Seattle's Nacho Picasso Gets Some Much Deserved Shine From The National Press. Will Local Listeners Finally Catch On?

The Cloud Nice-affiliated MC with the grisly voice and a dozen killer tag names, Nacho Picasso aka The Tat In The Hat aka Young Henry Rollins (ect.), earned a couple of favorable looks from influential national sources Pitchfork and Stereogum recently (here, and here), increasing his visibility on the national level if not locally.

Though Nick Feldman talked him up here, and I reviewed his album, For The Glory here, I hadn't expected this kind of national exposure at such an early stage in his career--more because outside ears tend to take more convincing than hometown fans--than any knock on his talent. As the Times' Andrew Matson (who hipped me to the reviews) states: "The Pitchfork review is a big look for him and his Cloud Nice crew, out of Beacon Hill, which is now officially better known outside Seattle than in. A shame, in a way, since they have a lot of talent on their roster. But it's also cool that they are getting due credit."

The Internet has the ability to fast-track anything (even more-so than the local scene's occasionally reluctant grapevine), including music careers, and it's reassuring to know that good music--even without the benefit of a pricey marketing push--has the potential to be noticed on a large scale. Not that this is "making it," but at least in Nacho, the rest of the country has discovered a gem. Whether local audiences will come around remains to be seen.