Music Video: Josie Stingray: "Whatever Style" x "Got to Get It"

When I saw that Josie was featured on Mike Baker the Bike Maker's "Coast is Clear," I thought three things:

1. Finally, new Josie. (The last song we posted was "Josie" ft. 1-O.A.K.)

2. How fitting. (She's definitely in her own lane and so Honor Roll)

3. When is she gonna drop another track? (See parenthesis following first thought)

Days later "Got to Get it" was in my inbox. The video was Josie in full sneakerhead mode. And whereas Mistah FAB's recent sneaker anthem was filmed in a store, "Got to Get It" revealed Josie  at the house with her actual kicks. Then, before I could post it, she hit me with her "Cannon" freestyle. Just when I thought I didn't want to hear anyone else on "Cannon," I was happy she did it. It showed that she could be a bit more aggressive with her lyrics and flow, without losing her cool. It showed that while she could rhyme over indy-electro and funky tracks, she could still get on the joints that mainstream hip-hop cats rocked with. 

I fux with Josie. I appreciate her flow and her decision to leave gimmicky foolery to clowns. (My words, not hers.) She makes music I want to hear.  And I rock with her because for all of her talent, all of the artists she's worked with, and after all work she's put in, she is still underrated but doing her thing none the less.

New Music: Mike Baker the Bike Maker: "The Coast is Clear"

There's something very distinct about The Honor Roll Crew. They've managed to create their own lane without looking like the group of "cool kids" who try to be "different" in the same way as everyone else. They brand but put their art before the marketing. They are valid contenders in the world of music, but compete with no one. They posses a cool confidence that is often lost in hip-hop's hubris.

You can hear all of this in Mike Baker the Bike Maker's new single "The Coast is Clear." The Trackademics & Josie Stingray assisted track is a chill cruisable tune that gives you a peek of the thought behind the cool. They don't compete because they have nothing to prove. They are who they are. 

DL: "The Coast is Clear" by Mike Baker the Bike Maker ft. Trackademics & Josie Stingray

Music Video: Erk Tha Jerk: "Hands Up"

Before Nerd's Eye View dropped, Erk had a listening session. I walked through a sketchy alley to get there. Damn near everybody was late. There was smoke in the air and Henny in cups. Up until this point, Coolhand was advocate for all things Erk. I liked dude as a person. I was feeling a number of his songs. But I still didn't know about him.

Track after track I nodded my head. More often than not I made a strange face. Like Jay makes in Fade to Black when he hears a beat that will eventually become his song. Remember the face? Yeah, it's something like that. That was when I knew. When it was time to go around hear the feedback everyone had written on their white pieces of paper, I had one complaint. "Right Here" didn't fit. Yes, I realized it was his hit single. Yes, I realized that some folks didn't have the Hood Nerd Mixtapes and would be expecting the Erk they heard on KMEL. But after hearing "How Do You Love Me," "Summer," "I Know,"  etc.,  "Right Here" seemed out of place. So I said it. He told me he had something to balance it out.

Fast forward a bit and I get my hands on a copy of Nerd's Eye View, and instantly I know that "Hands Up" is what he was talking about. It's catchy. It's radio friendly. He doesn't reveal much in the track and that's fine cuz sharing his soul is not the purpose of "Hands Up." When it comes to getting tipsy women in the club to sing about their vijajays? He got that. Making it okay for dudes in the club to indirectly ask if a chick is about that life without her feeling offended? He got that. Dropping the right verses, to the right beat, with a vibe that makes the song sound like an anthem for all the independent women? He got that. Video with pretty women in the club that you can't touch? He got that.

Mixtape: Vell4Short: Project Sore Thumb

Fears that Vell4Short’s Project Sore Thumb was turning into Detox were calmed last week when he sent around the advanced release. Bloggers, DJs, PR folk, and selected friends got a sneak peak of the collection that been reworked time and time again. What we heard was growth, honesty, and music without gimmick.

The Gemini’s 26^th birthday doubled as the official release date of his first Red Planet Music Group release. #HappyBirthday and #ProjectSoreThumb tweets filled timelines and showed a bit of marketing insight. By featuring and holding his own on tracks with a number of artists Erk Tha Jerk, D. Bledsoe, London, Prank, and Moe Green, the Oakland native was able to pique the interest of new listeners and show that he is a contender in the Bay’s musical landscape.

Project Sore Thumb feels melancholy. Yeah, it’s peppered with humor and “I’m flyer than you” braggadocio, but even those tracks offer a laid-back sound.  Maybe everything was written during a late night haze, the space where you think about everything cuz you can’t cut your brain off to sleep. Or maybe it was all written during the moments between blunts. Maybe both.

But when the tracks were written and how long folks waited for the release don’t matter much. When a man shares his coming of age narrative and includes notes on family health issues, navigating infidelity on both sides, living above his means, and the death of his best friend, you listen.

