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The Spitkicker collective is a group of artists that collaborated in the early 2000s to produce a variety of media, mostly focused on hip-hop and social activism. The group was founded in 2000, and its core members included De La Soul, Pharoahe Monch, Talib Kweli, and Dave Chappelle. Members of the group have reconnected for collaborations until at least 2020.[1]

History

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Spitkicker Tour

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Spitkicker started via a U.S. hip-hop tour for a set of socially conscious artists in 2000.[2] The first tour featured De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Biz Markie, Hi-Tek, and Common.[3] The tour was designed with "like-minded lyricists" in mind, rather than "label-mates",[3] and according to one review, the name "Spitkicker" "borrows from the notion of spit, or water, being the most necessary ingredient for growth".[4]

The tour met with positive reviews, which labeled some of the artists as revered in the underground hip-hop scene,[2][5] and largely described concerts as entertaining, comedic, clever, and thoughtful.[2][4][6][7][8] Critics noted that acts tended to cut against the dominant style of rap at the time, focusing on underground hip-hop rather than gangsta rap or hardcore hip-hop.[5][9] Reviews also directly compared the messaging of the Spitkicker tour to the simultaneous Up In Smoke Tour and its artists like Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg.[3] After the success of this tour, the collective aimed to repeat yearly national tours, and completed at least three,[10] but the 2001 tour had scheduling issues when it merged with the Mekka Tour, which was then cancelled.[11][12] By the time the 2001 Spitkicker tour was rescheduled, only De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Hi-Tek, and Biz Markie remained on the roster.[13]

Spitkicker Community

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The Spitkickers collective formed around many of the same artists from the inaugural Spitkicker tour, but added new artists like those of A Tribe Called Quest, and other types of performers like comedian Dave Chappelle.[14] During the year 2000, while the first tour was going, the Spitkicker artists branched into online media, centering around their new site spitkicker.com (later changed to spitkickers.com).[15] The site became an online community for the Spitkicker artists and their fans, with some noted parallels to the Okayplayer online community that grew out from The Roots.[16][17] The first question in the Spitkicker.com FAQ addressed this topic from the collective's perspective:

While there are many similarities between us and our fam, Okayplayer.com, there are just as many differences as well. Aside from having different artists involved, Spitkicker is a movement that extends far past the website. Spitkicker offers Tours, MIX CD's, merchandise, SpitKronicle, parties, exclusive downloads, Spitkicker radio, charity auctions, contests, as well as opportunities to chat with some of your favorite artists. You will also see more differences as we continue to involve.[18]

Spitkicker artists used their website to communicate directly with their fans: De La Soul ran their own promotion via the site after the collapse of their label, and artists shared exclusive news via the site's mailing list.[19][20] In February 2003, De La Soul claimed the site got 250,000 hits each month, and by 2005, they were using the website to spur a fan petition towards MTV.[21] The website also appears as a character in their Art Official Intelligence albums.[22] Message boards on the site focused on hip-hop and pop culture,[23] while Spitkronicle (later, Spit) was a staffed online magazine that hosted interviews, reviews, and updates on collective members.[24][25] Other projects hosted by the Spitkickers included Spitkicker Radio, collaborations and mixtapes, and recurring parties. The collective released eight CDs under the "Next Spit" name, and inclusion in one of these compilations was once a prize for independent artists participating in a Music Nation hip-hop competition.[26]

Discography

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  • Spitkicker Mixtape Vol. 1 - 2003 - mixed by Knockout Kingz, DJ KO and DJ Rahlo - Hosted by De La Soul
  • Spitkicker Collabos Vol. 1 - 2004 - mixed by DJ Ayres and DJ Eleven - Hosted by De La Soul
  • Spitkicker Collabos Vol. 2 - 2004 -mixed by DJ Ayres and DJ Eleven - Hosted by Phife Dawg, J-Live, and Wordsworth
  • The Best of Talib Kweli - 2004 - mixed by DJ Eleven - Talib Kweli
  • Rock Co. Kane Flow - 2004 - De La Soul ft. MF Doom
  • The Best of A Tribe Called Quest Vol. 1 (with Smokin' Needles) - 2005 - mixed by DJ Rasta Root - Executive Producer Phife Dawg
  • Fight Music - The Best of M.O.P. - 2006 - M.O.P.
  • The Next Spit, Vol.s 1-8 - mixed by DJ Crossphada, DJ Eleven, J-Live, DJ Balance

