e-40 | yukmouth - Ozone Magazine

RAW, UNCENSORED WEST COAST RAP SHIT!
Topic | 40 Glocc | Cellski | ProHoeZak | Askari X
E-40 | YUKMOUTH
ONELOVE
+
The Godfather Unites Tha Whole Damn Yay!!
San Quinn
On a paper chase
Mistah Fab
U C IT!!
Big Rich
Far from Hyphy
and more
OZONE WEST // // OZONE WEST
OZONE WEST // // OZONE WEST
Publisher
Julia Beverly
Editor-In-Chief
N. Ali Early
Art Director
Tene Gooden
Music Editor
Randy Roper
ADVERTISING SALES
Che Johnson
Isiah Campbell
Contributors
Big Fase 100
D-Ray
DJ BackSide
DJ E-Z Cutt
Eric Johnson
Jessica Essien
Joey Colombo
Keita Jones
Luvva J
Regi Mentle
Shemp
Todd Davis
Ty Watkins
Wendy Day
Street Reps
Anthony Deavers, Bigg
P-Wee, Dee1, Demolition
Men, DJ Jam-X, DJ Juice,
DJ KTone, DJ Quote, DJ
Strong & DJ Warrior, John
Costen, Juice, Kewan
Lewis, Maroy, Rob J Official, Rob Reyes, Sherita
Saulsberry, Sly Boogy,
William Major
COVER CREDITS
I Love The Bay photo by
Vivian Chen.
ozone west
6
7-17
8
10
12
14
24-25
32
33
34
CHAIN REACTION: MISTAH FAB
PHOTO GALLERIES
BANGIN’ 101: BIG WY
RAPQWEST
WEST IS BACKSIDE: ASKARI X
SHORT STORIES
TJ’S DJ’S & OZONE AWARDS RECAP
DJ 2 DJ: DOW JONES
SLAP
END ZONE
18
19
20
21
22
23
16
PATIENTLY WAITING: 40 GLOCC
PATIENTLY WAITING: CELLSKI
PATIENTLY WAITING: GLASSES MALONE
PATIENTLY WAITING: INTERSTATE IKE
PATIENTLY WAITING: JACKA
PATIENTLY WAITING: PROHOEZAK
PATIENTLY WAITING: TOPIC
editor’s note
Aye Bay Bay
B
eing from the Bay is some strange shit.
Real talk. It’s not me though. It’s everybody else. They don’t get it. They don’t
understand why I rep so damn hard. Why I bought
all those shirts and sport ‘em every chance I get;
why I walk the way I do, why I talk the way I do
– why I never let go of my Bay’ness. And it’s not
even something that I consciously hold on to. The
shit is just embedded in me, ingrained in my loins,
sketched into my thinking patterns and fixed in my
speech.
It’s San Pablo Youth Baseball, the Renegades,
Saturday football at CC, AC Transit, Bayview Elementary, the daily trek through Hilltop, The Richmond
Auditorium, The Plunge, PAL, the Marina, Blondie’s
Pizza, Fat Slice, Kimball’s East, Sweet Jimmy’s,
Foothill Boulevard (“the bumpy ass strip…”), the
A’s, the Oakland Coliseum, BART, the Bay Bridge,
my ’79 mob, De Anza High, Salesian Boys & Girls
Club, burritos from the truck on 23rd, cheese dogs
from Casper’s, Nation’s chocolate shakes and chilli
cheese fries at 3AM, GIANT Burger, Mark’s Barber
Shop, Geoffrey’s, Jack London Square, the City, the
Trees, the Valley Jo, the water, I80, 580, E-40, Too
Short, ‘hella,’ the game, the hustle and a gang of
other shit. Mine may mirror another man’s experience, but it’s very obvious to me that a ‘Bayboy’ is
an extremely unique breed. I see it when I’m at the
club doin’ my thizzle and they see it the minute I
step through the door. That swag, that rhythm, that
Cali cool. It’s in me and it ain’t goin’ nowhere, no
time soon.
So in the spirit of OZONE’s fifth annual “Patiently
Waiting” issue, it seems fitting that the Bay Area
graces this month’s cover, as we know a little
something about ‘waiting patiently.’ It’s been
upwards of a decade since our last run – a time
when the Luniz were poppin’ with the herb anthem,
“I Got Five On It,” Dru Down was the “Pimp of the
Year,” “Captain’ Save A Hoe” was on the loose, 40
and Short showed the world what a “Rapper’s Ball”
was, Richie Rich was signed to Def Jam and the “Get
Low” was a party stopper on any dance floor in
America that had a Bay Nigga on it.
Then came that exxxxtra long stretch where it
dried up. And that was okay I guess, ‘cause the
independent game in the Bay – the coldest on
the earth – took over. That in and of itself, is the
reason why the term “out the trunk” was coined to
begin with. In fact, it’s the independence of the Bay,
in my opinion, that helped resuscitate the rap trend
therein (the Bay). No one stopped making music
and no one in The Bay, Portland, Seattle, Denver,
KC, LA or even New Mexico, stopped buying it. No
one stopped thinking and being inventive. No one
stopped creating. No one stopped performing and
no one stopped having fun. In the process the term
“hyphy” was born in the O and spread like wildfire.
Mac Dre continued to push his movement, incorporated his version of “hyphy” into his shit, along
with Keak Da Sneak – the undisputed “King of Super
Hyphy” – and it was back on again.
So I salute the Yay for being dedicated soldiers to
a movement that illustrated to the world how to
stay afloat whether paddles were plenty or not.
Courtesy of Too Short and the Up All Nite Crew, this
month’s main attraction (pages 26-31) is all about
my soil, my turf, my home – The Bay Area. From The
Godfather to the Ambassador, the Prince, everybody
thereafter and in between, they all showed love,
fittingly on a project entitled: I Love the Bay.
In the words of Young Turfy, “We rep tha Bay!! We
don’t rep California!”
Ya Dig?!
N. Ali Early
West Coast Editor
[email protected]
*Keep ya head up E-Ratic!! Thanks for the pics
mayne!
26-31I LOVE THE BAY
OZONE WEST // T
he new chain I got is called the “Mistah FAB” piece. Every six months I
get a new chain. My jeweler is crazy. His name is Carl “The Jeweler” of
Highline Jewelry. He just got started. He’s really fresh with it though.
He did Kafani’s piece. He did Keak’s piece. He does all the Bay Area shit. He
did 40’s new piece. The funny thing is, Johnny the Jeweler in Houston is his
cousin, so he’s really got connections. He’s got whatever you need and he’s
got great designs. He’s respectable and he’ll work with you. All my shit comes
from there; my bracelet, my grill, everything. He did the “Yellow Bus” for me
and he did this one. I’m about to get rid of this one and have him do a new
one for me, which will be the “Bay Bridge.”
This one is about seventy-five, eighty carats in blue, yellow and white diamonds. I paid about $37,000 for it. It’s basically a reflection of who I am and
what I represent. My clothing line is called “Color Boy.” I like to brighten my
shit and have the stand-out look and those colors, for some reason, I was
drawn to them. I ain’t seen nobody else with the same color combination, so I
went with it. My mother calls me a Skittle kid, so I rock the Skittle chain and it
looks like Skittles on my neck. It’s about three or four pounds.
The good thing about it is you don’t even have to know me and it’s like, “Hey,
Mistah FAB!” They see that! And that chain shuts major niggas down! The
major niggas be lookin’ like, “Damn bruh, who is this nigga?” And that’s good,
‘cause I like whatever I’m doing to go with my movement.
// OZONE WEST
When I was rockin’ the “Yellow Bus,” that was my movement. So when cats
was seein’ me with that they could identify me with that. Yung Joc said it
himself. He said, “Man, I went and got this ‘Hustlenomics’ chain ‘cause of that
‘Yellow Bus.’ Man, he was a fool for that.” This one is like, y’all already know]
about the Yellow Bus. Now I want you to know my name. This is my name
right here. So when y’all see me, that’s who it is. Mistah FAB, mayne. Then it’s
like, “Oh, you Mistah FAB. You’re from the Bay Area, right?” Cause people may
not know my face, but they know the name. This is like my nametag.
I’m tryna go after that “Hustlenomics” piece with the “Bay Bridge.” Joc, I’m
comin’ for you man. Joc got the coldest chain in the game right now. Him and
Lil Jon’s new shit and Akon when he pulls it out, but Akon don’t even wanna
stunt. But on the chain game right now, Joc is whuppin’ they ass.
But this next chain is what you’re not supposed to do. E-40 said, “Don’t buy
an $80,000 chain before you buy a house.” I’m definitely not listening to him.
I’m definitely about to do some ignorant shit with this [next] one. After I get
off this tour I’m definitely going to see Carl. I’m tellin’ you, with this “Bay
Bridge” I’m finna shit on ‘em! I’m finna shit on ‘em with the “Bay Bridge” with
the crown on it! I’ma be lookin’ real Slick Rick-ish. I may even go get a patch
over my eye. But I ain’t in no rush, cause the “Mistah FAB” piece is still wakin’
niggas up. I be seein’ major label niggas tuck they shit in. I may hold out, but
I’m definitely going to have that for my birthday, January 23rd. //
– As told to N. Ali Early // Photo by Ray Tamarra
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Photo Credits:
OZONE WEST // big wy
Words by Big Fase 100 // Photo Courtesy of Checkmate TV
Representing Inglewood, CA, Big Wy is one of
the most respected, credible emcees on the
West Coast. Recently, I caught up with “The
Relative” and we engaged in a lil’ Q&A between G’s, Bangin 101 style !
// OZONE WEST
Big Fase 100: A lot of people don’t know it, but you were a member
of the original Bangin’ On Wax album in 1993. Can you tell me a little
bit about that project and how you got involved with it?
Wy: That project was very groundbreaking. It was the first of its kind.
It fully jumpstarted my career in the industry. I got involved with
it through my boy Redrum. He asked me to get on it and I used my
gang ties to elevate my rap career as an artist.
If one existed, what was the positive message behind the Bangin’ On
Wax project?
It showed that money always overrules any type of beef. Bangin’ On
Wax was the same idea as Bloods and Crips getting money on any
type of street level. It provided us a way to understand the business
side of doing things.
You have collaborated with other West Coast artists; how is it that
gang members are able to come together with their street rivals to
do business?
Money. It’s the only neutral idea in gangbangin’; in the business
period, in life as we know it.
What do you think about the way gang life, especially the Bloods,
has spread across the country in the past ten years?
It has its pros and cons. For the better end, it took that [bangin’] for
people to recognize real talent for me and other artists. For other
people, they use it as a gimmick. It’s nothing different from when
Snoop and the Dogg Pound came out back then. Real niggas know
what’s happening with who’s real and who’s not in a sense. The one
thing that people don’t understand is people that really do it for real
that might wanna know the truth of your understanding for gang
bangin’. There is a lot of depth in becoming a Blood. [It’s more] than
just throwing on some red. You representin’ for people that lived
it and now are in wheelchairs, dead or whatever happened. People
don’t understand that you can really get penalized for your gang
ties. You can get legally judged just from your gang ties. Free Lil
Hawk.
How much is Hip Hop to blame for this spread?
Hip Hop is not to blame whatsoever. This music is influential in itself.
It’s the most influential since rock & roll back in the day. So when
something is displayed in Hip Hop, it’s going to get as big as it can
be. No direct faults to it. That just shows how big Hip Hop is and
[how big it] can make everything around it.
What’s your view on the rappers in the industry who are all of a sudden gang-affiliated?
Everybody has fans. Rappers have fans and gangbangers have fans.
You’ve got a track with G. Malone who is a Crip and J-Rock who is
from the Nickerson Gardens Projects. How did this collab come about?
We were already friends, on top of me being a fan of their music and
recognizing that their movement was strong on the West. So I wanted
to do a record with them and make it pop.
I understand you just shot a video payin’ respect to some of the West
Coast street legends who are now resting in peace. Tell me about the
video and the song.
The video and song is a revisiting of the hit single that made Bangin’
on Wax blow – “Piru Love 3000.” One day I was sittin’ back thinking
about the friends I used to hang with, that I also rapped with that
passed away. Three of them keep repeatin’ in my mind. That was
Mausberg, Bloody Mary and 4 Bent. Those three artists passed before
they really got a chance to bring forth their talent to the world. I
feel that it’s my job to make sure that they’re remembered as well as
the people in the pen.
You and Billboard of Black Wallstreet did a song together before he
passed away. That is definitely a street anthem for the gangstas in
red up until this day. What was your mindstate around the time you
recorded this track?
I mean it was really to push 4. On a street level, we felt that the
Bloods wasn’t getting represented the proper way. 4 Bent dropped
the hook like that and I choose to bring a political side to how being
a Blood was supposed to be.
What would you say to a youngster out there who is looking up to
you as a role model?
Get money. By any means.
