Pitchfork recently reviewed Kreayshawn's new album and absolutely hated it. They gave it a 3.0/10, talked a lot of shit, and ended the review by saying that this will be her last album because her career is over due to the sheer terribleness of Somethin' Bout Kreay. Immediately I began to think, "whoa hey this album must actually be pretty good then." Not to shit on Pitchfork too much, but the review sounds so awkward and misguided, like if I had to review an Avant-Garde Jazz album. I would not know what the fuck was going on and would just be like "what's up with all these crazy saxophones lol" and similarly P4K bitches about the superficial lyrics and beats that strive for mainstream appeal. THAT'S KIND OF THE POINT GUYS.
All of the lyrics on this album are about how hot she and her crew is and how she has more gold than you or whatever. It's refreshingly simple because this is pop-rap and the beats are appropriately catchy. If Kreayshawn switched it up for this album and rapped about South Sudan's struggles to succeed as a new nation over non-catchy beats everyone would hate it, because that is not the type of music that is expected from her.
There is not even a dash of introspection on this album, not even the obligatory "wow life has become so crazy ever since I've become famous" song that debut major label rappers always do (this is also the theme of 80% of Drake's songs), which is quite impressive.


Do you remember that lame kid who never danced at parties and always complained about how "all the music on the radio is such bullshit"? That used to be me! Guess what I've learned? Nobody likes that guy! He is not fun to be around and the guy who will dance to Katy Perry songs and have a good time is actually not a phggt, but an advanced-level bro. Since stumbling upon this revelation I now listen to the radio almost daily and non-ironically love a bunch of pop songs whose target audience is probably 13 year old girls.
Have you ever tried to have a serious conversation with a girl about all the underground Bay Area gangster rap you enjoy? I sure hope not. 99% chance she is extremely uninterested by any music not on the radio. Some interests you just have to keep to yourself bro.

Anyways, I remember when Kreayshawn first came out (before "Gucci Gucci") and Southern Hospitality was jocking the shit out of her and I checked her out and was like "I do not like this." Then "Gucci Gucci" came out and I felt indifferent, but with her debut album she has found her true calling in making extremely fun and silly pop-rap.
Here are the best songs from the album (no DL links because I don't want the Feds knocking at my door):



Really feeling all the bright colors and zany cartoon images in this video, how can this not put you in a good mood? Can we discuss how Kreayshawn has gotten infinitely cuter in the last year? When she first came out I was like "ehhh," but now I would definitely kill an innocent hobo just to awkwardly shake her hand.

The album is not perfect or anything and there are some not-so-good songs on here, but overall the album is solid and it gets the 100 Grand on My Wrist stamp of approval. Kreayshawn's music sounds dramatically different than most of the stuff that gets posted on this blog, but you should broaden your horizons bruh.

To conclude things here is a youtube comment that summarizes the exact opposite of how I feel about music from the past and present:


After he posted this "aloncorp" no doubt patted himself on the back before drowning his sorrows in another bag of Fritos. I imagine he is foaming at the mouth at the thought of someone like Kreayshawn being popular and at the end of the day that brings sincere joy to my heart like an old woman watching her grandkids star in a school play.

What do you bros think?
Is Kreayshawn good and lovely?
Would you drag your balls across a mile of broken glass just to make momentary eye contact with her in a busy parking lot?
Is that Pitchfork review dripping with female jealousy?
Does her new album deserve a 7.83???

In case you have been living under a rock that does not allow you to keep updated with sports, the big news around here is that the A's won their division yesterday by sweeping the Rangers and now are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.
As someone who has been an A's fan since before I was fully conscious of the world around me, I could not be more happier right now. It's been pretty bummer times for the A's these past few years, but they are back on top again. The best part about all of this is that no one expected shit from the A's this season, they are a team comprised of rookies and no names, who all came together as the ultimate underdogs. Someone call (insert famous Hollywood director name here), I think we've got ourselves an inspirational sports film in the making!
A coworker told me his friend placed a $100 bet at the very beginning of the season that the Giants and A's would play each other in the World Series and the odds were so small that if that actually happens now he will make over $100,000 on that bet. Crazy right?


Anyways, this is a music blog, so we should talk about music on here and luckily there is a music angle to this story. There is this song that has become the rallying theme song for the Oakland A's in the second half of their season:



Quick notes:
-Is this tight or not? I cannot decide.
-I guess these guys are not even the originator of the Bernie Lean, that's kind of weird to be jacking someone else's dance, brohs.
-Did they just lift the drumbeat from "Teach Me How to Dougie"?
-I never learned how to dougie :(
-Don't watch the last minute of this video, unless you enjoy watching dudes ask you to subscribe to their youtube page and listen to their mixtape.
-I like all the people around them who have no idea what is going on and are just frightened by their bizarre dance.
-The dude on the second verse has a truly terrifying voice.
-I think I have decided that I like this a lot.


It is pretty depressing how many people try to make hit songs with dances that go along with them and that shit never takes off and then you stumble across it on youtube and it has 783 views since 2008 with one comment from a 13 year old like "Wow I luv the 'crazy bee' dance" or whatever it is called and it is all just very depressing. I get a ridicuous amount of emails from people trying to be famous rappers that are sending out blast emails like "check out this new song and dance that is sweeping the nation and already becoming a huge hit!" Trust me bro if it was "sweeping the nation" you would not have to email blogs like mine trying to get some free promo. Good for these guys for having a hit in the most unlikely of ways (via a baseball team) though!
You can read about how this song became the A's anthem in more detail elsewhere, but basically the story is Brandon Inge started using it as his walk-up song and then Coco Crisp started using it and it took off from there, culminating in the A's doing their own music video of the song:



The beginning of this video strongly supports what I have always said about athletes being the best actors out there. Also Kara Tsuboi at :58 to 1:01- hnggggg. Anyways, this song and dance are completely ridiculous and for that reason I love it. The Bay Area always seems to be attracted to the absurd in some way or another.

In conclusion here is a video of Josh Reddick dressed as Spider-Man double-pieing Coco Crisp:



God I love the A's so much! GO A'S!!!!!!!

I've already bought tickets to their first home game of the series against the Tigers on Tuesday. If you are going as well be sure to look for me, I will be the guy in an A's hat enjoying the game.

What do you think of "The Bernie Lean"?
Are the A's the most exciting team in baseball right now? (The answer is yes)
Do the A's have a good chance at making the World Series this year?

I recently wrote a post for Stuff You Will Hate about some awesome new rap songs. It also contains a thought-provoking argument for rap music being the best genre of music in existence:

CLICK HERE TO READ

Only half of the songs covered are Bay Area-related. I'm trying to cover a broader range of raps for guest posts, even though Bay Area rap is far superior to everything else out there. If you have some non-Bay raps that you would recommend checking out then let me know.

HD & G-Dirty "Pussy Marijuana"



What a messy, weird beat here. Seriously this is some next level shit with so much going on that it takes the listener a while to get oriented and figure out what exactly is going on here. Good use of the sample source too, while still making the beat its own. HD is unflinchingly focused as usual, not adjusting his flow one bit for the uncharacteristically upbeat production. HD's raps come from another era, before Lil Wayne and Lil B made it cool to be a little more sloppy and abstract with your rhymes. He is a very technically skilled rapper at the cost of some humor and creativity, but it works for him.
I like how G-Dirty has basically the same flow for every song, which has a strong "fuck you, I am tight as shit" vibe to it. G-Dirty goes hard here: "talk real shit to my bitch, now we real pals" LOL.

