Next month, the Grouch reprises his holiday tradition, the “How the Grouch Stole Christmas” tour. Accompanying him on this ride will be DJ Fresh, with opening performances from Fashawn & Exile and Mistah F.A.B.

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What’s a Living Legends album without a tour? Next month, the Grouch & Eligh will celebrate their forthcoming Say G&E! with a tour across the Western United States. Hipsters cavorting at SXSW this week and heads making the pilgrimage to the Paid Dues Festival next Saturday get a sneak preview.

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On April 7, Living Legends the Grouch and Eligh add another chapter to their ongoing G&E partnership with Say G&E!

Set for release via Legendary Music, Say G&E features guest appearances from Slug, Gift of Gab, Pigeon John, Mistah F.A.B., the ubiquitous Blu and Sage Francis. Eligh handles most of the production, with a handful of beats coming from Flying Lotus, Amplive and Rick Rock.

And now for the bio:

For anyone who’s heard The Grouch’s recent work, it’s clear that the southland rapper –who now resides part-time in Hawaii–has moved beyond the average emcee. On “All In” where The Grouch and Eligh, along with Gift of Gab and Pigeon John rap about standing by the proverbial river and jumping in with both feet and giving everything to the hustle in life and music, without flinching, not to mention a notably infectious hook. On the title anthem track “SAY G&E!,” the pair recall their early days as struggling artists over a mesmerizing, synthesized beat.

These two aren’t afraid to tackle serious topics either. On tracks like “Denial” and “River Runs Dry” the two contemplate transcendent signature issues with a maturity and depth that is often untapped in the world of hip-hop. “There’s a lot of manning up that’s been done by Eligh and myself recently,” says The Grouch. “We’ve got some heavy stuff on the album.” …

As a founding member of the original D.I.Y. collective, The Living Legends, The Grouch has been at the forefront of the west coast’s independent rap movement for over a decade. Outside the Legends, The Grouch has released 7 solo efforts including Fuck the Dumb (2000), Crusader for Justice (2003) and No More Greener Grasses (2004), and Heroes in the City of Dope (2006) with Bay Area stalwarts Zion I, among others.

For those who heard The Grouch’s 2008 Show You the World or have seen the “Bay to LA” featured in a National TV commercial for PSP/Playstation, it’s clear that this emcee will continue to be a permanent fixture on the independent music landscape. Undoubtedly, 2008 was The Grouch’s breakout year: Show You The World garnered accolades by critics at The Source, XLR8R, and URB, to name a few. In addition, the video for “Artsy” was played on MTV, MTV2, and got over 600,000 plays on Youtube.

(April 2 update: The release date has been changed to April 21.)

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It’s only right that the Grouch should do a tour called The Grouch Stole Christmas. Set for next month, the Grinch-inspired holiday run also features Eligh, the Grouch’s partner in G&E. Here’s the press release:

This December, The Grouch will be bringing hip-hop fans the, “How the Grouch Stole Christmas Tour”. Initially started as an annual show held in Oakland, CA, The Grouch decided to take the show on the road for the holiday season. He will be accompanied by fellow Living Legends crew member, Eligh as they perform solo sets as well as a combined G&E (The Grouch & Eligh) set, along with their DJ, DJ Fresh. Accompanying The Grouch will be the up and coming Bay Area trio, “The Bayliens”, and handling opening duties will be hip-hop violinist Paul Dateh who has been growing a buzz in the music scene over the past year.

What’s more, they will perform new, never before heard tracks from their forthcoming spring album, Say G&E (Legendary Music) Featuring a host of emcees, including Gift of Gab, Pigeon John, Mista Fab, Blu, Micheal Marshall, Sage Francis, Slug, this record (a March 2009 release) will not disappoint. Guest producers on the album include: Flying Lotus and AmpLive of Zion I, among others.

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Living Legends has been on a tear this year. You’ve already heard about the massive stealth campaign swirling around Murs’ highly anticipated new album, Murs for President. But other crew members have been getting down, too. Sunspot Jonz dropped a new solo album in January, Never Surrender. The Grouch is coming out with a new album, Show You the World, next month. And Bicasso came out with an EP, Rebel Musiq, in February; it was available for free for a limited time.

All this activity is a prelude to the crew’s fourth album later this year. Before that comes The Gathering, a EP with all eight members that you can purchase at one of their shows; the retail release date is April 8. “The EP is 7 songs deep, and each of the Living Legends is on EVERY SINGLE SONG!” reads the Living Legends newsletter. “The Gathering is a warning of things to come as the Legends will be releasing a full length LP later this year.”

The Living Legends are on tour throughout March — shit, it’s already half over. But for posterity’s sake I’ve compiled all of the dates. And don’t worry, hipsters — they’ll be at SXSW this week, too.

• 3/06: The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA
• 3/07: The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
• 3/08: New Oasis, Sparks, NV
• 3/09: Kilby Court, Salt Lake City, UT
• 3/10: Ogden Theater, Denver, CO
• 3/13: Volume, Austin, TX
• 3/14: Club Rio, San Antonio, TX
• 3/16: Sunshine Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
• 3/17: Old Brickhouse, Phoenix, AZ
• 3/22: NOS Events Center, San Bernardino, CA

3/13: SXSW
3/22: Paid Dues Festival

www.legendarymusic.net
www.myspace.com/livinglegends

When we last heard from the Grouch, he was making a memorable guest appearance on edIT’s acclaimed Certified Air Raid Material. “You ain’t artsier than me,” he rapped on “Artsy,” “because you got sideburns and a vintage T.”

With his umpteenth album, the Grouch continues to prove that he can get just as artsy as any self-respecting yoga-practicing L.A. hipster. (Dude’s put out so many collabos, solo joints, and demo collections that I’ve lost count.) Show You the World hits retailers via Legendary Music and Alpha Pup Distribution on April 8.

Guests on Show You the World include Murs, Bicasso, and Scarub from the mighty Living Legends crew, Raphael Saddiq, and Abstract Rude. “I worked on this record for almost threes years,” says the Grouch in a press release. “More, this record was an idea that sprang to mind after the birth of my daughter, Rio, in 2006. As soon as she arrived all I could do is think about wanting to show her everything that I love. I was quickly humbled when I realized I was learning as much from her as she was from me.”

Show You the World is one of several Living Legends releases set to hit stores this spring. More on that later. But for now, check out the track listing below.

• 1. “Watch Watch” (feat. Mike Marshall)
• 2. “Clones”
• 3. “Artsy”
• 4. “Favorite Folks”
• 5. “Yardwork”
• 6. “God Bless the Elephant” (feat. Abstract Rude)
• 7. “Show You The World” (feat. Raphael Saadiq)
• 8. “The Bay to LA” (feat. Murs)
• 9. “Mom & Pop Killer”
• 10. “Never Die”
• 11. “Woman”
• 12. “Bring It Back”
• 13. “Hot Air Balloons” (feat. Bicasso & Scarub)
• 14. “The Time” (feat. Marty James from One Block Radius)
• 15. “Breath”

Plug One review: Zion-I & the Grouch, Heroes in the City of Dope

www.therealgrouch.com
www.myspace.com/thegrouch

Heroes in the City of Dope, a collabo featuring Zion-I and Grouch of Living Legends, shows that MC Zion and producer Amp Live are fumbling to find a happy middle ground.