MAT-SU �” The Mat-Su Valley’s ever growing musical empire has facilitated musical acts in every genre: Rock, pop, jazz, acoustic, grunge, country. All have found a place on stages, radio and in CD players across the Valley. But what about local hip-hop music? Is there a place for the rap scene in Alaska? A group of young artists and producers living in Wasilla and Palmer there is.

Devon Shaw, 19, also known as “Big-D,” has been mixing beats and throwing down hip-hop rhymes since he was 8 years old. A few years ago, with the help of some friends who are also hip-hop connoisseurs, Shaw helped construct an independent record label and recording studio in the Valley, attempting to launch their music out into a virtually invisible hip-hop scene.

In 2003, Shaw approached music instructor Stan Harris at Palmer High School about the possibility of using the school’s small studio to throw down some beats. Harris, known for his broad love of musical genres, granted the request, so long as the teens kept the studio in good condition. “We advanced ourselves through Mr. Harris,” Shaw said. “Back then it was me, my friends Keoiki Tafaoialii, Joab Giossi, Chad Billups and Keith Aurnavae, who started to come together and drafting concepts for our music. Chad and I knew each other from reputation. We used to battle each other and have been friends for a long time. I approached him about joining a label and he said, ‘All right man, I want to get a piece of this.’”

During high school, Shaw had managed to throw together a CD of his own beats and lyrics, with the help of Tafaoialii, entitled, “This Is My Story As I Tell It.” Because he didn’t have a car, Shaw carried copies of his CD around in a backpack and sold them for $10 a piece at Palmer High School. People liked it. It was a start.

After graduation, UTN’s members purchased beat machines, sound equipment, microphones and reserved space at their homes for studios and Unite the North (UTN) Records was born.

UTN’s family currently consists of Big-D “The Lyricist” (Shaw), Citisin-K “The Red Faction Leader” (Keoki Tafaoialii), Reggie White “The Prez” (Joab Giossi), K-Bazz “The Kashman” (Keith Aumavae), The Chosen One (J.J. Odom), and Mr. C (Chad Billups).

Shaw said UTN came together as a bunch of friends and musicians with the same visions, ideas, and ambitions. He said his hope for UTN is to help others expand and get their sound out so that people can see all the undiscovered hip-hop talent just waiting to be discovered in the Valley.

“All of us come from different backgrounds in hip-hop, rap and R&B,” Shaw said. “That’s why we try to make our sound as diverse and original as possible.”

Pulling from West coast, East coast, Urban, and Midwest rap influences, UTN artists began shaping their unique and personal sounds, taking lessons from their idols in the hip-hop world.

“Keith’s beat style is West coast. Bay area, California all-stars,” Shaw said. “Mine are more Midwest to East coast influences. Our styles are so different where you can actually hear the diversity.”

Shaw said East coast hip-hop tends to focus mainly on street stories, where West coast is generally heard as more gritty and hard-core.

“East coast is more about lyrical technique and teaches you how to be a better rapper. It also has a lot more sampling. The beat sounds are completely different as well,” he said.

Shaw said he learned how to become an MC, producer and songwriter from listening to hip-hop legends and influences such as Ohio’s Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, The Notorious B.I.G, 2pac and Eazy-E. These artists, he said, are the elements of old school hip-hop still visible in today’s market.

“All of our beats are made at UTN by either K-bazz, Chosen One, or sometimes myself,” Shaw said. “Keith is our main producer. He kind of took me and J.J. under his wing, showed us how to produce. Now we’re all three producers cause of our separate influences. We work together constantly and built this business by ourselves from the ground up.”

Shaw said his song writing style begins with finding a perfect beat.

“It depends on what kind of vibe you get, like the first thing that pops into your head. I like to work on the chorus first, hear an instrumental, write it down, then build my verses on whatever topic is in that chorus.”

