EKAphotographyBeeda Weeda and friendThe national media attention has pretty much moved elsewhere, yet the tragic shooting death of Oscar Grant on New Year's Day remains a sore spot for many in the community. In death, Grant has become a poster boy (literally) for the case against police misconduct, as well as a hip-hop generation martyr. Let it be said that we'd much rather see people's frustrations and anger being channeled into positive channels than the alternative.
Artists like Too Short
Thizznessman: Eddi Projex
Local indie turf rap outlets SMC Recordings and Thizz Entertainment (a label founded by the late Mac Dre) have teamed up to create a subsidiary label, Town Thizzness, combining SMC's distribution and promotional networks with Thizz' street credibility and word-of-mouth buzz. The label began with two well-received releases in '08: Beeda Weeda's Tha Thizzness and J-Stalin's Gas Nation, which may not have resurrected the hyphy movement so much as hinted that the s
Def Beat Creator: Traxamillion
It's been said that you can't throw a dead cat into the street without hitting an aspiring rapper, but the same holds true for producers these days. Trickle-down technology has made it easy for anyone with a laptop and some software to make beats - it's taking the next step (gaining industry knowledge and business acumen) which separates the wanna-bes from the Dr. Dres and J-Dillas.
The good news is, there's an upcoming opportunity for up-and-coming local beatsmi
EKAphotographyMissing in Action: the Kev Choice Ensemble
The big news with Oakland's annual Art & Soul festival this year is that it's now two days, instead of three, and the date has been moved up to August 15 and 16, instead of the traditional Labor Day. A&S has a bunch of ads giving the Top Ten reasons the festival was moved, i.e. "bay bridge closing," which doesn't make a lot of sense in my opinion, given that the festival is accessible by BART anyway. But whatever.
A&S is
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