Let's all take a few minutes to appreciate Chali 2na. (And listen to some of his finest guest spots.)

Chali 2na makes his near-annual Victoria appearance this Friday (June 30) and an appearance from the Verbal Herman Munster is always a reason to look back at why and how this giant of hip-hop has remained such an unmissable act wherever he appears. Ask me on any given day for my top 3 Mcs and Chali 2na will be somewhere on that list. Obviously the beginning is Jurassic 5, but it's his never-ending stream of consistently great, inventive solo work and guest appearances that has made him such a mainstay on the headphones and stereos in my life. As much as any MC on the planet, 2na has kept up with modern sounds in the ever-shifting hip-hop landscape, never hollowly imitating them but always taking the pieces that suit his sound and style, making them his own. More impressive than almost anything he's done, is his willingness to embrace EDM, in all of its forms. His ubiquitous presence in electronic music has kept him at the forefront of the genre and his status as a hip-hop legend has helped introduced new music fans to the roots of the music that helped spawn all of this. It's a logical progression and one that I'm shocked more rappers haven't leaned into. But luckily for everyone who likes those real goods, Chali 2na remains everywhere, smothering everything he touches with that good, classic hip-hop flavour. Now I'll take a look back at a dozen of the homies best, most diverse tracks and appearances (Or at least my favourites) to present a mere glimpse of the versatility of one of the GOATs.

“I listen to the whole of Hip-Hop. I don’t segregate between it because I know and understand where it all was spawned and I give everybody their space to be an artist, where a lot of fans are probably like “What?! You listen to Snoop Dogg?!” But yeah, I listen to it all...I feel like I’ve done a lot Hip-Hop wise and now it’s a journey through music more than it is just Hip-Hop. Changing the band and all that, I’m just trying to tap into music. If it’s good music, I’m just trying to be a part of it.” - Chali 2na, interview with Rags Music, 2014

N.A.S.A – There's a Party feat. George Clinton and Chali 2na

This might be an odd one to start this list off, but it made its way onto a lot of my playlists after Chali explained to me the significance of the song. “You know, to be perfectly honest, it’s not one of my best guest appearances, but the fact that he is who is… I did a song called ‘There’s a Party' on the NASA album, ‘Spirit of Apollo’, a song with George Clinton and I’m so proud of that. Just the experience of doing that song with him is just priceless, you can’t trade that for the world. Like I said, it may not be one of my best songs but it’s definitely a milestone for me.”

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5 Questions with Rags #14 - Chali 2na

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Chali 2na is a hip-hop renaissance man. His artistic output is constant and while it varies many platforms, the quality never does. When you see the 2na name attached to something you know it’s going to be honest, vital and full of passion…which is pretty much all you need from good art. With so many years in the game, the Verbal Herman Munster is a pillar of Hip-Hop culture. He has murals displayed all over the world, is a founding member of both Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli, and continues to release top-shelf hip-hop under his own moniker. Always a pleasure to talk to, full of laughs and insight, Chali was one of the reasons I started to truly love hip-hop nearly two-decades ago and I couldn’t be more stoked or feel more privileged to get some more time with the man. Enjoy our latest, and possibly greatest, chat. Props to the Verbal Dinosaur, Hip-Hop royalty, Chali 2na.

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1. Do you remember the first album you bought with you own money?

Yep. It wasn’t an album, it was a single. It was called “Hey You” by the Rocksteady Crew. I bought it not because I liked the song, Crazy Legs and them might hate me right now, but I didn’t really like the song, but I’m a graffiti artist at heart and the cover of the album was drawn by one of the Rocksteady Crew members named Doze. Doze is helluva graffiti writer and he did characters of each member on the cover. I was in love with and I was like, “Damn, I wanna learn to draw things like that!” So I bought the album and that was the first purchase I made. I had to save up to get it. Then next one I got was “Renegades of Funk.” Once again I saw the cover before I heard the song and thought, “Oooh! This is amazing, I want this!” When I heard the song I was like, “Oh yeah, I’m really getting this on. This is crazy.”

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My Shambhala 2015 Wishlist - Part 1

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My first Shambhala was in 2013 and it couldn’t have been a more positive experience musically. I went into it completely unaware, “Open heart and open mind” was the motto, and definitely found the entry point into the world of DJs there. In that time I’ve become a pretty big fan, though my heart still lies elsewhere. So, you, expert EDM person, might find my wishes and tastes rudimentary and lacking in things like DnB and aggressive dubstep and whatever the hell else y’all kids listen to these days. I’m like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon (TOFTS) and just want tasty hip-hop and funk-heavy grooves. Some of these are realistic wishes and some of them are just completely Shambs-dreaming. Whatever. It’s a fun exercise either way.

The Polish Ambassador

Ideal Stage: The Grove

How perfect would the Polish Ambassador, “the World’s Funkiest Diplomat,” be for the Grove? His masterpiece record from last year, Pushing Through the Pavement, is taylor-made for the hippie, world-beat loving audience of the Grove. It’s laid-back, groovy hip-hop weirdness at its finest and all those tribal drumbeats would sound too fine blasting out of those lovely PK speakers (As most things do, admittedly). Sometimes I think the good homey PA is too laid back for a some of my EDM-loving friends, but he’d fit perfectly here and provide me with enough tasty funks to appease me if for some reason Opiuo doesn’t make the trip. I can’t stress how good of a fit this is. The Ambassador’s Permaculture Tour campaign is a fucking fascinating inspiration and makes me happy that someone with a voice is trying so hard to fuse his love of and care for the Earth with his hip-hop art. That’s a Victory.

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The Rifflandia Journal - Days 1 & 2

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Rifflandia is one of the high points of music calender every year in Victoria, It is a powerhouse that has grown in size and profile each year and this year was no different. I was there to cover it for the Martlet and while one of my round-ups was printed, this log, taken from my voice recorder was supposed to run in installments afterward but due to high levels of busy-ness around the Martlet, it sort of fell by the wayside. Rifflandia was a super fun experience (If not as stellar musically as some previous years) and I'm happy to have Rags Music as a means of sharing it with you all here. Relive the glory. Do it.

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