by
Yousif Kassab on July 27, 2017
Bay Area O.G. Andre Nickatina returns to San Jose with more tales from the Fillmore. The guy has been doing it for longer than your favorite SoundCloud rapper has been alive, but don’t think his age has rusted his wit or his tongue. Even the passing of time won’t stop him from…
Continue reading »
by
Yousif Kassab on July 10, 2017
Strong feminine voices in hip-hop have been few and far between, but where they have popped up they’ve elevated the genre. “Let Me Watch,” MF DOOM’s greatest bout of storytelling across his entire career succeeds because the events are fleshed out by Apani B breaking it off with him and telling her side…
Continue reading »
As the crowd waited for Rihanna to take the stage at the SAP Center last year, the opening DJ put on Too Short’s banger, “Blow the Whistle.” Being a local anthem of sorts, Short’s song got people out of their seats to dance and sing along—never louder than when the East Bay…
Continue reading »
The pair of musicians behind Watsonville-based instrumental “jazz-noise” duo Aurora Beam first bonded over their favorite records back in senior year of high school. Drummer Shane Luevano and guitarist Mario Sanchez swapped playlists while working in a video production class they were both taking.
Continue reading »
A pair of sneakers hangs from the rafters in Dirtbag Dan’s studio. He won them years ago at the Wednesday night Cypher, then held at Johnny V’s. At the time, another emcee had been challenging Dan for his title as the best battle rapper in San Jose.
Continue reading »
In one of the higher profile shows hosted by BackBar SoFa in recent months, veteran Bay Area rapper Too Short performed to a near capacity crowd last night. After a series of opening acts and a crowd-moving set by San Jose’s very own DJ Goldenchyld, the Oakland emcee took to the stage,…
Continue reading »
El Da Sensei built his life upon the four pillars of hip-hop. As a pre-teen, he was a breakdancer, which lead him to writing raps for friends. Then he developed the confidence to spit his own rhymes, so he started digging through crates of vinyl, on the hunt for the samples, which he…
Continue reading »
by
Mike Huguenor on June 29, 2016
Reggaeton hit the American mainstream in 2004, with massive hits from Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen. A mixture of Latin, hip-hop and reggae music, the new sound was a natural fit within San Jose’s downtown scene, where all three of reggaeton’s parent genres have connected well with audiences.
Continue reading »
by
Nick Veronin on November 11, 2015
Kutt Calhoun isn’t just going solo. He’s an army of one, and he’s going to war. The no-coast rapper and co-founder of Missouri independent hip-hop label Strange Music, has a new album, a new label and a bone to pick—with his former colleagues and overzealous police.
Continue reading »
The Bay Area earned the begrudging respect of the East Coast rap elite back in the early- and mid-aughts, with the undeniable impact of the hyphy movement. That respect, however, never seemed to rub off on San Jose, where Dave Dub has been grinding since the early ’90s with the aim of putting…
Continue reading »
