The Coup (Band)

DJ Delgado on the Evolution of Oakland's DJ Scene and Celebrating Five Years of Fresh Jamz

Attending middle school with artists such as Opio, Casual, and Touré of the Hieroglyphics crew in the early '90s, Oakland-born DJ Delgado sought to find his own creative outlet amid the beats and rhymes of hip-hop. He was attracted to "the constant positivity and push for social change" in reggae m ... More >>

The 10 Best Bay Area Rap Anthems of 2012

2012 was a fertile year for Bay Area rap, a time when the intellectual, the brazen, the sexed-up, and the chilled-out all took center stage at one point or another. There were songs that inspired dances, songs of Bay Area pride and protest, and more of that straight mack flow that still bumps around ... More >>

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

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 >>

Stream the Coup's Incendiary New Album, Sorry to Bother You, Right Now

After a fiery new video for first single "the Guillotine" and that thumping set at last week's Treasure Island festival, we're pretty excited for the new album from Oakland rap-funk outfit The Coup. Sorry to Bother You isn't out until Oct. 30, but you can stream the whole thing now over at the A.V. ... More >>

Watch: The Coup's "Guillotine" Is A Funky Agitprop Masterpiece

With the election only weeks away, it's a perfect time for a new video from the Coup, the radical Oakland hip-hop group whose leader, Boots Riley, was one of the loudest agitators in the city's Occupy movement. The group is back with a new album, Sorry to Bother You, on Oct. 30, and the first taste ... More >>

Das Racist's Kool A.D. Drops an Ode to the Bay Area

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 >>

Live Review: Das Racist, Danny Brown and Trackademicks Play Ruby Skye, with Not a Little Irony

Das Racist at Ruby Skye on Friday.​ Das Racist Danny Brown Trackademicks Boots Riley Nov. 4, 2011 Ruby Skye Better than: A typical night at Ruby Skye. Don't blame Das Racist. The words "Ruby Skye" didn't bode well for a successful hip hop show at a club known for pedaling desensitized four- ... More >>

Das Racist Interview: "As Long as We're Getting Paid, I'm Not Really Mad at Whatever People Want to Call It"

Das Racist performs tonight at Ruby Skye.​ Das Racist wants to be taken on its own terms. Sort of. The Brooklyn-based trio consisting of Himanshu "Heems" Suri, Victor Vazquez, and hypeman/ "spiritual advisor" Ashok Kondabolu has spent more time discussing the group's motivations, identity, and ... More >>

Boots Riley: Oakland General Strike Is "Like Us Flashing Our Guns"

via EKA PhotographyBoots Riley at Occupy Oakland​ The Occupy movement doesn't have a leader, but Oakland activist-rapper Boots Riley is serving as one sort of de facto spokesman for his hometown's defiant occupation, lending the collective grievances a high-profile voice. Inspired by public g ... More >>

Why Musicians Matter to the Occupy Movement

​It's been over two weeks since the protest in SF's financial district commenced -- prompted by the occupation of Wall Street that started almost a month ago -- and four days since Oakland joined this now apparently worldwide movement. As we all know, Occupy Wall Street was outright ignored by mai ... More >>

The Coup's Boots Riley Will Perform for the Occupy Oakland Crowd This Evening

Boots Riley. Photo by John Duah​ So, so fitting: On a day when his bandmate in Street Sweeper Social Club, Tom Morello, performed at Occupy Wall Street, politically conscious Oakland rapper Boots Riley of the Coup is bringing his boisterous rhymes to Occupy Oakland for a free performance. But ... More >>

The Coup's Boots Riley on His Next Record, Hip-Hop for White Kids, and Loving Battlestar Galactia

The Coup's Boots Riley​ It's been almost a decade since 9/11 -- which means (among other things) that it's been 10 years since Boots Riley was seemingly everywhere, coolly responding to outrage over some extremely ill-timed album art depicting explosions at World Trade Center. It's also been f ... More >>

From Basics To Based: Grab One Hour of 'Dope' Bay Area Rap

Swag!​Believe it or not, "Digital Underground" used to mean something other than that secret server farm 400 feet beneath South Park. Want proof? This just in from the Good Records blog, via Tumblin' Erb: Cities of Dope, an expertly mixed and surprisingly instructive hour of Bay Area rap.Jonny Pay ... More >>

New Year's Eve Guide 2011

New Year's Eve Guide 2011

Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasies: Raunchy Album Covers That Didn't Make It

(Complete scene here.)All-around entertainer Kanye West announced the other day that his forthcoming album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, would come bundled with five different album covers. The only one we've seen so far is a painting by New York-based art-weirdo George Condo that depicts a n ... More >>

