Federation

Related Content

• S.F. Man Shot After Dispute Over Chihuahua in a Pink Sweater
  February 10, 2011
• Michelle Le Update: Police Issue Search Warrants and Question 20 People
  June 2, 2011
• Björk's Biophilia: A First Listen
  October 6, 2011
• The process for picking the interim mayor - done in Shakespearean rhyme
  November 24, 2010
• Play That Bluesy Music
  June 23, 2010

More About

• Fairfield
• Timbaland
• Rick Rock
• Hyphy
• Hip-Hop and Rap

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Music Newsletter: Keep your thumb on the local music scene with music features, additional online music listings and show picks. We'll also send special ticket offers and music promotions available only to our Music Newsletter subscribers.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

With the breakout hit "Hyphy," Fairfield act Federation is at the forefront of a Bay Area hip hop renaissance that some are calling the "New Bay." But much of the credit for this group's success goes to producer Rick Rock. He infuses The Album with a sound that straddles the line between the bombast of crunk and the odd instrumentation and rhythmic patterns of Timbaland. It's an instantly engaging, club-friendly formula that works as a perfect foil for the rhymes of Federation MCs Doonie Baby, Stres, and Goldie Gold. And while "Damn," a harrowing tale of a childhood spent in poverty and under the constant specter of violence, shows that Federation has emotional range, the trio's subject matter generally revolves around the hip hop clichés of money, guns, drugs, and hos. Revelatory song titles like "Hoes in Here," "Get Dumb," and "Mayhem" offer a glimpse of the group's scope, or lack thereof. It may be a "New Bay," but the game remains the same.