DL: "Good Morning" by Vell4Short ft. Shark Sinatra, D. Bledsoe & Erk Tha Jerk

DL: "Patrick Swayze" by Vell4Short

DL: Vell4short: Project Sore Thumb

Music: Darling Bonnie: "Far From Perfect"

A few things about Darling Bonnie:

1. She’s from Oakland

2. She’s a rapper

3. She’s positioning herself somewhere between edgy and glamorous

4. Oh, and she really wants you to listen

"I attended Catholic school in the middle of the hood & lived for some time in the suburbs as well," explains the 24 year-old adding that her music and persona reflects her upbringing by portraying "the Darling (sweet, innocent, tasteful, glamorous, proper) & the Bonnie (edgy, rebellious, slightly demented, outrageous)."  

Formerly one-half of Honey N Da Bank, the first act signed to 4Deep's defunct record label, Darling Bonnie is taking another stab at the rap game, this time as a solo artist.

Tell us what you think.

DL: Far From Perfect by Darling Bonnie

Video: Kev Choice: "Are You Impressed?"

Oakland’s maestro Kev Choice is back with a video for “Are You Impressed?” from his latest effort, The Power of Choice. The pianist, producer, bandleader and emcee dons conductor’s tails and jams with a few of his band members and Ms. Netta Brielle as he attempts to woo a young lady.

Kev is quite accomplished, and he uses this to his advantage when trying to attract the interest of a beautiful woman. While most rappers try to stunt and use the “Biatch” mating call, Kev opts for showcasing his cultured and well-rounded life. He travels the globe doing what he loves, but is also firmly rooted in the community and his responsibility as a father. “A pretty hot commodity, rock with a community / You gotta go to Alaska to find a dude as cool as me.” He clearly also has hip-hop’s requisite bravado on tap.

Check out the Samm Styles and Brian Storm directed video, and check out a couple other cuts from The Power of Choice on our February and March editions of The Bay Abridged.

Video: The Latest from Los Rakas

Los Rakas won’t stop killing shit in the lead up to dropping their album Chancletas y Camisetas Bordadas on August 23^rd. Fresh off a performance at UCLA’s famed Jazz/ReggaeFest, the duo just dropped an animated promo video for their forthcoming LP that plays off their dope album art.

Their latest heater “Ta Lista” is a hit and, interestingly enough, the video goes to great lengths to celebrate Mexican culture. There are Mexico and Atzlan flags left and right, and the video was filmed on Oakland’s East 14^th St. in the Fruitvale district and at San Jose’s Cinco De Mayo festival as well. It’s safe to say that though Rake Rich and Raka Dun are Panamanian by blood, they recognize that it is the rich Mexican-American culture of the Bay Area that gives their sound the foundation to flourish here. Perhaps this is their thanks.

Raka Dun also just hopped on a joint with San Francisco’s own Rocky Rivera. On “Girl Like Me” the Pinay lyricist calls out men who are still living in trifling adolescence and ignoring the good women in their midst. “You’re no teenager any more / So why you still tryna find love on the dance floor?” poses Ms. Rivera. Raka Dun is left to the task of defending himself and other similarly situated men by extension. I’d tell you how great of a case he made for himself if I could understand everything he said, but I can’t. Shout out to Oakland director Erica Eng for handling the visuals! 

Hit the jump for a couple recent interviews with the PanaBaynian duo. These boys are doin it large and bilingual!

New Music: The Freshmen: "The Fonz"

The Fonz has been synonymous with cool forever and a day. And on this track The Freshmen boast that they are cool as "The Fonz." Now if you're familiar with the group, you know they make feel good music that is a soundtrack of the laid-back, fun-loving, sunny California image. You also know that on stage they bring tons of energy and it can be hard not to dance. Catch the group at Monday Soul on June 6th. Oh and peep the visuals to "Imagine." I'm really digging their take on life's lemons.

DL: "The Fonz" by The Freshmen

Music Video: Erk Tha Jerk: "Favorite Song"

Favorite Song- Erk Tha Jerk from Erk Tha Jerk on Vimeo.

Nerd’s Eye View 2 is dropping any day now, but that doesn’t mean you get to forget about introspective and well-crafted Nerds Eye View. For this latest release, Dwayne Wayne is back in the director’s chair and has few guest appearances on deck. Hailing from the Red Planet, Vell4Short and DB speak on relationship woes and where their time goes. While DS and Prentice Powell speak to consuming pressures and problems all around. Sometimes you get stressed and smoking (and/or sipping) while playing your favorite song is the perfect release.