What can we expect from Big Wy in the upcoming months?
Checkmate Entertainment – the official movement. Production, music,
and film. Check out the website (www.checkmatetv.net). I have official partner ownership in the first black owned cognac company
Carnivo XO (www.carnivoxo.com), quite a few mixtapes and a brand
new album called Hood Hitchcock Vol. 2 coming out October 4th.
Shout out to PoliDony, 211 and B Fly. //
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RAPQ
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Don’t see your city?
Hit us up and let us know which clubs, DJs and artists
are worthy of representing: [email protected]
SEATTLE/TACOMA, WA (The 206/253/360)
San Francisco (415)
Get your Hip-Hop & R&B fix at Fanatics, Jilian’s, Suede, Whisper,
Club 6, Loft 11, LeDuplex, & 330 Ritch. Remy Martin Cognac’s “10
artists, 90 days, 1 interesting summer” campaign hit most of
them with spokesman San Quinn and DJ Juice on the turntables.
Reggae Gold is every second and fourth Saturday at the End-up
with resident DJ Rolo 1-3. It goes after hours and is usually
packed after all the other clubs let out at 2 AM. “The city’s real
Mayor” has a mixtape in the streets buzzing right now. A collab
with DJ Juice, Bay Area mixtape vol. 7, is steady building San
Quinn’s buzz for the highly anticipated Boy To A Man album. Big
Rich has a collab with Balance called Da Unda Doggs. Guce has
his Bullys Wit Fully brand supporting Messy Marv with the Free
Mess campaign. A new group, EvenOdds, is building on their
street buzz with the song “That Swagg.”
- Dj Juice (www.djjuice.biz)
Massline Media’s star is shining with dope work from Gabriel Teodros & Blue Scholars. The “I Support DJ DV-ONE” campaign is strong in Seattle, as he defends himself against police brutality and
assault charges. Soul Gorilla, the mega-promotion camp, continues to rock Seattle clubs. Tacoma
pioneer Wojack of Criminal Nation is cocking the gauge with an overdue project. 206 Zulu Nation
and West Coast DJ of The Year B-Mello recently honored radio pioneers Nasty Nes and Glen Boyd
at the Asian American Hip-Hop Summit - OG Status! DJ Kun Luv’s 15th Annual Virgo Party goes
down every September. Are you ready?
- Luvva J ([email protected])
denver, co (303/720)
Clubs are getting scarce in the town! Purple Martini doesn’t like African Americans, so
we need to support our own (Paradise, Reign, Cleatz). Vinyl and DC10 going strong,
and we have had more big concerts than usual. Beyonce, Snoop, and Screamfest
swept thru Denver all in a 2 week span. The town is still anticipating the release of
Young Doe’s album, Welcome To The Maze, and Gang Green is making noise. DJ Bedz
is one step closer to winning the Pepsi DJ competition, and Innerstate Ike’s “Hunid
Racks and Patron” is becoming a favorite in clubs and on 107.5’s Mixtape Show.
- DJ K-Tone ([email protected])
PORTLAND,OR (The 503)
Portland OG Cool Nutz is a hustler for real. He’s got a new album
with Sac-Town’s Luni Coleone (Every Single Day) and his name is
on Sick Wid It stationary. Take notes! The Rose City continues to
host the best with upcoming tour dates from Brotha Lynch, Andre
Nickatina and WC. Check for Doug Fir, a bar/club/motel combo in
the heart of PDX, and party people need to know about The City
and The Greek on Mondays. Portland’s finest came out for Illaj &
Mikey Vegas at their Unsigned Hype Party. Kia Shine, Cool Nutz,
Chill & The Fli Boies fell through.
- Luvva J ([email protected])
OAKLAND (The 510)
LOS ANGELES (213, 323, 310)
Hollywood nightlife has never been this hot! DJ Mark da Spot’s schedule is
steadily filling up with weekly spots including Star Lite Saturdays at Shag,
High Society Sundays at Sugar, Encore Mondays at Basque, Rendezvous
Tuesdays at Spider Club, and Miami Live (Wednesdays) at the Day After.
Special events in October: DJ Mark da Spot’s Birthday Weekend & Fashion
Show Week (Fashion Show) in Downtown Los Angeles. Check out other local
Hollywood hot spots as well: Sexy Fridays at Guys, Fridays @ Garden of
Eden, Crush on Fridays at Facade, and Saturdays @ Forbidden City. New
“not to be missed” artists to look out for include Bangloose from Watts with
his hot indie single “Grey Goose” (myspace.com/bangloose), Def Jam’s Dro,
also from Watts, with the single “Our World” - his album is in stores now
(myspace.com/drofromwatts). Hot Dollar from Mississippi has a hit single
and he’s also signed to Def Jam - “Streets On Lock” (myspace.com/hotdollar).
“1st Saturdays” at Geoffrey’s is the place to be if you are tryin’ to hear all the
Hip-Hop & R&B cutz, plus all the street anthems! (Yours truly is the resident
DJ!) Since the city of Oakland closed down popular Hip-Hop clubs (Mingles &
@17th) and with Kimball’s Carnival not allowing much Hip Hop, the choices
are slim, but not gone. Now that football season is back Q’s Lounge inside
Everett & Jones is crackin’ every Monday night from 5 PM until...! It’s sponsored by Remy Martin Cognac & endorsed by the Official Northern California
DJ, DJ Juice. It’s FREE admission, FREE BBQ (while it lasts), FREE Remy (while
it lasts) and no dress code! 30 +? Check for Maxwell’s & Kimball’s Carnival
and Karribean City (for reggae heads)! Open mic on Tuesday (at KC) by Bay
Life Entertainment. Go snatch Too $hort (I Love The Bay compilation in stores
now), Mistah FAB (Da Baydestrian in stores now & Yellow Bus Rydah coming
soon), G-Stack (of The Delinquents – Purple City Vol.1 & Color Purple Vol. 2),
Money B. (Of Digital Underground – Mandatory: The Mixtape with DJ Juice &
Nu Stylez) and Clyde Carson (Theatre Music, coming soon).
- DJ Juice (www.djjuice.biz)
- DJ Mark da Spot (myspace.com/djmarkdaspot)
SACRAMENTO, CA (916)
LAS VEGAS, NV (702)
“Sin City” hosted the fall unveiling of the semi-annual Magic Fashion Convention.
Attendees included the most elite of the music and fashion industry such as Jay-Z,
Beyonce, Diddy, 50 Cent, Young Jeezy, and many more. Jay-Z also broke ground on his
new 40/40 Club which will open December 20, 2007, inside the Palazzo Hotel. Keyshia
Cole lit up the stage with her performance at the House of Blues and J Holiday opened
the show with his smash hit “Bed.” The MTV Video Music Awards made its first appearance in Vegas bringing together the Who’s Who of the industry @ the Palms Hotel. The
weekend festivities prior to the award show included Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent pool
parties, a record release party for Yung Joc, and many other great events. Other celebrity partygoers included Diddy, Rich Boy, Ludacris, T.I., T-Pain, and Lil Wayne. OZONE
Magazine hosted a VMAs afterparty @ OPM in Caesar’s Palace with David Banner, Too
$hort, Mims, Sean Kingston, J Diggs, BET’s Mad Linx, Buckeey, & more.
- Portia Jackson ([email protected])
10////OZONE
OZONEMAG
WEST
10
Empire, Avalon and the Park Ultra Lounge are hot spots, but not Hip Hop
friendly. Thursday nights at Zokku Sushi Lounge, Friday nights at Harlow’s
or Hard Rock Cafe do show an appreciation for real urban nightlife. Saturday
nights at Tunnel 21 cracks in Old Sacramento. Sacramento was on fire this
summer, with Ike Dola of the legendary group the Farm Boys releasing the
hot single “Ice like Dice” from the just released solo project Dope Illustrator
(produced by J-DA Man). New artist and label executive J Gibbs from Take
Ova Entertainment also hit with “Damn Thing.” Sacramento native Doey
Rock’s “Bring Back Double” and Sumtin’ Terrible’s “You Stupid” also turned
plenty of heads. All of Sac showed up for Bueno’s album release party at
the Zokku Lounge (Ron Artest, Rick Rock and DJ Big Al). DJ Epic spins at The
Distillery every Thursday and is sure to be playing “I Won’t Hurt You” by Tone
Malone (Omina Bust).
- Isiah Campbell of Zaemai Entertainment & Marketing ([email protected] )
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>
>>>
E
V
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CWEST COAST PHOTO GALLERIES
gas, NV)
Barcode (Las Ve t (Los
Haji Springer @
oo
&
sh
s
eo
gg
Di
vid
J
x
//
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geles, CA) 02
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eo shoot (Los An
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Hurricane Chris
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07 // J-Diggs &
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gas, NV) 18 //
13 // Hurricane
CA) 20 // Hittm
n DJs Retreat (Lo
(Oakland, CA)
Davinci (Las Ve
Club 17 for Bavg
shoot (Oakland, , CA)
oe’s for Hittmen co, CA) 17 // J-Diggs & Bleu
Pooh Sauce @
Youth Uprising
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shoot (Los Ange
party (San Fran ) 19 // Mistah FAB & B.I.G. @
CA) 12 // Jama
ris, Bay Bay, &
Dre’s birthday
y” remix video
a, Hurricane Ch
ris’ “Ay Bay Ba
rty Girls @ Mac x video shoot (Los Angeles, CA
Ch
Di
CA) 14 // Kasp
ne
his
ca
&
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gg
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Di
of
16 // Jy” remi
the set
(Oakland, CA)
Chris’ “Ay Bay Ba ) 21 // J Diggs & Bay Bay on
t of Hurricane
CA
,15,20)
Leach on the se icken & Waffles (Los Angeles,
); Malik Abdul (11
Ch
verly (08,13,18
Be
lia
DJs @ Roscoe’s
Ju
);
,21
9,10,12,16,17,19
3,04,05,06,07,0
D-Ray (01,02,0
Photo Credits:
OZONE WEST // 11
Y
ou may have never heard of this guy before in your life, but he has
been in the rap game since the late 80s. A Bay Area rapper, born and
raised in Oakland, he can tell you all about being in jail. He’s practically lived in jail his whole career, only releasing albums about 4 years apart.
His most acclaimed song was released while he was locked up (“Ward of the
State” on Righteous Records). Most of his incarcerations were due to parole
violations, and between the late 1980s and 2007, he’s spent more time in jail
than out (he was released after his last stint this past January). But during
his time of incarceration, Askari X has become a rapper with strong political
fervor and spiritual awareness.
Why have you been in jail so much?
Really they were just parole violations, but I want to say all this to explain
my disappearances in between albums: Each time I got out, I would have
numerous raps on the dome, so people would be impressed. My latest album
came out in 2000 and now I’m about to re-release an album called Ward of
the State which is due out September 25th. It’s big for me too because there
is a huge movie coming out called Black August in January that will feature
the song on the score.
What is Askari X all about?
The music still as always. The music is the message for the other movements
that I do. Building a Master J Temple of Islam, PCC (Prisoners Consciousness
Committee) and other ways of getting the message of the new black woman
and man to the people. I just want to the get a few words to the people; it
doesn’t take a lot.
With “Ay Bay Bay” and “Crank Dat (Supaman)” being the most popular fads in
Hip Hop, where are we going as a people?
All music reflects the mentality of the people and their surroundings, and
what is coming out of these kids are the knowledge of what they know right
now. Some of us with our talents are chosen, and it’s our own job to educate
our own culture about other things going on in the black community besides
“Ay Bay Bay.” I can’t hate on it though, even though I am dissatisfied, because
I can’t hate without participating in the solution. If it’s time to change, then
it will be time. So when it’s time for the Public Enemys and the Scarfaces to
bring change, it will come. We have to have the emcee skills too.
Where were you and what were you doin’ during the surge of the hyphy
movement?
I was down during this period of time. But I do know that as [hyphy] manifested, the devil, or the so-called enemy wanted to get control over it, and
now everyone wants to be all goofy. But at the same time, I can’t hate on
[hyphy] either because everyone needs a little laughter.
What should be West Coast Hip Hop’s main priority right now?
Well, you know we are trendsetters out here on the West Coast. And you know
the scripture says, the sun will rise in the West and the light will shine all the
way to the East Coast. It’s timing, but really, all the other regions are waitin’
for us to come up with our messages and ideas.
50 Cent or Kanye?
That’s a tough one, but since they are promoting it like they are, I predict a
tie. I don’t think that there will be a clear winner unless they go for round
two or three!
Do you think Obama is gonna win it for us?
I think Hillary is goin’ to take it because America is a dragon. And there was
a woman sittin’ on top of this dragon called The Mother of Babylon the great.
But it is ladies night, on the positive tip.
What are your 2007-2008 NFL Predictions?
Any Bay teams. The Raiders or the 49ers. We gotta keep it in the Bay!
