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(Based Jesus)

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(Based Jesus)

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The Hot Box Hero Plays Golf

The Hot Box Hero Plays Golf

I pulled up to Russian Jack Golf Course with two goals in mind: smoke a fat backwood full of grease monkey that I had just grabbed from The Tree House and tee off on hole one of the world’s best kept secret for free golf. The backwood filled the blazer full of smoke as I faced one in the parking lot. East Anchorage summer nights are beautiful, the sun was going down as I put the blunt out and stepped out of my car. The first hole is located by the chalet. I drugged my new clubs I just purchased from a pawn shop in Fairview to the benches located by the tee. 

There was one unbroken tee laying on the ground. I had no tees but plenty of balls. I put the tee in the dirt and laid a ball on top of it. Alright, time to see what this driver will do. I lined the driver up with the ball and took a practice swing. Not too much heat- I used to play baseball so anytime I grab a club I’m trying to go “yard.” I approached the tee, lined my arms up and took a swing. MISS. Okay, one more time. I swung again and got minor contact fouling off hard to the left. The tee laid on the ground a couple of yards slightly broken in front of the grass platform that looks over Russian Jack park. Alaska has some very serene landscapes when it comes to golf, I also love going to the driving range at Anchorage Golf Course on O’Malley.

So, I grab the broken tee and try to straighten it out. It straightens but wont hold out in the turf platform. I put it in the dirt right in front- it works. Alright lets try this again. I line up, swing and hit a line drive about eighty yards out. Not too shabby, I thought. The tee stayed in the ground and wasn’t broken. Let’s try this one more time. I walked up to the tee and completely forgot everything around me. It was just me and Russian Jack Golf Course after 8PM because that’s when they take the flags down and don’t charge admission. I lined up the driver and the tee, closed my eyes and swung. BAM! A perfect hit. I looked in the air as it landed fifty feet away from the cup. Wow! That’s what life is all about, just you and your objective.

I went home satisfied from my one hundred and fifty yard drive and kush session at Russian Jack Golf Course. This establishment has been an East Anchorage staple for many years, and golf can be played even by individuals as burnt as the, “hot box hero.” As I sit in my clothing store at 2511 Fairbanks Street kushed out from another blunt of top shelf Alaskan weed, I sit and think about how we try to normalize the lifestyle of a stoner. It should be okay to smell like weed, to wake up and smoke and go about your day. The world with cannabis being normalized is finally here and it is up to us, the citizens to make that change so we feel free to do what we want on this planet we call earth. That’s what 2020 is all about, being you- it being okay to be whoever that is- a burnt out stoner that raps and makes clothes or just an average joe smoking weed before his cashier job at the gas station. It should be okay to medicate. 

The Hot Box Hero

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(Cascadelic #lavlyf) motherfucking #classic originally released on that Contrary 2 Belief album on stoopidlife.bandcamp.com

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(Cascadelic #lavlyf) #WAMP OR DIE

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shoutout my people #hotbox4lyf

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Death of Love by Allen Ginnett

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Hot Box Classics

    As quarantine continues, we spend our days inside trying to entertain ourselves or escape the reality we live in. In Alaska, vice is used as an additive to our serene landscape. Another thing added to that equation is music. Music is the universal language, and as Alaskans we have our own unique sound that accurately describes being entrenched in this isolated paradise. “What’s this sound?” Well, because of the politics that surround Alaska’s music scene, you wouldn’t know unless you were “in the know” of the internet’s underground. Alaska has a lot of successful musicians known around the world that are literally unseen in their home state. Most attempt to leave to gain exposure, only to return to the state because of its prosperous job economy. In this article, I’m going to shine light on the classic albums that have come out of this state that have gone overlooked. These are the hot box classics.

