Souls of Mischief

After 19 Years of "93 Til Infinity" Remakes, Only Freddie Gibbs Has Done It Justice

"Dial the seven digits. Call up Bridget/ Her man's a midget. Plus she got friends, yo, I can dig it..." It was 19 years ago when Tajai, Opio, Phesto, and A-Plus first upped us on how they just chill, roaming the strip for bones to pick, attackin' with the smoothness. "93 'til Infinity" still stand ... More >>

'Hiero Day' Brings Out Hieroglyphics, Blackalicious, and More To Celebrate What's Good in Oakland

Oakland's Hieroglyphics crew and Parish Entertainment Group have organized Hiero Day, a new, free block party in Oakland on Sept. 3, with live performances from Hieroglyphics, Blackalicious, Planet Asia, Equipto, Z Man, and Moe Green, and DJ sets from Honor Roll, Kev Choice Ensemble, and DJ D Sharp. ... More >>

I Got Five On It: Weighing Out San Francisco's Stoniest 4/20 Parties

Rest assured, attending any of these S.F. parties held on the marijuana smoker's unofficial holiday of April 20 should result in a world-class contact high -- not to mention beats worthy of holding a limited attention span. There are no seeds or stems in the bunch. But in order to wager on which gre ... More >>

L.A. Rocker Hanni El Khatib on Why Karaoke Terrifies Him More Than Performing

Los Angeles rocker Hanni El Khatib comes off like a badass. Car crashes adorn his release covers, his songs are inspired by '50s blues and '60s garage, and in at least one tune ("You Rascal You," a cover), the song's narrator stalks an adulterer with murderous intent. Khatib's image -- that of a my ... More >>

S.F. Trumpeter Bill Ortiz on Playing with Souls of Mischief, Covering Gil Scott-Heron, and Touring with Sheila E.

"Souls of Mischief brought me in initially to replace a sample that was going to cost them too much to clear!" So says San Francisco-born trumpeter Bill Ortiz with a laugh as he recalls his contribution to the Bay Area rap quartet's cherished debut album '93 'Til Infinity. Ortiz's playing can be hea ... More >>

Live Review: The Pharcyde Offers Nostalgia By The Numbers at Yoshi's

Slimkid3 shows off his solo work during the Pharcyde's set at Yoshi's.​The Pharcyde Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 Yoshi's SF Better than: Letting life pass by. The early music of the Pharcyde offers an almost idyllic snapshot of the early-'90s hip-hop scene in Southern California. The group's care ... More >>

Is This the Coachella 2012 Lineup?

Coachella 2012 is still more than four months away -- so naturally, it's time to start hyperventilating over rumored lineups for the first year the festival will stretch over two weekends. One "leaked" lineup appeared last week on StarzUncut, a celebrity gossip website with more than 58,000 Twitter ... More >>

Distortion 2 Static's Top Five Celebrity Guests

During its 10-year run, the Distortion 2 Static hip-hop TV show graduated from profiling local upcoming artists to chatting it up with rap superstars. Started by Prince Aries, Ariel Nuñez and DJ Haylow, the show signed off on its broadcast run back in September; a farewell shindig will be going dow ... More >>

Souls of Mischief's A-Plus Reviews His Own Discography

A-Plus​As part of the mighty Souls of Mischief crew, A-Plus ushered in a new style of Bay Area rap with the group's breezy and effortless "'93 'Til Infinity" anthem. Also a mainstay in the Hieroglyphics movement, the rapper and producer has been involved with releases from Del, Pep Love, and C ... More >>

Rock the Bells Brings Classic Hip-Hop Debuts to the Stage

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

Why Oh Why: Souls of Mischief's A-Plus Drops Red Hot Chili Peppers Tribute EP

The music makes about as much sense as the cover art.​ Maybe there was something in his blunt. Otherwise, what the hell was A-Plus thinking? The Oakland rapper -- a member of the celebrated alternative hip-hop crews Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics -- just went and dropped a tribute EP cal ... More >>

Del the Funky Homosapien Recalls the Past, Skips Nostalgia

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 >>

Watch: Hieroglyphics' DJ Toure Steps Out with Nio Tha Gift and Tajai from Souls of Mischief

​Sometimes it's nice to see musicians focus on doing one thing well, instead of trying to do everything well. So we happily can forgive the basic production of this black-and-white video, as well as the track's lack of song-ness. This isn't really a song, afterall -- it's Nio Tha Gift and Souls of ... More >>

Souls of Mischief: Show Preview

In Print: A Defense of Weezer, and the Books' Archivist Instincts

From SF Weekly's latest print music section:In Defense of Weezer: Weezer reissued 1996's Pinkerton this month, and the glowing reviews -- including a Pitchfork 10.0 -- explain why. The accepted critical narrative on the band goes like this: Weezer made two classic albums in the '90s, one i ... More >>

Town Techno

League510's high-energy, synth-fueled hip-hop.