Members

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References

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  1. ^ "De La Soul's 'Remove 45' Assembles Chuck D, Styles P, And More". UPROXX. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  2. ^ a b c "THE POSITIVE POWER OF HIP-HOP". Chicago Tribune. 2000-07-15. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  3. ^ a b c Harrington, Richard (July 20, 2000). "Spotlight: De Las Soul's Future: 3 CDs and Rising". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "A message in that movement ; Spitkicker Tour members bring back verbal sophistication to rap | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  5. ^ a b Baker, Soren (2000-07-05). "Hip-Hop Tour Offers Comedy, Commentary". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  6. ^ Anderson, Brett (2000-07-21). "The Spitkicker Tour". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  7. ^ Augusto, Troy J. (2000-07-05). "Spitkicker Tour". Variety. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  8. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 31, 2000). "MUSIC: THE YEAR IN REVIEW; A Business Finds New Ways to Feast On Its Young". The New York Times. pp. Section 2, Page 30. Retrieved December 25, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Pareles, Jon (July 22, 2000). "RAP REVIEW; Dissension in the Ranks Over Rap Lyrics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  10. ^ "About Us". SpitKicker. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
  11. ^ Staff, Billboard (2001-07-10). "Spitkicker Tour Merges With Mekka". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  12. ^ Staff, Billboard (2001-08-01). "Black Wednesday For Electronic Music Fests". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  13. ^ "The Spitkickers Tour Is Ready To Launch". HipHopDX. 2001-10-16. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  14. ^ Hess, Mickey (2007). Icons of hip hop : an encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 379. ISBN 9780313084386.
  15. ^ McFayden, Brian. "de la soul & common: on the spitkicker tour". MTV. Archived from the original on 2004-10-11. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  16. ^ Hellerbach, Miki (2024-02-23). "Okayplayer Celebrates 25 Years With 25 Essential Artists From the OKP Boards". Okayplayer. Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  17. ^ Setaro, Shawn. "A Tribe Called Chef: Jarobi White's Move From Rapping To Food". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  18. ^ "FAQ's". SpitKicker. Archived from the original on 2004-06-26. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  19. ^ Galloway, Matt (2003-02-20). "De La solo - NOW Magazine". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  20. ^ "Yo, What Happened To Peace? And Rakim?". The Fader. 2005-08-16. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  21. ^ Hess, Mickey (2007-08-30). Is Hip Hop Dead?. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. pp. 39–40. ISBN 9781567207217.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  22. ^ "Soul-Searching with De La Soul | Arts | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  23. ^ Whitaker, Lang (2017-03-03). "A Tribe Called Quest's Jarobi White & Chef Marcus Samuelsson on Cooking, Hip-Hop & Julia Child". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
  24. ^ "SpitKronicle | Vol.2 Issue.2". Spitkickers. 2003-03-01. Archived from the original on 2003-04-25. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  25. ^ John-Sandy II, Rene (2006-10-01). "Publisher's Letter" (PDF). Spit. Vol. 5, no. 1. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-23. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  26. ^ Cooper, Roman (2007-08-13). "Music Nation Announces Quarterfinalist in Hip Hop Competition". HipHopDX. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  27. ^ "{Spitkicker Dot Com | V2.0 || 2003}". web.archive.org. 2003-06-13. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  28. ^ "{Spitkicker Dot Com | V2.0 || 2003}". web.archive.org. 2003-10-09. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
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