Tune-Tone by eets

Released in 2013

https://astralbasement.bandcamp.com/album/tune-tone

In high school, I came across a producer on Myspace named, “Eets.” He was making beats chopping up soul samples. Flash forward to 2013, Myspace had died out and soundcloud became the route for independent musicians to post music. Eets, as part of a California collective of beat makers named, “Astral Basement,” released an album titled, “Tune-Tone.” From the beginning, this album was the full package. A montage of imagery expressed in the form of beats. This guy is a monster with Fruity Loops (computer based production program). He samples guitars, screws and chops drums, and mixes his way through this diverse twenty five track album. It begins with a man explaining his yearning to show this other universe that exists. This is Alaska. Track titles vary like, “Smoke Filled Whips” and “Aurora Borealis.” It’s one of those tapes you can put in, freestyle and smoke a fat ass joint too. Tune-Tone did not get the credit it deserve, and I’m here to state that this will go down as one of the best albums to come out of the state of Alaska. I’m pretty burnt the fuck out just sitting here listening to it, god damn. 

Favorite Tracks: Paper Planes Too, DarkSideOfTheMushroom, 80’s

Alaskghanistan by Skinny Hardaway & A.Gee

Released in 2015

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/alaskghanistan/924638620

If you know about hot boxin’ then you know about mobbin, and if you know about mobbin’ then you know about trappin’. Alaskghanistan is the most vivid portrayal of the Alaskan streets in the form of a trap mixtape that has ever come out of the state. Skinny Hardaway is a precision lyricist. A.Gee is the typical Alaskan nutcase. The combination of the two and their extreme tales of East Anchorage trap life is combined with the modern 808 trap production from Russian producer Don Daze. The album was released on ITunes, but originally appeared on the internet as a mixtape hosted by legendary east coast DJ Big Mike. Everything about this album is different. It’s a depiction of young life and the extreme conditions that Alaskans are accustomed to. The duo would go on to drop an Alaskghanistan 1.5 on Datpiff and a rumored number two was in the works. Free Skinny Hardaway.

Favorite Tracks: Knockin’, Devastated, Where the Juggs At? (feat. Yung Snook)

Friends by JCW

Released in 2014

https://thejcw.bandcamp.com/album/friends

Alaskan born Brooklyn resident JCW has been a staple in the Alaskan producer community since 2006. He started making Baltimore Club music and slowly moved into sampled based hip hop production. Eventually, his production caught the eye of rappers and bands in the lower 48. His 2014 release, “Friends,” is some of his best work. The twelve track album released through bandcamp featured songs titled with acronyms of his friend’s names. “Friends,” is filled with lush drum loops and warm, feel-good samples from old soul records from the 60’s and 70’s. It reminds me of the friendly relationship Alaskan musicians have with their inner circle. Without their friends, an artist struggles to find a relatable parallel in their art, and that’s what makes JCW so good- he knows how to strike a chord with your soft spot.

Favorite Tracks: HC, TM , DO

I O L O by Prince Base & eets

Released in 2014

https://eets.bandcamp.com/album/prince-base-eets-i-o-l-o

Continuing with the theme of friendship, the 2014 release of the album, “IOLO,” by Prince Base and Eets was something that was in the works for a long time. Base, a transplant from New Jersey with Haitian descent and Eets, a transplant from the Virgin Islands, had grown up together in Anchorage, bonding together through hip hop. Base is an open-book lyricist, who’s patterns are abstract and as limitless as his imagination. But it’s his thought provoking material on what it is to be young and black in America that makes this album cut through the atmosphere. The production from eets is classic underground hip hop, muddy samples and ruff drums that make you want to flow all day in your car in the midst of smoking a joint. Rumor has it they have a follow up album on the way, due in 2020 on cassette label Burnt Tapes. Check this album out if you're looking for pure uncut Alaskan hip hop, nothing comes close to this in purity. 