Here is another dope song from the same album:

HD & G-Dirty ft. Lil Rod "Boyz N Da Hood (Whiteboy)"

HD and G-Dirty's new duo album Black & Rebelous (sic), just like most other Bearfaced projects, is poorly mixed and mastered, but the album's rough edges adds some character to it. Bearfaced seriously needs to start spellchecking their shit though, I mean it is not that hard. Seriously guys you could shoot me an email real quick before you print things up and I could let you know like "hey brody it is spelled 'Rebellious' keep up the great music." Simple as that, or they could even use a spellchecker on their personal computer, there are really a lot of options out there for them to avoid typos. At the end of the day they probably just don't give a fuck about the correct spelling of their songs/albums and neither should I.

Solid album though, HD continues to make entertaining and interesting music while sticking to his original style.

Everything By Joe of Perfection is Perfected

For nearly a century, San Francisco's Fillmore district has produced and fostered a wealth of musical talent. That nerve center of creativity includes many awesome rappers. Sadly, as gentrification and “urban renewal” have hit the Fillmore, fewer rappers have come out of the neighborhood in recent years. This mix is an ode to the artists who helped found the Fillmore’s rap scene as well as those who continue to hold it down for the neighborhood. Note: this mix isn’t a best of Andre Nickatina, JT the Bigga Figga, Messy Marv, San Quinn, or Rappin’ 4Tay. This is 22 tracks (in honor of the 22 Fillmore) that survey the variety of dope rappers who have come out of this tiny (and still shrinking) neighborhood.*

Tracklisting:

1.  Andre Nickatina - "Ghost of Fillmoe"

Wow so stylish and elegant, yet simple and not too flashy, which is important in these dark economic times. Overall I would have liked to see more scarves and vests but I would still give it a B+ rating.

Oh wait, wrong Gap, sorry I got confused again. We are here to discuss Gap, the Akron, OH rapper, and his new album:

It has a beautifully simple title: I'm Gap, That's Me. That might be the best album title of the year, so simple, yet effective. It lets you know who he is and that he is, in fact, who he is.

The album is 70 minutes long and there are some recycled songs, boring songs, songs with shitty features, etc. but there is quite a bit of good material to bump here. Gap's unique style is by far the strongest element of this project and even when the beats are lacking it is still entertaining to hear him rap so effortlessly.

The best songs off the album are probably the ones leaked before this dropped (such as this one) and I think this might still be my favorite track off the album:

Gap "Watermelon Head"



Nice to have this one in mpfree format finally. Here is a frightening picture to accompany the song above:


Have fun with that image haunting your dreams for the rest of eternity.

Similar to Shoboat, Gap has a voice that is filled with energy as he seemingly bounces over the beats with his rhymes. The lo-fi production here does not necessarily reflect his dynamic style and are in the vein of Ampichino and company's works (melancholy piano-heavy beats), which provides an interesting contrast to Gap's raps, but it would have been really nice to hear him unleashed over some energetic trap beats. More songs along this line would have been dope:

Gap ft. Shoboat & Scolla "Damn"



This is really a Shoboat song though with Gap doing a verse, but it goes hard. Please take note of Shoboat's vomit adlib at around 1:50. Rappers dropping a pretend throw up adlib is never not awesome. Hope that we see some more new material from Cleveland's Shoboat sometime soon as well.

Hey speaking of Ohio, did you know the Cincinnati Reds have THREE mascots???


That seems a bit excessive if you ask me, but I guess they do things a bit different over there in the Midwest. The reason I know this is that one of the mascots is named "Gapper," (the middle one to be exact) which is the nickname Gap (the rapper) is using nowadays to try to differentiate himself from the clothing brand. So basically whether you google "gap" or "gapper" you are not going to find any information about the rapper. Do you remember who popular Tity Boi got as soon as he changed his name to the much more accessible 2 Chainz? Please take note of this Mr. Gap.

Gap "Real Quick"



This is a solid album, but the real reason why I am posting about I'm Gap, That's Me is because Gap himself personally sent ME a direct message on Twitter:


There are countless perks to being a popular rap blogger and now I can add "15% off replica watches and jewelry" to that list along with 10/10 models letting me put out cigars on them (JK that's terrible, I regret typing that).

Gap is a tight rapper, if he can get a little more diversity in his production and better/less features then he will do ok in the rap game. He is still developing and I can't wait to hear more music from him.

What do you think of this album?
Does this album make you "fall into the Gap"?
Will this blog ever tire of making jokes about Gap's rap name?
Here is a closeup of watermelon head girl to wrap things up/terrify you once more:

Whether it's from the Treal TV DVDs, his Tonka Boyz album with Husalah, his recent Tweaker Muzik with DB The General or his dope features, chances are you know who B-Luv is. Me and Nyquil of Cobraswag recently had the chance to meet up with B-Luv in Vallejo and talk to him about everything from fans stealing his hat to how he met Mac Dre:

So you just got back from touring with Roach Gigz? How did that come together?

Roach just hit me, he reached out to me. He was like 'I grew up watching you and Dre' and that's how I got in the "Wasabi" video. From there, I just kind of felt him, like 'bro I like how you get down,' he not funny-ass, he real. I live in L.A., but I drive back and forth all the time, like I'm still here because all my folks and family is here, so I'm always out here. I was in L.A. and they called me like 'you out here? Bro we got a show in Hollywood.' I was like 'what? They fuckin' with us like that?' So I came up there, just to support him and it was a cool show, there was a good turnout and I was surprised. There ain't a lot of Bay Area artists that can go to L.A. and get a turnout. Some of the biggest people out here would get five people out there. Roach had a good turnout there and Roach said 'bro we going to San Diego if you want to come, we can do a song together or something.' And I was like 'For real? Let's do it.' So he brought me out in San Diego and the reaction was big, they was happy, like 'GREAT SURPRISE, GLAD YOU CAME.' I appreciated it, but I didn't expect that. After that it was like 'bro you got to come along.'
So we went to Oregon and Washington and just got back on Monday. It's been cool, I fuck with Roach, I like his movement. Dre was a big influence on him and that's where we connect at. That common little bond right there ignites the whole movement.


So are you still going to be doing shows with Roach Gigz for a while?

I'm going to do it until the end of the Bugged Out tour and then me and Hus got a few shows we putting together. Then just working on the next one. I've really got the next album done, but I'm just seeing which one I want to put out first. If I want to to wait for Hus to put out his album and then put out Tonka Boyz 2 or do I want to do mine, like I have a lost tapes album, with hella old stuff like with Pretty Black. Some stuff that I know people would love to hear that I've never put out. I'm probably just going to leak it for free on the internet. Then after that, put out my solo album. My solo is done. It's kind of on the laid back tip, like you know "Won't Slide"? Kind of like that tempo; laid back and chillin. Yeah bro, I've been workin. I've got a lot of music that hasn't been heard that I'm eager to get out. I'm just antsy right now, I'm ready to get it out and go.

What's the deal with Husalah not dropping an album yet?

