Blake Selby understands that he's already at a disadvantage.
"Look, there are a few facts," he said in a phone interview this week. "Number one, I'm white and I'm in the rap game. ... I'm already fighting an uphill battle. ... The other thing is that I'm not from the streets. I never claim to be; I never pretend to be in my raps. ... This is kind of my way of fighting back."
"This" is his first full-length album, Ammunition. The Quad Cities-based hip-hop artist (who also owns Quad Cities Fitness in Bettendorf) has a record-release show Saturday at The Clubhouse in Bettendorf, and the album and show represent his musical introduction to his new community.
As the name suggests, it's no clammy handshake. The 16-track album is loaded with aggressive, surgical-jackhammer rapping. It features the Chicago hip-hop artist Twista and singer Sam Kay on "Never Let Go." It brings along the Quad Cities metal outfit 3 Years Hollow on "Monsta." And its straightforward production (by The Chemist) mainlines the hooks.
