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Anthony Sanchez is the founder of local rap-focused concert promoter Runaway Productions, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this week. Sanchez has been working to put on the Portland hip-hop scene long before it had the eye of the music community at large. Here are five artists he feels still aren't getting the attention they deserve.
Bad Habitat
A mix between rowdy punk rock and some of the catchiest hip-hop you will ever hear. I really feel like these guys are one step away from really blowing up on a national level.
The Chicharones
Rolling Stone once called them the best bar band in America, and I would have to agree. Here in Portland, they continue to fill up venues with dancing bodies with their doo-wop, hip-hop funk. I've never met one person who has seen these guys live and not walked away a fan.
Serge Severe
Serge Severe's face should be in the dictionary when you look up the phrase "MC." I got one word for that dude: bars!
Eminent & Lady X
If you've seen these two perform, you would think they were veterans in the hip-hop game. But both have only been performing for a little over two years. Lady X has become one of the better scratch DJs in town, and Eminent can sing and rap.
Speaker Minds
Hands down one of the best live acts in town. Randal the MC and Adrian Adel on vocals bring soul and hip-hop together better than most I've ever seen.
SEE IT: Runaway Productions' 15th anniversary party is at Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash St., with Speaker Minds, Bad Habitat, Mic Crenshaw, Serge Severe and others, on Friday, Feb. 12. 9 pm. $7 advance, $10 day of show 21+.
Willamette Week