He's like a perfectionist. His expectations are so high, that he might have 45 hits and think all of them are weak. All his other albums someone else put out, so this is going to be his first that he is putting out. Between you and me, I ain't gonna lie, he got some shit. I feel like I understand why he's waiting so long. Because the shit he's got, he's got some timeless shit, he ain't got no trendy shit like 'ok this is what's going on right now, I've got to go ahead and release this.' When it comes out, it's going to go. I know that, just from being around music for a long time I kinda have a feeling for like, this is going to do this or that (in sales/popularity). I'm supporting him all the way.
From being around him so long I was just like, 'okay he kinda taking long with that.' I know why he's been taking so long, but the fans don't know, they like 'what the fuck is going on man?' I'm like, he working on it, but they're like 'just drop it. Fuck it!' It is what it is. It's coming, believe it or not.


How come you haven't put out any solo albums? All your albums has been with someone else so far.

Honestly, the one with DB was spontaneous. We was at the house one day chillin and I had the studio in the trunk and I was like 'I got some beats...' and he was like *in his best impression of DB The General* 'yeah motherfucker, whatchu got?' And we got in there and did the whole Tweaker Muzik in one day.

Are you serious?

Yeah. DB kind of woke me up. We did that shit fast because it was fun. It's different when it's fun, we just bounced off each other. He'd do something and I'd do a hook or I'd do something and he'd do the hook and we just laid it down.

Yeah it sounds like you guys had fun putting it together.

Yeah we had fun. So yeah we did that in one day and the song with Hus I had did that the previous week and I just put that together with it and I was like 'fuck it let me give them something to have. Let them knock it.' That's why I did that. But the solo, I kind of wanted to piece it together so that it's more laid back, so it takes a little bit longer to put that together.


Because you want it to sound more cohesive?

Yeah exactly. There's certain music that I grew up off of that my mom used to play, that my uncle used to play, that sticks in your head and really determines what (music) you like, whether we realize it or not. So something we heard when we were little we might hear today and be like 'why do I like this? Oh my mom played that when I was 7.' So that's how I am piecing my album together, off some old-school, real heartfelt beats. Obviously, Tonka Boyz 2, when me and Hus together we always working on shit, he's like my best friend, so that's definitely going to come out. But my shit, I want it to come out  how I want it to come out. It's more or less how Hus is doing his shit, doing it at my own pace so that when it drops it can kind of be like timeless. I don't want to just put that out and it's out and people forget about it. You know there are certain songs on the Tonka Boyz that even today people are like 'man that motherfucker STILL slappin, I love that "Laid Back Slap."' I just want my album to be filled with those.

Like "Cuttin It Up"

Yeah I did that song in Oregon and they went crazy. They stole my beanie off my head! I had an Oregon beanie on, Oregon Ducks, just showing some love out there. I jumped in the crowd, you know I'm crazy, and they stole my beanie. I was like 'fuck it, I'm just going to act like it's cool.' Then a girl hit me on Facebook, 'oh yeah I stole your beanie, if you want it back it's cool. I just wanted it, I got excited!'



Haha so you didn't get it back?

Nah I let her have it. That's the type of dude I am. I do it for the fun and love of it. A lot of people they got different motives, they trying to get rich off this shit. Me, personally, I'm really a hustla, I really know how to put some bread on the table regardless. Even when I met Dre, I was fucking with the car shit. I restore old school classics. I'll find something, like I found a '69 Chevelle drop the other day and I'm about to go get that next week. And I've got a 396 on the engine stand already, because I rebuild motors and shit myself too.

Oh really?

Hands on, I really do that shit. Like I be putting that shit together and put it online and have various buyers come from out of state. I had a guy come from Sydney, Australia to buy one of my Stingray Vettes the other day. So I really fuck with it so tough to where that I'm not relying on this (music) for money, but I have a passion for it because of what I was brought up in. I feel like I've got to do it, everywhere I go people are like 'bruh when is the next one coming?' and I'm like 'it's coming bro.' It's just a love and I have fun with it and I feel like when you have fun with something you can tell you're having fun with it and it comes off in the song. Rather than just trying to be hard or trying to be this or that, I'm just having fun.

So the car stuff, is that what...

That's how me and Hus really fuck with it. He is a car dude. I met Hus through Dre. We was at the house one day and Hus was up there, he was on the run at the time from his case and I was up there, just a young dude, and we was sleeping on the floor and shit, just young dudes trying to get on and be around the nig. Dre was like 'yall niggas go get some food or something' and I had my car, a 96 Impala on candy brandy wine on deuces, and I took Hus to go get some food and we was just choppin it up and we just clicked. We was two different type of nigs, but the car shit was always in us. He was always the type of nigga who was swangin his shit and as soon as he got in my car I started doing a little *makes the sound of doing donuts* and he was like 'bro don't be doing that type of shit when I'm in the car!' and I was like 'bro, I got this, it's good.' Basically I'm saying we was similar type nigs and we really started fucking with it. It's that whole car culture that has always been one of my loves and kept me out of trouble, keep me out of the bullshit.


What is your dream car? If you could have any car, no matter the cost.

Umm...(long thoughtful pause)... it'd have to be an old car, like something so rare...(another thoughtful pause)...I almost had one the other day; a '58 Vette. With a LS6 motor in it, a newer Vette motor in it. Something old as shit that's good on gas with a new motor in it. I like those, they're rare and really respected. I like fast shit, something I can just get up outta there in. I know there is something else I could probably list...I like the '69 convertible Camaro Pace Car with the orange interior. I almost had one too *whistles* I was finna buy one, but this guy outbid me and I was like 'ok man.'

Those are really rare, do you know how many of those exist? (Editor's note: 3,675 is the answer)

Them rare. Them rare. Me an Hus collect old schools, though. That's one of our loves, the old car scene. You can pull up in a Ferrari, but if you pull up in an old school it will get more attention. Just something that you don't see everyday, people will be like 'how did he even get that? Oh he must be drug dealing' and then I burn rubber on their ass.

Haha so can you tell me a little bit more about Tweaker Muzik? I really like the album and can bump it front to back.

I appreciate that. I was trying to just make it weird, you know what I mean? When we were doing the beats I was like, 'bruh let's do something different.' I didn't want it to sound like what everyone else is doing. One person I want to mention is my boy Big Cheese, that's the person who did most the beats on Tweaker Muzik, he's my good friend. The reason I called it Tweaker Muzik, is because, me personally, I don't do drugs or none of that shit. It's a feeling you get when that beat come on. Say you might be at work chillin, but when you hear something that just grabs you and just turns you into something. That's what I had envisioned for the album. Just that adrenaline rush you get when you hear your favorite song, or just music period, it just turn you into something else. It goes back to our moms, say if they vacuuming or cleaning up the house they might have their jam on and they just *imitates dancing while vacuuming.* They tweakin' right there, whether they know it or not! That's my vision for the album, people might be like 'are they doing drugs?' but nah it's just a feeling.

Yeah it's interesting because "tweaker" has such a negative connotation. Like white trash dudes smoking a bunch of meth.

Yeah I was just trying to reinvent it as a feeling from music. I don't promote none of that shit because I don't do none of that shit. I like to keep my mind clear, because I've got to stay alert. If my mind is gone then there's just no money. I'm gonna be hurting. The difference between us and a lot of other musicians is like I'm not the type to be trying to be like *pretends to hold up stacks* 'yeah nigga hunid thousand!' I might have that, but I'm not going to present that, because that ain't really nothing at the end of the day! I got billionaire partners in L.A. that is ballin out of this world to where I'm like 'damn, we really just peas.' There's always something bigger than us.


Yeah it can get pretty boring when rappers are always like 'look how much money I got.'

Yeah it gets old. I try not to even listen to rap.

Really?

