DMP Music Festival reunites Lil B, The Pack, and more at SoMa Streat Park
The company that brought Too Short, Mistah FAB and Rexx Life Raj to SoMa Streat Park is back with a 2018 edition of DMP Festival on September 23. Ardent supporters of the Bay Area's local rap scene, the folks at DMP Music Group have culled another legendary lineup, reuniting Lil B the Based God himself with the Pack for their first performance as a full group in nearly a decade. Rounding out the lineup is a strong showing of rap veterans and current regional champions such as Nef the Pharaoh, Guapdad4000, YMTK, D-Lo, the Federation, Dee Dot Jones and more. [...]
Mixtape: Highlights from Bay Area Music in 2017
This episode originally ran on KQED.org. http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/2017_Highlights_Mixtape.mp3 Download: Mixtape: Highlights from Bay Area Music in 2017 (Podcast #419) With each passing day, 2017 appears increasingly determined to solidify its place as the worst year in recent memory. Despite all of the hardships being experienced locally, nationally, and around the globe, the year has offered a wealth of impressive albums from Bay Area musicians. For some of the notable artists featured in this mixtape, their 2017 successes built on the previous year's achievements. Jay Som followed up 2016's buzzed-about Turn Into compilation with her first proper LP Everybody Works. It's a [...]
Mixtape: New Music from Longtime Bay Area Artists
http://media.libsyn.com/media/thebaybridged/Veteran_Artists_Mixtape.mp3 Download: Mixtape: New Music from Longtime Bay Area Artists (Podcast #413) Between streaming music services and social media, it feels easier than ever to find and consume an endless supply of new bands. But all of that access can also make it more challenging to find the time to keep up with previous favorites. There are plenty of good reasons to get excited about young bands, debut albums, and the prospect of discovering emerging artists, but there's also something uniquely rewarding to watching a great musician's career evolve over time. This mixtape collects new and recent music from twelve [...]
Best of 2014: What the other lists missed from Russell Jelinek
It's officially 2015, and all the 2014 lists are in. I honestly enjoy them, but how many times do you need to read about Run the Jewels and War on Drugs? We get it, they're good. Locally, everyone loved Cocktails, Sun Kil Moon, and tUnE-YaRdS, but what did just about every list miss? THE ANSWER IS BELOW: Odawas - Reflection of a Pink Laser: A triumphant comeback for the Indiana natives. The expansive instrumentals on the 19-minute "What If Our World is Their Heaven" leading into "Flow My Tears" makes for the best moment on any album I've heard for [...]
Photos: Lil B @ Regency Ballroom, 11/15/13
A little over a week ago, our Zack Frederick caught Lil B's show at the Regency Ballroom, about which he wrote: Even after doors opened, a line wrapped up Van Ness and snaked down one of those wet, trashy side-alleys that run like veins into the Tenderloin. The kids were out en masse and buzzing with energy — weed smoke and echoing BASED GOD shouts hung in the alley. By the time The Pack, Lil B's first rap group, who rose to fame with the Bay Area hit "Vans" (but they look like sneakers), finished warming up the crowd, I [...]
Review & Photos: Lil B @ The Regency Ballroom, 11/15/13
For Lil B, the 24 year old Berkeley rapper, the internet has always been the place where his relentless productivity found an audience with the thirst to absorb nearly limitless amounts of content. The result is a sprawling catalogue of singles, mixtapes, YouTube videos, tweets, remixes, and the like that — without serious devotion — is practically impossible to fully grasp. But Friday night's sold-out show at The Regency put a face to the faithful cult of #BasedGod. Even after doors opened, a line wrapped up Van Ness and snaked down one of those wet, trashy side-alleys that run like [...]
Giveaway: Lil B returns to San Francisco this Friday
Berkeley internet-rapper and renowned "Based God" Lil B will bring his motivational live show to the Regency Ballroom this Friday. Lil B just might be the most interesting rapper alive. The 24-year-old has developed his own positive-energy self-help philosophy called “based,” recorded over 1500 songs, and given lectures at NYU. His best songs, like “I'm God”, revolve around head-in-the-sky rap beats written by producer Clams Casino, whose style smashes together echo-heavy female vocals and traditional rap beats, resulting in something that feels altogether different. Lil B adds his own flavor too, mixing boastful swagger and “based” preaching. Below, watch Lil B perform [...]
Keyboard Kid, Shady Blaze, Yalls, & Zachg at SOM, 7/30/12
On Monday, July 30th, there will be a live hip hop showcase at SOM BAR SF presented by Rad Reef and Mishka. The showcase will feature Keyboard Kid, Shady Blaze, Yalls, and Zachg. Keyboard Kid (Greg Phillips) is a Seattle-based beat producer who will be performing his Bay Area debut. As one of Lil B's main producers, known for his crafty beats and "vibrant soundscapes," Keyboard Kid is sure to get the club poppin'. If you follow Bay Area hip hop, chances are you have already heard the name Shady Blaze. The talented Oakland-based rapper is a member of the [...]
Clams Casino releases second 'Instrumentals' mixtape
Ten years after America's abysmal failure to mesh rap and rock at the turn of the millennium, it seems that the cultures of hip-hop and indie rock have been finding surprising and tasteful ways to intersect. Examples abound — from the superficial (fashion) to the more substantive (cross-genre collaborations). One such example of this trend can be found in the beat making of New Jersey native Mike Volpe. Better known by stage name, Clams Casino, Volpe builds tracks that nod to the chillwave craze of 2010 and could almost pass as experimental downtempo electronic dance music or trip hop if [...]
Mixtape: Checking Out New Bay Area Hip Hop (Podcast #277)
Mixtape: Checking Out New Bay Area Hip Hop (Podcast #277) Words by Ben Van Houten We haven't written a lot about hip hop for The Bay Bridged. Not for a lack of interest, mind you, but because I've never really felt like we had a real handle on emerging local stuff. Sure, we could write about how great E-40 is with our eyes closed, but do you need someone else telling you how great E-40 is? (If you do, then here's a tip: pick up all three volumes of The Block Brochure. You won't be disappointed. Seriously, it's nuts how [...]