December’s Doomtree Blowout at First Ave.: the full lineup
More Just Announced
Hip-hop collective Doomtree named its forthcoming full-length, No Kings, after the idea that sovereignty is overrated: No man or woman can be above another. True to the spirit of the record, the seven crew members are borrowing a tactic from their fellow populists around the world and occupying First Avenue and 7th Street Entry, making this December’s Doomtree Blowout “one whole fucking week.” They took to City Pages’ Gimme Noise blog last week to announce the guests for the Blowout’s first five nights, which each of the group’s MCs will curate with their own chosen artists. The resulting lineups are as varied and impressive not only as the Doomtree members themselves, but as the historical movements that fall under the No Kings tent.
Sims (December 4)
To kick off the Blowout week, Sims recruited local hero Brother Ali, recent Minneapolis transplant Astronautalis, and Michigan-based One Be Lo—three performers whose intelligence and social awareness bring to mind the students and future professors of the leftist Weather Underground. These artists shy away from the violent methods the Weathermen used in the ’60s, but they’re blowing up indie rap all the same.
Mike Mictlan (Dec. 5)
Scrolling down the list of artists performing on Mike Mictlan’s night is like watching a line of dominos, or dictators, fall: It just keeps going. From such longtime local favorites as I Self Devine and Toki Wright to youngsters like La Manchita and Audio Perm, the night is a survey of Twin Cities hip-hop. Throw in out-of-towner F. Stokes and noise-rockers Slapping Purses, and it’s a list as diverse as the countries taking part in the Arab Spring, a crowd of people rising to dominate Minneapolis music.
Dessa (Dec. 6)
Don’t worry, we’re not associating Dessa with the women’s movement by default. No one who witnessed her sold-out album release show at the Fitzgerald this fall would dare treat her as a token female. But judging from the addition of stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress to her Blowout bill (along with Crescent Moon Is In Big Trouble and I, Colossus), the lady knows how to laugh, just as second-wave feminist Gloria Steinem did when she quipped, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
P.O.S. (Dec. 7)
We wouldn’t call Marijuana Deathsquads as militant as the Black Panthers, but it’s easy to imagine raising a fist to the band’s drum-heavy, improvisational electronica, or to P.O.S.’ punk-influenced hip-hop. The Panthers had a lasting influence with their Free Breakfast Program, once listed as dangerously radical by the FBI but ultimately widely successful. Let’s hope Polica, still in buzz-band territory with sold-out shows but no album yet, has the same staying power.
Cecil Otter (Dec. 8)
The “very special guest” for Cecil Otter’s night will be kept secret for now, making him or her or them as anonymous as, erm, Anonymous. The civilly disobedient hackers, who have used their skills in support of WikiLeaks and Occupy Wall Street and against Koch Industries and the Westboro Baptist Church, are as stealthy as Cecil: He may be the quietest Doomtree MC, but ignore him at your peril. (If you like good music, that is.)
Doomtree Blowout VII will take place December 4-10, with the first five nights in the 7th Street Entry and the final two in the Mainroom, featuring the crew as a whole.
