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Basementalism is a hip-hop show on the University of Colorado's Radio 1190. Basementalism has spawned a record company, and the format of the show has been copied by radio stations in places as far away as Poland and South Africa.

History

Radio 1190 was born in 1996 when Jacor Communications donated KVCU (then KBCO)'s equipment and transmitter to the University of Colorado. The Foundation then turned over the equipment to a small group of students who ran a small campus station known as KBCU. After two years of negotiating, planning, and implementing, KVCU went on the air on November 4, 1998.

The station accepted volunteers who used their airtime to play their favorite types of music. A hip-hop specialty show was scheduled for Tuesdays from 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. The show began as a simple college radio show, however it was the vision of Mike "Adict" Merriman, with the help of KVCU volunteers Infinity and Viscous, that turned the Tuesday night show into what is now known as Basementalism. The vision was to create a hip-hop radio show that would uncover and educate the public about the underground of hip-hop left in the shadows of mainstream commercial rap music. Focusing on the positive elements of hip-hop, Basementalism began to expose new talent and music in the national underground hip-hop scene, and push forth a cohesive Colorado hip-hop scene that would bring together all elements of hip-hop (Emceeing, Grafitti, Breakdancing, and DJing).

On-air personalities

At first Basementalism was hosted solely by Merriman. He was joined by Colorado Springs native and up and coming rapper Nate "Resonant" Harvey. Harvey was part of a group called The Procussions who would later release an album on "Basementalism Records". Adict and Res became a staple of the show and enlisted the help of a local graffiti writer who went by "Nime", scratch DJ Vajra, a Colorado University undergrad named Jeff Hlad who also went by "Pious", and Jesse "DJ Mung" Reim. At this time Mike "Adict" would also go on to become the Student General Manager of KVCU. In this period Basementalism saw short lived syndications in a few countries including Canada and South Africa. In 2000, Adict spent a year studying in Japan. In Adict's absence, Nime and Pious took over most of the hosting duties. In the fall of 2000, Christian "Judge Mental" Arcand joined the crew. Judge's main duty was composing the playlist. Nime and Pious eventually let Judge read the playlists on the air. Soon after Judge joined up, Sean "LazyEyez" Choi joined the crew as a street teamer. After a wave of departures, graduations, and an overall upheaval of staff, Judge and Lazy became the co-hosts and have been the voices of the show ever since. Rachel "Rockelle" Romero, Chris "B Money" Behm-Meyer and DJ Dylan fill in for Judge or Lazy when necessary. Romero has cemented herself as the female voice of the show. In 2003, Masta Fuol from the Lyricist Lounge joined the crew as a part-time co-host.

Basementalism mixtapes

In 2002, the Basementalism crew came out with a mixtape called "TOO DAMN HYPE!". Mixed by DJs Inka One and Thought, the mixtape featured exclusive tracks and freestyles from Murs, DJ Z-Trip, DJ Melo-D, Eyedea, and others.

Basementalism in other mediums

From 2004-2005 Basementalism was also featured in weekly segments on The Real Hip-Hop TV Show that broadcasted on Denver Public Access. Segments included live interviews with The Perceptionists, The Procussions, and DJs Q-Bert & Flare. Judge Mental also wrote hip hop music reviews for the Colorado Daily at this same time period.

Basementalism Records

In 2003 Mike "Adict" Merriman graduated from CU and moved to Los Angeles to manage The Procussions who had relocated there a year earlier. Stuck in a new city with hardly any connections, Adict created "Basementalism Records" as a platform to release the Procussions' debut LP "As Iron Sharpens Iron". The LP and subsequent touring around California caught the attention of Rawkus Records (once home to Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Pharoah Monche, etc.) who were in the process of rebuilding their label. They enlisted the Procussions to be one of the flagship acts on their label relaunch. The sophomore album, entitled "5 Sparrows for 2 Cents" has given the group a much larger audience than almost any hip-hop act from Colorado. Adict has also gone on to establish Basementalism Radio Promotions, servicing records to hundreds of DJs across the country and spreading music that Basementalism supports. Basementalism Radio Promotions has promoted albums for various hip-hop groups including Lightheaded, Braille, Time Machine, CL Smooth, DENT, and more.

Basementalim Poland

Basementalism is on the worldwide Hip-Hop Radar. In 2003 Double U Thomas of Poland created what has become Basementalism Poland, a European branch of Basementalism. Basementalism Poland intially began as a way of translating Basementalism's website for the Polish audience. However, Double U Thomas went on to produce several radio shows throughout Poland, write articles for Poland's Hip-Hop Magazines (including Klans), and produce and sponsor hip-hop shows in Poland. Basementalism Poland has expanded to form its own crew and mission. In the fall of 2005 Double U Thomas made an appearance at Basementalism's homebase in Colorado.

DJs

Basementalism features three hours of live mixing by three different DJs each hour. The following is a list of DJs who have appeard on Basementalism:

Colorado DJs

• Double U Thomas
• Ichiro
• Styles Davis
• Destro
• Idiom
• Square
• Enemy
• Prominent
• Low Key
• Amen
• Psycho
• Andirexit
• Tense
• Mike Thunder
• Rootz
• Panther & Technic 9
• Stretch
• Dent
• Deft
• Skip Ripkin
• Mercy One
• Soul 45 Chicanos
• Es-Nine
• Phi (aka DJ Itch)
• One Twenty

National DJs

• Vadim
• First Rate
• Neil Armstrong (5th Platoons)
• Daddy Dog (5th Platoons)
• Kid Koala
• Melo-D
• Kico (Platter Pirates)
• Spryte 1 (Platter Pirates)
• Spooky
• Ming & FS.

External links

• University of Colorado
• The Procussions
• Basementalism Poland

References and Citations

• The Daily Camera "Sounds Of The Underground" By Aimee Heckel
• The Comprehensive History Of Basementalism by DJ LazyEyez
• The Westword "And You Don't Stop" By Laura Bond

• Radio programs