TV LAND

Nation of three

By Sam Pfeifle

Where was Portland hip-hop a year ago? Deep underground. But the past 12 months have seen a virtual explosion in turntablists, MCs, and hip-hop dance nights; Saco’s WRED now broadcasts hip-hop tracks almost exclusively; and Portland’s about to see its first hip-hop-only record store in DJ Nicotine’s Vinyl Phrontier.

It’s only fitting, then, that the hip-hop set get their own TV show, and Ramone Jones, Candace Poirier, and Jason Caron are on the case. Calling both the show and their organization “Hip-Hop Nation,” the trio have begun taping segments to be broadcast on USM’s closed-circuit channel, GTV, and “once we have a couple shows taped, we’ll give them to Channel 2, and once they preview them they said they’ll air them,” says Poirier. They’re shooting for a February 15 air date on GTV, from 8 to 9 p.m., and hope to be on Channel 2 soon after. Jones says they’re also trying to raise the $6000 necessary for a year run on Channel 4.

The hour-long shows, new twice each month, will offer a bulletin of hip-hop happenings, news stories from the hip-hop scene, four music videos, even comedic acts — “something to throw it off a little,” says Jones, who may be the principal comedic actor. They also hope to interview hip-hop luminaries from New England and beyond, including Jones’s former UMaine Orono roommate, and current Chaos Entertainment head, Elix Brown, out of Brooklyn, New York.

However, “the TV show is just one arm” of the Nation, Jones (who raps under the name Gemini) is quick to emphasize. They hope to have a Web site up shortly after the show’s first airing, through which viewers will be able to put in their two cents (but they already have an e-mail address, hiphopnationtv@aol.com). And they’re looking into promoting all-ages hip-hop events at venues throughout the city. “We’ve talked about Sundays,” says Jones, “I think everybody’s looking to let loose before the new week.”

All of this is equally part of an effort to give the city’s chronically disaffected youth something to do. “I was sitting at home one day, looking at these teenagers on public access [Whazzup!, on channel 2], complaining that they don’t have anything to do,” says Jones. “So for 18- to 21-year-olds, this is something to do.”

Both through watching the program and going out to the all-ages events, “kids can get together and work with each other without going to clubs that are only open after 1 a.m.,” says Poirier. They’re also offering up the program to people who want to reach that age group, whether they be folks with programs to get kids playing music or cops that want to communicate on a more level playing field. “If they see some police staff talking with them in their venue,” says Jones, “maybe they’ll listen.”