Have you seen Celebrity Rap Superstar on MTV?
No, I don’t watch too much TV. Wait, I did see the preview. But I didn’t watch
it though. Speaking of reality shows, I think Flava Flav is doin’ his thing, I’m
diggin’ him and how he’s shockin’ em. He’s black as ever, but he’s universal.
He’s attracting a lot of love for the black man from a lot of the other peoples.
Do you have an iPhone yet?
A what? No. What’s that? I’m a Black Quaker so, I’m just tryin’ to come up. //
For more on Askari X:
www.myspace.com/ansar_askari_x
Ahuru Entertainment Group (Management)
Photo by Clifton Photography
12 // OZONE WEST
12 // OZONE WEST
Askari X
The West is Back…Side:
The Bay Area’s DJ BackSide links up with the Best of
the West to see what’s really goin’ on in their heads!
E
V
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CWEST COAST PHOTO GALLERIES
HitRoy, & Bigg V @ rty
h, King Ron, Tpa
es
y
Fr
da
an
th
iti
bir
Ha
s,
e’s
2 Dog Record
b 17 for Bavgat
(San
geles, CA) 02 //
& J-Diggs @ Clu eda Weeda & Kyzer @ Crash
eo shoot (Los An , CA) 04 // Bavgate, S-Dog,
Be
Revid
//
s
x
DJ
06
mi
n
)
re
en
CA
,
y”
ttm
Ba
les
Hi
ejo
y
shoot (Los Ange
Crest Park (Vall
ga’s brother @ @ Kuzzo Fly’s
ne Chris’ “Ay Ba
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@
ca
Big
h
&
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ate & PSD
Chris’ “Ay Bay Ba Angeles, CA) 08 // Bigga Rank n Nash, Kafani, Lil Al, & Thum
01 // Baby & Sli
, CA) 03 // Bavg
for Bavgate’s
t of Hurricane
s
Jo
at (Los Angeles
Mr Pill on the se e’s pre-BET Awards party (Lo ichmond, CA) 10 // Big Rich,
agons @ Club 17
&
Dr
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ge
Ne
va
tmenn DJs Retre
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12
rd
(Oakland, CA
Beverly on the
eo shoot
& guest @ USDA ’s video shoot (Oakland, CA)
Tank @ Bouleva
,
lia
vid
&
Ju
lla
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on
Pu
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Fly
Ak
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ac
//
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Sli
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,
07
Ku
Francisco, CA)
oodRaw, DJ Juice Fly, Rat, & Fatman @ Kuzzo Fly in store (Berkeley, CA) 14 // Big // Bleu Davinci & Kuzzo Fly @ epard @ Hittmenn DJs
Bl
//
09
)
CA
,
les
Sh
16
zzo
for Mistah FAB’s
treat (Los Ange
Rankin & Klarc
Francisco, CA)
// Boss Hog, Ku
t (Los
ggs @ Rasputin
B @ Crash (San
, CA) 18 // Bigga y Bay Bay” remix video shoo
akland, CA) 11
// Balance & J Di Band Aid, Cellski, & Mistah FA mix video shoot (Los Angeles
video shoot (O
“A
’
13
ris
)
Ch
CA
d,
ne
ca
lan
(Oak
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15 //
of Hurri
birthday party
ris’ “Ay Bay Ba
s Angeles, CA)
Bay on the set
video shoot (Lo Dre on the set of Hurricane Ch Vegas, NV) 20 // Baby & Bay
&
Bay Bay” remix
s
h
(La
ac
is
Le
5,07,17,20);
va
n
au
17 // Brya
lia Beverly (01,0
e & Garcelle Be
(Oakland, CA)
,14,15,16,19); Ju
) 19 // Big Dant
,13
CA
,
,12
les
ge
0,11
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9,1
s
6,0
Retreat (Lo
8,18)
D-Ray (03,04,0
Malik Abdul (02,0
Photo Credits:
Angeles, CA)
OZONE WEST // 13
N
obody really knows how I became Too $hort “the dirty rapper.” Most people only know the story of me selling cassette
tapes out of the trunk of my car before I made it big. I didn’t
write explicit lyrics until I noticed how much people liked
it when I used curse words in my rhymes. It was always
on some comedy shit. The truth is I didn’t even have a car
before I made it big; I sold tapes with my rap partner Freddy
B on the bus or we walked around the streets of Oakland on foot.
Even before crack cocaine hit the streets, Oakland was a tough, violent,
no-nonsense city. I quickly learned the codes of the streets and the rules
of the game. My friends have been getting arrested and doing time since
I was 14 years old and quite a few have been murdered since then. When I
moved from Los Angeles to Oakland, I started running with the thugs. But
even if I had never moved to Oakland, that would’ve been the outcome.
The streets were calling me just like they’re calling so many young homies
today. It’s always been that way.
Some of our fathers and grandfathers were criminals and street thugs
when they were young. I’ve always understood how the REAL drug dealers
and gangbangers justified the homicides they were doing by saying, “If
somebody kills my homie or family member, I’m killing them,” but somehow it doesn’t settle the same way with me now that I’m 40 years old and
my homeboy’s sons are getting shot and murdered in the streets.
Somehow, I feel partially responsible for the state of mind these youngsters are in. I can’t 100% blame myself, Tupac, Master P, N.W.A., Scarface,
any other rapper, or Hip Hop as a whole for the condition the streets are
in now, but I know that if you look at the big picture, we all made thuggin’, gangbangin’, pimpin’ and being a hardcore rapper look like fun. A lot
of people in my generation eventually found out, after the judges started
handing out 20-30 year sentences, that we were set up. There used to be
lots of career criminals who would be in and out of prison. They’d make a
lot of money, lose it all, and then get it back again - but that was before
privately owned prisons, “three strikes,” and all the Federal laws that
were designed to lock drug dealers up forever.
I truly feel that the generations older than me have no idea what’s going
on in the streets and how so many kids became murderers. I don’t think
any of us have a solution that would stop the killing immediately. They
say jobs, housing, education and inner city programs are the solution.
They say lock ‘em all up and they problem will go away. I honestly don’t
know what needs to happen.
I’ve been working at Youth Uprising in East Oakland for the past year and
it’s not your average youth center. It’s located next door to Castlemont
High School, one of the toughest schools in Oakland. The building looks
new inside and outside. They have recording studios that kids use for
free if they’re members (age 13-24). They also have modeling and dance
classes, video editing, counseling and health care among many other
things. My only purpose there is to pass down some knowledge and to be
a positive role model. Imagine that! I don’t get paid one dime.
Some residents of Oakland don’t like the fact that “the dirty rapper” is
working with the kids but there’s nothing to worry about because my
generation is the bridge between the youngsters in the streets and the
political powers that run the city. I was 17 when crack hit the streets
of Oakland. Most of the kids at Youth Uprising were born into the crack
epidemic just like the kids in Los Angeles and Chicago were born into the
gang culture. The kids don’t know how plants grown in Columbia became
crack cocaine in the ghetto. The way I see it, it’s not much different than
the blood diamonds in Africa. Kids are killing kids.
Earlier this year, I recorded a 10 song CD for Jive Records, the last thing
I’ll do with Jive as a solo artist. It’s a very typical Too $hort album and
this time I’m not celebrating my album release, I’m celebrating my release
from a major label. I’m looking forward to being independent again.
14 // OZONE WEST
There are too many young homies getting killed for me to keep writing
songs about bitches sucking my dick. I’m too intelligent to let my knowledge go to waste without passing down some of this real game to the
youngsters. When I talk to politicians, preachers, teachers and parents,
they all agree that rappers have a loud voice and we really don’t use it to
motivate the kids in a positive way.
If you’re a rapper, you probably already know that if you went into a major label on some positive shit, you won’t get any support. You might get
dropped. Kanye is definitely on some positive shit but he gives them what
they want with his super-fly swagger and his million-dollar wardrobe so
they can market his image even though his lyrics are positive. If you go
to a record label on some dead prez pro-black, I’m-for-the-community
shit, you won’t get a marketing funds or video budgets. You won’t even
get a deal.
Every time a rapper tells me he’s the next big shit that’s gonna blow
up and then I listen to his music and all I hear is “I sold dope, I’ll kill a
nigga, I got hella cars and money,” I wish could make him be original.
I wish I could make the next generation of rappers tell the truth about
what they really feel. Rap is all about boasting and bragging. It’s all
about being invincible and coming out on top. It’s all about rivals and
battles. It’s also always been all about uplifting and speaking out against
the system.
I can’t 100% blame myself, Tupac,
Master P, N.W.A., Scarface, any
other rapper, or Hip Hop as a
whole for the violence in the
streets, but we all made thuggin’, gangbangin’, pimpin’ and
being a hardcore rapper look
like fun. There are too many
young homies getting killed for
me to keep writing songs about
bitches sucking my dick. I’m too
intelligent to let my knowledge
go to waste. STARTING in 2008, I’m
gonna be on some other shit.
As things are getting
worse in the inner cities,
us rappers are popping
bottles, getting pussy
and celebrating lies.
Most of us aren’t Forbes
Magazine-rich but we’ve
convinced the youngsters
that we are.
Some of the kids I talk to
at the youth center don’t
have Hip Hop dreams of
fortune and fame. They
just say things like, “I
don’t wanna get shot.”
I’m not talking about
adults who made the
choice to be gangsters. I’m talking about kids who have no choice in the
matter. They feel like they need to carry guns if they wanna stay alive.
I’ve seen too many kids wearing “R.I.P.” t-shirts with pictures of other
kids on ‘em. I’ve seen too many obituaries of kids who were born in the
late 80s/early 90s. I don’t even know the majority of them but it hurts like
I did. I just jumped on a plane in Oakland and on my way to the airport
I saw about 15 cop cars racing to the scene of a crime and I assumed
another youngster had been shot in broad daylight. Maybe not, but I
decided to write this and let you all know that I’m going to focus on
making positive songs instead of nasty sex songs. Some people might
misinterpret that as “cleaning up my act,” or trying to be something I’m
not, but I already have a history of making positive songs from the start.
Check my track record. I’ve recorded and released several positive singles
in my 25-year professional rap career - “The Ghetto,” “Life Is Too Short,”
“Money In The Ghetto,” and “Gettin’ It,” just to name a few.
Starting in 2008, I’m gonna be on some other shit. I’m still gonna make
party songs and I’m still gonna use explicit lyrics but after 20 years on
Jive Records, I’m not gonna let my voice go to waste once I’m independent again. Our youngsters need guidance and every last one of ‘em
LISTENS to rap music. //
E
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F
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A
CWEST COAST PHOTO GALLERIES
s, NV)
ards (Las Vega
Video Music Aw
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Prince,
MT
tin
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La
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//
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05
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Linx & David Ba
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NV) 06 // Mad
Music Awards (La
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Valentino @ th
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19 // Sean Kings
D-Ray & Mistah
//
21
(Las Vegas, NV)
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NV
Beverly
s,
Photos by Julia
party (Las Vega
OZONE WEST // 15
c
i
p
o
T
A
SAVIOR’S DAY
wEST COVINA, Ca
subject of conversation or
discussion is how Webster
’s Dictionary defines the
dictionary of note, it wou
wor
ld likely read: “highly ant
icipated West Coast Hip Hop d “topic.” Culturally speaking, if there were a rap
your average cookie cut
artist’s
ter
artist, capable of flowing
Wes
t
Coa
st rapper, this Southern
and confident posture tho
about pretty much anythin
Cali native, appropriately
ugh, is an extremely defi
g.” Not
dubbed Topic, got swag.
ned and molded artist who
Beyond his polished exterio
has weathered ‘nuff storms
r
.
Born in Los Angeles, Top
ic claims the smaller, sub
urban city West Covina –
ban” fool you though; this
a good thirty minutes from
rapper is seasoned as the
the city of Angels. Don’t
y come. By the early 80s
affiliation through his fath
let the word “subur, at only ten years old, Top
er and older brothers. “It
ic was thrust into the gan
ain’t where you from, it’s
it. I’m the truest nigga out
gbang
what you do,” he Topic offe
here.”
rs. “If anyone wants to test game via
me, they can do
Music soon materialized
as a savior of sorts. By the
9th grade Topic was a cer
free flowing with no dire
tified backpack rapper. On
ction
a nostalgic note, he des
teach him about really stru or content. It took his good childhood friend Dar
cribes his lyrics as
ius, who played Eddie Win
cturing his raps
slow on the hit sitcom “Fa
with hooks and bars.
mily Matters,” to
“He turned me on to ano
ther side of life,
because he was already
making money,”
Topic explains. “He really
opened my eyes
to what this [rap game]
could be for me,
and that’s when my lyrics
went from just
being freestyles to actual
music.”
