Tax Rhyme

Taxes are due April 17 — oh, shit — better holla at your accountant.

Better yet, holla at 401cakes and Samuel L. Taxin'. Because instead of crunching numbers, these MCs with the Mile-High TrikeSteady Crew are bustin' rhymes for some FAT refunds! It would take the average worker some really creative accounting to get an IRS check for $25,000. But that's how much Intuit, the software company that owns tax preparation program Turbo Tax, is giving away as the grand prize for the best homemade hip-hop video in its first-ever Tax Rap contest .

According to Intuit marketing manager Colleen Gatlin, the concept behind the online competition was to gain exposure for Turbo Tax by utilizing new media outlets like the oh-so-viral Youtube. "Really, it's about creating buzz," she says. And buzz they've been getting from the blogosphere since launching early February with the OG whiteboy rapper Vanilla Ice as spokesman and final judge.

By the time Denverites Evan Pollock and Matt Hubball heard about the contest last week, there wasn't much time to put a video together before the March 30 deadline. But since Pollock and Hubball, both 27, work day jobs in sound design and advertising, respectively, they were able to whip up their video in two days, with locations that include a 16th Street alleyway, a LoDo high-rise and a row home in Jefferson Park.

The 300-or-so videos entered will be paired down to a dozen by viewer voting. Pollock thinks the TrikeSteady Crew's "Keep your refund, FATTER" will come out on top, since the majority of entries consist of teenagers attempting to freestyle in their parent's basement. He's also hoping for a big on-line shout-out from his hometown. And you really can't lose with lines like this: "They call me Obi-Box-Wan-Kenobi/I'm nice with deductions so the government owes me/I rock Turbo only/My accountant is lonely!"

Don't withhold. Voting ends on April 8. — Jared Jacang Maher.