Kev Choice

Live Review, 3/15/12: Too $hort Is Stoned and Sloppy at the New Parish

Too $hort March 15, 2012 The New Parish Better than: A version of Girls Gone Wild set at the Oakland Coliseum DMV. It's often been said, probably inaccurately, that the Inuit people have 100 words for snow or something, right? To illustrate the subtleties language is capable of, when a subject de ... More >>

Too $hort Is Still Alive, and He's Performing Tomorrow in Oakland

Maybe you heard last week's Twitter rumor that Oakland rapper Too $hort had died -- it gained enough steam to merit a mention on celebrity gossip sites such as TMZ and Entertainment Weekly. Of course, it wasn't true: "Stop calling my phone," $hort finally tweeted on Nov. 22. "I'm not dead. Been in ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Zion I, Pep Love, and Dublin at the Independent

​Zion I, Pep Love, Dublin Friday, April 2, 2010 The Independent Better Than: Your last house party. Friday night, Zion I performed its second show in a row, joined by fellow natives Pep Love of Hieroglyphics and Dublin of Jazz Mafia fame. This evening was a showcase of Bay Area love, ... 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 >>

Kev Choice’s song a day series gives Bay Area concerns a beat

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," w ... More >>

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 afi ... More >>

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 per ... More >>

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' ... More >>

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, ind ... More >>

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. Th ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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" (e ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 electrifi ... More >>

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 Ra ... More >>

2008 Music Awards Nominees

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

SF Weekly Music Awards 2007 Program