Quick Bites: Confessions of an Iron Chef Judge

Don’t know the language? Learn it from E-40.The last time E-40 came through town, about 14 months ago, this publication - the one you're reading right now - discussed the plus-sized rapper at length, but only briefly touched on his illustrious lexicon. The Bay-Area hip-hop mogul (who is approaching legendary status or as already achieved it in some circles), is best known for helping to cultivate the rambunctious and at times intentionally ridiculous "hyphy" sub-genre of rap and is returning to continue the lessons that he began with his 2007 Bend show. We thought we'd also help in the educational process.
 
The "hyphy" phenomenon is still alive, perhaps not as much as it was two or three years ago when the bump-and-crunch sound and "go dumb" dance moves lit up the hip-hop world, but alive nonetheless as you'll see when E-40 and his troupe of high-energy cats work the Midtown into a frenzy this week. Although "hyphy" has been a part of Bay-Area hip-hop culture since the mid-1990s, the movement didn't fully take hold until the major success (as in top ten Billboard success) of E-40's 2006 record entitled My Ghetto Report Card. Loyal hip-hop aficionados know all about E-40 and the hype of the "hyphy," (perhaps learning this from the documentary DVD E-40 and the Hype on Hyphy) but this article is not for the astute hip-hop fan. This is for the McSweeney's-reading sort of Joe or Jane who's main exposure to rap music comes in the form of 15-second intervals emanating from the cracked windows of passing Honda Civics on Third Street. In short, this is for the uninformed.

Through the looking glass with Reed Thomas Lawrence.The left arm of Reed Thomas Lawrence is resting on a sidewalk table in front of a downtown Bend coffee shop clearly revealing a tattoo that covers a healthy chunk of the appendage. The tattoo is a three-frame strip of film with one frame occupied by Salvador Dali's "Sleep," another filled with an Andrew Wyeth realistic work, and a third that remains blank. I ask if this is an intentionally blank canvas awaiting a stamp that represents the next phase of the rising soul-soaked Bend songwriter's life.
 
He laughs and then casually remarks that he's simply not sure what piece of art he'd like to drop into that particular frame. My attempt to connect the un-needled skin with a figurative blank canvas falls flat, but Lawrence gets where I'm coming from. In the last year, Lawrence has transformed from an amiable singer songwriter about town to a thriving up-and-comer who's become the fascination of Los Angeles musicians and producers. In the days before his self-titled album drops (slated for a July 15 release), things in Lawrence's life are still moving as fast as ever.
The 25-year-old Lawrence has Abercrombie good looks and almost never stops smiling - a combination of traits that for whatever reason doesn't come across as annoying as it should. Sitting across from Lawrence is Franchot Tone, the producer/engineer who's collaborated with a swath of artists including Ben Harper and Garth Brooks and has recently moved to Bend to work with Rage Productions (where Lawrence also works as a marketer). It was only a matter of months ago that Lawrence got a call from Tone, who is also a member of the Los Angeles reggae troupe Culver City Dub Collective.