I mean I might listen to what's on the radio to see what they playing, but I try not to listen to other rappers from around here because I don't want to be influenced by accident to where I'm writing something the same as they said that I picked up subliminally. I try to listen to old shit. Like 60's old school R&B jazz, really throwback shit.

Like what artists?

Damn I want to say, but I can't tell all my secrets (laughs). You know who I like? From the early 80's I've been listening to this group from the U.K. called Loose Ends. My mom used to play them when she was taking me to school and I was like 'it's cool,' I wasn't trippin', but now I'm like 'my mom had some good taste!' I sampled two songs off my main album from them.
I've been listening to Isaac Hayes...Al B. Sure! That "Won't Slide" is an Al B. Sure! sample. Just laid back shit that gets you in another zone chillin. I like Marvin Gaye and Patrice Rushen, she was kinda like an Alicia Keyes of the 80's, she played all her instruments herself and sang. She was doing everything, she was dope! I like Angela Winbush. Shit like that, you gonna hear it and feel it, some real soulful feel. My new album is on that hype, them type of beats.


Does the new album have a title yet?

I'm thinking about calling it Cold Lamp Loungin', I'm just chillin, cold lampin'. I'm thinking about doing something (for the cover) like me with one of my old schools at the dinner table, like you think it's my bitch, but nah it's my car.

Sounds romantic!

Yeah, 'I love you, I'mma take care of you girl.'

*Everyone laughs*

Some different shit, you know what I'm saying? It's got like 13 or 14 tracks, I'm just trying to see if I want to get a couple features on it, because it's just me all the way on it right now. I'm thinking about having Hus on one of them and I might get Roach on one of them and that's it.



I like how Tweaker Muzic is not too long. So many rap albums are like 80 minutes.

Yeah, sometimes that gets boring. I was just trying to make it in and out, like ok you hear what's going on and then we outta there. Then you wait for the next one, because we thinking about doing a part two...When I got off the tour it kind of opened my eyes to how a lot of Bay artists, they don't be getting out of the Bay a lot. It's cool to be out here, but there are a lot of other areas that fuck with the Bay. I just feel like the Bay needs to unite, everyone feels like they so big, but they really ain't shit at the end of the day. That's one thing I got from Dre, he kept humble and stayed working. He got in there and made music, every beat that people didn't like, 'oh y'all don't like this one?' He'd make a hit out of it. I just got out of that that you should be yourself and have fun. If I'm not in the right environment I try not to even record, it's just a wast of time. I've got to feel the vibe.

Have you been out to Kansas City at all?

Not since that happened (Mac Dre was murdered). Jacka has been out there and he was telling me 'bro you gotta go out there, next time we go out there come with us.' I plan on going out there, but ever since that shit happened it's always been in the back of my mind.

Were you in Kansas City when Mac Dre was killed?

Yeah. I was coming up. I was Dre's hypeman. I was giggin, doing my thing. So it's kind of different for me. The memory is still there, it hurts still. But at the same time I know there's a lot of people who love us out there, on twitter and facebook they always hit me up like 'we fuck with you bro.' I see they still fuck with us real tough, but it's hard to just forget that. That shit really changed a lot of things.


When that happened, in 2004, that was when I was first really starting to listen to Mac Dre.

That was when he was starting to really take off. He was in his mode, he kicked all his hoes out and really focused on music. Like 'man I need to put 100 into this music' and that was when we started doing hella shows and he was like 'cuddie I need you at every show, show them how we fuck with it with the giggin and shit.' I was a young nig, I was like 18 at the time, so I was like 'bruh let's do it!' Even to this day, it's crazy how his name is still big. That's one of my jobs, to keep his name going.

So how do you feel about the way Thizz handled Mac Dre's material after his death. Like re-releasing a lot of his songs with different titles and calling them original tracks?

Yeah I personally had talks with some of the people involved with that and I was like 'man that's kinda crazy how they doing all of that.' They seen that too, because they seen the feedback. Me personally, I didn't agree with how they handled that. You've got to realize that when Dre was alive he was the dude in charge who brought everyone together and when that main guy isn't there no more, the sheep kind of scattered a little bit. People think they know what they were doing, but it wasn't the best decision. I kind of separated myself when I saw some of the things they were doing. What had me angry is people who had Mac Dre stamps on their album cover who didn't even know him. I wasn't really feeling it. Regardless, I'mma keep it lit for the nig and keep reppin for the cuddie, because he was our friend. It was unfortunate how all that went, but I know the people who did that learned from that experience too.


So let me ask you, what do you think is the correct spelling of this word: "Cuddie" or "Cutty"?

I say "c-u-d-d-i-e", either way people know what it is, but when I hear "c-u-t-t-y" I think of the car.

Oh yeah, like a Cutlass.

Yeah. I got that word from growing up in the Crest, everyone calling each other cuddie. It's just like 'cuddie this, cuddie that' and when I hooked up with Hus he was like 'nigga where I'm from we say cuddie too, we been sayin' that for a while.' I was like 'for real?' When I went to Spokane, WA this little 20 year old girl who was a fan was like 'yeah man we really fuck with you cuddie, it's treal out here cuddie. We say all your slang.' I was like 'wow!'

Hahaha if my girlfriend started talking like that I think it would be a bit offputting.

*Laugh* Yeah like, 'who you been hanging around?'



So Tonka Boyz came out in 2008 and my favorite song was "Rims is Olda Than Me." That was four years ago, though. Are your rims still older than you?

Yeah yeah I'm getting older. They are about the same age as me. I got an old school Caprice and I just ordered some 28s for it. Pretty soon I'm about to go back to some old school rally wheels. I'm still in that car shit though, I think it's a real blessing to be involved with that. I really respect the mechanics that work 9 to 5. Me and Hus we go to Pick-n-Pull because there might be a part in there for an old school that you can't find anywhere else. People see us in there and can't believe it's us, but that's the difference with us. We down to earth and at your local Pick-n-Pull.

Haha well I wish I had a cool car, but I drove up here in my 2001 Volvo.

*Laughs* I fuck with Volvo. I fuck with every car!

So I was wondering how you got the nickname Cilantro?

That boy Hus gave it to me. We be making up names for each other all the time and one day he was just like 'bruh your name is Cilantro.'


There was no context for that name?

Nah, but I was like 'fuck it, that's my name!' We are just spontaneous like that and just ran with it and started saying it on songs and shit.

So does DB The General's voice kind of stress you out sometimes?

*Laughs*

Because it does for me.

You know a lot of people say that. With his voice you either love it or hate it. When I first heard him I didn't know who he was. In some of my songs from a long time ago for my adlibs I would do them high-pitched and I was like 'this be sounding like me! Whoever do this is my nig!' He sounded like me going high in his regular voice and when I met him I saw how smart and militant he is. I fuck with him.



So let's say someone has never heard of you, is there a favorite song of yours that would be the song that you would tell them to check out.

Umm...hmmm...I've got to think. I be forgetting about all the songs I've done....

Can I tell you the right answer?

Yeah go ahead.

"Sittin' Tonka"

Yeah ok, I forgot about that song. I've done so many songs. I think my answer might be "Laid Back Slap." That was one of the first songs that I did, it was on that laid back tip, I feel like it had some mass appeal. I don't know, nowadays, I think a lot differently, I really don't make the same songs that I did back then. Maybe some of this new shit I'm about to drop... You know what, I like "Hustle" That was my first rap.



Oh I didn't know that.

