Rick Ross

Sizzle & Fizzle: Highs and Lows from the Last Week in S.F. Music

Kreayshawn: Five Reasons Why Her Friday Show at 1015 Is Free

Kreayshawn experienced the highs and lows of the music business in 2012. Her single "Gucci Gucci" sold more than a half a million copies and was certified Gold by the RIAA, but her debut album Somethin' 'Bout Kreay was declared a consummate failure after selling fewer than 4,000 copies in the first ... More >>

The 10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012

It's been another big year in Bay Area hip-hop, with one huge collaboration album from two local greats and lots of strong releases from young local upstarts. So before the world ends, let's round up the 10 best Bay Area hip-hop/rap records (including albums, mixtapes, etc.) of 2012. Main Attrakion ... More >>

Big Boi's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors: A First Listen

Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors is the title. Why? Does Big Boi even have any enemies? Has anyone ever beefed with him...ever? Who is he referring to, disgruntled Idlewild ticket-buyers? Or is he increasingly in denial that Outkast -- his meal ticket artistically and commercially -- is over? It's ... More >>

G.O.O.D. Music's Cruel Summer: A First Listen

Kanye West has officially become the bad guy, people. He's rich, he's rude, he's entitled, he's a rock 'n' roll legend who's awaiting a legit artistic backlash any year now, and he's also a smart businessperson. After Taylor Swift-gate and record sales of his third Pazz & Jop-winning "masterpiece" f ... More >>

Noel Gallagher Claims Rock Stardom Will Go Extinct, Apparently Hasn't Heard of Other Forms of Stardom

Aw, look: Another one of Oasis' Gallagher brothers uttered a statement that managed to be arrogant, ignorant, and fuddy-duddy all at the same time! This time it was the elder (and usually saner) one, Noel, speaking to the U.K.'s Sunday Express about the impending die-off of that rare and vital spec ... More >>

R&B Heartthrob Trey Songz Previews New Album Chapter Five in San Francisco

Last week, a small group of media and radio contest winners were invited to San Francisco's Studio Trilogy, where such diverse musicians as Kronos Quartet and Lady Gaga have recorded, for an exclusive listening party to hear Chapter Five, the forthcoming album from R&B star Trey Songz. Besides lett ... More >>

Summer of the NPR Intern Shit Storms: What Austin Cooper's Public Enemy Essay Says About Taste

In many ways, pop culture in 2012 is more sophisticated than ever. Hit TV shows and movies boast plots that are more twisty-turny than was once allowed; the general public's understanding of what Joni Mitchell once called "the star-maker machinery" seems pretty thorough by now; and there seems less ... More >>

Frank Ocean: The Only Band That Matters

Frank Ocean. Even his name sounds like it was dreamed up, because it was. Ocean is 2012's Clash, its Radiohead, its -- if you insist -- Animal Collective. From his no-name-on-the-cover mystique to the 10-minute opus, pre-career record company troubles and a grassroots indie following, he's an altern ... More >>

Drake's Take Care: A First Listen

​ Funny thing about Drake: I'm forced to care. This goes beyond my duties as a music writer; rap now is in a state where someone like Drake or Rick Ross becomes the sun and everyone surrounding becomes an orbiting satellite. I'm a huge fan of co-Money Youngins Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, and I ... More >>

You Can Spend New Year's Eve with Kreayshawn and the White Girl Mob!

Christopher VictorioYour New Year's Eve date?​ Alright, let's talk: How many of you thought, when "Gucci Gucci" dropped in May, that we'd still be talking about Kreayshawn and the White Girl Mob by the middle of September? We're imaging no one out there's raising your hands -- and that's what ... More >>

Music Links: Rock Make This Saturday, How to Think About Thievery Corporation, and More

S.F. rapper DaVinci's Feast or Famine EP. Even Pitchfork likes it.​ Thievery Corporation refuses to be pigeonholed. Just call the duo's work baby-making music. [SF Gate] Everything you need to know about Saturday's free, all-ages Mission street music festival, Rock Make. [The Bay Bridged]

Consciousness vs. Sex: Jean Grae and the Plight of the Underground Female Rapper

Jean Grae​ Jean Grae, who performs tonight at the New Parish, is a very talented rapper. That's not just a very talented female rapper, but a very talented hip-hop artist who deserves to be considered on nothing more than her own lyrical merits, and shouldn't be given some sort of a rap pass d ... More >>

Friday: Lil Wayne Apologizes for the Swearing at Shoreline

Lil Wayne's family-friendly fun.​Lil Wayne Friday, September 2, 2011 @Shoreline Amphitheatre Better than: Rap shows without fireworks and fake gunshots "I apologize to the parents who brought their kids because of the cussing," said Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. at the end of a nearly two-hour ... More >>

The Game's The R.E.D. Album: A First Listen

​ The Game needs no introduction. The man who was kicked out of G-Unit and made a whole album about whinily stalking ex-benefactor Dr. Dre has most recently performed two actions: 1) Releasing a diss track called "Uncle Otis," whose targets include Tyler, the Creator; and 2) releasing a collab ... More >>

Lil B's I'm Gay: More Bashful Than Expected

​ I love the idea of Lil B -- a member of Berkeley one-hit wonders the Pack who wasn't gonna go out like that, and has since thrown anything and everything at the wall via Twitter and Mediafire to keep attention, fans and fame -- yet I've scarcely heard a note of his music. Loved his stint on ... More >>

