Grayskul

Seattle's rap scene will forever be overshadowed by that towering titan of the mike, Sir Mix-a-Lot. Okay, maybe not so much. But the sleety city on Puget Sound hasn't been well known for its output of hip-hop -- that is, not until the Oldominion crew sprouted amid the town's grunge deadwood around the turn of the millennium. Since then, two of its biggest players have been signed to Slug's Rhymesayers imprint: Boom Bap Project and Grayskul. Led by MCs Reason and Fiddle Back Recluse and bassist Phantom Ghost El-Topo, the troupe has released two proper albums, 2004's Abusando and 2005's Deadlivers, as well as tour-only releases like Creatures, a rich mélange of turbulent samples, bleak humor and conscious verse available during Grayskul's nationwide tour with Atmosphere last year. Reason and posse are hitting Denver this time around as part of their Dead Radio tour with Oldominion cohorts Barfly, Coley Cole and Dim Mak. Seattle may be dank and dreary, but anyone who rhymes "zombie" with "Abercrombie" has gotta be halfway bright.