Localized – YZE, Burnell Washburn and Linus Stubbs

Burnell Washburn

In a short span of about four years, Burnell Washburn has gone from Brighton High School graduate, with no connections in the industry, to founding the Wasatch Renaissance collective, starting the Salt Lake chapter of the Hip Hop Roots festival and releasing two full-length albums and two EPs. I recently sat down with Washburn at the Wasatch Renaissance headquarters in Sandy to talk about his short yet already-blossoming career in hip hop.

SLUG: When did you become interested in writing rhymes?
Washburn: I started when I was in 10th grade, but it was a joke at first. We would do little things in class where my teacher would be like, “Alright, you guys have to write two paragraphs about your weekend.” So me and my buddy would write raps because we thought it was funny. We started actually getting into it for real, and I got really into poetry and took a creative writing class in 12th grade, which pushed me to the point where I thought, “Wow, this is actually an amazing art form that I really am touched by. I want to do it for real.” I started writing real songs at that point instead of just trying to make people laugh.

SLUG: Whom did you start working with when breaking into the scene?
Washburn: The first actual emcee I met who was trying to do something was Malevolent MC, and then, after that, was Pat Maine. Pat was already established—he had already been on tour and had albums. I was just putting out my first album and he came over and listened to it and had a big conversation with me. He gave me that perspective that people around here do go on tour, and do big things. Linking up with him and all the people he knows was a big stepping point. The other artist [who] reached out to me was Dusk One at Uprok. I would go in there to try to hang up posters, and he was the only one in the shop [who] would let me hang up my stuff and would check out my demos, and he’d actually come to a lot of my shows. Bridging those two gaps was the thing that pushed me onto that next level.

SLUG: Tell me a bit about Wasatch Renaissance.
Washburn: I started Wasatch Renaissance with two of my best friends—Parley Glover and Taylor Richens—in 2010. I was doing my music and a lot of my friends were doing their shows—other friends had clothing companies, other kids were painters and others were professional snowboarders and skateboarders. We wanted to find a way to organize them and unite them in a way that can mutually benefit everyone in the community. We do graphic design, screen-printing, photography, recording, mixing and mastering. Our main goal is to create a positive impact on the universe through the music, art, action sports and all the different things we do.

SLUG: What is the Hip Hop Roots festival?
Washburn: Hip Hop Roots is a weekly hip hop showcase that was started in Las Vegas by HighDro. It’s been going for five years down there, and we just started it in Salt Lake at Sugar Space. It gives people a chance to get involved in the hip hop scene—you can come get on the open mic and perform a song for a big crowd. If you paint, come paint. If you take photos, come take photos. If you break dance, come break dance. And if you make beats and want to perform, come make your beat live and we’ll find a way to get everyone involved. Next one is May 25 at Sugar Space.

SLUG: Do you see your sound changing as you progress in hip hop?
Washburn: I’ve been trying to get out of sampling and go all live instruments. Lately, I’ve been taking inspiration from everything but hip hop. I’ve been listening to bands like MGMT and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, just anything I think is good music. Every once in a while, there are songs that come out that, no matter what genre you listen to, everyone likes it, everyone feels it. I want my music to not be liked by just underground hip hop fans or just independent hip hop, but to have more of a broad feel to it.

Check out Burnell Washburn and his heartfelt hip hop at SLUG’s Localized showcase on May 11 at the Urban Lounge.