Most students spend finals week stressing about exams and grades. Mark Gavigan, a fourth-year English major at UC Berkeley, spent finals week of fall 2012 rapping in his dorm room. For Gavigan, who rhymes under the moniker “Second Nature,” it was the culmination of two years of producing beats and Read More…
California has always been a dominant player in rap throughout the genre’s history. Whether in the Los Angeles region or the Bay Area, some aspect of hip-hop on a national scale has always revolved around the activity of the West Coast. The state has unfortunately remained dormant for the last Read More…
Rap music tends to take itself a little too seriously. Even with plenty of playful personas in the genre, most parties involved are not necessarily allowed to show off their fun side. This fall, Houston rap legend Bun B, who stands as a flag bearer for the rap community as Read More…
Those behind the scenes in music rarely get properly recognized. This isn’t the case for Grammy Award-winning audio engineer Young Guru, who has engineered and mixed seven of Jay-Z’s 11 solo albums, as well as music from several other high-profile musicians. Guru kept mum about Jay-Z’s forthcoming album. “I can’t Read More…
This past weekend welcomed the month’s First Friday festivities, and, as usual, hundreds of Bay Area socialites came out to celebrate art, music and good vibes throughout downtown Oakland. One of the city’s very own arts and culture magazines, Wine & Bowties, brought Syd tha Kyd to The New Parish Read More…
Scenes from Hip Hop in the Park, a music festival in People’s Park on May 5, 2012.
If Woody Allen were a hip hop fan, one of his more recent films would probably contain some joke about ‘pseudo-intellectuals’ overanalyzing the latest Waka Flocka record. It would be funny because it’s Woody. And it would be riotously hilarious because it’s true. But Aesop Rock is the rapper who Read More…
On Nov. 16th, Black Star — rappers Mos Def, now known as Yasiin Bey, and Talib Kweli — hit the Mezzanine in San Francisco. Known for their thought-provoking and introspective lyrics, Black Star has managed to stay in demand even though their last album came out over a decade ago. Read More…
While the spoken-word opener could suggest that Jedi Mind Tricks’s latest album might continue the group’s previous style, Violence Begets Violence is a far cry from the former JMT that spoke of figures like Gandhi. Perhaps it’s the lack of founding producer/D.J. Stoupe, or maybe M.C.s Vinnie Paz and Jus Read More…
The world of hip-hop is becoming more diverse each day. Rappers are exploring new styles and expanding their palette more so than ever before. From collaborations with artists of different genres, to mixing modern sounds with traditional methods, rappers and M.C.s are shattering the borders of rap stereotypes. Sure, there Read More…