Yeah. I like that one because that was my first time ever rapping and now over the years you can hear the difference, how much more comfortable I am now. But I would say that one because Dre was on it.

I remember watching the video for that on 23109: Exhibition of Speed a long time ago.

See that's how I really got started in everything, with that DVD. I put that together.

Oh you put that DVD together?

Yeah yeah, me and Justin Lomax. We had a video production company called On Point Production. Justin was the videographer and the editor and I was the producer. That's how me and Dre came together. I was like 'bro I need you on my DVD' and I showed him the preview and he was like 'I see what you finna do' and I introduced him to Justin and he was like 'cuddie I got this idea it's called Treal TV' and I was like 'ok you got some footage?' He showed me some little footage and it was him filming himself in a Benz like 'yeah man, this is Treal TV!' I was like 'nah cuddie, we can have you looking better.'


That's crazy, so that's how you met Dre?

Yeah and shit just evolved from there. So I hooked him up with Justin and we sat down and chopped it up and started throwing out ideas and Justin filmed the DVD. We just started filming every show and put everything together and that was Treal TV. Dre showed me love on it because I helped put it together with the 'B-Luv doing the real Thizz Dance,' letting people know that I was the co-originator of the dance. I loved him for that.

Thanks to B-Luv for meeting up with us. He is a super friendly guy and we all had a really good time. Say hi to him on twitter and be sure to support all his dope projects.

You may recall a couple months ago Brett of Annihilate Next Week was kind enough to contribute to the blog by reviewing a handful of Bay raps that I sent to him. I recently returned the favor by contributing to his blog with an introductory Bay Area mix and some words about why Bay raps are hella tight sickness.

If you are a long time Bay Area rap fan then you probably are familiar with most of these songs, but maybe you could share the mix with friends and family so they can finally understand why the shit they bump is straight pussy and your musical taste is the swellest out there:

CLICK HERE TO READ

Anyways, that's all for now. More quality posts being developed as we speak at the 100 Grand headquarters. Stay posi, lift weights, and don't do the drugs.

HD ft. Hen Sippa "Asset"



HD just released Extortion Muzik 4 and it's a good album. Breaking N Entering is still his best album from this year and Pursuit of Happyness contains my two favorite tracks of his for 2012 (this and this), but EM4 certainly strengthens the argument for HD being one of the best Bay rappers active in 2012.
Interestingly, the album starts with HD rapping over Beyonce's "Party" and giving props to tons of Bay Area rappers from the past and present. The reason why that is interesting is that when Joeinterviewed him for this blog HD stated he did not grow up listening to much Bay Area rap and he does not collaborate with many Bay artists today, so I guess he has done some homework on his local region's music scene since he started rapping, which is cool.

The beats are mostly on that laid back tip here, which is fine, but it would have been nice to hear a little more variety in the production to keep the songs from bleeding into each other. Oddly enough "Stay on Me," which would have been the best song on this album, ended up getting left off. People have complained about all of HD's raps being about the same thing (his life struggles) and the criticism is understandable, but personally I am really happy he has not segued into making rap songs about how much ice he has and how many bitches he gets, etc. Basically all rappers who achieve a decent level of success start doing this, so let's keep our fingers crossed that HD will remain miserable (joke). Speaking of rappers switching up their style...


AP.9 "Keep it Comin"



AP.9 has not released anything since last year's Relentless, which is a really long time for Bay Area rappers, so it's good to hear something new from him, even if it is old (wow what a confusing sentence). The past couple albums from AP.9 he has shifted away from angry mobb music to more "wow life is great, I have lots of money!" which is unfortunate, because he is much better at the former, but this song is tight. Perhaps he is still capable of dope music even when it is not about shooting people?
This is off a compilation album that DJ Fresh just put out. I think it is maybe unreleased material from previous albums? The project is aight, but this song and the D-Lo one are the only tracks that really caught my attention. Basically every beat sounds like every other DJ Fresh beat.



I think Philthy Rich has a lot of money because he keeps doing songs with some of the biggest rappers out (EX: Waka Flocka Flame and 2 Chainz) and now he has a new song with Chicago's Chief Keef. It's a cool song. Idk I don't really have a strong opinion about any non-Bay Area rappers, but I hope this song can bring me and David Drake closer together (NO HOMO).

Husalah ft. Ice Nic & Lil Rue "Choppas"



Random Husalah songs keep popping up on the internet and here is another one. Hus is pretty damn good at doing hooks that sound effortless yet memorable. That quality is really one of the things that separates good rappers from great ones. Mandatory "something something WHEN IS HUSALAH GOING TO RELEASE HIS ALBUM something something." This song is almost as cool and trendy as this kid in sunglasses:


It has been announced that E-40 and Too Short's double album is dropping on election day, November 6th. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!? Hopefully the album is comprised of songs exclusively about political corruption and social justice (JOKE).

So that's everything. Have a nice weekend, here is cat gif to hypnotize you:

After months of tense negotiations the two biggest rap internet conglomerates have joined forces once again for your auditory pleasure.

In other words I was a guest on the Stay Hatin podcast again last week and now you can listen to it:

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

Me, Serge, and "Soft Money" played rap songs and discussed them in an entertaining and thought provoking manner. They ended up playing all five songs I brought in, which is great. I talk a lot after those guys stopped discussing Project Pat.

EDIT: Here is a link to my previous appearance on Stay Hatin just in case you want to compare and contrast the two for academic purposes.

Halloween is a fun holiday where kids get to roam the neighborhood collecting free candy and adults get drunk in ridiculous costumes. *Insert edgy comment about women dressing provocatively on Halloween here*
This is the part of the post where I make some witty quips and post Bay Area rap songs that are related to Halloween, but Idk brohs I just don't have it in me this year. Just read these past posts if you desire some Halloween-related content:

How To Have a Trill Halloween

11th Best Rap Song of 2011

E-40 and Brotha Lynch Just Released a Visual Masterpiece That is "Pure Art"

I think I am just going to stay in this Halloween because I have to get up at 5 AM for work tomorrow. Wow how lame. Do you ever think about how maybe your best moments in life have already passed you by and all you have to look forward to in life is living vicariously through your children and making sure they fulfill the goals you never could accomplish?...Me neither, it was just a hypothetical.

Wow, this post is a bummer so far. Let's turn this shit around right now with some dogs in ridiculous costumes:



I always sort of feel bad for the dogs put in costume, because I know they are not stoked about it, but it is so adorable looking. I guess the ends justifies the means.

Actually here is a tight Bay Area rap song from a couple years ago that nicely fits with the scary Halloween theme of the day:

Spice 1 ft. Brotha Lynch Hung & Yukmouth "Hope Hope Hope"



This song is from Spice 1's 2010 album Hallowpoint, which is a weird and misguided release, but this song is fantastic. It's surprising how little attention this track received despite its all-star lineup, but then again it was never properly promoted as a single. The official press release for Hallowpoint refers to this song as a "motivational banger," which makes no sense in the worst possible way. Brotha Lynch handles the chorus and displays his talent for making off-kilter hooks that sound jarring on the first listen, but always end up growing on the listener. It's a style that wouldn't work for most rappers, but fits nicely within the context of Lynch's dark rap world.

Have a nice time tonight and don't let some jerk off dressed as a pirate punk you because you are wearing tights or whatever. Just make big arm movements to let everyone in the room know that you are the alpha male.