Fast forward past failed
deals with Aftermath and WC’s label, a
9 month bid in
LA’s County Jail for a “wh
ite collar” hustle
(messing with corporate
profiles), and Topic
is finally where he wants
to be. Long-time
associate Big Chuck Norris
(formally of
Aftermath) helped negotia
te a deal with
SRC Records, the powerh
ouse responsible
for breaking mega-succes
ses Akon and
David Banner.
“I chose SRC because Ste
ve Rifkind is known
for breaking indie artists
and he also
knows about the streets,
” Topic explains.
“It’s a good situation for
me and Rifkind
signed me pretty much on
the spot.”
The streets of LA are alre
ady abuzz over his
street album The Coast Gua
rd, hosted by
DJ Skee and Kay Slay. Top
ic’s debut album,
Topic: If Not Me, Then Who
? is set to drop
during the first quarter of
2008, and he’s
convinced it will bring the
West back.
“The West isn’t how it use
d to be in the
Death Row and 2Pac tim
es,” Topic begins.
“People right now are sca
red now to throw
up the ‘W.’ That feeling is
lost, and that’s
what my music will bring
back. I don’t even
talk about Crips or Bloods
in my music. Girls
don’t want to go to the
club and hear that.
They want to party and dan
ce and be proud
of where they come from
.”
Topic preaches about “sta
ying
at all times and “doing you in your lane”
” - two phrases
that describe his daily act
ivity. “I’m not wit
that bubble gum shit. Tha
t’s not me,” he
says, promising, “Expect
me to come with
the real every time.” //
Words by DJ Backside // Pho
to
16 // OZONE WEST
courtesy of SRC
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L
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Lin
d
Ma
&
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nie
e Dae, David Ba
ny Neal, Matt Da Vegas, NV)
// DJ Big Dee, Dr ence (Las Vegas, NV) 04 // To
gic party (Las
Vegas, NV) 02
Ma
er
s
’s
nf
(La
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ds
we
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ca
e MTV Video
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// TI & Tiny @ th
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The Mirage for
artists @ Magic
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Haji Springer @ Conference (Las Vegas, NV) 07 the MTV Video Music Awards
&
&
in,
rz
Pa
sta
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m
01 // Sidek
& DJ Vlad give
Music Awards
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the MTV Video
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VM
by
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Ba
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//
“M
ON
r
17
OZ
fo
10
an Kingston @
Linx @ OPM for Music Awards (Las Vegas, NV)
eir video shoot
Se
d
th
(Las Vegas, NV)
&
t
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of
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t
or
&
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se
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er,
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Sto
nn
th
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Ba
12 //
vid
the MTV Video
B of The Pack on
rd Rock for Rolli
Buttahman, Da
(Las Vegas, NV)
ll, & Lil Mama @ Vegas, NV) 19 // Stunna & Lil ’ Chief & Sean Kingston @ Ha
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Video Music Aw
terparty (Las Ve
Music Awards (La n & Robin Thicke @ the MTV
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// Maroy & gues rty (Las Vegas, NV)
Photos by Julia
pa
Angeles, CA) 20
OZONE WEST // 17
c
c
o
l
G
40
ow
n
d
n
a
e
r
e
h
colton city, ca
om a
c emerged fr
pper 40 Gloc Tory Gasaway,
ra
n
ra
te
ve
know that
me is nee’
nearly odd to ton, TX, 40, whose real na to be in movies and do
d
ay lately it’s
es
w
te
lv
s
an
hi
Ga
w
e
s
of
y first
m
e
ay
co
rn a nativ
od that’s
a kid, I alw
I recorded m
passion for.
ith all the go thunderous beginning. Bo iles away. “When I was
ew this
a
kn
d
I
y
ha
I
da
ng
at
m
hi
th
d
et
there. From
disorderly an s sights set thousands of ardom. “It was just som
om
fr
.”
d
w
ue
no
in
hi
st
cont
And here I am
grew up with vid visions of Hollywood The Galleria Mall and it
was for me.
bers vi
, inside
TX
em
m
n,
re
to
us
40
,”
Ho
s in
music
popsicles
e of my friend
peaches and
It wasn’t all t a reasonable means of
music with on
ou
though. With her family, 40’s mother
for
e
du
g
in
ak
s grandparm
mont with hi
d.
au
Be
in
m
hi
left
rn. And she di
omise to retu
ents and a pr rhaps the best news his
pe
40
Arriving with
grasp young
d ears could
eight year ol Southern California with
to
y
was moving
“I was alread ’s
baby sister!
a brand new Dre, Snoop, NWA, Compton
Dr.
recalls, realistening to
and 2pac,” 40 move made
Most Wanted
e
th
much sense
soning how
.
to him
n City digs (a
into his Colto on abanAfter settling
so
s Angeles) 40 structure his
suburb of Lo
ht knit family , opting
tig
e
th
d
m
done
ranged for hi mmitted
ar
d
ha
mother
s. As a co
et
re
st
e
d
th
r
instead fo
Crips, he relie
e Colton City dealing drugs
th
of
r
be
em
,
m
ctics to get by
on guerilla ta ing on the daily. All the
py
ng
ba
ng
and ga
n as Tiny Slee
c, then know
ly
while 40 Gloc d an aspiring emcee. On
ne
ai
r,
m
ai
re
ch
c,
el
Lo
he
w
40
confined to a
mmit to
after he was
lled, did 40 co
ki
ly
ar
ne
d
shot an
music.
ew (K-9 and
g the Zoo Cr occ landed
Upon formin
Gl
40
,
97
) in 19
pire
Natural Born
mi imprint, Em ould
ia
M
ith
w
al
w
al
ck
a solo de
Ja
e
’s
His debut Th
MusicWerks.
cade later, he
ally a full de nt’s puzzle
tic
ac
Pr
.
w
llo
Ce
fo
rt
al piece of 50
now an integr uldn’t be happier to be pa
co
d
an
“G Unit is
.
ng
– G Unit
ni
in
w
ad set on
d
of a team de eryone has their ups an
ev
ily,
d
m
an
fa
ily
ith
m
w
fa
a
fers. “I know
of
ith
c
w
oc
m
Gl
le
,”
ob
ns
a pr
dow
one, you got
.”
you fuck with
is
it
’s how G Un
all, and that
ohind his soph
y tailspin be , a Zoo Babies
t)
With a health
ye
as
ed
l
(untitl
more album
and an overal
t on the way c’s “revival,”
group projec
oc
nding 40 Gl
fanfare surrou is is but a new chapter.
th
ns
ai
nt
ai
m
he
hic has kept
d my work et
“My grind an ese years],” he insists
ll th
ng
me going [a
until somethi
“I don’t stop fuck’ attitude
steadfastly.
a
y ‘don’t give
is finished. M staining.” //
su
e
m
ep
will ke
W
Davis
Words by Todd of OGPR
sy
te
ur
co
o
ot
Ph
18 // OZONE WEST
Cellski
Frisco’s Finest
W
San Francisco, ca
henever “San Fr
an
years under his cisco” and “Hip Hop” are men
tioned in the sa
belt he has gues
me sentence, ve
popular acts fro
t
ry
m RBL Posse an starred on over one hundred
projects as both seldom is Cellski’s name not
d Master P, to Ge
brought up. Wi
a rapper and pr
t
Lo
w
Playaz and the
Cellski credits m
th over 15
oducer for som
late Coughnut.
os
e of the Bay Ar
“That was my be t of his success in the rap ga
ea’s most
me to Coughnut
st friend, that’s
, wh
to this day,” he
who I came up
under. That nigg o gave him his start in the in
says.
dustry by letting
a was the first
nigga who put
him perform as
me on the stag
As a rapper an
an opening ac
e. [His death] st
d pr
ill fucks with m t.
when Mr. Predict oducer, Cellski earned a nam
y head
e for himself al
er hit the street
on
s in 1995. “Tha
get heard.”
t album right th g the streets of San Francisco
ere put me on,”
and his buzz ex
pa
he notes. “It op
ened a lot of do nded all throughout the Peni
Mr. Predicter we
nsula
ors for me and
nt on to becom
a lot of mu’fuc
e
ground classic
kas to
and was lauded an underby many as
the best album
to ever be rele
as
Francisco rapp
er. Selling 6,000 ed by a San
un
radio play or pr
omotion and fo its with no
llowing the success of Master
P’s West Coast
Bad
Level of the Ga
me, Cellski cont Boys: Another
inued to break
new ground. “I
was producing
for Master P,” he
remembers. “H
e of
fuck with him at fered me $100,000 to come
No Limit.”
Rather than join
the No Limit So
ld
decided to rem
ain a completel iers, Cellski
y se
cient artist and
founded his ow lf-suffin label, Inner
City Records, at
ag
produce my ow e 18. “I write my own shit,
n shit, executive
pr
shit, mix my ow
n shit. I’ve done oduce my own
self-contained
it all,” says the
emcee. “I own
all
my publishing.
I have a long ca my shit, all
talogue I still
eat off.”
With six album
s, seven mixtap
es an
DVDs under his
belt, the long ca d 2 Took TV
talogue Cellski
speaks of is ab
out to get long
er as he prepar
to release the
es
mixtape Coach
Celli
by the album Ch
emical Baby. Sla check followed
ary 2008 releas
te
e, it boasts gues d for a Janut appearances
the likes of Tw
by
ista, Lil Boosie,
Kille
Roccet, Keak da
Sneak and Mist r Mike, CTE’s
ah FAB.
Having experie
nced the transfo
rm
Area music first
hand from mob ation of Bay
m
and the purgat
ory in between, usic to hyphy
Cellski plans to
introduce a new
sound to the Ba
latest project.
y Area with his
“The
phy movement,” y think everything is the hyCellski says, no
tin
Rick Rock, Play
-N-Skillz and Mi g DJ Toomp,
dnight Black
among produc
tion
out here that be credits. “We got real rappers
en doing it. I’m
not tryna saturate myself to
the Bay. I’ve be
en
my life. You go
tta get out ther doing that all
e.” //
Words by Keita
Jones // Photo
by D-Ray
OZONE WEST // 19
s
e
s
s
e
Gla
n
o
l
a
M
DER
I
R
D
E
I
F
I
T
R
CE
compton, ca
who calls
, California emcee
thanks to a Compton e Glasses Malone first hit the
,
ain
ag
e
ris
the
Hop currently on
lead. Watts’ nativ
fevered
ith West Coast Hip
t others follow his
. With his buzz at a
in’ (Sticks) in 2005
it is only fitting tha
me
,
so
htn
r
Lig
Game
pe
e
t
ite
Th
ee
Wh
f
Str
by
sel
ll
ed
him
ck Wa
Crack mixtape, follow Malone decided on aligning with Bla could cement himself
circuit with his The
he
e
for
pitch, G.
be
sued
Fase 100. However,
rce bidding war en
prodding from Big
oversial camp, a fie
ntr
n.
co
llio
the
mi
in
.7
e
$1
tur
tune of
as a fix
imately won to the
– one Sony Music ult
plains. “It was
Street,” Glasses ex
ed with Black Wall
a Crip, and
ink
s
lly
wa
ua
I
d.
act
r
ha
I
ve
d
ne
an
“I
’s brother Fase
me
Ga
.”
ng
les
thi
ge
l
An
tua
s
Lo
mu
just a
look for
It just was a good
they were [Pi]Ru’s.
iase proud,
Majors and Ted DiB
that would make Lee An unprecedented $1.1 milThe principle, one
ce.
rMalone’s convenien
um, meaning any po
was broken up for
r) to create the alb
got
pe
e
rap
nc
va
ast
ad
Co
0
st
,00
We
00
a
lion (for
t and a $5
ectly into his pocke
available for
tion unused goes dir ing monies ($100,000) were made
ain
ent] made
rem
nm
tai
ter
En
o
Eg
him started. The
Big
fore sim“Mike Lynn [CEO of
s in excitement be
street promotions.
eet!” Malone burst
sw
bly
va
t.”
lie
lef
be
m
un
tea
whole
the deal
leaving because my
mering. “I ended up
ite Lightnin’,
the streets with Wh
a strong impact on
er Mack 10,
h
mb
suc
me
de
ma
ion
g
ect
vin
nn
Ha
former West Side Co
of
Hip Hop
te
d
ori
oo
fav
lew
l
na
Ing
a perso
ping game with the
op
ch
f
ooth
sel
sm
him
bly
ba
nd
Glasses fou
t would impro
he got the call tha
wn talking rap
do
g
tin
sit
heavyweight when
lly
ua
eer. “We were act
t of A&R]
over his budding car l from [Sony Executive Vice Presiden
cal
they were
t
the
tha
t
]
go
I
me
d
en
tol
shit wh
e remembers. [He
lon
let me
Ma
n’t
r,”
uld
the
wo
Pra
”
ck
ntract. Ma
Kawan “KP
ease me from my co Hoo Bangin’.”
to
actually going to rel
me
thout first signing
leave the room wi
underground pheespecting West Coast Mack, understandf-r
sel
y
an
at
wh
Glasses did
d line. And
signed on the dotte
the 28 year
nom would do and
nd himself singing
fou
n,
itio
uis
acq
w
with Cash
s
wa
on
ati
ers
nv
ably proud of his ne
h co
sts
regularity. One suc
ared business intere
olds’ praises with
th whom Mack’s sh
wi
,
by
Ba
n
ma
nt
Money fro
or Ball release.
since his 2001 Bang
nvo,”
w I got into the co
friends and someho
sent it.
are
ck
ck
Ma
it.
