Music: MC Swamptiger

      MC Swamptiger spits rhymes of complexity, about philosophy and consciousness, deeper than the mainstream hip-hop MC’s will go.

He lives on the eastside of Olympia and he explained his transformation in music that is almost as life changing as his move from Louisiana when he was younger. “I started making music when I was like 13, originally, just crappy hip-hop. I had two boom boxes and a mixer and we’d just play Wu-Tang [Clan] beats and record over on another tape.

“I made music for about nine years, and then I took a little bit of a step back for a while and just focused on work [at Fish Tale] and then came back and started doing the MC Swamptiger project and that’s been… a lot different than stuff I did in the past. The subject matter, it seems like I’ve grown a lot more than what I did when I was younger.”

Being able to take on a bigger role with making music means a lot to MC Swamptiger, as he adds, “This is the first time I’ve been able to be involved in the production aspect of my music. It makes everything flow a little better when you can have complete control of what you’re doing, and, like, find the samples that you want.”

Just how does he make music? It’s all a journey, “Because the song that you just heard [Johnny 8ball], that’s actually made in a really cool way that’s distinct and I’ve never seen anyone else do it, which I’m sure someone else out there has done it, they’re just… Essentially what I’m doing is, I’ll find a sample. For Johnny 8ball, the sample is ‘Armagideon’ by The Clash… I cut three pieces from that with my loop pedal and I’ll just add those in time. And then, I’ll beat box under it and hand instruments and stuff that I use at home like my calumbe, and my shakers and my sleigh bells are all used in that song as well. But it’s, it’s just a really cool way to start from traditional… essence of hip-hop… That’s what I’m working on right now, is six songs, for my mix tape, which is called ‘Rare Forms.’ It’s all going to be produced by Smoke of Old Dominion.”

Come see the lyric stylings of MC Swamptiger, along with other hip-hop friends, on Friday, March 29 at the Urban Onion. He just might bust out some break dancing moves, like you see here in this picture taken by his girlfriend, Emily McGuire. Every show of his is unique, so sometimes he adds some break dancing and other times you’ll just focus on the existential lyrics blowing your mind. ◙

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