Five Bay Area Hip-Hop Stars Who Should Be Really Stinkin' Rich

Is this what it takes?​On Tuesday, Forbes published its list of hip-hop's 20 highest earners: Jay-Z at number one, naturally, with $63 million, and Senegalese crooner Akon edging out Lil Wayne by a milli -- Weezy's cash-accruing steez have been impressively unabated by his recent jail sentenc ... More >>

CD Review: Street Sweeper Social Club -- 'The Ghetto Blaster EP'

​Don't let the attention-grabbing choice of a first single mislead you: Though their cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" sounds pointless at all but the most eardrum-shattering volumes (and only slightly amusing at those), Tom Morello and Oakland rapper Boots Riley, as Street Sweeper Social Club ... More >>

Seven-Year Shake

'Speechless': Bay Area Music Community Reacts to Grant Verdict on Twitter

Twitter heated up today as the Oscar Grant verdict came in. Here are some reactions to the news from members of the Bay Area's music community:Oakland dance-pop diva OONA:​Vallejo rapper Moe Green:

10 Things To Do This Weekend For Under $10

Gretchen RobinetteBring Your Own Big Wheel (BYOBW)​This weekend there is so much to see: Lebowski fans in their bathrobes; grown-ass adults on their big wheels; ladies on the turntables; and men who want to "Make the Whole World Pay." If you can't find something fun to do on this list for under a ... More >>

Friday Night: The Coup Pays Tribute to Dewey Tucker

​The Coup January 15, 2010 The Independent Better Than: Zion I Friday night, The Coup played a somber salute to Dewey Tucker, the group's bassist who was murdered Wednesday while driving to band practice. "I would have cancelled the show tonight," said Boots Riley, the Coup's frontman. "I almost ... More >>

More Musician Deaths: Teddy Pendergrass and The Coup's Bassist Dewey Tucker

Teddy Pendergrass​The superstition is that deaths come in threes, and one day after Jay Reatard, two more musicians made the news this morning, one of them in the Bay Area. Philly soulman Teddy Pendergrass died at age 59 last night of complications related to colon cancer. And Spinner.com reports ... More >>

The Coup

Eight Great Foodies from the Bay Area Music Scene

DJ Pam the Funkstress: Cajun food queen​The Bay Area's devotion to its homegrown music and food is steadfast. The culinary creativity here is as infectious as our sonic imagination, so it should come as little surprise that there is a crossover between the two local scenes. But did you know that D ... More >>

Last Night: Saul Williams, Earl Greyhound, and American Fangs at the Independent

Saul Williams's facepaint resembled a dolphin crossed with the Star Trek logo​Saul Williams, Earl Greyhound, American Fangs November 10, 2009 The Independent Better Than: Gym Class Heroes, or 2009 David Bowie With a head full of feathers and his face painted like a glittering Star Trek dolphin, ... More >>

The Return of the Coup

EKAphotographyBoots Riley at Outside Lands, 2009​ It's been a minute since Oakland's legendary hip-hop group the Coup last played its hometown - nine years in fact, according to frontman and primary songwriter Boots Riley. In that time, the group has played SF and Berkeley -"We did a kind of ... More >>

Dead Prez Boots Riley Tonight @Black Dot

EKAphotographyRBGz at YBG: dead prez @G4G's solar-powered concert​ Outside Lands, Shmoutside Lands. The hundreds of folks who came out to Yerba Buena Gardens to see dead prez and Mistah F.A.B. perform for free yesterday may have gotten a better deal than the tens of thousands who shelled out $90 ... More >>

Outside Lands Day Two: Street Sweeper Social Club, Trombone Shorty, Black Eyed Peas, The Mars Volta

EKAphotography​Outside Lands Day 2: Street Sweeper Social Club, Trombone Shorty, Black Eyed Peas, The Mars Volta, & more, Saturday, August 20, 2009.Better Than: sitting in the park, waiting for you.The first day of Outside Lands was a huge freakin' success, especially if you stayed at the Twin ... More >>

Funk Makes a Three-Night Stand at Yoshi's SF

He Came to Funk You: B'nai Rebelfront The Punk Funk Mob, B'Nai Rebelfront, and Greg Scott are the featured performers in "We Got the Funk: A Tribute to the Sixth Funk Dynasty," a musical miniseries highlighting local funksters happening June 15-17 at Yoshi's SF. Punk Funk Mob  features singer ... More >>

Sila & the Afrofunk Experience celebrates Obama

The Demise of Hyphy

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

Night+Day

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