Ma
d
sh
an
my
by
of
“Ba
a requested some
nn
t if he
Stu
ou
e
“Th
me
t
ls.
pu
tel
Glasses
uld let him
was no way he wo
agreed to it,
is,
he
n
ma
Stunna told Mack it
ess
sin
ck, being the bu
Records,
wasn’t involved. Ma m Sony to Hoo Bangin’/Cash Money
Fro
solo
.”
his
are
th
wi
we
s
re
gin
he
be
d]
[an
rous ride officially
ntu
ve
ad
e’s
lon
Ma
Glasses
iser.
debut – Beach Cru
s of the
ngster-ism,” he say
West Coast and ga
timeless
the
as
t
ts
jus
en
be
res
to
rep
it
“It
um. “I also wanted
alb
BMXs,
ted
t
ipa
ou
tic
me
an
co
heavily
ny bikes
No matter how ma
rs.” //
ise
cru
ach
as a beach cruiser.
be
e
rid
le will always
Dynos, or GTs, peop
Interscope Records
// Photo courtesy of
Words by Todd Davis
W
20 // OZONE WEST
Intersta
te
Ike
SOUL SURVIVOR
D
denver, co
enver, CO is full
of
dope-selling bl contradictions. Ride the stre
ets
ac
Bullets, Blessin k nationalists. Denver-reared and you’ll find both granolags and Blacktop
ba
ra
survived a 2005
Music, is a testam pper Interstate Ike reflects th r-eating Republicans and
shooting that al
ose extremes.
ent not only to
so claimed the
His new album
his appeal as a
life of his best
,
rapper, but as
friend and fello
“I was in the ho
man who
w rapper, Colfa
spital for four
x Cac.
months,” he re
ried about mus
members, citin
ic.”
g long days of
intensive physica
l therapy. “I wa
That changed af
sn’t worter he was rele
as
spanking new
ed
an
d
ca
m
e
home to a
studio, a welco
me
took him a min
ute to get back back gift from his mother. It
into the groove
when he did, it
of things, but
was on and po
ppin’.
Since January 20
07, Ike has rele
ased seven mixt
Batman & Robi
n, fe
apes, two titled
Cac. He’s moved aturing pre-recorded mater
ial with Colfax
over 10,000 un
its over the pa
— a serious feat
st eight month
co
s
Mile High are Ka nsidering that the closest m
ajor cities to th
nsas City to the
e
Vegas to the we
east (10 hours
away) and Las
st (12 hours aw
ay
Tone, More G’s
Than Gucci, drop ). His latest outing with DJ Kped in July and
Mile High rapp
ers Young Doe,
features fellow
Mr. Analyzer an
d Young Boss.
“My music is so
ulfu
spiritual rap. “It l,” explains Ike, who occasio
nally records
m
turf time under ay be an R&B beat but I’m go
nna spit that
it.”
Hailing from De
nv
Latino area that er’s Montbello section, a pred
ominately
wa
population, Ike’s s once home to the bulk of
the city’s black
willingness to
put his deepes
wax is what’s m
t insecurities on
ade him a hous
ehold name on
ing rap scene.
“Everybody kn
the Mile’s inclinows me out he
mentioning his
re,” he
wo
Killa Tay and C- rk with Bay Area mainstays Lu declares,
Bo
ni Coleone,
a breakthrough . “I’m like an underground ce
lebrity ready fo
.”
r
For Ike, who’s
been in the ga
me for over 12
outside attentio
years,
n
Denver is overlo hasn’t been easy. Like most Mi getting
dwestern cities
oked by major
,
la
people think it’
bels. “You brin
s all horseback
g up Denver an
d
riding and mou
not bothering
ntains,” he says
to hide his irrita
,
tion. “We got a
are doing their
lot of artists wh
thing. We just do
o
n’t have the na
and the backin
g to really put
tional exposure
it out there for
the world to se
e.”
Still, if he has an
ything to do wi
th it, folks are
paying attentio
about to start
n like an Aphilli
at
me as a top ha
t,” he says. “I’m e. “I want you to recognize
the best unsigne
now.” //
d artist right
Words by Jacin
ta Howard // Ph
oto by Sal G
OZONE WEST // 21
a
k
c
a
J
e
h
T
IED
ISF
NEVER SAT
K
Pittsburg, Ca
nown as one-fifth of the
super group Mob Figaz (Hu
salah, Fed-Ex, Rydah J.
Sacramento rap legend C-B
Klyde and AP.9), assemble
o, Dominick Newton a.k.
d by
a. The Jacka, is easily one
and talented emcees. Afte
of Northern Cali
r
the
199
9
debut album – C-Bo’s Mob
listeners in the Bay and
Figaz – that announced the fornia’s most active
beyond, Jacka moved to
m to over 100,000
establish himself as an ind
ependent artist.
In a little more than sev
en years, the Pittsburgh
native has appeared on
Trials 1-3, Devilz Rejectz
more than two dozen pro
and an assortment of Thiz
jects, including Mob
z Nation mixtapes. Not to
proclaimed “Mixtape Kin
mention his collaboration
gs,” Demolition Men, Ani
mal Planet (hosted by The
with the selfabout of its kind and rem
Jacka and Husalah), is one
ains in demand two years
of the most talked
after its release. Needless
with critical acclaim and
to say, the 2005 special
is still the DJs’ most pop
delivery was met
ular and best selling stre
et tape to date.
Since arriving at this sta
ge in his budding
career, The Jacka has sur
vived some extenuating circumstances to say
the least. During
the height of the promo
tional
group’s debut, C-Bo caught album for the
a case and was
forced to sit down as Mob
Figaz momentum
promised to soar. Years
later (in February of
2006), Husalah was senten
ced to four and a
half years in prison over
a possession charge
that originated in 2001.
“If Allah made me go thro
ugh what I had to
go through, there’s a rea
son,” Husalah told
SFBG Online in July of ‘06.
“I’m a better person. I learned what not
to do. The statistics
show it’s death or jail for
a street nigga. So
for me it happened to be
jail. I feel like it’s a
blessing that I’m breath
ing. I’m healthy.”
Understandably, fans wan
t to know if Mob
Figaz will ever reassemb
le. “We’re definitely
doing a reunion album, but
we ain’t signing
with nobody unless your
name is C-Bo,” The
Jacka says point blank. “We
could do a Mob
Figaz album right now. We
got songs with
[Husalah] that we did bef
ore he went down
so we gonna push that,
and that’s gonna
be big. That’s gonna be
something for him
when he gets out.”
Jacka’s third album, app
ropriately dubbed
Jack of All Trades (2006)
, seems an afterthought, considering he’
s com
Shower Posse, Andre Nickat pleted The
ina Presents: The
Jacka, AP.9 and Husalah
– Mob Trial since
then. More importantly,
he’s readying himself for his fourth solo pro
ject – Teargas.
“I really won’t drop it unt
il I’m 100% satisfied with what I’m hearing
,” says the perfectionist, citing a familiar
production crew in
Bedrock, Traxxamillion and
Rob-Lo. “But I’m
just picking beats that we
normally wouldn’t.
I’m comin’ with a whole
new sound. Teargas
is an album where you’re
gonna wanna give
me a deal ‘cause the sou
nd is incredible.” //
Words by Kay Newell // Pho
to by D-Ray
22 // OZONE WEST
ProHoeZ
SOUL SUR
VIVOR
T
ac
East Palo Alto, C
A
he abundance of rol
e models in East Pa
lo Alto is about as
that light of seaso
existent as Marriott
nal bliss, for some
children, threatens
’s Great America tra
of the child who ba
to never wake from
ffickers during the
rely escaped that om
month of Decembe
winter’s dark slumb
nipotent shadow. His
r. And
er.
EPA rapper ProHoeZ
en
vir
on
s
may have been clo
“All a nigga can do
ak knows the cours
se, but they sure as
is be a bookworm
e
hell ain’t Stanford.
and do right and go
“I chose the wrong
to school and beco
road. If it wasn’t for
me somebody or jus
music, I’d probably
t be a nothin’,” the
be dead somewhere
rapper / producer
.”
In choosing the pe
confesses.
rilous side of that
twofold
equation, Pro, born
Simon McKinley, sea
so
himself in the fine
arts of drug peddlin ned
g,
gangbanging, petty
thievery and in the
process,
refined an inherited
pe
his father. The latter nchant for pimping from
speaks to the uniqu
ing of his name. “M
e
y dad named me Pro spellHoeZak
cause he said I ne
ed to calm my ass
down,” he
explains. “But I wa
nted to be creative
with the
shit, so I spelled it
with the ‘Hoe’ silen
t cause
hoes ain’t ‘sposed
to speak.”
Whether misguided
or
pimp is quick to de unguided, the former
nounce his path as
misfortune and circumsta
nce. Those circumsta
nces
slowly began to ch
ange each time his
cousin
and original memb
er of Public Enemy,
Fla
Flav, visited the Ba
y. “I was just aroun va
d them
back stage and wh
atnot whenever the
y came to
town,” ProHoeZak
admits. “I got to be
with them
and check out a dif
ferent part of life
besides
being a knucklehea
d.”
Taken aback by the
bri
overall positive res ght lights, big crowds and
ponse to PE’s tight
kn
Pro decided on DJi
ng. A natural music it camp,
ian even
before his love of
Hip Hop and the de
sire to
broaden his horizon
s, the young talen
t fiddled
with the keyboard
and other instrume
nts at his
leisure. But it was
Flav’s example tha
t took him
over the top. “Whe
n I saw them doin’
their thing,
it made me want a
piece of it,” he rem
embers.
As such, Pro earne
d his
and relied on his DJi first record deal in 1989
ng
production in an ast skills to learn studio
onishing two week
s. Upon
convincing his lab
el he
set, the talented em ad that he was a vital ascee contributed to
up
of ten albums – fiv
e of his own and fiv wards
e of
which he produced
for other artists. In
1994 the
budding producer/ra
pper then known as
moved on, landing
C Funk
a deal with Scarfa
ce/Pri
ity and San Francisc
o veteran emcee Pa orris. Over
the next decade, he
landed production
credits
for the likes of Dig
ital Underground,
E-40
Conscious Daughte
rs, Rappin’ 4-Tay, Cel ,
ly Cell,
San Quinn, Sugar Ra
y and Messy Marv,
among
others.
Since uniting with
In Ya Face Records
, Pro has
all but resurrected
his career and his
new album
Did You Get It Yet?,
is living proof. “I
got some
shit on this album
,” he promises. “Ev
erybody
gon’ say that abou
t they album, but I
can say it
because I’ma back
mine up.” //
Words by N. Ali Ea
rly
Photo courtesy of
Top Shelf Ent.
