In a town where everyone wants to be an MC, I am hard pressed to find noteworthy hip-hop in Albuquerque.
Much to my surprise, I was at Ned's Downtown - not known for great hip-hop acts - and saw a show that made me stop in my tracks.
They are called Weathered Hands, and they are good.
The group is made up of MCs Nick Sucre and Jeremy Bird, DJ Adam Page and engineer Kenneth Roy Connell. The performance at Ned's was their first.
Weathered Hands doesn't have a CD, and members have no idea when their next show will be.
Normally, I wouldn't look twice.
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Yet the stage presence of Weathered Hands combined with a distinctive style of Pink Floyd- sounding beats and substance-filled lyrics stuck out among the over-saturated hip-hop scene in the city.
The members of Weathered Hands agree, and said part of the reason they looked so good at Ned's was the company they were keeping. The other acts were mediocre in comparison.
"We were like the hot chick hanging out with fat women," Sucre said.
Yet it was more than their surroundings that caught my eye. It's the way the four work together on stage. Their performance certainly didn't come off as their first. They moved about with skill and confidence, wobbling their heads and hands back and fourth in true b-boy fashion.
The production of their CD is pretty impressive as well, with clever intros and smooth transitions.
Page said he normally creates a beat based on the lyrics of the MCs, yet his collection is a massive library.
"I have hundreds of beats," he said.
Beats dance on the dark side, and Page uses synthesizers and keyboards to give the Weathered Hands an electronic, new-wave feel. It is progressive hip-hop at its best.
The group is in no hurry to release an album. Of course members would love to make money off their craft, but ultimately, they rhyme to let off steam.
"It's a good outlet," Bird said. "It's therapy for these crazy minds."
Their demo is a mix of topics. Songs about tainted love are reminiscent of rapper Slug from Atmosphere. Other songs discuss the stresses of life, politics and racism - fairly heavy issues for a group of kids from 'burque.
Yet depth defines the group, even in its name.
"You look at a pair of weathered hands, and you can read someone's life by those hands," Sucre said.
He said callused hands show the stresses of life one has been through.
Bird, who has performed in other battles, has a voice and flow that bears an eerie resemblance to rapper Eyedea. He rhymes quickly, like a computer geek or college student strung out on coffee.
By day, Bird is a county firefighter, a job that takes up the majority of his time. He said his coworkers are supportive of his music. Many of them were at Ned's.
The band may be new to the scene, but its weathered skill will help it stick around.
