Mistah F.A.B.

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

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

[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 trafficking ring, of which 25 alleged members were arrested last month. One source for our story was East B ... More >>

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

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 impressive body of beats, most of them hooked around rousing synth lines and synapse-sizzling snares; he's ... More >>

Finding the Yay Area: Local Artists Pull a Few Surprises at South by Southwest

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 impressive body of beats, most of them hooked around rousing synth lines and synapse-sizzling snares; he's ... More >>

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

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. The Bay's V-Nasty and Atlanta's Gucci may have enjoyed a few larks in the studio while making the rec ... More >>

Sizzle & Fizzle: Special Edition: The Best Bay Area Records of 2011

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. The Bay's V-Nasty and Atlanta's Gucci may have enjoyed a few larks in the studio while making the rec ... More >>

Naturally, Drake's Video for 'The Motto' Has Pissed Off Some Bay Area Rap Fans

Rap star Drake's new video for his single "The Motto" was shot largely in the Bay Area -- and has already inspired a slew of civilian reaction videos from around the world. Chief among the complaints are the sartorial choices of Drake and his guest star Lil Wayne -- namely a cheetah-print puffy jack ... More >>

Beloved Bay Area Hip-Hop Photographer D-Ray Needs Help Paying for Surgery

D-Ray Archer (right) and hip-hop star Drake.​D-Ray Archer needs no last name in the West Coast rap world; she's widely known as one of the few female photojournalists with a street stamp of approval up and down the state. Her deep love for the local Bay Area scene is apparent to anyone who tal ... More >>

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

D-Ray Archer (right) and hip-hop star Drake.​D-Ray Archer needs no last name in the West Coast rap world; she's widely known as one of the few female photojournalists with a street stamp of approval up and down the state. Her deep love for the local Bay Area scene is apparent to anyone who tal ... More >>

Mistah FAB Is Giving Away Turkeys in Oakland This Week

It's the week of Thanksgiving. You're shopping, steeling yourself to visit family, wrapping up things at work before a long weekend. Meanwhile, Oakland rapper Mistah FAB will be on the streets of Oakland, giving away turkeys and meals to struggling residents of his neighborhood. FAB's fourth annual ... More >>

Top 7 Most WTF Photos from the All Shook Down Music Fest

Music festivals are funny places. You think you're just one of the crowd, minding your own business, acting silly among your friends, and all of a sudden, bam! You've been snapped by a photographer. Or you're a performer onstage, making funny faces at the crowd, when one particularly weird moment ge ... More >>

In Print: Kreayshawn, Lil B, and the New Generation of Bay Area Hip-Hop; Our All Shook Down Fest; and More

From SF Weekly's latest print issue: ​Insurgent Hip-Hop: Adam Giacomini remembers the very first time he heard Kreayshawn's "Gucci Gucci." Giacomini, known to listeners of Bay Area radio station KMEL as DJ Amen, was eating lunch one day this spring with a local hip-hop manager at Original Buf ... More >>

All Shook Down Fest: Win 2 VIP Upgrades Through Sheer Enthusiasm

Note: CLICK HERE for tickets, not the image.​ Holy crap! Our All Shook Down Music Fest -- featuring Crystal Castles, Mistah Fab, Maus Haus, Con Brio, J-Boogie, and more -- is coming up this Saturday night! The annual local music party goes down at the Regency Ballroom from 7 p.m. until you ca ... More >>

All Shook Down Music Fest: A Guide to the Artists

Note: CLICK HERE for tickets, not the image.​ Holy crap! Our All Shook Down Music Fest -- featuring Crystal Castles, Mistah Fab, Maus Haus, Con Brio, J-Boogie, and more -- is coming up this Saturday night! The annual local music party goes down at the Regency Ballroom from 7 p.m. until you ca ... More >>

All Shook Down Music Fest: Featuring S.F.'s Maus Haus

Maus Haus​ This is the part where we say, "You haven't heard Maus Haus yet?" We'd point out that this S.F. outfit is at the forefront of the local weirdo synth-dance-pysch-pop scene, but there really aren't enough groups that sound like Maus Haus to constitute a scene. These guys are pretty m ... More >>