Here is a friendly reminder about how to interact with children in a socially acceptable manner:

Feva "On Drugs"

Have you seen that movie Cloud Atlas??? I saw it last weekend and was like 'wow this is a lot to take in and I am mostly confused by it,' but my friend and Roger Ebert both assured me that it was really pushing the boundaries of filmmaking and a stroke of pure genius. I am not a movie expert, so I will have to take their word on that one, but I am a Bay/KC rap expert and thus feel very well qualified to inform you that Feva's "On Drugs" is pushing the boundaries of music and a stroke of utter brilliance.

Let me explain this song to you: Feva is rapping over Fun.'s "We Are Young" and instead of the song being about life as an insecure young adult (I think that is what it is about?), Feva has made it entirely about drugs. Not just regular drugs though, all kind of drugs! Coke, meth, acid, shrooms, you name it and Feva is bragging about using it. Especially coke, though. At the end of the song Feva admits to freebasing cocaine before, but preferring to snort it. Kind of seems like thanks to Gunplay it is ok to rap about doing coke now. Thanks Gunplay! #Progress #Hope #Change #USA

A few months back I was raving about Rich The Factor sampling Adele and hoping that it would start a trend with rappers spitting hard over top 40 music. Feva has answered my prayers. He is rapping over the most unlikely of popular songs and I would like to think he read the original post on here and was like, "this one is for Thomas...TONIIIIIGHT WEEEE ON DRUUUUGS" etc.

Here is the original song, just in case you do not listen to the radio or anything (it was one of the biggest songs of 2012, where have you been?!?):



Wow, neat stuff. I do not understand the concept of this music video, but I assume it is something that is very deep and meaningful and if I admit to not understanding it I will be met by the collective gaffaws of hip white people, so nevermind, I totally get it... *sly wink*.

Anyways, I am basically an important music critic now, so I have to go look at some other important things now:


OH BTW I'M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO ALL 75 FEVA MIXTAPES AND MAKE IT INTO ONE CONVENIENT MIXTAPE FOR ALL 13 OF YOU TO DOWNLOAD, SO PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME I WILL.


Have a nice day.

Da U.S. Open, released 5 months after Mac Dre's death in 2005, is arguably his only legitimate posthumous album and a fittingly unique final project from Andre Hicks. The album received pretty mixed reviews when it first dropped, probably because the production is so sparse that it struck many as being unfinished or rushed, but if given a handful of spins it will inevitably prove to be a rewarding listen and a perfect example of Mac Dre's talents. The album has its fair share of flaws, but over the years I have come to embrace all its quirks and view it today as a testament to the Bay Area's creativity in an era when most of the local scene's music was mindlessly energetic and highly derivative hyphy music.

Mac Dre & Mac Mall "Cuddies Say 'Yee'"



This album did not click with me the first time I heard it, mostly due to the production, which is extremely subtle, especially when compared to the dense dance beats of the time. The beats are often deceptively simple and give plenty of space for Mac Dre's memorable lines. Legendary producer Rob Lo is in the production credits, I wonder what song(s) he produced? "Cuddies Say 'Yee'" is an excellent example of the smart production, with the scant beat developing cinematic tension for the chorus, complete with a piccolo-like sound in the hook.


Mac Dre & Mac Mall "Willingly"



Collaborating with Mac Dre really forced Mac Mall to step his game up and temporarily pulled him out of his career slump. After beefing for most of the 90's (probably due to Mac Mall getting a major label deal and kicking it with 2Pac while Mac Dre sat in a jail cell) this album was meant to definitively squash any hard feelings between the two of them as the Mac's of Vallejo reunited once again. As much as Mac Mall tries here, there are still moments on Da U.S. Open when Mac Dre just seems miles ahead of him both lyrically and charismatically. This is especially evident on the laid back "Willingly," with Mac Dre's smooth flows followed by Mall's abrasive yell-raps. Further evidence of how much more effort Mac Mall put into this release in particular can be seen in the fact that he has not released any good albums in the seven years since this dropped.



Mac Dre & Mac Mall ft. Rydah J. Klyde "Giggin'"

This is the most popular song from the album, largely thanks to the fan-made video for it that pops up on the first page when you youtube search "Mac Dre." "Giggin" is really the only song on here that one could dance to and features an upbeat Rydah J. Klyde, who was signed to Thizz Ent. at the time. After Mac Dre's death Rydah stopped making rap songs about having fun and went back to making melancholy raps if he released music at all (his last album was over three years ago).

Lyrically this is probably my favorite late era Mac Dre album, he has so many memorable lines and delivers them in a manner that is so colorful and just oozing with effortless charisma. Not to take too much credit away from Mac Mall, because he does a solid job here, but if this were a Mac Dre solo album then it would be an undisputed classic.


Another significant thing about this album is that it contains the one and only collaboration between Mac Dre and E-40. The two of them had a long standing beef during the 90's and you can here them dropping subtle disses at each other in their early albums (EX: E-40's "Nuttin Ass N***a" and Mac Dre's "On My Toes"). A lot has been made about their beef over the years, but the truth is neither of them probably spent too much time thinking about one another and were ready to put hard feelings behind them by the 2000's. It would have been interesting to see how much the two of them would have collaborated if Mac Dre had not been murdered; they are easily the most influential and popular rappers to ever come out of the Bay, but their paths never crossed musically, despite both growing up in Vallejo.


Mac Dre & Mac Mall ft. Rydah J. Klyde "Klyde, Mall & Dre"



The tennis theme of this album is not really followed too closely, which is ok with me, because 45 minutes of raps about drop shots and golden sets would not be very tight. However, they do have cool tennis nicknames:

Mac Dre is Andre Macassi (Andre Agassi)
Mac Mall is Mall Macenroe (John McEnroe)
Rydah J. Klyde is Street Sampras (Pete Sampras)

If I were to make a tennis-themed rap album today my nickname would be Federali Federer and if I got a female to rap with me she could be Serena Killin'ems or something... I like dumb jokes.

Oh btw you may have noticed the album cover states 'free comic book included' and unless you own a physical copy of this album then chances are this statement has remained a mystery to you. Here is the "comic book" scanned by some other person on the internet, so that I don't have to:



What a compelling story. Very riveting stuff.

Good album. I literally started playing tennis because of this album (lol at me) and it turns out I am pretty good at it (via being white), so thanks to Mac Dre and Mac Mall I am now an average tennis player. Thanks guys!

If you have not heard this album then I highly recommend you check it out and if you haven't listened to it in years then do me a favor and give it another spin for old time's sake.

Rest in peace Mac Dre.

What do you think of this album?
Can you think of any cool rap/tennis nicknames?

Well it's finally here guys! E-40 and Too Short have had a duo album "coming soon" for well over a decade and now it is finally out. With the disintegration of the major record label and the rise of the internet more rappers are independent than ever before and ready and willing to collaborate with others to broaden their audience. Too Short and E-40 doing an album together is probably not going to earn either one new followers, because their fanbase is so similar. This album is happening solely because the two of them have wanted it to happen for a long time and now that they are both independent they actually have the means to do it.


E-40 & Too Short "Check That Bitch"


(Hard as fuuuuuuuck hook)

Because Earl Stevens seems incapable of releasing one album at a time anymore, this project is a double album broken up into Mob Music and Function Music (40 is definitely stoked to add "Function" to the list of phrases that he has popularized). The idea of the album split is to have one disc (Mob Music) that satisfies all the old fans who always complain about new E-40 not sounding like 1994 with Levitti on every hook and another disc (Function Music) that will appeal to the young kids with their desire for club songs and Tyga features. In reality the difference between the two albums is not particularly noticeable, both albums are packed with bass-heavy, catchy tracks, but the features and subject matter do differ a bit between the two.