“When it comes to performing, I’ll pick a playlist with songs that will hit with the hardest beat or the smoothest chorus,” Shaw said. “When you’re performing, the highest extent of your creativity is trying to pick out the songs you believe will stick out to the audience.”

Each artist involved with UTN is working on their own individual CD projects for the upcoming year. Recording is just phase one of UTN’s plan to take over the Mat-Su hip-hop scene.

Big-D is recording his new double album (“The Man and The Poet”), while The Chosen One’s debut album (“This Is Who I Really Am”) has recently been completed, as well as new releases from The Prez (“Headline”), K-Bazz (“Sittin’ On Top Of the World”), and Citisin-K.

UTN artists are also working on a collaborative “UTN Mix Tape” project, featuring all the artists together on one compilation. No dates for this project have been set as of yet, but a previous compilation entitled “All In The Family” has just been released online.

Next, Shaw said UTN artists began trying to reach the music scene in the Mat-Su Valley by live performance.

Shaw said local radio showed little interest in hip-hop, especially in Anchorage, where the smaller, yet more established hip-hop scene had grown to a few notable artists.

In the Valley, the selections were slim.

“Josh Fryfogle, from Make-A-Scene, and I got together and started rummaging through ideas,” Shaw said. “He said we could help him and he’d help us. We’d like to see it become a partnership.”

Shaw said although the Anchorage hip-hop scene has grown, stepping into the limelight in Alaska’s largest music market is not his biggest concern. The Valley is his home.

“Anchorage radio has not been too kind to us, so it’s difficult to gain that public access,” he said. “I found that your have to really scrap to get to the top in Anchorage. Out here we want to creep in from the back. Producing out here in the Valley is what we want to do, it’s what’s happening.”

To book a live show, Shaw and other UTN artists noticed they had their work cut out for them. Most of the Valley venues catered just to rock and acoustic bands, with familiar line-ups taking up the stages each week.

One exception was the Loon Attic (2061 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy. in Wasilla), where owner Tina Tischer had just launched an open mic night on Thursdays. The small, newly remodeled music venue was now open season to poet slammers, jazz jammers, acoustic crooners and yes, even hip-hop artists.

Since early February, Shaw and the other UTN artists have used the Loon Attic stage to showcase their music, as well as an endorsement of the local hip-hop scene they’ve helped create, with very little help.

“We do this music because we love it, not necessarily for money or fame,” Shaw said. “We are all MCs with talent and a voice to be heard. We try to reach out to people through our music instead of just trying to get paid. It’s these ideas that are one major thing we have in common, our love for hip-hop and just music in general.”

Shaw said the main goal of UTN is “to make the tightest stuff for the least amount of money and equipment.”

J.J. Odom, 20, said it’s a good idea to keep his full-time job at Spenard Builders Supply, at least for the time being.

As an artist on the UTN label, Odom (a.k.a. The Chosen One) has been trying to get his music out for a couple of years now. For him, it’s a slow but sure process.

“I’m an artist and a producer first,” Odom said. “I make a lot of beats, something me and my little brother did on an old karaoke machine growing up. This is where I want to be.”

Buying a beat machine on e-Bay, Odom constructed a studio and began recording with other UTN artists. He said the hip-hop scene in Alaska has a long way to go before hitting the big time, but that there is a wave of interest showing that could help jump start acts soon.

“As far as the Alaska scene goes, there’s really not much of one,” he said. “We’re all trying to set the standards. UTN’s bringing local artists together and helping get our names out there. In the Mat-Valley, it’s where we want to grow. Our background and homes are here, then we can progress.”

Odom said Shaw and the others at UTN are playfully competitive when it comes to their music, but that they help each other find their passion for music first and foremost.

“We’re kind of a family,” Odom said. “We’re determined to be heard.”

UTN artists will take the stage at the Loon Attic in Wasilla at 8 p.m. on April 26. For more information, visit UTN Records at Myspace.com/studioeutn.

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com.