Spokane, Washington is known for many great things. It’s the founding city of Fathers Day in 1910, and it also hosts Hoopfest which is the world’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament. The city is also traditionally home to a portion of the NCAA’s 64-team college basketball tournaments.
One thing is for sure though, Spokane is rarely mentioned alongside the word hip-hop on a national scale. A few local artists like Jango, 1800 YoungSmoke, and C2B have made notable waves but the underground Spokane hip-hop scene is frequently overlooked in the bubbling PNW hip-hop community..
Most people don’t look further than Seattle or Portland when checking out the Northwest for hip-hop which is a shame because the state has some hidden gems. Let’s take a look at 16 underground Spokane hip-hop artists that are worth giving a listen to this year.
DatBoyRob
Kicking off our list is DatBoyRob, certainly one of the more lyrical artists mentioned. His style is often compared to J. Cole with his real subject matter and non-flashy, but clean, style. His latest release “Rider” is a bit a fresh switch up with DatBoy hitting a more melodic low-fi vibe. Before this release he had been quiet for a while so it’ll be interesting to see what he follows this up with.
All Day Trey
All Day Trey has been putting in work recently dropping a boppy new tune titled “Mochi” and being featured in The Spokesman-Review. Trey calls his music sunshine rap which he says is “all about the vibe,” imagining people cruising with the windows down. While All Day Trey likes to keep it positive, he also is open about his struggles with mental health and the personal battle he went through to come out as pansexual. His up coming album Stay Afloat will be centered around these issues and how to overcome them.
Lilac City Dynamics
Lilac City Dynamics is a trio consisting of Illnai The Samurai, Julian Davis, and Lane Flynn who is also a member of the Spokane rock band Free The Jester. Splitting time on their tracks and going bar for bar these dudes posses a more old school sound. It’s not often you see this dynamic in hip-hop anymore but what place better for it than the Lilac City. Reminding fans of the culty favorites Flatbush Zombies while still driving in their own lane.
Anthony Naseeb
Anthony Naseeb has his hands deep in the internet cookie jar as both a hip-hop artist and as a podcast host. An energetic and comedic soul, Naseeb likes to have fun and it’s translates to his music. A multi-talented musician, he is a solid guitar player and singer as well which only adds to his repertoire for potential hits. It’ll be interesting to see where his path takes him with such a diverse talent portfolio and clearly an ambition to do something with it.
Treezy (Tr3ezy)
Treezy has been at it in the underground Spokane hip-hop scene for what feels like forever but he’s no older than most the people on this list. His constant grind to push out solid content has paid off as it’s helped make him one of the more easily recognizable artists on this list. His track “Fall” is just a small snippet of what he’s got but it’s enough to draw some attention and see what else he’s got in the tank.
Big Pressure
Big Pressure, who used to go under D Moore, is one of the more interesting artists on this list. He isn’t always able to consistently drop music due to other circumstances but when he does it always seems to garner some buzz. He has a lisp that has actually become a signature point if his sound with fans loving the identifying mark. “Friday The 13th” isn’t his most recent release but it’s catchiness make it the perfect track to hook in any new fan.
Zaeshaun Haze
Our next artist is Zaeshaun Haze, over the last year or so he has managed to turn a group of homies into a solid fan beginning fan base. Able to create a hyphy energy while still incorporating melodic features, Zaeshaun is on point with what’s been popping in hip-hop the last couple years.
Bdpeezy and Dolla Sy
Bdpeezy and Dolla Sy have dropped a couple tracks that Spokane has received well with the first gaining over 36k views and their more recent one hitting nearly 20k. I’m not sure if the two are a duo but their work together has proven fruitful as it’s turned heads and has many in the city asking for more. As solo artist we believe they still have solid potential but right now it seems they may have a future as a duo as well.
Kanetown Rondoughh
Continuing our list of underground Spokane hip-hop is Kanetown Rondoughh. Using a nickname for the city as part of his stage name, Rondoughh is working hard to put on for his city. With only a couple official release on Spotify, Kanetown Rondoughh still has a lot to show but from what we can gather now it seems he is on a good track to finding his niche in hip-hop.
98kc
98kc has quietly amassed a legitimate fanbase in the small market of Spokane with a majority of his tracks hitting that nice 1-4k streams mark that is a goal for so many underground hip-hop artists. It may not seem like much but building consistency like this is key when aspiring in to have a career in music. As cliché as it may sound, 98kc is taking it step by step and it’s paying off for him as fans wait for his up coming album.
CFN Trezzy
CFN Trezzy is one of the younger cats on this list at 19 years old. His ceiling is high but it’s up to him how high he will lift it. The potential is there, and with more new music and content, it’ll be an exciting journey to follow.
King Dre
King Dre first made noise in Spokane’s underground scene with his track “This Ain’t a Swisher” from his Phase 2 mixtape. After opening for DaBaby during his stop in Spokane, King Dre had a huge summer of 2019 touring around Eastern Washington. Momentum was stumped a bit when COVID first hit but we know that won’t be enough to hold Dre back as we look to see what he does with 2021.
Sean Thomas
Sean Thomas brings some groove to this list with his release of “Anybody,” a jazzy vibe that features a smooth rap style from Thomas. He’s made songs for the turn up before but this one is more of a laid back and smoke vibe.
Icy Ike
Icy Ike is an artist who has really started to come into his own in the last year or so. Wielding one of the most distinct flows on this list, Ike hits a sort of untapped market for Spokane hip-hop. Reminding us of the late 6 Dogs with his deeper voice and melancholy bops, he’s on to something and it will be interesting to see how far he goes with it.
BME MurkTings
BME is actually a collective of rappers here in Spokane that started making some public moves recently. BME MurkTings brought our attention to the group with his feature track on the groups YouTube page. MurkTings may have perked our ears with his quick hitting flow but it appears the group as a whole has some solid talent.
Kee$
Kee$ is a homie of BBD Yella who we have written about before so we have been familiar with the name for a bit now. He’s made some bangers off the typical hip-hop themes but he’s actually about to change things up. From what we can tell he won’t be changing his name but he will be changing what he raps about. Switching it up from rapping about guns, drugs, and violence to a more positive message. For now, we just have his old music to listen to but it’s worth checking out to see the solid quality and skill you will be getting in his new music.
