IT'S A GAS: Oakland rapper J. Stalin celebrates the release of 'Gas Nation 2' at BackBar SoFa.

Growing up in the Cypress Village projects in West Oakland is tough. Especially when you go from hustling candy bars to pushing work. Unlike the stripped-down beats and absurdist view of street life trotted out by his hyphy predecessors, Stalin takes a bleaker, more serious tone over gooey beats that borrow from the G-funk-infused instrumentals of the mid-’90s Bay Area scene. When Stalin released his album Gas Nation in 2008 at the height of the hyphy movement’s popularity, E-40 and Too $hort hailed him as Oakland’s next breakout rapper. Stalin hosts a record release party at BackBar for his upcoming Gas Nation 2.

J. Stalin
Sun, 8pm, $25
BackBar SoFa, San Jose