OZONE WEST // 23
TASTIES FASHION SHOW
TJ’s DJ’s TASTEMAKERS MUSIC CONF. // WEST COAST RECAP
TJ’s DJ’s TASTEMAKERS CONFERENCE
HYPHY HAPPY HOUR
(l to r): Roccett performing during the CTE/USDA Tasties Fashion Show at the Chakra Lounge on South Beach; Bay Area crew in the building for the afterparty; Mistah FAB, Keak da
Sneak & Roccett, DJ Skee & Tito Bell (Photos by D-Ray)
24 // OZONE WEST
(clockwise from left): Clyde Carson introducing DJ
Juice to Hyphy Juice during Capitol Records’ Hyphy Hour listening suite; Clyde and Foxx; Keak da
Sneak, Cellski, Clyde Carson, Cuzzo, Beeda Weeda,
Mistah FAB, & guest; Mistah FAB, Cellski, Beeda
Weeda, Keak da Sneak, Dennis, & Gary Archer;
Clyde Carson; Clyde, Keak da Sneak, & DJ K-Tone;
DJs Spin & Wild Wayne; Plenty of Hyphy Juice on
deck (Photos by D-Ray & Marcus DeWayne)
(clockwise from right): Traxamillion and CRUNK!!! models; Kafani, John Costen, & N. Ali Early;
Pimpin’ Ken, J-Diggs, & Dre (Photos: D-Ray); ProHoeZak’s models (Photo: Terrence Tyson); Kia
Shine, Mistah FAB, Keak da Sneak, & BloodRaw showing off their unique styles on the artist
panel (Photo: J Lash); Joker da Bailbondsman, Hawkman, Young Doe, & DJ K-Tone on South
Beach; DJ Juice, Cuzzo, & Cellski @ Sobe Live (Photos: D-Ray); DJ Backside & Hot Dollar; Clyde
Carson & Killer Mike (Photos: Intl K); Cellski & Sean
Kennedy (Photo: D-Ray)
RED CARPET
2ND ANNUAL OZONE AWARDS // WEST COAST RECAP
BACKSTAGE
(l to r); Mistah FAB (Photo: Edward Hall), Kafani (Photo: J Lash), Hot Dollar (Photo: Terrence Tyson), Keak da Sneak & Clyde Carson (Photos: Ray Tamarra)
left: J Diggs & the Dirty Girls (Photo: Terrence Tyson); DJ Juice, DJ Backside, & J Diggs (Photo: D-Ray)
center: Keak da Sneak & Mistah FAB (Photo: Edward Hall)
right: J-Diggs, Beeda Weeda, DJ Juice, Kafani, Cellski, Titi Bell, D-Ray, Mistah FAB, & guests reppin’ the Bay
Area in the media room (Photo: D-Ray)
OZONE AWARD SHOW
below: Keak da Sneak & Mistah FAB performing “Super Hyphy”
right: Mistah FAB, Kafani, & Beeda Weeda performing Kafani’s
“Fast (Like a Nascar)”
(Photos: Ray Tamarra)
“I wear these bright ass colors cause I’m
tired of gettin’ overlooked. Everybody
thinks that all we do is rap about hyphy
shit. Go ahead and think that, but once you
sit down and talk to me you’re going to
realize that I’m like the Quincy Jones of this
shit. We was the most talked about [group]
there.” - Mistah FAB
OZONE WEST // 25
Images provided by D-Ray, Jaws, Barry Underhill, & Vivian Chen
26 // OZONE WEST
THABAY
BRIDGE
Words by N. Ali Early // Artwork by Tene Gooden
By the summer of 2006 the word “hyphy” had taken
on multiple meanings. Once used to describe objects,
emotions or feelings of unbridled energy, it was soon
packaged as an energy drink (Hyphy Juice) and more
importantly a way of life. The Bay seemed poised for the
comeback it had been waiting on upwards of a decade
and a single courtesy of the Ambassador of the Bay – E40 – seemed to be the track that would push the movement off into the stratosphere. The song was “Tell Me
When To Go,” featuring “Mr. Super Hyphy” himself – Keak
Da Sneak. It was all that and a bowl of grits. Equally
important was the video, which captured the visual of
the growing genre.
40 laid out the Hyphy Commandments on the last sixteen
and it was official. Bundles of t-shirts went to press,
beeswax sold out in every beauty supply this side of the
Town and MTV2 made a special trip to announce their
findings to the world. But months after the release of
40’s My Ghetto Report Card major record labels still
weren’t convinced that hyphy was the surefire hit that
its cousin “crunk” was. Even a second single, “Blow The
Whistle,” courtesy of The Godfather of the Bay, Too $hort,
couldn’t withstand the industry’s cold shoulder. In the
aftermath, none of the young guns, who desperately
wanted to carry the torch, were able to.
Thankfully, time has worked to heal the wounds and
the Bay’s talented pool of artists is active as ever. With
label and distribution deals secured from the likes of
Koch, Capitol and Atlantic, the Bay is arguably stronger
and more ready than before. On cue, $hort decided on a
compilation album that would effectively re-announce
the Bay Area – hyphy or not. Appropriately titled I Love
The Bay, the 21 track All Star slapper is a defining moment for the Yay; and in the scheme of things, much
more than music. It’s a coming together of the ages
– old and new. It’s legends and their would be successors all on one project. This is the Bay Bridge.
here I
w
t
c
je
o
r
p
a
r
ut togethe
p
s
a
w
o
d
to
n the beats
o
d
p
te
a
n
r
a
to
w
I
m
t
a
e
Wh
nd asked th
a
in
thing,
y
y
d
n
o
a
b
r
y
o
r
k
e
c
v
a
e
b
d
calle
ke giving
li
’t
n
s
a
work of
w
r
It
e
.
th
d
o
e
n
id
a
v
,
o
it
r
that I p
mething to
o
s
d
d
a
to
d
te
but I just wan
$hort
o
o
T
.”
e
r
tu
pic
art to the big
OZONE WEST // 27
Too
$hort
Also Known As: Short Dog
Love Handle: “The Godfather of the Bay”
Current Project/Product: I Love The Bay
Label: Up All Nite
Soil: Tha Town (East Oakland)
I
nspiration behind the I Love the Bay compilation: I’d been working with
two producers, Young L from the Pack and Traxamillion. Trax has been
doing a lot of work with Bay Area artists and L’s just now emerging on the
scene. I like the sound they both have and I like the sound that’s coming out of
the Bay. And it’s not just what they’re doing. I like what the artists and other
producers are doing in the Bay right now. What I wanted to do was put together
a project where I called everybody in and asked them to rap on the beats that I
provided. I didn’t do that for everybody, but I did that with the majority of the
people on the album. It wasn’t like giving back or anything, but I just wanted to
add something to it, another work of art to the big picture.
On the process of completing the album: I didn’t wanna just go get the whole
Bay. I just wanted to collectively get as many people as I could and make one
nice album representing the Bay and where it’s at right now. I didn’t want to
play on words like “hyphy” and box it in. I wanted to have some real hyphy stuff
on there, and I wanted to have some stuff on there that had a Southern feel. I
wanted to have some traditional West Coast stuff on there. I let all the artists
pick the beats that they wanted to rap on. I didn’t say, “Here, you rap on this
beat.” So they had a little motivation to take the beat and do something good
with it. I like the final results. We’re not going to spend hundreds of thousands
of dollars promoting it and blowin’ it up and all that. It’s just a cool little compilation to ride to or do whatever you wanna do with.
Pulling it together: Some guys did the vocals at their studios and some of the
guys came to the sessions I booked. Then I had some people working with
me. My man Mike Sebastian was calling some shots, doing favors contacting
people. My man Mistah FAB was very instrumental in helping me put the project
together, picking the right artists and the right tracks. It was a team effort. It
wasn’t just me on the phone saying, “I need you to do this.”
Mood and motivation: Everybody’s pretty much in a decent mood right now.
Nobody’s really mad or anything. Everybody’s kinda comfortable with the
struggle and the hustle, just trying to get from point A to point B and elevate
their game. Everybody’s about gettin’ their money right now, so it wasn’t like
you were reaching out and niggas was like, “Aw man I ain’t fuckin’ widit.” It
was cool. I told pretty much everybody that if they come and get down with me,
I got ‘em. The Bay Area unspoken rule is, “You come rap on my shit, I’ll come
rap on your shit and we don’t really have to talk specifics.” So anybody that’s
on that compilation can call me and get one good favor from me right now. We
made that connection so they got it like that now.
How hyphy happened: I think that a lot of people love that hyphy sound, but
when you get to talkin’ to rap artists and producers, they like to think of hyphy
as a part of what goes on out here. It’s a major part. It’s the newest, hottest
thing, but it didn’t just wipe out the music scene. It wasn’t like every backpacker,
every hip hopper, underground, or gangsta artist just threw away everything
they ever did and said, “Oh, I’m hyphy now.” It didn’t really go down like that.
But that media portayed it like, “This is the new Bay sound and they’re hyphy
and this is all they do.” There is a culture out there with the doors open and
the sideshows, but everybody’s not doin’ that. It’s not like if you’re not doing
that, you’re an outcast. I think the real frustration is knowing that if I sell fifty
thousand albums in the Bay, no label is going to offer me a deal. If I sell those
numbers in Texas, Atlanta or Miami somewhere, every label is going to be like,
“Oh, this is hot, we gotta sign him!”
The CNN Factor: It looked so good in the E-40 video (“Tell Me When To Go!”), with
modern communication and all the different ways to communicate, where everything is instantly blasted all over the world, it was sensationalized. I think the
media sensationalizes any fuckin’ thing now. It’s, “I need a story, I need a story,”
and hyphy was the story ‘cause it was the new thing. Now the story is, “What
happened to hyphy?” In the meantime, you got a bunch of youngstas out there
that really do that shit and they don’t give a fuck what you said about it last
28 // OZONE WEST
year or what you’re saying about it this year. They don’t care. It’s a way of life.
Straight-laced: There’s a long list of cities that love Bay Area music and if you
can create a movement like some of the Bay Area artists have created, major
labels would be all over you. But if you’re a Bay Area artist and you’re getting
major love in Alaska, Canada, Seattle and Portland, all up and down the coast,
it means nothing. The reason why is because from what I hear the West Coast
doesn’t have urban radio stations. They play a lot of urban music on the radio
stations, but those stations aren’t categorized as urban stations. Those are like
pop crossover stations, shit like that. So when you get those spins, they’re not
considered “urban spins.” BET doesn’t give a fuck about a hot urban artist from
the West Coast, because it’s not poppin’ up on the urban chart. It doesn’t show
up because it’s being played on white radio.
The Numbers Game: We can’t get our videos on BET, so we deal with real numbers. This is what I really did. I sold thirty thousand copies last year and I made
$200k. I split it up with the Crew and we ‘gon do it again. It’s a damn good job
to be a rapper in the Bay and know how to sell your albums. Shout out to Kafani
and The Federation who are making their way up to the major labels and going
for it. That’s a hard thing to do in the Bay, to get a major label to offer you a
deal.
Why I love the Bay: The media kind of wants everybody’s emotions [to spill over]
because of the hyphy movement. I like that shit, but that’s not what I love about
the Bay. I love the new sound that the hyphy shit brought in. I love the shit,
but I also love the fact that the Bay Area is still about musicians and diversity.
You’ve got every nationality out there heavily involved in Hip Hop. You go to
some other places and the Hip Hop scene is just black. You don’t go into an
event and see an equal amount of Asians, Hispanics and blacks groovin’ to the
same beat. //
E-40
Also Known As: 40 Water, Charlie Hustle, 40 H2O, Watermelon, etc.
Love Handle: “The Ambassador of the Bay”
Current Project/Product: My Ghetto Report Card, The Ball Street
Journal (forthcoming), 40 Water
Label: Sick Widit/BME
Soil: Tha Valley Jo (Vallejo, CA)
Album Contribution: “This My One”
H
ome Sweet Home: I was wigglin’ and I’m still wigglin’, but anytime
$hort needed me on anything, I’ve been right there. One of the biggest things ever in my whole life was to do a song with Too $hort
back in the days. I wanted to do that since the late ‘80s, early ‘90s and when
we actually got in there to do it (“Rappers Ball”), it was a winner. So timing is
perfect and that’s my OG. Anytime I ever needed $hort for anything, he was right
there on deck with it. So I’m the same way.
Music versus the turf: Hyphy is a lifestyle. It’s a culture. It’s the streets. The
music scene of hyphy doesn’t really have anything to do with the way people
are living. Niggas is in the hood really livin’ hyphy. So basically the music part
of it, the coals ain’t really hot as they was. They’re really lukewarm as far as the
music part of it, but good music is good music. Whether it’s hyphy, whatever it is
from whatever angle. Good music is good music. You got your backpack rappers,
ya gangsta rappers, your rappers that do the Gangsta shit. You got your rappers
that do the struggle rap. You got all kinda phases of the game.
Tha New Yay: I feel like The Bay Area, we’re the ones who kill it, ‘cause we’re the
ones who talk bad about it. I think a lot of people would agree with me on that.
Some of the people who talk about it don’t like the whole thing, but at the same
time, it’s a lot of rappers that never adjusted to hyphy. I’ve always been one
who could fit in with any kind of music, whether it was rock or whatever. I just
know I can do that shit, cause I’m a well rounded rapper. I can do it all. Some
people are stubborn, so they didn’t ever want to fuck with the movement. They
was lovin’ the attention and everything that it was bringing, but never wanted
to break that barrier and try to do hyphy music. So those are the ones who
didn’t like it and can’t wait for it to die down. They wanna stand on stage with
all black on with a 40 ounce in they hand lookin’ mean at everybody. They want
them days back and right now, God ain’t tryna have that.
No Limit Soulja: I ain’t hatin’ on none of these youngstas. I was once a youngsta.
I’m a nigga straight from the soil. I done seen it, lived it, did it, been around it,
heard about it, got folks affiliated with it and I done seen a lot of street shit go
down. Everybody wanna hate on Soulja Boy, but when we was young, we had
the “Pee Wee Herman.” What’s the difference? When it comes to music, I don’t
think there are any limits. You gotta be able to mix your shit up. My whole album
was not hyphy, but I did participate in the movement because I felt like that was
my obligation. I never said, “I’m the King of hyphy” or ever claimed that I made
it up. I just said, “I’m here to endorse it,” and I was in a position to let the world
know that it’s some good shit that’s goin’ on in the Bay Area. I played my part. I
played my position.