Bonus Track:
 
DL: Just Handlin' by Erk Tha Jerk 

Music Video: PLANEJANE: "I Got My Reasons"

Yeah, I know I’m far from that finish line

And the only way to get it is to grind

Not on that corner sh*t, but the same state of mind…

“I Got My Reasons,” is the latest joint from Richmond’s PLANEJANE. The video shows the rapper rising at six in the morning and getting straight to her hustle. But more than displaying a morning routine, this video gives PLANEJANE a space to connect with everyone watching. It’s as if she is explaining a bit about her life and her motivation in a one-on-one convo with the viewer. There’s her desire to provide for her mother and daughter plus notes on keeping hope and looking to the future in a place where that seems impossible. She also throws a few shots at messy chicks while refusing to lose focus. From the looks of things she’s motivated, we just have to wait and see what she does with it.

Video: Mistah FAB: "Sneaker Head"

Here's the thing about being a sneaker head; I can't afford that shit! I consider myself a part of a large community of would be sneaker heads, pending a paycheck with more commas than decimals. Case in point, the only pair of Jordans I ever copped were from the liquor store on 40th and Telegraph. Were they real? That's debatable. In Mistah FAB's "Sneaker Head" video he's in a real shoe store with real shoes. Must be nice.  

It should be said however that there are check-to-check sneaker heads who maintain a respectable collection of kicks without dropping $2,269.62 a trip. Shout out to the devout boutique ballers, release date experts and 'stand in line the night before' types. Pick me up a size 10.5 of whatever saucy ass kicks drop next. I'll thank you later.

Music: iamSU!: "Young California" Mixtape

One of the Bay’s most highly anticipated mixtapes of the year is finally here. iamSU! dropped Young California on Cinco De Mayo and has been getting a lot of love for it. If you haven't heard of Su yet consider yourself a little slow, and download this mixtape (after you read the review of course).  With an original style and an ability to make simple catchy songs, Su has emerged as one of the region’s top emcees.

As a loyal SU follower, I have become accustomed to the catchy anthems that are the epitome of #ClassyRatchet, but when I listened to Young California I was surprised by how laid back it was. Catchy slappers like "Pose For The Camera" and "Might Be Colder” dominated his last mixtape, SU! The Right Thing, but recent hits “Up” and “Yamaha” are noticeably missing from Young California. Nonetheless, uptempo tracks "Whole Crew" and "Got'em Goin" balance more laid back tracks like "Crush" and "Faded." You will definitely get a taste of everything from SU.

You don't often hear mixtapes or albums that you can listen to straight through without changing a track, and The Bay has gotten two in recent memory; Erk Tha Jerks Nerds Eye View and now Su’s Young California. Download it, sit back, light one up and enjoy some of the best young talent we have coming out of the Bay. Swag!

DL: iamSU!: Young California

New Albums from Raphael Saadiq & The Lonely Island!

Two very different Bay Area albums drop today, but both are worth the Hamilton they cost. Raphael Saadiq mixes Chuck Berry-era Rock, vengeful soul and suave sophistication into his new project Stone Rollin, while The Lonely Island offers up their latest batch of sacrilegious and satirical hip-hop on Turtle Neck & Chain.

The Lonely Island calls out hip-hop’s strange homo-erotic homophobia by saying the gayest stuff they can conjure up, only to follow each with the now cliché phrase “No Homo,” on the track of the same name. They also challenge Rocky to a boxing match, make pirate club bangers, poop in their pants, creep up on innocent young ladies, and have sex with each other’s mothers before the album is through. Regardless of how you feel about the subject matter, their execution is on point and their guests are all A-list talents. Turtle Neck & Chain features Justin Timberlake, Nick Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Akon, Beck, Rihanna and Santigold. Their latest video, “Jack Sparrow,” even resurrects the career of Michael Bolton, check it out below.

Surprisingly, “Go To Hell,” is not the name of a track on TN&C, but is rather a stand-out song on Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’ album. Ray Ray’s latest effort strays away from the Mo-Town inflections of 2009’s The Way I See It, but maintains a vintage feel. Three singles have already been released from this short 10 track album, but there are some other gems in the tracklist. “Just Don’t”, “Go To Hell” and “The Answer” are early favorites. Check out his most recent video from the title track below. 

Video: iLL-Literacy: "Gentleman's Kool-Aid"

One might need to sip on a bit more than Kool-Aid to conceive the video iLL-Literacy cooked up with Karen and Mandel Lum. In fact, we saw a bottle of Jameson on the toy train and don't know what exactly the Bay Area-bred and Brooklyn-based collective smoked out of those red vines in the video.

For their song "Gentleman's Kool-Aid," off iB4the1.1, iLL-Lit created an action figure discotech in which smaller lego man versions of themselves performed. Professor X was getting a crazy lap dance, the Beauty and the Beast were two steppin and Space Jam Jordan was riding a much bigger Barbie as the music pulsates. Then, the trio morph into lifesize lego men versions of themselves and hop into a space ship, which in turn enters the realm of old school video games. 

