Email Author Phillip Mlynar

2012 Stories by Phillip Mlynar

• Top Five Musician-Based Video Games You Can Play In Your Browser Right Now

  published Dec 11, 2012

  2012 has seen a bumper batch of musician-helmed video games hitting the Internet. They're ostensibly meant to promote an artist's latest release, but also act as snappy diversions to play in your brow... More >>

• IamSu!: Show Preview

  published December 12, 2012

  This will go down as having been a breakthrough year for Richmond-raised rapper IamSu! His profile went national after he put in a... More >>

• Rapper IamSu! Explains Five Favorite Songs Off His New Mixtape, $uzy 6 $peed

  published Nov 16, 2012

  IamSu! is ending the year as one of the brightest new rap talents on the West Coast. Having seen his profile soar off the back of a starring turn on E-40's "Function" earlier this year, the Richmond-r... More >>

• Main Attrakionz Move Beyond Cloud Rap

  published October 24, 2012

  The Main Attrakionz story starts with a karaoke machine in the basement of a house on 43rd and Market streets in Oakland. Down there, in the... More >>

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  New Orleans Rapper Dee-1 on Meeting Lil Wayne and Playing Basketball with Master P

  published Oct 18, 2012

  Back when he was in high school, New Orleans rapper Dee-1 was working at a local Circuit City store when Lil Wayne came in and ordered a TV. Dee ended up installing the goggle-box into Weezy's car. Th... More >>

• Top Five Tracks From the New Darkest Before Dawn Bay Area Rap Compilation

  published Oct 05, 2012

  Yesterday, Atlanta-based production unit SMKA released Darkest Before Dawn, a 10-track album compilation that showcases the best of the Bay's MCs spitting over their beats. Featuring a roll call of ra... More >>

• Aesop Rock and Dark Time Sunshine Will Give You a Haircut You'll Regret at the Fillmore

  published Sep 13, 2012

  Ever find yourself fantasizing about receiving an extreme haircut on stage at The Fillmore while Aesop Rock performs a songr Well, that's precisely what's going down this Sunday when Aesop performs "R... More >>

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  Skrillex Pal Dillon Francis Thinks Doritos Tacos Are "Greatest Thing Ever Created," Hasn't Had Real S.F. Mexican Food

  published Sep 11, 2012

  Dillion Francis is setting his lofty stall out to become the DJ world's most renowned taco activist. Signed to Skrillex's OWSLA label, Francis recently embraced his love of a certain brand of taco by ... More >>

• Dillon Francis: Show Preview

  published September 12, 2012

  Skrillex's OWSLA label continues to blaze on, with Dillon Francis next up to shine. Francis, an L.A.-based DJ and producer, has earned a... More >>

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  Roach Gigz's Five Essential San Francisco Spots: Music, Crab, and Baseball

  published Sep 04, 2012

  Roach Gigz releases his debut studio album today. Titled Bugged Out, the rapper is banking on the project to build on the buzz his mixtapes have cultivated and jolt his career up another notch. So wit... More >>

• Premiere: Shady Blaze and Young Gully's Breezy, SMKA-Produced "Greatness"

  published Aug 28, 2012

  Dropping in October, new mixtape Darkest Before Dawn will see a fresh line-up of Bay Area rappers hopping on tracks crafted by Atlanta production unit S.M.K.A. As a teaser for the project, which will ... More >>

• Das Racist's Kool A.D. Drops an Ode to the Bay Area

  published August 22, 2012

  Das Racist member Kool A.D. will forever be tied to a certain fast-food spot that, at least according to rap lore, exists somewhere along... More >>

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  The Pharcyde's Five-Step Guide To Creating A Classic Hip-Hop Album

  published Aug 03, 2012

  Twenty years ago, The Pharcyde released a hip-hop classic. Titled Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, the 16-track album announced to the world the talents of M.C.s Bootie Brown, Fatlip, Imani, and Slimkid ... More >>

• Premiere: Hip-Hop Crew 40Love Share "Tiki Tiki," Talk Working With Zion I's Zumbi and Their Crazy Animal Masks

  published Jul 18, 2012

  The hip-hop troupe 40Love is currently in possession of the most famous animal masks in modern Bay Area music history. Having made their debut in the video for Wallpaper's "#Stupidfacedd," the plastic... More >>

• Pump It Like the Future: El-P and Killer Mike Bust Hip-Hop's Boundaries

  published June 27, 2012

  "Someone took his artificial leg off and handed it to me to sign at a show," says El-P, recalling the strangest thing he's ever seen on tour.... More >>

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  Del The Funky Homosapien on His Favorite Old-School Rappers, New Album Attractive Sin, and His Very First Live Show

  published Jun 22, 2012

  It's a weekday afternoon, and Del the Funky Homosapien's mom has just left his house. She was passing through to pick up an iPod the rapper had bought for her -- but left empty-handed, as she wasn't ... More >>

• Bay Rapper Chippy Nonstop on Getting Kicked Out of Clubs and Her Dedication to Lay's Potato Chips

  published Jun 14, 2012

  Chippy Nonstop would like to be sponsored by Lays. Specifically, she would happily get a Flamin' Hot Lays tattoo if the brand came on board and sponsored her lifestyle. If you've been following Chipp... More >>

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  IamSu! on KILT, Getting an Invite From E-40, and Why He Wants Lil B to do an "Up" Remix

  published May 15, 2012

  E-40's "Function" is blowing up the Bay. It's a slap-happy track that also happens to feature a cameo verse from Richmond rapper IamSu!, who dropped his freebie KILT mixtape last week. So with Iamsu!... More >>

• Bay Area Rap Mogul Stretch on the DEA Tying Mac Dre's Label to an Ecstasy Bust

  published May 09, 2012

  [Editor's note: This week's music feature looks at a recent DEA drug bust that claimed a substantial connection between late Vallejo rap legend Mac Dre's record label and a large-scale Ecstasy traffic... More >>

• Thizzin' Sensation: DEA Calls Mac Dre's Label an Ecstasy Front, But Insiders Are Skeptical

  published May 9, 2012

  Before his death eight years ago, Bay Area hip-hop legend Mac Dre frequently used the term "thizz" to describe the feeling of being high on... More >>

• A Smart Aleck with Rhymes

  published March 28, 2012

  The first thing K.Flay did after returning from South By Southwest was go to the Oakland farmer's market with her mom. When she talks about her... More >>

• K.Flay's Smart-Aleck Rhymes Could be the Bay's Next Big Export

  published April 4, 2012

  The first thing K.Flay did after returning from South By Southwest was go to the Oakland farmers' market with her mom. When she talks about her... More >>

• Roach Gigz's Producer CLoz Used to Sell Beats for $10

  published Mar 22, 2012

  CLoz sold his first beat for $10. That less-than-whopping fee came about as the East Bay producer was clawing his way up into the local hip-hop scene. Since then, Cloz has steadily built up an impres... More >>

• Honor Roll Crew Singer 1 O.A.K. on His Debut Solo Album, Studio Mischief, and Covering Wham!

  published Mar 19, 2012

  "We'll be taking a lot of shots tonight!" 1 O.A.K. is about to head out and celebrate his brother's 21st birthday by hitting up a few local bars -- but the Oakland-based singer and producer has good ... More >>

• V-Nasty's Doin' Numbers: Abrasive, Odious -- and Totally Enjoyable

  published Mar 13, 2012

  V-Nasty entered 2012 with the stench of BAYTL all over her. A collaboration with her favorite rapper, Gucci Mane, the mixtape was received by critics as hip-hop's sloppiest shit-sandwich in a while. T... More >>