Blackalicious

"Distortion 2 Static" Turns off the Mic After 10 Years

The Coup's Boots Riley on His Next Record, Hip-Hop for White Kids, and Loving Battlestar Galactia

The Coup's Boots Riley​ It's been almost a decade since 9/11 -- which means (among other things) that it's been 10 years since Boots Riley was seemingly everywhere, coolly responding to outrage over some extremely ill-timed album art depicting explosions at World Trade Center. It's also been f ... More >>

Q&A w/ Joyo Velarde of Quannum Projects

​Joyo Velarde is taking a break from being everybody's back-up singer. After incessant touring with Jurassic 5, the Living Legend Crew, Blackalicious, Michael Franti, Zion I, Ozomatli, and husband Lyrics Born, among many others, the classically-trained, Pleasanton-based, Quannum Projects vocalist ... More >>

In Store: Rooky Ricardo's (New Record Shop Column)

​In Store is a new All Shook Down column in which we find San Francisco's quirkiest, most beloved, weirdest, and/or otherwise-most-interesting record stores, talk to people there (employees, volunteers, customers, cops, whoever) and find out what's up. Along the way, we hope to paint a fun little ... More >>

Hey DJ! Friday Q&A w/ DJ D Sharp (Lyrics Born, Lauryn Hill, Quannum)

​DJ D Sharp can hang with the big names--spinning at Dwayne Wade's birthday party, or as part of Kanye West's and Lauryn Hill's performances. But when he's not keeping the celebs happy at home or touring the world, he also holds down residencies on both sides of the Bay four nights a week, and tha ... More >>

My Big Fat World Music Weekend

EKAphotographyRoom with a Vieux: Vieux Farka Toure In this economy, who has the means to travel internationally anymore? Luckily, with all the world music acts coming through the Bay Area of late, you don't have to have a passport, visa, hotel, and plane ticket to catch some of the most scintillati ... More >>

Last night: Curumin at Slim's

Curumin at Slim'sJanuary 22, 2009 Photos by EKAphotography Better Than: Watching Brazilian Football on Telemundo It was a triumphant night for Luciano Nakata Albuquerque, better known as Curumin. Flanked on stage by a handful of the Bay Area's musical and cultural tastemakers, the Brazilian ... More >>

The Demise of Hyphy

Thizzle, bling, and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL pulled the trigger.

Blackalicious 'Barack' Party Pops Up In Oakland Sunday

Thizzle, bling, and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL pulled the trigger.

Spearhead in Golden Gate Park Saturday: Free!

Thizzle, bling, and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL pulled the trigger.

French robots rule! Daft Punk takes the lead at the summer's biggest dance party

Thizzle, bling, and blunts may have helped bring down the overhyped hyphy movement. But KMEL pulled the trigger.

Who Killed It?

Nas and the right wing vie for the heart of hip hop

Hip Hop 101: the Underdogs/Alt-Rock 101: the Secret of Their Overseas Success/ DJ Culture 101: the Critical Mash Honors Club

Nas and the right wing vie for the heart of hip hop

Motion Man

Pablito's Way

Out of the Shadow

The DJ who works out of S.F. has crafted both exquisite beats and a carefully cultivated mystique. Find out from him why the lush trip hop is being replaced by a local hyphy sound.

Weapons of Mass Construction

Oakland's Coup takes political rap to the next level

Zion I

Hip hop's hope for uniting the underground and the streets

Don't Stop

Hip hop's history

On the Down-Low

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures.

Music Awards Nominees

Shovel away all that Usher, Prince and Lil Jon you've been jamming and dig this year's buried black-music treasures.

Sound Works?

Tony Espinoza poured his dot-com millions into the fanciest music studio in town. With balls like that, who needs street cred?

The Life and Times of an American Remixer

Oh the challenges of remixing a '60s recording * and the odd ethical conundrums that go with it

Money, Power, Day Care

Andre Nickatina raps about being one of the Fillmore's hardest MCs, so what's he doing driving a Toyota?

Summer Events a Go Go!

What to do, all summer long

Reps Etc.

What to do, all summer long

Reps

Etc.

What to do, all summer long

The Music Man

Beatboxer Yuri Lane sets the San Francisco story to music, using the only equipment he needs: his mouth

Riff Raff

Goodbye to All That; Punk, Love, and Understanding; He Shall Be Released

Personality Crisis

As commercial hip hop radio becomes tired, turf wars flicker out, and the underground diversifies, does the Bay Area have its own identity anymore?

Riff Raff

The Gavin Seminar

Bombing Maneuvers

Bomb Records' David Paul single-handedly created a successful hip-hop magazine, launched artists' careers, and rescued the DJ from obscurity. Now what?

The Laws of Entropy

Davis' DJ Shadow breaks it down

The Men of la Mantra

San Francisco's OM Records foretells the future of enhanced CDs

The Book of Lists

SF Weekly contributors salute the best (and worst) music of 1995