D. Willz's "Watermelon" Might Be the Weirdest Local Rap Video of the Year

D.Willz​The song "Watermelon," by Oakland rapper D.Willz, is striking a claim for 2011's most off-kilter rap video. Instead of plumping for the usual format of having an artist posture, gesticulate, and rap to the camera, the flick features three farmers on an organic watermelon farm rapping t ... More >>

Friday Night: Diddy Dirty Money Holds Court for Three Hours, Brings Out Lil B at the Warfield

Richard HaickP. Diddy at the Warfield Friday night.​ Diddy Dirty Money Tour May 6, 2011 The Warfield Better than: Not getting to study the science of weave-ology on a Friday night. "I thought I told you that we won't stop!" Friday night at the Warfield, Sean "Diddy" Combs, the artist former ... More >>

Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Rick Ross in Oakland: Photos from Last Night's Show

Richard HaickLil Wayne in Oakland!​ Lil Wayne Nicki Minaj Rick Ross April 24, 2011 Oracle Arena, Oakland Lil Wayne! Lil Wayne! Lil Wayne! Weezy himself appeared in Oakland last night for a blowout show with friends Nicki Minaj, Travis Barker, and Rick Ross. Judging by these photos from Richard Ha ... More >>

J Hova's Wackness: Five Unsportsmanlike Jay-Z Dis Songs

Oh, very mature​In positioning himself as the world's foremost financial investor who also sometimes still deigns to rap, it's understandable that Jay-Z has inspired a certain amount of jealousy along the way to the top. This week, a new book, Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corne ... More >>

Remembering Biggie, Who Died 14 Years Ago Today

Happier times for the whole country​Christopher Wallace, better known to posterity as the Notorious B.I.G., died fourteen years ago today in Los Angeles. (Obligatory S.F. cameo: a few days before, he did a radio interview here on WiLD 107 where he said he'd hired a security detail because he feare ... More >>

In Which We Attempt to Review Lil B's New 676-Song Mixtape, and Only Partially Succeed

Three download files, a Word doc of tracklisting, and 676 songs: Lil B's insane new mixtape.​He claims to be Justin Bieber's cousin. He only has sex in space (or Japan). He samples Coldplay, Arcade Fire, and Radiohead several times each. He has eight different songs called "Suck My Dick." He's Lil ... More >>

On the Fascinating and Often Listenable Feedback Loop That Was 2010

Japandroids at the Fillmore​Ah, twenty-ten. Two thousand and ten. Two years before our state warps and crackles and slides into a boiling sinkhole that used to be the Pacific Ocean. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. There was a pretty good Sage Francis song called "The Best of T ... More >>

Trey Songz: Show Preview

Japandroids at the Fillmore​Ah, twenty-ten. Two thousand and ten. Two years before our state warps and crackles and slides into a boiling sinkhole that used to be the Pacific Ocean. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. There was a pretty good Sage Francis song called "The Best of T ... More >>

'Go Topless Day' Coverage Easy Publicity for Bizarre Raelian Cult

There -- that got your attention, no? ​Admit it, you looked. Who wouldn't? A bevy of topless women, and men in bikini tops illustrating the oddities of forcing women to cover up -- that gets people's attention, even in San Francisco. That's just what cult leader Claude Vorilhan -- aka Rael -- is c ... More >>

Park near Coit Tower may hang plaque honoring alleged cult leader

There -- that got your attention, no? ​Admit it, you looked. Who wouldn't? A bevy of topless women, and men in bikini tops illustrating the oddities of forcing women to cover up -- that gets people's attention, even in San Francisco. That's just what cult leader Claude Vorilhan -- aka Rael -- is c ... More >>

Charitable Front

Mysterious organizations in the Bay Area profess to be advocating for liberal causes. In truth, they appear to be part of a secretive group with a bizarre radical past.

WiLD 94.9 the Bomb

Mysterious organizations in the Bay Area profess to be advocating for liberal causes. In truth, they appear to be part of a secretive group with a bizarre radical past.

How the crash will reshape the music industry

Mysterious organizations in the Bay Area profess to be advocating for liberal causes. In truth, they appear to be part of a secretive group with a bizarre radical past.

10 Music Stars Who'd Make Great Soap Stars

Paula AbdulAs people turn away from soap operas in droves, daytime television continues to pull out the dramatic stops in order to keep afloat in the recession. But if Days of Our Lives or All My Children wants a bit of a buzzy boost that a fictional transsexual rock star just cannot provide, the pr ... More >>

Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

By Randall Roberts You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barrier ... More >>

Busted Rhymes: The Top 10 Most Preposterous Rap Songs of 2008

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Last Night: KMEL Block Party at Oracle Arena

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Reports from the Road: Bun B's "II Trill" release party

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Russian Sergey Brin and Google: A KGB-style Propaganda and Spying Machine?

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

Newsom Honors Cult With Its Own Day

By Ben Westhoff Hip-hop A-listers including Rick Ross, Akon and Plies were caught grossly exaggerating their gangster credentials this year. (Turns out they were painfully law-abiding. The horror!) But even if your favorite rapper wasn't caught in a lie, you can bet he or she put out a hilariously ... More >>

New Coke

Clipse reinforces the power of powder

My Space

Simone Shubuck's revealing art isn't your standard garden of Earthly delights

Night+Day

Simone Shubuck's revealing art isn't your standard garden of Earthly delights