In Print: Rendering the Smiths' Catalog in a Capella, Plus an SXSW Roundup

​Janice Whaley Re-Imagines the Smiths: "Shyness is nice, and shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you'd like to." So sings Janice Whaley on her ambitious new six-disc box set. Those immortal words were, of course, written by Morrissey for the Smiths' "Ask," one of the 71 songs f ... More >>

Is Bay Area Rap Too Insular? Roach Gigz Talks to MTV About the Pitfalls of Being Indie

Roach Gigz wants to get out from behind the Bay Area fence.​For whatever reason, Bay Area hip-hop is an insular beast that often fails to escape its Northern California birthplace. Sure, we have artists like E-40 and the Souls of Mischief that made it into the national spotlight ever so briefly, a ... More >>

Breezy at the Top: Trackademicks might be the next king of Bay Area hip-hop

Roach Gigz wants to get out from behind the Bay Area fence.​For whatever reason, Bay Area hip-hop is an insular beast that often fails to escape its Northern California birthplace. Sure, we have artists like E-40 and the Souls of Mischief that made it into the national spotlight ever so briefly, a ... More >>

Mistah Fab's 'Fuck the World' Video: Is Anti-Violence the New Hyphy?

We're a long way from "going dumb," here folks. The latest video from Oakland hyphy hoss Mistah Fab sees the rapper straight-faced, decrying numbness, fatalism, and of course violence. "They say 'fuck the world,' like it don't mean nuthin,' goes the refrain, an apparent effort to rap Oakla ... More >>

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

We're a long way from "going dumb," here folks. The latest video from Oakland hyphy hoss Mistah Fab sees the rapper straight-faced, decrying numbness, fatalism, and of course violence. "They say 'fuck the world,' like it don't mean nuthin,' goes the refrain, an apparent effort to rap Oakla ... More >>

Music Awards: Jukebox Roundtable by Dan Strachota

We're a long way from "going dumb," here folks. The latest video from Oakland hyphy hoss Mistah Fab sees the rapper straight-faced, decrying numbness, fatalism, and of course violence. "They say 'fuck the world,' like it don't mean nuthin,' goes the refrain, an apparent effort to rap Oakla ... More >>

Music Awards intro

We're a long way from "going dumb," here folks. The latest video from Oakland hyphy hoss Mistah Fab sees the rapper straight-faced, decrying numbness, fatalism, and of course violence. "They say 'fuck the world,' like it don't mean nuthin,' goes the refrain, an apparent effort to rap Oakla ... More >>

Sayonara, Vibe

Shawn MortensenVibe's First Cover Hang on to those back issues of Vibe, folks. As of today, they're officially collectors items. As reported by Daily Finance, the New York Times, and RapRadar, Vibe is ceasing publication effective June 30. According to a letter from Vibe CEO Steve Aaron, the magazin ... More >>

SMC and Thizz Ent. Team Launch Town Thizzness

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-m ... More >>

Dem Hoodstarz' Rapper Charged in Gang Sweep

Busted: Dem HoodstarzAs the Chronicle reported on Sunday, 42 members of a South Bay gang known as "the Taliban" have been arrested following a joint task force raid conducted in 14 Bay Area cities Friday night and Saturday morning. The suspected Taliban members--who have no religious affiliation, ... More >>

Bay Area Hip-Hop Prepares to Invade SXSW

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

2008 Music Awards Nominees

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

Poetic emcee Ise Lyfe coulda been a gangsta

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

You Look Like a Bachinksy

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

Easy Bay's inventive hip-hop heads Zion I and Trackademicks

Texicali Roads: Keelay & Zaire We're still checking whether it's possible to ghost-ride a tumbleweed (we'll get back to you on that), but here's one thing we do know: Bay Area hip hop will be in the, er, prairie, at SXSW. MYX label artists Keelay & Zaire perform at four--count 'em--showcase ... More >>

The Bus Stops Here

Mistah F.A.B. picks up where hyphy left off

Dream Girl

The making of Malika

Misc. Reviews

Hyphy Hitz: dumb and dumber

Live Wires

The high and lowlights of 2006 performances

It Was a Year Of ...

Well, lots of things, actually

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.

Bubble, Toil, and Trouble

Bay Area hip hop ponders a Cristal boycott

Zion I

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