Hip-Hop Hooray

 

The Goonies team with ToTs for an evening of rhyme over reason

Syracuse is a tough town for hip-hop. Actually, it’s a tough town for almost anything other than blues or rock. Venues like the Westcott Theater and Lost Horizon tend to shy away from local hip-hop groups, and most bars stick to what’s safe. Two local acts, however, are breaking the mold and bringing hip-hop back to downtown Syracuse. ToTs and The Goonies team up on Wednesday, Feb. 8, for a 10 p.m. show at Al’s Wine & Whiskey, 321 S. Clinton St. (call 703-4773 for details.)

Occu-Fry Syracuse

Eminem made a name for himself rapping about being white. Lonely Island garnered attention spitting rhymes about cupcakes and premature ejaculation. And now, local rhymer ToTs is not-so-quietly carving out his own niche in the hip-hop world: potatoes.

Michael John Heagerty, better known as ToTs, is Syracuse’s premiere (and only) potato rapper. As the marketing director for Syracuse Opera, Heagerty is familiar with the importance of branding and developing an audience. And so far, he’s got the market cornered on spud rap. “It’s silly,” he says. “But people love the idea of something so bizarre.”

 

ToTs, a.k.a. Crispy on the Mic, was born in the kitchen at the Heagerty family’s restaurant, Kitty Hoynes, in February 2008. An employee tasked with peeling a five-gallon bucket full of potatoes was “struggling,” Heagerty says. “The kid looked hungover or just bored so I just blurted out a rhyme called ‘Peel Potatoes.’ Everyone got a kick out of it so I kept doing it. Within six months I had released an album and was rapping at {the former} Ohm {Lounge}.”

What began as a joke rapidly evolved into a fruitful creative outlet for Heagerty. He sold a few hundred copies of his first album and used the proceeds to record two more. He is currently working on a fourth studio effort, All Eyes On Us, where he unveils a series of new tater-based personas, including “Yukon Gold,” who he describes as a “Borat-esque potato.”

Despite gaining popularity and recognition in the local scene, his act, Heagerty says, remains merely a gimmick. “ToTs is the longest-running joke I’ve ever been involved in,” he laughs. “And now it’s the most legitimate joke I’ve ever been involved in.” Last Labor Day he performed for 16,000 people at Buffalo’s Chicken Wing Fest. He set a record in New York City for most potato-related sexual innuendos in a song. And now he’s collaborating with a number of local artists, including The Goonies.

“ToTs is the Hannah Montana to my Miley Cyrus. There are more and more people who only know me as ToTs, not Michael,” Heagerty says. “It’s a character I do, but it’s more a part of me than I’d really like to admit.” 

As he sits sipping an “Eastwood” at Kubal Café downtown, friends pass by and say hello. He greets them with his own potato brand of fist bump. “Peace and taters,” he says in farewell. 

Heagerty carved out his own niche in the Syracuse hip-hop scene and is gaining recognition for being ridiculous. To him, however, the music isn’t about gaining notoriety or getting noticed: It’s about having fun.

“The minute I stop loving what I’m doing, I’ll quit,” he says. “But it’s a challenge to keep coming up with new ways to rhyme about potatoes, and I really don’t see myself ever running out of new material.”

Hey You Guys

What’s the best way to make it as a hip-hop group in a blues city? Play the blues. It’s a formula local outfit The Goonies are working on perfecting. At first glance, the casual observer sees a rock group. With a guitar player, bassist and drummer, they fit the bill. 

“People call us a rock band but it’s only because we have live musicians,” says Langston Masingale, one of the group’s two MCs. “It has nothing to do with the music we play. We play hip-hop”

Masingale (a.k.a. Illumination) and fellow founder Peter Cappelli (a.k.a. Clam Weezy) consider The Goonies a hip-hop group and nothing else. The distinction is necessary, since their music incorporates elements of funk, blues, metal, Brazilian salsa and everything in between. 

“Hip-hop is about putting all these different styles in a blender and making something cool out of it,” Masingale says. “We’re not just playing rock and rapping on top of it. We’re making true hip-hop.”

In conversation, the two mention artists from countless genres: Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Spector, Wilco, John Scofield, Weezer, Nas and more. Their musical diversity shows on their first, self-titled album. 

Masingale and Cappelli met about six years ago while working together at a telemarketing company (“Think Office Space,” Masingale says). A conversation about hip-hop one day led to the two swapping demos. Both liked what they heard and decided to make some music together. 

The highly asthmatic Cappelli started hanging out at Masingale’s studio while local rappers recorded. “Every five minutes he would get excited about something these ‘gangsta’ rappers were doing and he’d have to take a hit of his inhaler,” says Masingale. “We all said he was like that kid from {the movie} The Goonies and it stuck.” Masingale likens himself to Data, the computer whiz, because of his career in producing and engineering.

Like the 1985 movie’s group of misfits, Masingale considers The Goonies a group of outcasts. In a city dominated by rock and blues, they play hip-hop. More important, they play hip-hop in Armory Square, a scene accustomed to a more suburban sound. The group booked its first gig at Half Penny Pub (rest in peace) in early 2007. A hub for metalheads, the pub attracted its usual cohort of tattoos, piercings and leather for The Goonies’ show. 

“After the show people kept telling us they don’t listen to hip-hop, but they would listen to us,” Masingale says. After a few more shows at Half Penny, other Armory venues took notice and began booking the act. 

The Goonies have invaded the downtown scene because they bring more than most local hip-hop. Masingale and Cappelli perform with a group of accomplished musicians: Kinyatta King on drums, Andrew Willis on bass and Adam Fisher on guitar. “The band brings the heat onstage,” says Cappelli. “It’s an entirely different energy with live musicians. And we’ve got some of the best.”

And they’re bringing that heat to the studio with their newest album, Too, which they hope to release by May. Unlike their self-titled debut album, Too heavily features Fisher’s guitar and King’s drums. The riffs reek of blues, but the rapping of the group’s founding members stays crisp with a harsh bite. Next Wednesday’s show features the entire ensemble and will pull a lot of material from the new album. 

“The Goonies were these kids from the middle of nowhere,” Masingale says. “And that’s kind of who we are. Our treasure map was music. We were two nerdy guys working a dead-end job and now we’re rappers making music that people love. It’s changed our world.”