun & funny ode to the joys of rural driving, which naturally features some cameos from Teece Luvv and Nahte Renmus. From the opening four bars to the breezy chorus, this is a throwback classic slice of life type joint, some dusty breaks, sweet chords, and homegrown ingenuity.

As Socrates observed, nearly two thousand years ago in his classic book on the music business, “the greatest competitive edge in this game is just being yourself.” Few artists around here have lived that more than Jarv. Skate rat, rap nerd, beat junkie, smooth goofball, he’s a regular dude who just happens to spit clever bars at the speed of light. Speed rap is seldom so crystal clear.

Speaking of: did you catch “Getting You Up To Speed” yet? Do so now:

Ol’ boy is coming for everyone’s head, surely, yes, but that’s just the nature of the game. What he’s really coming for is his props, his due, his rightful place in the pantheon. Jarv is still rapping his ass off and still having a blast doing it. The Amalgam drops December 2nd, and considering he’s been touring all over the place for much of 2022, if you want physical copies you should pre-order them now.

And remember: Jarv and Spose are coming through Higher Ground tomorrow night (November 5th!) and you can, lucky reader, still cop tickets if you hurry.

Just yesterday, I was talking about the incredible growth of the 802’s music video scene, and today I stumbled across a new (to me) team of video artists on the ol’ Instagram: Patrick and Seamus Brennan, who operate under the Holy Smokes brand. Their channel is a great collection of work, much of it with rising stars from Atlanta — plus two recent videos with Castleton’s own EDM/emo-pop breakout Tyler Serrani.

This joint with Real Ricky really stood out to me, though. This young emcee has had an amazing run over the past two years, evolving from a notable newcomer to a rising star in his own right. A ball of energy and charisma who bares his soul on pretty much every track, he’s building his fanbase the old fashioned way: a damn near non-stop release schedule, a continually improving product, and one of the sweatiest, highest energy live sets in Vermont right now.

He’s also got a genuine and raw inspirational success story in the making. When it comes to connecting with your audience, that counts for a lot; certainly a lot more than talent or skill, although he’s got plenty of both, for sure. In their desperation to become someone, too many artists lose track of who they really are chasing trends and clout. Real Ricky is a reminder that the greatest competitive edge in this game is just being yourself.

Let's see here: Fattie B's GUMBO project dropped on Halloween, that Lil' Pump show at Higher Ground got cancelled day of, Konflik is currently touring New England with rap legend CL Smooth, Spose is coming to Higher Ground with Jarv on Saturday night (November 5th!), Jarv announced his next album The Amalgam (December 2nd!), Learic x Dante DaVinci's new concept project Scam Likely got a release date for their debut album (November 18th!), Suspect Behavior will be announcing a release date for their debut LP shortly, Rivan C. has rebranded as just rivan and delivered one of the single best verses on GUMBO with his track “Groove Gladiators,” and Yung Breeze has his second album on the way and a new video out. Let’s start there.

It is amazing how normal it has become to have dope new videos to share, week after week. Those moments used to be few and far between out here in these Green Mountains, and I'm still not taking them for granted. It used to be a short list of creators responsible for all those visuals, too: Vinci Visuals, Sammy Chan, Vego Harris, and of course, Love, Kelly. Against the backdrop of the biggest wave of new talent Vermont has ever seen, though, there are a lot of new names making videos, too. Recently, I've been impressed by Elias Gillen (Web - "No Brakes") and Mike Miller (Charlie Mayne - "Peppermint Tea"). Let me know what I'm missing if you're a Vermonter doing music videos, too.

The biggest developing story in the last two months of 2022 is how insanely tight the competition for Album of the Year status has become. With Jarv, Learic, Yung Breeze and Fābō all bringing some last-minute contenders to the table, things got even more hectic. For my money, those are four of the best rappers our state has ever seen. (And don't sleep on Jarv as a producer, either. In fact, after The Amalgam drops, that will be impossible, so go ahead and sleep while you still can.)

