Is There a Place For Eco Hip Hop?
ECOPALOOZA — By rahmielmitchell on January 15, 2010 at 9:32 pmGet To Know Your Artists: T&E
By Diezel P
It was a cold night on October 21st, 2009 where an epic and highly anticipated Grind Time battle was about to take place at Downtown Portland’s “The Backspace”, between two time world rap champion Illmaculate and his frequent counterpart The Saurus. But beneath the hype of this headlining event was the emergence of a brand new dynamic Northwest Duo by the name of “T&E”, a title that simply uses the first letters of already recognized Portland alias’ Tope & Epp Saheed. Tope is a smooth spoken wordsmith who’s style thrives off rapid word play while Epp Saheed demands attention by venturing various lyrical deliveries with highly energetic stage presence, this is a Hip Hop team that’s living proof (no pun intended) that opposites do attract.
A Northeast Portland native, Tope has been a fan of hip hop since a child, but didn’t decide to
- eco hip hop
personally pursue a career in the musical genre until his early High School years. He later established himself within the Portland Hip Hop scene along side his friend and future crew member Prem, forming the unique and talented group called “Living Proof”. The song writing and producing duo would gain popularity throughout the Northwest region in 2007 after releasing their debut album “Roots to Branches”, but found their second project at a halt when Prem moved to Seattle to attend College to receive his Master’s in Education. Though Living Proof is still a solidified group, they found the long distance and hectic schedules made the recording and writing process difficult, so Tope decided to establish himself as a solo artist in the Rose city while Prem was following his Collegiate path.
Epp Saheed is also a Portland Emcee who has recently gone through a few group departures and sought out new stability within the Hip Hop scene. The two had been familiar with each other through past concerts at the Hawthorne Theater and discussed a possible collaboration for years, but wouldn’t transform talk into reality until August 2009 after linking up with multi-talented DJ and Producer “G-Force”. I got a chance to further elaborate with Tope on his crew’s development, future plans, and perception of the rapidly evolving Hip Hop scene.
First off, why did you guys decide to form T&E?
I think Epp and I always had a mutual admiration of each others music and we had been talking about doing a project for maybe 3 years, so when we linked up with G_Force (our producer) in August we knew the time was right to finally make an album together.
So I’m curious….. do you still make music as Living Proof?
Living Proof is definitely still making new music, we’re actually 14 songs into our follow up album to “Roots To Branches.” Prem has been in Seattle pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education, so in the meantime I’ve had a chance to work on a solo project and now the T&E project.
What do you plan to accomplish as an artist or group?
I think the goal with my music is to be able to live, eat, and travel from it. As of right now I’m still working a 40+ hour job, but hopefully someday I’ll be able to do music as my main occupation and tour to bring my music to new audiences.
As you may know www.whatshappeningpdx.com is taking a Sustainable and Environmental approach towards the urban culture of the Rose city. How do you feel about Eco Hip-Hop, music that is beneficial to the environment and addresses issues within it? Is there a place for Eco Hip Hop amongst the scene? And is it important?
I’m definitely a fan of music and musicians that can deliver a positive message to their audience, and I believe there is a place and need for Eco-Friendly hip hop in the scene. Its importance lies in the ability to open eyes and minds to issues that aren’t always addressed in mainstream media.
What are you doing as artists to benefit our community and environment?
That’s a good question, we recently were able to take part in a charity event in Salem called #We Win in which all the proceeds were donated to a local Food Bank in Salem.
Any upcoming projects and when can we expect it?
I’m currently getting ready to release my debut solo album “Soul Music” as well as working on finishing the second Living Proof album.
T&E will be performing at the Hawthorne Theater (39th and SE Hawthorne Blvd.) this Saturday January 16th, 2010. You can also preview or download their new song titled “Get It Back” for free at http://wegetitintrue.bandcamp.com/.
tope.bandcamp.com
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