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…
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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.
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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.
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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,…
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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…
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