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AARON CARNES on June 6, 2012
For hardcore soul music fans, hearing the same old Curtis Mayfield tunes or Al Green songs can get a little tiresome. Nothing against them, James Brown, Marvin Gaye or any of the other well-established geniuses from the soul era, but for a lot of DJs, that’s about the extent of their soul…
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DAVID MA on June 5, 2012
“I like candied yams, I never jeopardize who I am!” says Andre Nickatina, the renowned West Coast rap veteran who’s making a highly anticipated tour stop at Santa Clara’s Avalon Nightclub this week. Formally known as Dre Dog, Nickatina has achieved luminary status through slanging tapes and CDs hand-to-hand, most of which…
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With the reunited Jane’s Addiction headlining Live 105’s BFD this weekend, it’s the perfect time to remember the first club to bring Perry Ferrell’s legendary band to the South Bay. From 1985 to 1990, Santa Clara’s One Step Beyond was a hub of counterculture in the Valley, with their all-ages policy exposing…
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The results of the Red Bull 2012 Emsee battle are in. Local battle rapper Dirtbag Dan was one of eight rappers to compete for the title of best freestyle rapper in the country on Tuesday after winning the previous round in Southern California a year ago. He unfortunately did not win, and…
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Almost a year ago, local rap-battler Dirtbag Dan, competed in the Red Bull battle rap semi-finals in Southern California and won. He was told that not only would he be moving on the finals in Atlanta, where Eminem would be the deciding judge, but the battles would be televised as a mini-series…
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While Spin Master J—the nom de scratch for 22-year-old South Bay DJ Jerry Huizar—was in Fahrenheit’s Wheels of Steel battle last year, he told me he saw his sets as 20 minutes to tell the audience a story.
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Hip Hop has always entwined itself with other art forms, be it dance or visual art, both considered key elements of hip-hop culture. Local promoter Jonathan Reniery hopes to give people a taste of at his monthly free party Natural Selections, which arrives at South First Billiards this Saturday. The show features…
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The Barfly on May 8, 2012
Saturday evening: Off work, I change out of my uniform—a pair of cheap khakis and a polo—and don another uniform of sorts: a black pinstripe suit and wingtip shoes. I’m back on the clock, and tonight’s objective is Pure Lounge.
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When Marcus Adams, better known as DJ Nappy, put together the first Soul Therapy nights at Roux on Santana Row, he didn’t know he was kickstarting a mini-revolution on the club scene.
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Bessnectar was greeted by a capacity crowd for his homecoming show at the Event Center at San Jose State University. The producer, who was raised in San Jose and attended UC-Santa Cruz before becoming an international figure in electronic music, brought what he calls “omnitempo maximalism” to the venue for one last…
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