Verbal Vision: We shoulda had more people come out when I opened up the
floodgates and broke the levee. We never had this much attention on us even
when we was hot with “I Got Five On It” and In A Major Way, back in 1995 when
the whole Bay was eatin’. This time we had cameras on us! We never had this
much attention, not in one swoop. So basically, we just needed more people to
follow up. It’s good to want a little jumpstart, but you gotta keep the car runnin’.
Why I Love the Bay: I love the Bay because it’s where I was born, raised and
groomed. I love the Bay because there’s no other place like Tha Bay. We got the
coldest swag. We can talk our way out of anything. Bay niggas and Bay broads,
no matter where they at, they got that cold mouthpiece. I see ‘em everywhere I
go and I can always tell they’re from the Bay. And what I love right now is that
when the attention came, everybody came from everywhere. Now niggas can
walk with they chest out and say, “I’m from Tha Bay.” Niggas been doin’ it, but
now it’s like they’re more happy to do it. They’re more proud to scream it and
they’re not going to stop. And we’re the most creative muthafuckas on earth,
straight hustlas, playas!! //
“We shoulda had more
people come out when I
opened up the floodgates
and broke the levee. It’s
good to want a little
jumpstart, but you gotta
keep the car runnin’.”
– E-40
“I want the world to know us like this.
That’s the only reason I’m still in the
game. I ain’t gonna stop until everybody
knows about this and they relate to it.”
– Keak Da Sneak
On a mission: I’ma give it CPR if it’s dead. I’ma give it mouth to mouth if that’s
the case. If I’m the creator and the founder of it and I have the last word on it,
then I haven’t introduced it yet. My album will be out November 6th and I’m getting distributed the right way this time. And it’s not just fast music and hangin’
out the cars. It’s actually just a way of life. It’s where I’m from. This is how we
have fun. It’s how we interact. It’s similar to “crunk.” It’s similar to the East
Coast’s “wildin’ out.” It’s basically just a lot of energy and expressing yourself.
It’s definitely not dead. It’s just that E-40 was the only one that dropped an
album at that time to define it. Now me not getting a deal that fast right after
that, it just seemed like, “What’s next?” I’m definitely about to open that door
back up and let ‘em know this is an everyday ritual. It’s more than a movement.
It’s a Bay way of life. It’s been goin’ on. Y’all just now gettin’ a whiff of it.
Succeeding Hyphy: I feel like they tried to keep it going, but I don’t really like
everybody tryna take the credit, cause I didn’t do that. Don’t try to introduce it
when you’re not the one to do that. I first said the word “hyphy” on a compilation in ‘96. Then I did it again on a song called “Sneakacydal” in ‘98. All I’m saying is don’t try to exploit the definition of it when that ain’t the right definition.
My thing is, just get it back to where it should have been.
Balance and Options: I feel like I’m a trendsetter. I grew up off E-40 and Too
$hort, Mac Dre, N.W.A. Ice Cube, and Tupac. I feel like I’m all them people in one
and it makes me different. I don’t sound like nobody. So my main thing is, everybody follows what I do as far as the Bay. Mac Dre left a lot on my shoulders.
When he was here it was more of a balance, but now I gotta work that much
harder. So right now I’m just setting the trend and basically saying, “You don’t
gotta rap on a 180 mile track. You don’t gotta get extra hyphy. You don’t gotta
do that. Just take it back to doing good music. “
Why I Love the Bay: I’ve been in Oakland all my life. That’s all I know. I was born
in Alabama. I came to Oakland when I was six months [old]. I just now started
leaving and going other places, ‘cause I gotta see something new. But at the
same time, this is all I know. I know the Bay like the back of my hand. And I
want the world to know us like this. That’s the only reason I’m still in the game.
I ain’t gonna stop until everybody knows about this and they relate to it. //
Mistah
Keak Da FAB
Sneak
Love Handle: “The Prince of the Bay”
Current Project/Product: Another One Like the Other One mixtape
Hyphy Hit: “White T-shirts, Blue Jeans & Nike’s,” “Super Hyphy”
Label: ALLNDADOE
Soil: The Whole Damn Yay! (East Oakland)
Album Contribution: “Going Dumb”
H
istorically Keaking: I been knowin’ $hort since like ’96, as well as
E-40, all the Bay Icons and legends. It was a blessing for all of us to
come together, ‘cause it seems like we don’t come together enough.
So this project was definitely a good thing. It opened a lot of eyes and is gettin’
a lot of people to look at the Bay again to let them know that we still there.
This project will definitely let the world know about our music and the history
behind it. Too $hort, Toni Tone Tony, MC Hammer, Digital Underground, R.I.P. 2Pac,
Keyshia Cole, Goapele, 3X Crazy, Keak Da Sneak, The Luniz, etc., it’s definitely still
icons in the Bay. And it’s new up and coming artists in the Bay like FAB, Big Rich,
I could go on and on.
Also Known As: Fabby Davis Jr.
Love Handle: “The Freestyle King,” “Prince of the O”
Current Project/Product: Da Baydestrian, Da Yellow Bus Rydah
Hyphy Hit: “Ghost Ride It”
Label: Faeva Afta/Thizz Nation/Atlantic
Soil: North Oakland
Album Contribution: “That Thang”, “Lose It”
W
akin’ em up: We got the Kobes. We got the Greg Odens. We got
the Lebrons. Niggas just ain’t seein’ it. We’re the [Golden State]
Warriors of the industry. How long niggas been hatin’ on the Warriors? I been a Warriors fan for-EVER! When we got to the playoffs this year, we
knocked off the number one seed. That’s the hyphy movement! Niggas just ain’t
seen it. When we knocked off Dallas we had everybody comin’ to see us play. You
got Snoop Dogg – a dedicated Lakers fan – at the Warriors game. That’s all I’m
saying. Put us on and I guarantee you niggas gon’ talk about us.
The Groovement: The dance of the West Coast is the hyphy dance. From Alaska to
New Mexico. When the shit comes on in the club, niggas is gettin’ hyphy. You got
L.A. niggas, real gangbangers, doin’ the thizz dance and really thizz facin’. That’s
the dance of the West Coast.
OZONE WEST // 29
Why I Love the Bay: The Bay made me who I am. It gave me my existence, my
hustle, my arrogance, my confidence, my intelligence, my drive and my ambition.
Being a product of your environment, I know that if anybody can survive in the
Bay, they can survive anywhere in the world. A female from the Bay can go out
and get a nigga, next thing you know, she come back rich as shit! Cause niggas
in the Bay ain’t givin’ her nuthin’. But outside, she’ll meet somebody and run so
much game on em, they’re going to fall in love. It’s just how you survive and
that’s how we do. Niggas in the Bay is real sharp. You’d need a real expensive
blade to cut into us, cause we real Ginsu out here. //
San
Quinn
Also Known As: The Almighty San Quinn
Love Handle: “San Francisco’s Real Mayor”
Current Project/Product: Bay Area Mixtape 7, Boy to a Man (forthcoming)
Hyphy Hit: “Do Ya Thizzle”
Label: Done Deal Entertainment
Soil: Uptown Fillmore District (San Francisco, CA)
Album contribution: “You Don’t Wanna See Me Rich”
T
he Bay is Active: Everybody is on their second go around. I got a new
single with Clyde [Carson], “Push Up On Me.” Too $hort got the I Love
the Bay compilation. Clyde got him a new single goin’. Frontline got
them a new single goin’. Turf Talk’s record is out. The boy Kafani got the record
deal with Koch and we seen him on BET, so I think that we’re scratching at the
surface. We just gotta get that 106th & Park stature going. I think everybody’s
mind is probably still in the same place though. It should be.
The Quick Fix: We live in that era where people get bored too fast. They saw it
and now they’re waiting on something new to come up out of it and nothing
else materialized, yet there was a phenomenon. Out in Atlanta you got Unk and
he got “Walk it Out.” Now you got Soulja Boy and you got TI. Now you got Playaz
Circle. Seem like they finna make waves and that’s what we missed. We needed
that back to back so we could have a Bay Area set outside of the Bay Area playing our music with about ten songs – that the nation is familiar with.
Go Hard or Go Home: We’ll look up and it’ll be hyphy in Seattle or hyphy in Portland. Somebody will know how to maximize it on the business side. Being that
we’re independent it’s a lot of cutthroat business moves. Nobody is really going
the extra mile to be a mogul. A mogul in the industry is respected amongst the
people who are not independent. And we’re missing that too.
Why I Love the Bay: I was born and raised here. That’s number one. Then all
the things that came from here to make me proud. Jerry Rice, Barry Bonds, the
Black Panthers. There’s a musical history all the way back to the Grateful Dead,
the atmosphere and it being a melting pot. I got Philippino, Mexican, Japanese,
white fans, as well as I got cutthroat negroes that love me all behind the walls
of the penitentiary, representing this Bay Area. That’s why I love it, cause it loves
me back. //
Big
Rich
Also Known As: Fill More Rich
Love Handle: “Tha Undadogg King”
Current Project/Product: Block Tested Hood Approved, Get Down
or Lay Down, Unda Dogg Kingz
Noted Slapper: “That’s The Bizness”
Label: 3 Story Muzik/Koch
Soil: Fillmore
Album Contribution: “Speakers On Blapp”
O
n the ILTB experience: Coming into that situation and $hort really
reaching out to a nigga like, “I like your shit, come and fuck with us
and be a part of this,” it was a great feeling to me. It was an honor
to me. So I don’t know how everybody else felt, but to me it was an honor.
Far From Hyphy: Seeing it from the City it was cool, but we’re kind of on an
island. In the 510, it’s like everybody is kinda together. It was different for
us, ‘cause we didn’t really jump aboard onto the hyphy bandwagon as far as
the culture as much. So that kind of translated into our music. I made some
controversial comments during my campaign last year, saying that I support
the movement, but I don’t really make the music. A lot of people took that the
wrong way, but my thing was, in no way was I going to make a profit off of the
situation if I wasn’t of the situation. But in all interviews I always said I supported [the hyphy movement]. I just said I didn’t make the music.
Why I Love The Bay: I love it for the diversity, but I mostly love the rap game out
here because we’re the underdog. When the rap shit pops off for us, it’s gon’ be
great. Seeing all of us on TV last year was wonderful. Just the fact that we are
all underdogs keeps me hungry. I love the culture. You can drive through every
city out here and it’s something different to look at. It ain’t the same monotonous shit. We all different and that’s what makes it pop. //
Yukmouth
Also Known As: Yuk
Love Handle: Mr. Smoke-A-Lot
Current Project/Product: City of Dope Mixtape, United Ghettos:
Eye Candy Edition, Million Dollar Mouthpiece (forthcoming/October 2007)
Label: Smoke-A-Lot/Godzilla/Rap-A-Lot
Soil: 69th Village (East Oakland)
Album Contribution: “Shine Like Me”
O
n the ILTB experience: I live in L.A., so I didn’t get to work with
anybody. I did mine at my studio. I did my shit within two hours.
It’s crazy how you make a song hella fast and it ends up being a hit.
Then other songs you spend days with and that shit’s boo boo. So it was right.
That “Shine Like Me,” I’m using it for my album too. [It’s] the hottest song I ever
wrote.
Breaking new ground: A lotta niggas be thinkin’ that me and $hort be still
beefin’ and shit, cause after the Luniz shit it just continued. But we had to let
niggas know that we’re above that. We’re over that and we’re unifying in the
Bay. Regardless of the past [problems] that we had, he’s still a legend. I still
look up to him and it’s a pleasure and an honor working with him.
Why I love the Bay: I’m from the Bay, born and raised! (laughs) I’m from the Bay
and I am the Bay. I’d probably be a cartoonist or something, so the Bay made
me. I love the Bay because it got game. It got more game than anywhere else
I’ve been. It laces you. Ain’t no gangbangin’ out there, none of that shit – just
hustlin’ and game. If I was anywhere else I wouldn’t be as seasoned as I am
now. In L.A. I notice that people are waiting around for Dre to sign them. We
don’t do that in the Bay. If niggas close the door in our face, FUCK YOU. We gon’
30 // OZONE WEST
put it out ourselves. That’s that drive. That’s that hustle that we got up in us,
that we was taught since youngstas, since niggas was pumpin’ gas for money
since a little kid or workin’ at the Coliseum. It’s a hustle. You gotta go get it if
you want it. So I love the Bay because it taught me the game. //
Clyde
Carson
Love Handle: Mr. Hyphy Juice, Mr. President
Current Project/Product: Theater Music (forthcoming)
Noted Slapper: “Doin’ Dat,” “Hood Stomped Out,” “2 Step”
Label: Moe Doe/Capitol
Soil: The Whole Town
Album Contribution: “You See It” (by The Team – includes members Kaz Kyzah, Mayne Mannish and Carson)
O
n the ILTB experience: It was a like a big party. The Team came
through. We all met up there and picked out one of them Young L
beats. It was a slapper and we just did the shit. Everybody wrote
their shit right there. I think that was the last Team song we did, ‘cause everybody was workin’ on their album.