SXSW 2010 Showgoers' Guide to Bay Area Acts

What To Do? Thursday's Pick: Left Fest w/ Souls of Mischief

Souls of Mischief​Left Fest w/ Souls of Mischief @ MezzanineOakland rap quartet Souls of Mischief is most fondly remembered for a 1993 hit. Prince Paul is a legendary oddball production Svengali from Long Island who also goes by the aliases Chest Rockwell and Filthy Pablo. The idea of holing them ... More >>

Souls of Mischief embrace the Prince Paul regime

Souls of Mischief Announce Montezuma's Revenge

Steve LopezMontezuma's Revenge Cover Art​ Legendary Oakland hip-hop group Souls of Mischief yesterday announced the forthcoming release of their new album, Montezuma's Revenge. Produced by the equally-legendary Prince Paul (De La Soul, Gravediggaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School), the album fea ... More >>

Flava of the Month Turns 6

Three of a Kind: Triple Threat DJs When it comes to local legendary hip-hop DJs, few have the pedigree of the boys from Triple Threat. Apollo aka P-Lo is an original Invisible Skratch Pickl who was also Souls of Mischief's DJ on the '93 til Infinity tour. Shortkut is both a Beat Junkie and a Sk ... More >>

Hey DJ! Friday Q&A: DJ Centipede

DJ Centipede claims the distinct honor of having really brought down the dance floor. Literally. As the dude tells it, he was DJing a party in Oakland a decade back and the entire floor collapsed from people bouncing on it. Talk about dropping some bass.You can catch Centipede on Tuesdays (when he's ... More >>

Saturday Night: Flava of the Month's Five Year Anniversary at Milk Bar

The Demise of Hyphy

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

Last Night: Mos Def at Mezzanine

New Wave Thuggin'

Kirby Dominant brings together niggaz and white girlz

Cardinal Sin

DJ Kevvy Kev hosts the longest-running hip hop radio show in the world on Stanford's KZSU -- sans recognition

Award Show Performers

SF Weekly Music Awards

Opio

Triangulation Station

Turner's Death, Taxes, & Prozack

Oakland MC Prozack was headed for the big time. Then his major-label deal fell apart.

Come Gurp With Me

We hit the streets with one of the city's most eccentric rappers to find out if any S.F. natives know what a "Larry Dog" is

Soul Position

8 Million Stories

The Sounds of Silence

Why the Bay Area has stopped producing big-time rock bands

Dial 510-Hip-Hop

The Cali Comm tour brings the region's best hip hop talent under one roof

Into the Mystic

After more than a decade of struggles, is Mystic ready for mainstream hip hop success?

A League of Its Own

The Justice League built its reputation by booking local hip hop acts -- now, in the face of an increasingly white-bread city, can the club survive?

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?

Having it Both Ways

Del the Funky Homosapien has moved out of the shadow of his famous cousin -- and every musical cliché -- to help lead Bay Area hip hop

Rhyme Schemes

With an acclaimed single and album behind him, San Mateo rapper Rasco remains underground -- which is just fine with him

Riff Raff

Tuvans! Everywhere!, (Insert Carnegie Hall Joke Here), and There Are No Current Plans to Change the Name to Club Y2K

New School Session

After big labels beat on its door for years, Lootpack found a home on a small San Francisco imprint and an original approach to modern hip hop

Quannum Leap

Growing out of Oakland's Solesides label, the rappers and producers of Quannum Projects look to expand even further

Notes From Underground

For two years, Beni B and Oakland's ABB Records have taken on the hip-hop establishment one vinyl single at a time

Stakes Is High

Bay Area hip-hop artists and the art of the hustle

The Book of Lists

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

Samples

Recordings

Samples