I had the chance to chop it up with Balance during our show with Nah Right at SXSW and he let it be known he was coming out strong in 2009 — for he is one of the Bay Area’s reigning mixtape champions. (According to him, he was the first to start a regular campaign). Up above is the first visual from his next project Nuthin But Slap Vol. 8 . Read the rest of this entry »

What started out as a protest over the killing of Oscar Grant by BART officer Johannes Mehserle, escalated into a riot in Oakland.

As socially irresponsible as it sounds, I’m glad to see a few cop cars get turned over & some bottles get thrown. Read the rest of this entry »

With over 20 years in the game you’d be hard pressed to find someone more qualified to rep California’s Bay Area as an ambassador to the rap game than E-40.  Having navigated through both major and independent label routes, the slang scholar has a vast knowledge of the inner workings of the recording industry and like a competent delegate, he’s always there to offer assistance to other artists from the Bay.  On his 11th solo album, The Ball Street Journal, 40 Water moderately succeeds in satisfying the multitude, by forsaking a cohesive album for a smorgasbord of styles and sounds.

Lyrically, E-40 is colorful & sharp as ever as he twists and bends the fine print to formulate his rhymes.  Although he never strays far from the familiar topics of the Bay, women, drugs, and partying; his ever changing vernacular keeps things somewhat fresh.  On songs like “The Recipe” with its savory guest spots, and “Earl,” he shows that he’s still adept at whipping up hard edge drug rhymes.  The latter, which pays a nod to Ice-T’s “Colors,” he paints a chilling depiction of coming up in The Bay and the justification of some of the decisions he’s made. Read the rest of this entry »