Award Show Performers

Hyim & the Fat Foakland Orchestra.

Kid Beyond.

Jason Wheeler.

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• Blackalicious
• Tom Thump
• Chief Xcel
• Hip-Hop and Rap
• Underground Hip-Hop

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Smart yet unpretentious, consistent yet prolific, local yet universal, Quannum is not only the finest independent hip hop label in the Bay Area, but also perhaps the most artistically and commercially viable collective anywhere. This past year saw the label releasing Fourth Dimensional Rocketships Going Up, the excellent solo debut from Gift of Gab, as well as Ambush, the collaboration between Latyrx's Lateef the Truth Speaker and Blackalicious producer Chief Xcel -- who has also recently released a Fela Kuti remix project on the imprint. As always, these records represent a progressive take on hip hop that offers a viable alternative to the mainstream without defining itself in opposition to anything. Quannum and its artists have received a lot of attention lately, and they deserve every bit of it. Blackalicious. DJ Relm. DJ Tom Thump. The Exies. Hyim & the Fat Foakland Orchestra.