So yes, pour up, break out your old school action figures and hit play. Thanks to iLL-Lit, innocent nostalgia has met new-age nerdcore and retro funknastiness. Cheers!

Hit the jump to see iLL-Lit's crazy diversity, as crew member Dahlak performs a dope poem live at The Big Apple's legendary Nuyorican Cafe.

Music Video: Esinchill: "Feel My Pain"

Let's talk about Esinchill. Last Fall he released Vigilante. The buzz was notable. The emcee, who had a habit of laying low instead of shaking hands and kissing babies, was getting an interesting number of placements and co-signs. Surely the DopeOnly push had something to do with it, but more important was the content. A songwriter and storyteller, Esinchill was offering something different. Granted it wasn't club music. Granted his style wasn't everyone's taste. But even the folks who didn't really feel it respected it. 

Fast forward a few months and Esinchill is now signed to Clear Label and the past couple of weeks have been interesting. First he dropped "Soul of the City" featuring Dave Hollister. Then a few days later he dropped "Daddy Was Sailorman," a song with an interesting storyline, though not quite what folks would use as their "single." As I tried to figure out if any of Esinchill's tracks are really "singles" and debated what makes something an album song verses a single, he released his first visuals.

Directed by Casual of the Hieroglyphics crew, "Feel My Pain" is personal. Very personal. Esinchill used his first video, which for many is their intro to the MC, to expose himself and make peace with his past. He's apologizing to his parents, opening up to his brother, and dropping lines to former loves and old business partners. The lyrics plus cameos and styling suggest that this release isn't really about him. If this was his only shot, he used it to clear the air with those he loves and to put on for his city. Take it how you wanna.

New Music: Los Rakas ft. Xavier: "Hacerte El Amor"

You're checking for Los Rakas, right? Well, Chancletas y Camisetas Bordada doesn't drop 'til August, but the Oakland-based, Panamanian duo has a little something to hold you over. Their latest release "Hacerte El Amor," is sensual something just in time for Spring. The team took over Twista's "Make a Movie," adding a spin of their own. Below you can check out some behind the scenes footage of Raka Rich and Raka Dun in the studio talking about baby making music and the women who inspired their verses.  This Friday Los Rakas' musical roadtrip hits home when they open for GhostfaceKilla at The Mezzanine. Rock wit 'em.

DL: "Hacerte El Amor" by Los Rakas feat. Xavier

Music Video: J-Billion & Rel feat. 1-O.A.K.: "Once in a Lifetime"

For the "Once in a Lifetime" video Rel and J-Billion decided on San Francisco's Papalote as a backdrop to this smooth groove about one of a kind fresh. Fitting that Oakland's 1. O-A-K. executes the hook. Produced by Ariel Nunez who also directed the visuals, this track is from the upcoming album, MVMNT.  As the kid J-Billion would say, #Partake

"Once In A Lifetime" by REL & JBILLION | MVMNT 05.17.11 from Ariel Nunez on Vimeo.

 
DL: "Once in a Lifetime" by Rel & J-Billion feat. 1-O.A.K.

Music Video: Shy B.: "The Run (Series)"

Shy B's "The Run" Trilogy starts with "Desire." A reflective track that shows the ESO to Berkeley MC in rehab. In part two of the series we find him partying, arguing with his girl, and drinking Jack out the bottle with "Take it Faster" as his soundtrack. The songs are different. The videos are different. Even Shy's style is different. He closes out the trilogy with "F*ck the Truth." Ever had an artist say "I don't have a set sound" only to have every track sound the same? Well, he's not that dude. Just peep "Head In The Clouds."

Check the video and let us know which is your favorite? Do you prefer artists who switch up their style? Is diversity of sound more important than consistency? Is this a good way to tap into different audiences? If and artist has multiple influences, should they be free to express all of them or is it bad for marketing? 

DL: "Head in the Clouds" by Shy B

Music Video: Hopie Spitshard: "Be A Lady"

Hopie Spitshard dropped her video "Be A Lady" today. I was a bit thrown trying to figure out how I'd missed this song every single time I listened to Dulce Vita. Turns out it's a previously unreleased track and I wasn't sleeping. Yay. So now for some background. Hopie is an MC. She's a law school grad. She raps about everything from the artists' struggle to relationships. And on this track she has a few things to say about womanhood. While you might be focused on the fresh styling or the video treatment, make sure you check for the commentary. Also, check out this interview from RaweMag. Hopie chats with Bella about women in hip-hop, never seeing representations of herself in media, Ms. Hill, and more.

Music Video: E-40: "Concrete"

Uncle 40 kicks some autobiographical whiskered wisdom to a YG with less moons to his name. 40 is full of some random and round-about colloquialisms, but at least he's practicing mentorship. In this economy it's all too easy to go the ski mask way, so props to the OGs out there trying to show the kids another way.  As for the beat?? Droop-E did it.