Tag Archives: Blue Scholars

Speaking of bus music…

DJ Sabzi and Emcee Geologic, chillin on the porch (photo credit: Gabriel Teodros)Way back in November, Seattle hip-hop duo Blue Scholars released their digital-only EP, Joe Metro (thanks for the heads up, Zac!). Last week, I finally got around to listening to the title track.

Love, love, love! This is a good song, and I’m not just saying that because it’s about the bus. Seattle OG Emcee Geologic is an excellent storyteller. He describes a ride on the 48 (aka forty-late), the perfect bus for a “Posse on Broadway”-style tour of the city, in a way that truly captures the flavor of the route.

Take six quarters out of the pocket
Drop it in the box
Hop the 48, off to pay homage
It stops often, I jot my observations, watchin’
Citizens walkin’ off of the Joe Metropolitan
Proletariats and wayward sons
With old Filipino men speakin’ in they native tongue
And the day is just begun
[…]
A brother in Girbauds in the back all alone
Marinatin’ in a pair of half-broken headphones
Muddled in rhymes
Same time begin to pen mine

He also reminds us of the good reasons to ride. A sample:

And I ponder if it’s time to save up and get a car
And pay for the gas that we’re takin’ from the war
I’d miss all the colorful faces
The spaces and places I’ve embraced…

Check the video if you’re of a mind. There’s a good shot of the 43 in the beginning, and lots of good shots of my (I mean our) city.

Did I mention that the beat is funky? Guess what’s going to be playing on the Schmipod (Bus Chick style: on repeat) for the entire month of February?