On contributing to the album: I grew up listening to Too $hort. He was my favorite rapper my whole time growing up, so for him to call me and ask me to get on
his project, was big. It was an accomplishment. It made me feel like I’m in the
right direction. Everybody else that contributed had some heat. So I was more or
less about just coming through and puttin’ a hot record on the album.
Moving with a purpose: As long as it’s a movement coming out the Bay that
represents good music, I’m with it. I think we’re hyphy no matter what. That’s
our spirit and our attitude. When we made that “Hyphy Juice” remix, we watched
mu’fuckas get hyphy off that slow ass [cadence], so it really don’t matter. It’s
all about music. Just make some hot shit and I guarantee you they’ll go dumb. I
don’t know where we are with fashion and stunna shades and the whole hyphy
fashion. Everything gets played. It’s finna be ‘08. If muthafuckas is still dressin’
like they was in ‘04, it’s a problem and I damn sho’ ain’t with that. I ain’t supportin’ nothin’ that’s ancient. I’m supportin’ keepin’ it pushin’ and keepin’ it
movin’.
Why I Love the Bay: That’s where I’m from. I’ve lived all over. I’ve lived in
Richmond. I’ve lived in Berkeley, Vallejo. So I feel like I represent the Bay to the
fullest. I just love the Bay and everywhere in the Bay. I got nuthin’ but love for
the Bay. That’s my home. //
Turf Talk
Also Known As: Turfy, Young Turf
Love Handle: “The Hardest Nigga In Tha Bay”
Current Project/Product: West Coast Vaccine: The Cure
Hyphy Hit: “Super Sick Wit It”
Label: SickWidit/30/30
Soil: The Valley Jo (Vallejo, CA)
Album Contribution: “In The Streets”
T
he Takeover: I think the movement is gettin’ stronger again, maybe
even stronger than it was before. But to me, besides 40, the movement
is not being represented right. The world thinks we on some clown
shit right now. They think we on some funny dancin’, jumpin’ around, goofy
shit and it’s kinda startin’ to piss Turfy off, man. I support the movement to the
fullest, but now, I’m tryna be the leader of the movement. I’m not holdin’ back
no more, cause the cats that came after 40, I feel like they didn’t represent the
Bay right. I want people to see the hardcore image of the Bay, not the funny,
laughin’ image of the Bay. We’re not going to win that way.
Mind Control: My little daughter can rap how these niggas is rappin’ and the
radio is supporting this funny ass commercial ass rap, so when these out of
towners come out here they be like, “Damn, this is what the Bay is on? This is
what they like out here?” It’s not a certain individual, cause it’s a lot of individuals. It’s this bubble gum ass rap that I’m tired of. I’m sick of this shit. My mind is
about taking over now. I’m claimin’ “the hardest nigga in the Bay” right now. 40
is my OG, but one day the young hyena gotta step it up. I’m steppin’ up and I’m
the dopest nigga out here.
Every Day We Hustlin’: You gotta love the Bay. The thing about the Bay that is
so dope is we got our own shit. We’re really not trippin’. We created the hyphy
movement. A lot of places in the world don’t have anything that they created
from the root. The Bay, what makes it so cold is it’s hustle. Out here people is
really tryna get it. You go other places and people look like they in a trance.
Why I Love The Bay: I love the Bay because it’s original. It’s so much shit that
has started here – fuck the rappin’ – from the Black Panthers to the Muslims,
even Tupac was here. E-40, Too $hort, man, the list goes on and on. This place
is a very beautiful place. It’s not too big. It’s not too little. Everybody here
is money motivated. It’s no bloodin’ and crippin’, but everybody out here is
real hustlers and real gangsters. I was born here and I ain’t never leavin’ this
muthafucka. //
OZONE WEST // 31
DJ
DJ
Dow Jones
If
you’ve been on the West Coast over the past couple years, you’ve
probably heard Dow Jones’ production on your favorite rapper’s album
or mixtape. A DJ by trade, Jones’ Tha Bizness Productions, a company
he shares with his cousin J Hen, has produced tracks for practically every up
and coming artist on the Coast like Problem, G Malone, Mistah FAB and Turf Talk.
Jones says, “We just want to do our part of the job to help bring our coast back
to where its supposed to be, so if we gotta go outta town to do that and to get
muthafuckas to recognize west coast game, then that’s what we need to do.”
How did you get in the game?
Been in the game for 8 years, started hangin out with DV1 who was with the
Rock Steady Crew. I carried his crates for a minute for all the tours he was
on. He DJed for Dialated Peoples, so I seen things from the ground up, and I
always wanted to do the DJ shit. I mean I was messin’ with the beats first, but
DV1 taught me the DJ shit. That led to mixtapes, and that lead to makin’ beats
that people were spittin’ on and that pretty much led me where I am today as a
[mixtape DJ and a producer].
I know you’ve been in the Bay and Seattle, Los Angeles and now in Atlanta.
What’s up with all the moving around?
I’m not scared of change. Some DJs like to be the hottest nigga on their block
and that’s it. I just looked at the game as a hustle, so I did whatever I needed
to do to make it happen. In Seattle I came up from the true school of things and
then did all the hottest mixtapes there. Los Angeles is one of the biggest cities
on the West Coast, so I decided to go get my feet wet out there. While in L.A., my
partner and I met up wit DJ Toomp and some of the cats from the Grand Hustle
family and that’s what brought us to Atlanta where we are right now. As far
as the Bay Area, I used to see Mistah FAB everywhere I went and we just came
together on some nigga shit and related to each other on a personal level.
You keep sayin’ “we.” Can you clarify who “we” is?
Dow Jones: Well it’s a family thing so that’s just me and my cousin J Hen. He’s
been on the beats and the keys for minute now and we hooked up back in L.A.
and have been doin’ everything together ever since. That’s why we call the
company Tha Bizness Productions, because if you come to us, we will get you
crackin’. Mixtapes, beats, street team, music videos, everything.
32 // OZONE WEST
Are you part of a DJ Crew too?
Dow Jones: I used to do that, but right now, I still mess with my Houston DJs,
the Hustle Squad DJs, J Classic and Clue’s cousin DJ Storm.
Are you still doing mixtapes?
Dow Jones: Yeah, but right now it’s more like street albums. Something we pride
ourselves on is really having a relationship with the artists. We can go in the
studio with the artist and get them to do new songs over our production, or
others’ production, and basically put together a whole new album of music.
Who are the top three West Coast cats that got next, in your opinion?
One, Glasses Malone - He spits real shit and his presence on records is real big.
He’s the real street prophet and his album has a real story to it. Two, Mistah FAB
and Clyde Carson because they’re the best of two different things. FAB has the
energy and charisma and the ability to spit. Clyde’s a great songwriter and [has
the ability] to make big club records. Third, Mitchy Slick. That dude has been
grindin’ for so long and he has such a strong fan base, but hasn’t been able to
get the right push behind him. It’s hard bein’ a real street artist because some
labels don’t wanna mess with that. But still, he’s got a huge movement behind
him.
As a DJ, is it just a natural progression for you to start doing production as well?
As a DJ in the club, you have to know what’s hot, but if you don’t know how to
play the hot songs together you’ll clear the dance floor. You have to make it all
come together to make the party hot. It’s the same way with producing; there’s
a difference from being a producer and a beatmaker. As a producer, you gotta
make it all come together. You can’t just put it in cruise control. You gotta know
how to get in the studio with the artist and make the artist bring out the best in
the song and the vision. You have to be a one band man today. You can’t make a
beat and email it to the A&R. That shit don’t work anymore. //
For more info on Dow Jones and The Bizness Productions go to
myspace.com/thabiznessbeats
Words by DJ Backside
Photo by Vivian Hsu
Too $hort & Friends/I Love The Bay/Up All Nite
Since the Bay’s so-called “revival,” Too $hort’s presence in the Town
(Oakland) has been about as consistent as a Pac Bell late notice and
this album is a testament to his unwavering commitment. A true
“compilation,” I Love The Bay is more than $hort’s affinity for his
stomping grounds, but a coming together of legends ($hort, 40, San
Quinn, Yukmouth, etc.) and a new generation (Mistah FAB, Turf Talk,
Big Rich, Dem Hoodstarz, etc.) in musical harmony. $hort and Keak
keep the hyphy candle lit on “Going Dumb” and Mistah FAB picks
up where they left off with turbo precision on the frenetic “That
Thang.” ILTB ironically gains greater momentum on the more tempered “Shine Like Me” (Yukmouth), “You Don’t Wanna See Me Rich”
(San Quinn) and the Droop-E produced “This My One” (40 and $hort
featuring Mike Marshall). Tha Bay ain’t went nowhere. – N. Ali Early
Marvaless/Ready Made/Black Armor
Arguably considered the hardest female lyricist on the West Coast in
the mid ‘90s, C-Bo understudy Marvaless never had issues holding
her own alongside her testosterone-laden counterparts. With the
release of her sixth solo complete album, C-Bo presents Marvaless:
Ready Made, it appears the six year layoff has done nothing to
diminish her trademark delivery and persuasive swag. The Killa Tayassisted title track and “Do The Math” announce the rejuvenated
rapper in true “mob music” fashion. Meanwhile, “Thug Life,” featuring Jacka and Rydah J. Klyde, speaks to Marvaless’ less celebrated
socio-political side. “Fuckin’ Wit Us” and “U So Fly” both find the
undisputed Sacramento rap empress going dolo before she shifts
gears once more on the uplifting “Black Queen,” featuring Juana
Blaze. Don’t call it a comeback. – N. Ali Early
Taje/Hot Box: Second Hit
Cali Untouchable Radio/Baby Ree Records
If you happened to miss the first installment of Hot Box, The
Second Hit (presented by Untouchable Radio’s DJ Warrior), will do
everything to catch you up to speed. By definition this is what you
would call “music to drive by.” Jump started by the bouncy “Still
Dumpin’,” the Southern Cali-based emcee comes out blastin’. Much
like his homies Glasses Malone and Bishop Lamont, Taje fuses clever
wordplay with street and sociopolitical elements, arriving at a
very likable place for today’s finicky listener. “Misunderstood” and
“Butterfly Effect” cruise at a steady pace and the Dae One produced
street hit “Houseshoes” takes Hot Box 2 off into overdrive. Eiht’s
got to be smiling somewhere. – N. Ali Early
ANDRE NICKATINA/BOOTY STAR: GLOCK TAWK
FIllmoe Coleman Records
With his 13th studio release, Booty Star: Glock Tawk, Andre
Nickatina is like a sniper casing wack MCs. Booty Star
elevates the game, with Nicky in classic fashion – spitting
from planet Fillmoe. Booty Star heats it up for pole dancers, alley prancers and the hustlers. However, Nickatina’s
OG flow and penchant for using elaborate descriptives set
Booty Star apart. “San Francisco Bay,” “Contract Out On
Cupid” and “Cocaine” find Nicky chopping game from the
mind of a capo and a fitting tribute to another legend, “My
Friend Mac Dre,” builds worthwhile nostalgia. Booty Star’s
diverse production, original lyricism and Nicky’s persona
– a cross between Alfred Hitchcock, Albert Anastasia and
Iceberg Slim – is instantly engaging. With classic Bay style,
Booty Star celebrates the glitz, glamour and grime of the
night life in a rare display of game… certainly 3 AM music.
– Luvva J
Balance and Big Rich
Unda Dogg Kingz/Catier Ent
The irony in this DJ Rick Lee-administered project is just
as brilliant as much as it is overdue. Big Rich, by and large
considered one of the City’s (San Francisco) more talented
emcees and Balance (of New Bay fame), born and bred in
the Town (Oakland), are the Bay Area’s overlooked, underappreciated lyricists vying for rap royalty. Unda Dogg Kingz
is their testimony over album-ready production. The Ya Boy
assisted “Bang’ Em Anthem” kicks off Unda Dogg Kingz in
grand fashion while the hypnotic “Crack Music,” featuring
Glasses Malone and Scipio, cinches their claims. Complete
with a surprising but believable Akon/Coolio collab (“Nothing Changed”), Rich and Balance take their respective turns
at separating themselves from the barrage of guest spots
(“Get Money” and “Balance Is The Name” respectively) via
their flawless flows, leaving the listener yearning for a full
length album. – N. Ali Early
OZONE WEST // 33
endzone
Kanye West
Event: Rolling Stone MTV VMAs preparty
Venue: Hard Rock Live
City: Las Vegas, NV
Date: September 8th, 2007
Photo: Julia Beverly
34 // OZONE WEST
OZONE WEST // 35