Homegrown Talent

By Nate Seltenrich

Chris Martindale is wearing a bright Hawaiian shirt in multiple shades of red and a pair of baggy jeans. He's on stage, mic in hand, swaying with the music, absorbing the amplified beats. Then his mouth opens and everything changes.

He's rapping. A white kid from San Mateo, a junior English major at Santa Clara, is rapping faster than I can keep up with.

Next to Martindale, or Savage C as he is perhaps better known, is KD. Together they are the Nocturnal Hustlers and they are performing for a crowd of at least 50 in the smoke-filled basement of a Santa Clara home.

You wouldn't know it by watching and listening to him, but Martindale has only been writing lyrics for five years and seriously rapping for four. That limited experience has been enough to get him actively involved in the Bay Area underground rap scene and collaborating with some of its most experienced and well-known rappers. For Martindale, this is like a dream come true, and it's only just begun.

The whirlwind started spinning in late 2001 when Savage C and KD contributed a few tracks to a compilation called "City on the Hush." The album sold over 2,000 copies even though it was produced independently and without a distribution deal.

"We took it to all the record stores. I sold it out of the trunk. I tried to sell it to anyone I could find," says Martindale. "You just have to promote a lot. We spent a lot of money on fliers and posters."

The hard work and financial commitment paid off by helping him to get name exposure and jumpstart a rap career. The networking opportunities the experience offered were invaluable, but one connection was particularly special to Martindale.

"It was groundbreaking for me because on that CD I got to do a song with my idol in rap, Andre Nikatina," he says.

"City on the Hush" led to Martindale's first full-length effort, the Nocturnal Hustlers' self-titled debut album, which was released on June 11, 2002. The CD features appearances by a number of Bay Area rappers, including another cut with Andre Nikatina, and has also sold around 2,000 copies.

Martindale's most recent release came on April 29, 2003, as a member of a rap group called the Pervelous P. Camp. The P. in the name stands for Pacifica, hometown of Davey D., the beat maker, studio owner, Pervelous P. Entertainment label CEO, and all-around mastermind behind the release.

"His beats are amazing. I give him all the credit for bringing out the best in us," says Martindale, who acts as president of the label.

In addition to Davey D., Savage C and KD, the Pervelous P. Camp also includes underground Bay Area rappers Mista Cane and Jonny T, both of whom are also pursuing solo careers.

Only one feature artist performed on the album, but it was a big one for Martindale. Devin the Dude, a successful rapper from Texas who appeared on Dr. Dre's "Chronic 2001," not only joined the Pervelous P. Camp in the studio, but also made a stop on his tour of the Bay Area to do a show with the group.

"That was even bigger than Andre Nikatina. I didn't think I could top that," beams Martindale.

The Pervelous P. Camp represents the joining of forces of some of the Bay Area underground rap scene's youngest names, as none of the five men are over 21. So far, the decision to formally unite has resulted in important connections for all the members as well as increased sales figures.

"It's selling real well - the best out of the three so far. It hasn't been out long enough to sell two thousand copies yet, but it's looking like it's gonna sell more than the other ones," says Martindale.

In addition to a record release party for that album, he has also performed numerous times on and around the Santa Clara campus and participated in a four-show Bay Area tour that stopped in San Francisco, Gilroy, Sacramento and San Jose.

"Basically we're just trying to have fun and spread the name down here," says Martindale. "We're not trying to do anything extravagant."

But that doesn't mean he's gonna let the forward momentum subside. Already completed is a second Nocturnal Hustlers album, called "NH2: Another Night, Another Hustle," which should be out in two or three months. On deck is a solo album for Savage C.

This ambitious recording schedule is part of a calculated business plan for Martindale and crew.

"We're not expecting to sell platinum right now at our level," he says. "We're trying to set the foundation and sell a couple thousand of each release and build upon each album and sell more and gain a fan base to spread the word."

The musicians' growth should be aided considerably by a distribution deal with the San Francisco-based Urban Life Distribution that kicked in with the release of the Pervelous P. Camp album. That CD is currently available all over the Bay Area in stores ranging from Tower Records to one-stop mom and pop shops.

The release is also widely available in Sacramento and has been distributed throughout other localized areas of the state such as Tahoe, Napa and south central Los Angeles. Martindale has even shipped numerous CDs abroad to such countries as Switzerland, Australia and Germany.

"It's amazing how we could go from 16 year-olds making little demo CDs just for ourselves and our friends to selling a couple thousand units over the course of a small amount of time when we're still so young in the game," he says.

His sentiment is understandable and begs the question of what more he and his young friends in the rap business will be able to achieve.

"I don't see anywhere else to go but up from here. I don't plan on stopping making music for a long time," Martindale explains. "It's something I love to do. I'm very passionate about it."