It's interesting how little hype there seems to be around these albums considering who is involved and how long this has been in the making. Then again I don't know if I or anyone else can appropriately gauge the popularity of any music these days. In the internet era everything is consumed and forgotten about at such a rapid pace, but History is certainly not receiving as much attention as say, Kendrick Lamar's new album, which is a damn shame, because guess what? This double album is fantastic! Everything about this album is on point: the rapping, the excellent production, and the quality features that all come together make this an extremely satisfying listen.


E-40 & Too Short ft. Dolla Will "Let Me See You Twerk"


(The horn in the beat is kind of reminiscent of "Shot Caller" no?)

The album feels more like an E-40 album that features Too Short than the other way around, but this is probably for the best. Too Short has not thrived as an independent artist like 40 Water has (hell, no one has really thrived like E-40 since going independent).
Plus I have never been a huge Too Short fan, personally. Don't get me wrong, I like his rapping a lot, but his solo projects have rarely clicked with me because I can only take so many raps about pussy over G-Funk beats. Hearing him rap about having sex with women and then leaving promptly is much more enjoyable over the hard-knocking beats found on History that E-40 prefers these days. Plus the double album feels much less monotonous with both of them spitting on each track, so his presence is greatly appreciated.

E-40 & Too Short ft. Stressmatic "This Shit Pound"


(absolutely incredible beat)

E-40 has had such an interesting career trajectory, where he manages to squeeze out minor hits every few years and maintain a strong local fanbase, but never really blows up on a national level. That has kept him hungry over the years and it has never felt like he was resting on his laurels and putting his rap career on cruise control. When rappers get really big and famous they inevitably reach a point where they feel like "I am such a great rapper I don't even need to rap well anymore" (See: Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, etc), but E-40 has never achieved that same level of national success. He is constantly having to prove himself to a new audience and striving to maintain relevance in the constantly evolving rap climate and that has made him a consistently impressive rapper for his entire 20+ year career.



E-40 & Too Short "Knockin' a Bitch"


(2 of the best tracks have the word "bitch" in the title. Coincidence? I think not!)

This double album is great. Tons of memorable songs to comb through. Only two tracks that I find myself skipping out of 34 tracks, which is great (ironically, one of those two is the current radio single). History is better than 40's Block Brochure triple album from earlier this year and easily one of the better albums I've heard in 2012. A lot of people will probably make the argument that this should have been edited down to one disc, but I don't think that really would have changed the quality of this release; there just would have been less songs to hear. Everyone prefers a different flavor of E-40 and Too Short music and no one is ever going to get exactly what they want from them, so stop complaining.

The only thing holding this album back from being a classic is that it doesn't deviate too far from either rappers' output, so don't expect to be greatly surprised or anything by this one if you are familiar with their music. If you like 40 Water and/or Short Dawg then you will enjoy this album. If you do not like these rappers then it's really weird that you have read all this and that you are reading this blog in the first place.


It's really nice to hear two veteran rappers still doing what they love and continuing to churn out tight raps about getting drunk, fucking bitches, getting money, etc. Say a prayer for E-40's liver tonight so he can keep making music for a long time.

What do you think of this album???

Homewrecka ft. Young Boo & M-Kada (The Taliban) "Doin' It"

If you do not know that The Taliban is a rap trio from San Francisco then this post title is probably very confusing to you. The Taliban are comprised of Homewrecka, Young Boo, and M-Kada, who came up under Messy Marv and inevitably had a falling out with him a couple years ago just like everyone else (via Messy Marv being a horrible person).
Young Boo mentions in this interview that everything was copacetic between them until he heard Mess nonchalantly rap "these bitches all remind me of Homewrecka and Boo, they all suck dick and them n***as do too" on the track "100 Grand on My Wrist" (the song that this blog is named after BTW). Young Boo responded with his "75 Bars of Death", which rather concisely highlights all the hypocritical behavior of The Boy Boy Young Mess.


Anyways, this trio hasn't really released much music lately, but Homewrecka just put out a new mixtape that contains the tight song at the top of this post. Love the melancholy Spanish guitar loop with the tense synths that come in for the hook. The mixtape is pretty solid and up for $0 on the internet. The Taliban, along with the rest of DLK Enterprise, are some of the few rappers remaining in San Francisco that churn out quality gangster rap that doesn't stray too far from it's 90's mobb music roots. Unfortunately, that means it is not weird enough to attract the attention of the indie kids who only listen to rap they hear about on Fader and P4k. The only younger rapper who still lives in SF that seems to be getting any attention is Davinci, but his smooth jazz beats and static delivery put me to sleep faster than a delicate lullaby sung by a loving mother.

Young Boo's last album, How I'm Rockin', was highly enjoyable and criminally underrated, filled with treal shit like this song:

Young Boo ft. Dirty & V-Town "It's Real"



Joe mentioned this in his Best of Fillmore mixtape, but it's a real bummer that there aren't many rappers coming out of San Francisco anymore, especially since this is where the 100 Grand on My Wrist HQ currently resides. There is literally only one rapper I have found from my current neighborhood:



It's actually really weird to see a place one block from your home being the location of a rap video. Props to the bro doing donuts on a street covered with Muni tracks (Plymouth and Broad?), that shit is hella easy to slip on.

What do you think of these songs???

Hello there, sorry about the lack of posts this past week, I was in Southern Virginia for Thanksgiving where there is no internet, because they are super old fashioned like that. Sitting back on a La-Z-Boy and watching football on the family's 60" plasma flat screen I couldn't help but think "so this is how the pilgrims lived." Pretty harsh life when you are without internet, but at least I got to enjoy a mini-Civil War reenactment before Thanksgiving dinner where some guy dressed as a Confederate soldier talked about those damn Union soldiers infringing on his way of life and how the war was about "state's rights" (lol!).

Anyways, as 2012 comes towards its end enthusiasm for the Mob Figaz's music is at an all-time low and understandably so: The Jacka has released remarkably mediocre material for the past two years, Rydah J. Klyde and Fed-X seem uninterested in rapping at this point, Husalah is continuing to sit on his hands, and AP. 9's last album was weak and 18 months ago. Does this mean that the Mob Figaz's best years are behind them? Quite possibly, but we will just have to wait and see if they still have some dope shit left in the tank. Even if their best years are behind them they still released tons of good music that most people have never heard and will still always be my favorite rap group of all time (Ghetto Starz come in 2nd place for those playing at home).


After the Mob Figaz shot into the local spotlight with their debut album in 1999 each of the five members took a different approach towards the music business. AP.9, who is by far the oldest member, began releasing solo albums shortly after the Mob Figaz debut and did not let up for years to come, while the others took several years before any solo material surfaced. Rydah J. Klyde (or Ridah as he was known then) began "presenting" various compilations shortly after the Mob Figaz debut and ended up releasing four compilation albums, with six discs of music between 2001 and 2005.
His compilations are loaded with exclusive songs from the biggest Bay rappers of the time, but all are out of print and extremely hard to find today. We'll just cover the Mob Figaz tracks here, but I highly recommend you find yourself a copy of these albums so you can catch up on all this rare heat:


Ridah Presents: D Boyz Compilation (2001)

The Jacka "Dope Game"



A surprisingly upbeat song from a young Jacka, complete with a funky bass guitar providing the track's low end. Even from a young age Jacka's raps always possessed a certain level of maturity that has kept him a level above your average Bay rapper.
Jack raps about his influences growing up, saying "I grew up listening to nothing but Too Short and Slick Rick," which sounds like a good combination to me. Husalah jumps on at the end of the track to talk with Jacka and give shout outs.

