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| Spencer Wirth-Davis |
By Mike Madden
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How Rhymesayers set up the Soundset Festival
One of the groups set to make their Soundset debut this year, the duo of the Tribe and Big Cats! was born out of a somewhat unlikely relationship. MC Chris "Truthbetold" Hooks spent parts of his youth in Chicago's south side and began rapping at just six years old, eventually tuning in to guys like Big Daddy Kane and Eric B. & Rakim; producer Spencer "Big Cats!" Wirth-Davis, on the other hand, grew up in St. Paul suburbs and studied classical music in high school to go along with tenures playing bass in various garage bands.
Formative differences aside, however, Truthbetold and Big Cats! have produced an ordinarily unified and idiosyncratic sound. On last December's Make Good, featuring appearances by the likes of Harlem's Smoke DZA and Twin Cities spitter MaLLy, the duo set the album off in directions at once trunk-thumping and silky ("Drive," "Stay High") and hazy and layered ("We Gone," "Jordan Numbers").
Gimme Noise caught up with Truthbetold to chat about learning to rhyme through his uncle's guidance, the Twin
Cities' rap scene, and how TTxBC is approaching Sunday's big event.
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