Favorite Tracks: Streams, Chromesome, RoseFullofThorns

69’ EP by Based Jesus

Released in 2013

https://soundcloud.com/alaskabasedjesus/based-je-us-69-prod-eets

What can I say about this album? The most psychedelic, lyrical, blur of grimey Alaskan life that has ever been put down on wax. Also known as A.Gee (from Alaskghanistan), Based Jesus rebirthed his rap career as a trippy wordsmith when he met Eets in 2013. Together the duo have gone on to create some of Alaska’s most revered music, helping build the genre of lofi hip hop, and co-founding the cassette tape label, “Burnt Tapes,” together. The 69’ EP was the beginning of this. Some of the beats were found on Tune-Tone (mentioned earlier), others were created on the spot when the free spiritedness of Based Jesus crossed paths with Eets’ visionary style. What comes out of this is 15 minutes of pure trip, layers of sounds and fuzz with tones of vocals pitched in every which way. The highly sought after mix is nowhere to be found on the internet, but the impact remains the same. Word on the street was this album was played at Bluegrass once in Talkeetna and created one of the trippy-est vibes Alaskan hippies have ever seen. Alaska is the last frontier, a place of freedom- and the music on 69’ articulates that perfectly. 

Favorite Tracks: 69’, Ratchets, S.E.A., 

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Monkeys and Gorillas

Monkeys and Gorillas,

Gases and Greases,

Cookies and Cheeses.

Here’s a couple weed tips:

Super lemon haze? lemons for days,

put that lemon away!

I pay, for OG. GG#4.

Kush is Quantum,

Space Candy, Purple Punch- Banzai Valley.

Thunderfunk, Super Glue,

Afghan to Afgoo.

Durban Poison and the MAC,

Bam-Bam, Headache, Trainwreck,

Blackwidow, L.S.D.,

Grapefruit, Blackberry, Tangerine.

Tangie, Cookies Galore!

AK, Girl Scout, Manderin, Platinum and more..

Double Stuffed, Cookies and Cream.

Sour Strawberry, KATSU and KIMBO.

All of these strains got me in LIMBO.

It’s a Snow-Capped Romance. I love to get high,

Life is okay now that weed is legalized; now try.

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Hot Box Quarantine

In a time, when all there is to do is smoke; I look out the window and see the sun setting under the bare trees. Snow is melting as the mountains blent in with the sky line. I am inside. Quarantine is what they are calling it.

My weed intake has went up since the virus stopped the rotation of the planet. Luckily, I was already an isolated hermit, depressed for the world to end, so I was prepared. Some people actually had some good stuff going for them before this “thing” brought it to a halt. I do too, I can now kick back and collect unemployment while smoking and being creative. This is the life of the Hot Box Hero.

Sonia Rosa plays as I spark a small joint. Time stands still; meditate and let go.

I reminiscence on days when I went outside and actively did things. Basketball, baseball, biking, hiking- now I just sit and watch the kids play hockey at the neighborhood ice rink out my window.

How does someone age as an everyday smoker? Not very well, but there are some perks- It’s easy to relax. Since hunkering down, my dispensary trips are going up, as I said my daily habit. And with that, also my contact with other people. Bud-tenders are putting their health at risk everyday just so smokers like me don’t freak the fuck out. Life is boring I guess, it’s kind of a sad deal.

As I sit here and ponder my future, I feel as if I have to embrace weed. It’s one of the few good things I have left.

Like glue, I love strains with the word, “glue,” in them. GG#4, Super Glue, Gorilla, Blue, Royal Gorilla, you name it, I fucks with the strains that got gorilla and glue in their name. Green Go as been coming with some amazing flavors lately that has been excited about cultivation in Alaska. GMO (Garlic, Mushroom, Onion) and Garlic Platinum and some of the best strains I’ve smoked in our state.

Everyday for me is a routine. I smoke, eat, make a beat, burn-out, nap and do it all over again. I’m still trying to kick my swisher habit, but tobacco has it’s hold on my soul. I buy joints from the store just to try and give my lungs a break, it’s that real.

In conclusion, first a motherfucker BURNT, than a motherfucker TOAST. Do whatever you want, have fun and be happy.

Rest in Peace, Big Wave Dave.

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Listen/purchase: BIG WAVE DAVE by Based Jesus

REST IN PEACE THE LEGEND BIG WAVE DAVE. WE LOVE YOU!

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Listen to: Freeversers Vol. 1 by Tak Havoc x Based Jesus

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(BURNT TAPES)

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Listen/purchase: Dark Room Two by Based Jesus

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allen ginnett - the way you make me feel (prod. vertiqua)

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Listen/download: MY MOMMA LOVES ME by Allen Ginnett