D.FRENCH is wrapping up a new project and Shorty Bang is cranking on a followup to 2021's Bristopher Walken. The 99 Neighbors camp is cooking some semi-secret solo surprises and side projects. And remember, the stuff that I know about are only a small fraction of what's coming. There are more than a few artists on the rise right now who could still bust in out of nowhere and steal that title: Real Ricky is towards the top of that list, Prince Lood could be cooking a sequel to FOUR TWENTY RUNTZ PACK, Hakim XOXO and Kami OK! have already dropped an album worth of killer singles, and lord knows, Pleasant Boys have really carved out a name for themselves in 2022.

Finally, Seven Days ran a surprisingly brave piece today about the recent outbreak of gun violence among youth in Burlington. It's worth reading, and it's also worth thinking about what your music is glorifying and encouraging. Rap is not inherently violent, nor is it inherently youth culture.

We do, however, have a lot of young artists in bedroom studios recording verses about violent lifestyles they absolutely do not live, and do not understand outside of pop culture, movies, and the albums that influenced them. For a lot of you, that's just a passing phase that you will outgrow and look back on with some embarrassment. The sooner the better. Posing is corny and lying is wack.

There's more to come this week, including a brand new video and remix from North Ave Jax, but hell, I'll post it all as it happens. It's too nice out to be indoors for a single second longer.

After a lot of prep and a lot of hype, one of the biggest 802 projects of the year is finally live. GUMBO is a huge sprawl with an overflowing guest list of talent, all united by their connection to Belizbeha frontman Fattie B. That’s decades of hard work paying off, and it shows. This is an incredible album uniting multiple generations of Vermont hip hop.

The story behind it also pretty incredible, but Fattie B tells it far better than I could — head over to the Equal Eyes Records website for the full scoop. (There are also a ton of easter egg style liner notes there if you click on any of the track titles — available as a PDF when you buy the album.) While the narrative that led to this is integral to the music itself, not to mention the passion that all of his collaborators brought to the table, GUMBO ultimately stands alone as music, as an album.

Besides, a forensic accounting of the project would be a whole other essay. Just listing the collaborators would take paragraphs; there are twenty five tracks here, basically a triple LP by 2022 standards. And there are so, so many banging, beautiful standout singles in the mix. True to the title, this is a mix of genres and flavors — jazzy, funky, a new spin on old school — heck, a lot like Belizbeha, really.

Despite the diversity of styles, not to mention a half-dozen mix engineers, it all hangs together like a proper album should. This is absolutely Album Of The Year material. Ten bucks and all proceeds go straight to Boston Children’s Hospital. This is a win on every level. Take some time to give it a spin today, and tomorrow, too.

The hottest ticket in BTV is Konflik’s album release party & music video shoot at Drink. Head of a Snake, Thumbs of a Thief is live online right about now and as expected, the LP is wall to wall bangers from one of Vermont’s very best. On the production front, he’s got some Old Gold and Es-K in the mix; always a good call. Most of the beats, of course, are handled by Nastee.

On the features front, there are some underground legends in the mix — especially Boston spitter Termanology and New Jersey OG El Da Sensei. Everyone is rapping like their life depended on it here and that’s a beautiful thing.

135 St Paul St, 21+, doors at 8 pm.

A hot ticket this evening in BTV. Just last Wednesday, I was lamenting the stark lack of hip hop Halloween events, but that’s starting to change. First up: 99 Radio Live, an evening of choice cuts and unreleased brand new stuff from the 99 Neighbors crew (and extended fam), hosted by DJ Jared Fier and rapper / singer / spooky talent Maari. If you don’t recognize that name yet, it’s because Sam Paulino (formerly Sam.) is doing a rebrand ahead of some heavy-duty new releases. Maybe Hank Collins will be there, too?

Either which way, five bucks at the door and costumes are highly encouraged. Come through.