Fed-X "The Good Die Young"



The early 2000's are kind of a forgotten period of Bay Area rap. When people talk about the history of Bay rap they bring up the 90's rappers who achieved national success (Spice 1, Dru Down, E-40 etc.) then skip ahead to the hyphy movement. It seems like sometime in the mid to late 90's an invisible bubble was formed in the Bay Area where no outsiders would hear any rap from the area until like 2004. No idea why that happened, but it allowed the Bay to develop a sound that was entirely its own with little influence from rappers outside of the area. Many people have written about rap music's commercial and creative peak in the early 2000's, but any Bay Area rap is strangely absent from that conversation. Not really sure why...


Ridah Presents: 90% Street 10% Rap (2002)

Fed-X "Struggle"



Fed-X, along with most of the other Mob Figaz, has had a significant shift in his style since the group's debut. I had previously believed that getting shot in the head in 2003 was a large contributing factor to his stylistic shift, but 2002 Fed-X here sounds quite similar to his current raps. Fed-X has always been a dope rapper, but it seems like he has never been too stoked on doing music. His rap persona of a big time drug dealer living the lavish life is not too different from Rick Ross' current rap persona. Fed-X never got that popular though, so people don't care enough to discover his boisterous claims are bullshit, which is ok by me.

Rydah J. Klyde "Tell Me"



In this song Rydah tells the story of him being accused of murder and questioned by the police. Not surprisingly, Rydah is uncooperative and claims to not know anything. I bet police are pretty bummed out by rap music as a genre and its constant reenforcement of the "no snitching" ideal. For some reason this song is also on the D Boyz Compilation from the previous year. That's some pretty lazy recycling right there.


Ridah Presents: Thunder Knock Vol. 1 (2003)

The Jacka, Kazi & Husalah "If They Don't Fuck"



This is a stroke of pure genius. The chorus is lifted from Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance", but the word "dance" has been substituted for "fuck." Idk why no other rappers thought of doing this before, it is so elegantly simple. It's worth noting that this song also appeared on the Mob Figaz's Camp Mob release from 2002 under the title "No Friend of Mine." Mob Figaz music has always appeared all over unofficial projects and reappeared elsewhere, thus making keeping track of their music over the years really difficult.

Rydah J. Klyde ft. King Freako "It's Real"



Freako and Klyde were a great pair because they both were really good at making depressing gangster raps that focused on the darker side of street life. Listening to their music one cannot help but get pulled into the dark world their lyrics created. Rydah in particular goes hard on this song's second verse with a grisly tale of violence. The chorus took a while to grow on me, but it's solid if you give it some time.

Husalah, The Jacka & Mr. Sandman "Smoother"



Notice how much more upbeat the songs from Hus and Jack are? Their music always had more mainstream appeal than the other Figaz, hence them becoming the most well known members of the group. This song is notable because it displays just how much Jacka and Husalah have recycled their verses over the years. Even today you can hear Husalah saying the same lines he dropped here in 2003;  yoking in his Chevy, chops rip like a jimmy that don't fit, etc. The verse is still dope and very reminiscent of his material on Hustlin' Since Da 80's.


Ridah Presents: D Boyz II The Compilation (2005)



It's a shame these songs are so unknown considering how dope they all are. Rydah J. Klyde released two more compilation albums in 2008 (Power Movez Vol. 1 and Slap House Vol. 2), but we are not going to cover them here for the sake of brevity because this post is already long as fuck.

Here are all 9 of the songs above zipped up for your convenience:


If you are looking for more Mob Figaz music you may have missed out on, check out the previous Retro Mob posts: one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven.

What do you think of these songs???

Clyde Carson ft. Kaz Kyzah "Everyday"



Clyde Carson ft. E-40 "All the Way 100"



After being forgotten about for the last few years, Clyde Carson is in the local spotlight once again thanks to the success of The Team's "Slow Down" (the song plays a lot on the radio around here for you out of towners). I don't really know if the song gets any spins outside of the Bay, but it has been a huge regional hit. It always bums me out when the radio DJ announces "Slow Down" by saying; 'new song by Clyde Carson.' He is a member of The Team and they are all on the track, so wouldn't you say 'new song by The Team'? Apparently he is more important than the other members, because he used to hang out in L.A. with The Game or something.
Anyways, Clyde Carson just put out a new free mixtape that contains some really impressive production. It's hard to describe, but it sounds really modern and hip, like something cool 16 year olds in spapbacks and $100 Supreme sweatshirts would enjoy, with futuristic ambient electronic beats that often evolve throughout the song. I still don't think Clyde Carson is the best rapper out there, but he is decent and every rapper in 2012 should learn this important formula:

just ok rapper + tight beats = good rap music
talented rapper + boring beats = bad rap music that only music nerds who talk about "real hip hop" and have girlfriends that look like this enjoy:


With this new mixtape it sounds like Clyde Carson has really retooled his sound to increase his chances of mainstream appeal by doing things such as throwing a couple cupcakishslow songs in the mix, but I can't be mad at that because overall it still sounds like quality Bay raps. The mixtape is definitely 100GoMW,YLS approved and highly recommended.


Cousin Fik "Back in the Booth"



Cousin Fik "Flow (Master)"



If you would have told me a couple months ago that DJ Fresh would drop two Tonite Show albums on the same day with Jacka and Cousin Fik I would have been like 'forget about that Fik character, I want to hear new Jacka ASAP.' Well it turns out that Jacka release was a huge disappointment, but luckily Cousin Fik's Tonite Show album is real solid, with infinitely more entertaining raps and beats. DJ Fresh is indisputably a great producer, but he has become so prolific and established such a distinct sound for himself that it's hard for him to release music at this point that really takes listeners by surprise. With that said, this album contains some of the better Fresh beats I've heard in the last year or so. Maybe Fik slipped him a couple extra bills to make sure he got the top notch beats? Cousin Fik is great as usual on here, his raps are always really colorful and entertaining. This is not a perfect album or anything: it starts to lose some momentum towards the end with songs about God and slapping pussies, but oh fucking well. There is no such thing as a perfect album, so stop complaining about music so much you pussy.


Young Bossi "My Heart"



Young Bossi ft. Joe Blow & Yukmouth "Pure Dope"


(^^take note of Joe Blow saying "fuck Drake" at the end of his verse lol)

Young Bossi just dropped a new album and it is pretty much what you would expect from him; introspective gangster rap with morose, soulful beats. Have you noticed how Ampichino and Young Bossi pretty much have an identical melancholy beat selection? Something about Akron, OH produces a lot of sad raps...not really sure why. The Town is a good album though, with tons of notable features and beats that work well within Bossi's style. It would have been nice to hear him expand on his sound a little more here and there, but the formula works for him and raps about being miserable/paranoid/violent/high in a shitty part of town pretty much never gets old.
Young Bossi has always been able to convey a lot of emotion in his raps, which makes his music much more compelling than your average rappers'. His debut album, Fishscale, is probably still his best release, but this is better than last year's Quiet Storm and If you are a fan of the Akron rap scene then be sure to check this one out.

Aight bros, I gotta go. I will leave you with my new favorite gif: