Hi-Life Soundsystem

At a time when Seattle’s explosive hip-hop scene continues to expand in various directions, there’s a highly animated new music group that’s eager to push those boundaries even further. Hi-Life Soundsystem, comprised of talented emcees Khingz and B-Flat, are two of Seattle’s hardest working, yet often under appreciated rap figures, that have banded together to create 15 clever songs that nobody would expect from either one of them. The group is anchored by ace producer, Crispy, who handles the beats on every track and helps to make Hi-Life one of the freshest West Coast groups to fully emerge in 2011.

Khingz is known to many in the Northwest for his poignant lyrics regarding topics that most rappers won’t touch and for his high energy shows either as a solo or as one half of Abyssinian Creole. Part of the reason he was voted Seattle Weekly’s rapper of of the year in 2009 is because he can routinely record songs that school teachers and gang members can like at the same time. As for the West Seattle-based B-Flat, he’s routinely recognized by his musician peers for his clever word play and dominating stage presence within the group Godspeed. He’s the epitome of a blue collar, working man’s emcee that grinds hard during a 9 to 5, can out-rap most of the lyricists in this region as a mere hobby, and then goes home to be a dad which is what he prides himself on the most.

As a group, Hi-Life Soundsystem have arrived with their debut album, Death of The Party, to shake things up and remind folks to walk like a boss (even if you’re a janitor) and groove like it’s the G-Funk era all over again. As they’ve stated:

“The Hi-Life is about real stand up dudes who simply want to enjoy life. It’s about living it up but that doesn’t always mean spending money and hanging with morally ambiguous women. It means knowing what you stand for and not bending on it. As well as remembering that life is worth living when you're living it well.”