Subject: Kev Choice

• This Friday: “The Hip-Hop Sonata" Premieres Musical Experiment

  December 6, 2007

• New Local Talent Showcase Debuts Tonight at Levende Lounge

  EKAphotographyDown for the cause: Selassie One of the most commonly-heard grouses from the local urban music contingent is the lack of industry support--being outside of the Big Two media centers (NY and LA) and not being able to, ahem, consistently count on commercial airplay from Big Corporate Radio---the Bay Area has had to hustle, scrape, and scrap just to get heard, ya heard? Instead of complaining about the situation, however, local music maven Gina Gallo (Guerilla Management/ In-House T

  February 11, 2009

• Zion-I Return with New Album, Studio, Remix Contest

  EKAphotography copyright 2009. all rights reservedZion-I and Goapele at the Zoo. If you've been waiting for local hip-hop to get back on track following a so-so 2008, you'll be overjoyed to know that The TakeOver, Zion-I's long-awaited follow-up to True & Livin', is upon us. Vibrantly electrified, yet too intelligent and conscious to be lumped in with the hyphy movement--2005's "The Bay" remix and the single "Don't Lose Ya Head" with Too Short notwithstanding--The TakeOver reaffirms Zion-I'

  February 16, 2009

• Zion-I's Ex-Manager Eats Last Piece of Chicken

  EKAphotographyThe culprit: Rob C. Last night's Zion-I record release party at 330 Ritch's "Pacific Standard Time" really demonstrated why that spot has become the go-to Tuesday night weekly for the urban crowd. Despite the lack of a dress code--sneakers and/or a hoodie were acceptable attire--there were no problems with thuggish, ruggish types getting too, well, thuggish and ruggish. Door security actually had a pleasant attitude. DJ Sake One and special guest Vikter Duplaix both did a nice job

  February 18, 2009

• Town Bizness Announce Debut Show

  EKAphotographyAll Together Now: Town Bizness What do you get when you mix a hip-hop legend with some of the hottest local musicians around? Town Bizness. Having been one of the few local industry folks to hear significant portions of the upcoming Town Bizness album You Can't Take It With You, all I can say is hopes are high for this independent project, which takes frontmen Too Short and Martin Luther, matches them with frontwoman Silk-E, then completes the line-up with drummer Brian Collier, g

  February 24, 2009

• Bryant Terry Brings Vegan Soul Kitchen to MoAD

  EKAphotographySoul Recipe: Bryant TerryThere was a packed house last night for eco-chef Bryant Terry's official book launch for Vegan Soul Kitchen (Da Capo) at the Museum of the African Diaspora. The book, which contains over 150 recipes for "fresh, healthy, and creative African-American cuisine" (example: Roasted Red Potato Salad with Parsley-Pine Nut Pesto -yum!), may be the first of its kind, and has garnered endorsements from filmmaker Mario Van Peebles, healthy food guru John Robbins, and g

  March 4, 2009

• Last Night: Kev Choice at We All We Got

  EKAphotography Kev ChoiceLevende LoungeMarch 11, 2009Better Than: watching reruns of Lost.Most hip-hop open mics are dingy, dusty affairs offering plenty of underground flavor in basement-like settings. Upscale restaurant-lounges used to be reserved for jazz trios.But We All We Got, a new Wednesday night talent showcase, breaks both molds by taking place at Levende, an upper Mission St. locale where the décor can accurately be described as "posh."EKAphotography The evening started with select

  March 12, 2009

• 2008 Music Awards Nominees

  October 15, 2008

• One More Michael Jackson Tribute this Friday

  If "don't stop 'til you get enough" is your personal philosophy regarding Michael Jackson tributes, here's one which should be totally off the wall: This Friday, July 17, the Shattuck Down Low  hosts what they're calling the "official" MJ Bay Area tribute party. DJ Icewater spins Gloved One classics (and hits from the 80s and 90s) all night, plus live performances by Broadway star Trevor Jackson and local hip-hop/jazz/funkster Kev Choice, playing with the Kev Choice Ensemble. Having seen

  July 15, 2009

• Bay Vibes 2 at Pier 23 Saturday

  Monophonics When the weather's nice and sunny, Pier 23 is one of my favorite spots to kick it in The City. The ocean views, relaxed atmosphere, food menu and full bar are enticing enough on their own, but when you add ten hours of live music into the mix, that's a whole lot of extra incentive. This Saturday, Pier 23 hosts Bay Vibes 2, a mini-music festival featuring an all-local lineup, covering a wide, groovy spectrum from jazz to funk to soul to reggae to hip-hop to Latintronica : Afrolici

  July 17, 2009

• Art & Soul Organizer Explains What Happened To This Year's Festival

  You Know You Want This, Oakland: Shawn Colvin​ Earlier this week I wrote about discovering that Oakland's Art & Soul Festival--which happens August 15 & 16--had managed to almost completely ignore the youthful 16-35 demographic with its bookings for this year. There's no live hip-hop, indie, or alternative rock, easily the most popular genres for teenagers and young adults. It seemed only right to follow up that post and ask the people behind the festival why that is. According to Sa

  August 7, 2009

• Vote! SF Weekly's Music Awards Ballot Goes Live

  ​The Bay Area music scene's crazy with talent, and we've been working hard as of late to narrow that massive creative pool down to 40 acts worthy of jumping on this year's Music Awards Ballot. So after much research by own own staff, and much polling of respected members of the music industry, we've arrived at the top four acts in ten categories. (Note: We tried to avoid nominating acts that have won in previous years). Rap/Hip-Hop: Alexander Spit; Themselves; 40Love; The Jacka Electronic/DJ:

  September 10, 2009

• SF Weekly Music Awards 2007 Program

  October 17, 2007

• Track(s) of the Day: Music Awards Nominees (Soul/Funk/R&B)

  ​Only a couple days left until our annual Music Awards party at Ruby Skye on Thursday, Oct. 15, and we're pretty damn excited. As we've mentioned a few times on All Shook Down, the big event is being held to celebrate 40 nominees in 10 different categories, but the night will also include live performances by one of last year's winners, Wallpaper. (who graced our cover last month), as well as Loco Bloco, and a DJ set by Lazer Sword. (Tickets are here). Today we're featuring music by nominees i

  October 12, 2009

• Track of the Day: Kev Choice's Awesome Anthem "The Bridge"

  ​You don't know what you got til it's gone. And if you're a commuter, that mantra holds doubly true for the Bay Bridge. Last week's bridge shutdown caused massive migraines (and prevented us from hitting the Alameda Flea Market!). But difficult times can produce great art. Local funk/jazz/soul aficionado Kev Choice (who leads the Kev Choice Ensemble) hit the studio to bang out a killer homage, a little anthem called "The Bridge." The tune starts humorously--with a sample of "Bridge Over Troubl

  November 4, 2009

• Video of the Day: Paris Takes on the Health Care Debate

  This video isn't big on the visuals side, but I like the fact that Bay Area rappers are so quick to respond to current events and social memes (see Kev Choice's "The Bridge"; Mistah F.A.B.'s "Hit Me on Twitter"). Davey D's Hip Hop Corner highlighted local rapper Paris' new clip for "Side Effect," where he describes taking an ER ride to SF General after getting shot, only to get tangled up in hospital bureaucracy. The song has a vivid narrative told from within a community for whom "basketball,

  November 23, 2009