Has Fresno missed its chance at hitting a signature sound with hyphytonk?

Plus, Rhyme Fest 2024 is heavy on Fresno talent.

Music has always been good for placemaking.

New York did it with jazz and punk and hip-hop and later with indie rock. Nashville had country. Bakersfield, too. As did Chicago, even if it was the alt. version. San Francisco did psychedelics and Seattle had grunge and the whole of the Mid West had emo.

Fresno could have had hyphytonk.

That’s Sam Hansen’s naming configuration for a thing he’s been advocating (and laying out the blueprint) for on social media for years; an authentically placed hip-hop/country music hybrid that pulls from Fresno’s big-city/small town dualism.

As Hansen puts it: “They have called us ‘country’ for years/ we might as well own it.”

As long as it’s more “yeeee than haw.”

This seems like a no-brainer. Fresno is uniquely suited for this particular combination, inspired by its agricultural roots but also its own size as the sixth largest city in the state and and proximity to urban centers to the north (Bay area) and south (Los Angeles).

And anyone who’s been to a country concert at the Save Mart Center and heard the between-set playlists (and the crowd’s response) understands the market for this thing is ripe.

Of course, the idea seems to have already permeated into the mainstream with the likes of and Lil Nas X and Post Malone (who’s gonna be at the Opry) and Beyonce (whose country music foray featured a Clovis-born co-writer, which says something, right?). Which means that if we haven’t missed the window for this thing (Hansen thinks we have), its rapidly closing and instead of creating the trend and owning it, we’ll end up riding coattails after it has hit.

Fresno represents at Rhyme Fest 2024

In June, Rhyme Fest announced the hip-hop celebration would happen Aug. 17 at the Memorial Coliseum in LA and be headlined by Atmosphere.

Among the lineup of acts joining the festival in its 11th year are several Fresnans (which is like, totally good on us).

Living Legends gets pretty high billing here. The Bay Area rap collective features Murs, Luckyiam, Sunspot Jonz, The Grouch, Eligh, Scarub, Bicaso and Aesop The Black Wolf, aka Black Aesop, aka Derrick Aesop McElroy.

McElroy is from Fresno and has performed here often as a DJ and emcee (along with his food business and other endeavors).

Down bill some is Fashawn, listed as featured artist alongside Blu and Exile (the latter of whom produced Fashawn’ debut “Boy Meets World” in 2009).

Also on the list is Planet Asia, who at this point is a hip-hop veteran and also a pioneering force who set the stage (and standard) for those who followed in Fresno. Last year, Planet Asia released an album with Apollo Brown. More recently, he was featured on the latest album from Rakim.

Here is an 11-minute mini-documentary on Planet Asia, if you want to know more.

That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM. Follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com