History of the Bay

Larussell is one of the most dynamic rappers to come out of the Bay Area. In a short period of time, he has gained millions of followers and a national spotlight for his music and innovative approach to the industry. Growing up in Vallejo, Larussell was heavily influenced by the Bay Area sound while staying true to his authentic self. The result is a refreshingly honest, thought-provoking style of...

Locksmith is considered one of the best lyricists to ever come out of the Bay Area. Growing up in Richmond, he co-founded the group The Frontline in the late 90s. Frontline blew up with the help of E-A-Ski's production and landed a record deal. This propelled them to the forefront of what would be termed "The New Bay," and eventually the Hyphy Movement. Locksmith also sharpened his r...

Slimmy B is 1/4 of the multi-platinum group SOB X RBE. Growing up in Vallejo's Crestside neighborhood, the home of Mac Dre, Slimmy was heavily influenced by Bay Area rap. Shortly after making their first songs in high school, SOB X RBE blew up on a national level. Touring the country and collaborating with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Lil Yachty, the group quickly shot to superstardom. This...

Growing up in Vallejo's Crestside neighborhood, Kilo Curt is an original member of the notorious Romper Room Crew and was Mac Dre's right-hand man. As a teenager, Kilo's crew became involved in a string of bank robberies that led to a federal investigation just as Mac Dre's career started taking off. Along with Dre and J-Diggs, Kilo was arrested by the FBI in Fresno and charged wit...

Hailing from the Central Coast town of Seaside, Stretch has played an integral role in the Bay Area music industry for decades. Starting out as a co-founder of a local record label and music store owner, Stretch began booking Bay rappers to perform in his hometown. One of those was the legendary Mac Dre, who tapped Stretch to help him run Thizz Entertainment and get Thizz Nation off the ground. Af...

Messy Marv is one of the most popular artists to ever come out of the Bay Area. His career has often been overshadowed by controversy, beef, and incarceration. In this exclusive interview via phone from jail, Mess gives his first update in almost 5 years to let his fans know that he will be home soon and is ready to move forward from his past setbacks and conflicts. We cover his incredible life st...

Formerly known as Erk Tha Jerk, Kevin Allen is a rapper, producer, and photographer who's played a pivotal role in Bay Area hip-hop for the last 20 years. Growing up in Richmond but moving around Oakland, he got into hip hop in high school and started releasing music in the early days of MySpace and Twitter. His 2009 single "Right Here" went from the internet to constant radio play o...

Silk-E is a rapper and vocalist from Richmond who got her start recording verses for Bay Area compilations. After working with artists in Richmond she got the attention of E-40 who tapped her to appear on his track "Lieutenant Roast A Botch." From there Silk-E won a contest on MTV for a $200k music video budget and production by QDIII. Despite receiving interest from major labels, her si...

Formerly known as Ya Boy, Rich Rocka is a critically acclaimed lyricist from San Francisco. Fresh out of high school, one of his first recordings "16s Wit Me" became the number one song on KMEL. From there, Rich released classic mixtapes and albums that got the attention of major labels. He moved to LA and joined The Game's Black Wall Street and later Akon's Konvict Music. During...

Louie Loc came up as one of the few Latino rappers from San Francisco in the 1990s. At 16, he was discovered by Goldtoes and made his debut on the classic compilation "17 Reasons," featuring on the song "Black N Brown" with JT The Bigga Figga. Louie got his name from the San Francisco legend Cougnut and appeared on tracks with legends like Mac Dre, Suga Free, The Jacka and many...

DJ QBert is one of the most influential DJs of all time and masters of scratching. As a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz along with DJs like Mix Master Mike, Apollo, Shortkut, and others, he helped pioneer the movement of turntablism. Growing up in San Francisco, QBert gained worldwide renown by battling in competitions like the ITF and DMC. He was part of the album Dr. Octagon with Kool Keith and...

Gary Archer is one of the most respected names in the Bay Area music industry. In the 80s he worked with his brother DJ Jazzy Jim to revolutionize radio DJing. He managed Messy Marv during the height of his stardom, became the label manager for Mac Dre's Thizz Entertainment, and has worked with Mistah FAB since the beginning of his career. Gary shares stories about the early days of hip-hop in...

Twick is a member of crews like ICP and FSC and has been holding it down for San Francisco graffiti since 1983. His work is inspired by Mike Dream's revolutionary message and his Latino roots. Twick has seen the evolution of graffiti in the Bay from the beginning, including legendary spots like Psycho City. He has painted countless walls and beloved murals, and continues to push his art forwar...

Coming out of San Francisco’s Fillmore District, DJ X1 is a pioneer of Bay Area hip-hop. Working with legendary rapper Hugh EMC, they put out some of the earliest San Francisco rap releases. X1 shares his memories of seeing the local hip-hop scene evolve and the rise of other artists like Cougnut, Rappin 4-Tay, JT The Bigga FIgga, and San Quinn. Currently, X1 DJs on KPOO FM three nights a week and...

Nef The Pharaoh is a rapper from South Vallejo who rose to nationwide fame with his hit single "Big Tymin" in 2015. Influenced by Bay Area rappers like Mac Dre from an early age, Nef ended up signed to E-40's Sick Wid It Records. From there he has toured around the world and dropped multiple projects featuring artists from all over the West Coast and beyond. In 2020, a series of pers...

Goldtoes is an independent executive behind the labels Black N Brown Entertainment, Thizz Latin and GT Digital. Losing his father at an early age, he fell into the street life before transitioning into the music world. Goldtoes worked with some of the Bay's greatest rappers and producers to create the classic compilation "17 Reasons." This project featured artists like Mac Dre, San Q...

Sleep Dank is a rapper from Vallejo's Crestside neighborhood. Starting with The Mac and Mac Dre, he witnessed the birth the Bay Area rap scene from his hometown. Sleep Dank became part of the 535 Crew along with Mac Mall and Dubee and was involved with their albums with Khayree on Young Black Brotha Records. Appearing on classic Mac Dre albums like "Thizzelle Washington," he launched...

The Architect is a renowned producer from Milpitas who is one half of the group Homeliss Derilex. Coming up in the South Bay around Charizma and Peanut Butter Wolf, Architect was around for the early days of Stones Throw Records. He also produced for artists like Coolio, Planet Asia and Rasco (Cali Agents), Total Devastation, and many others. After taking a hiatus from music, Architect became insp...

San Quinn is a legendary rapper from San Francisco's Fillmore District. This year marks his 30-year anniversary in rap, having dropped his first album "Don't Cross Me" in 1993 at the age of 15. Since then, Quinn has navigated street politics, addiction, and the ups and downs of the industry. He's collaborated with some of the most legendary rappers in the Bay Area and beyond...

On November 1, 2004, the hip-hop world was shocked to learn that Bay Area legend Mac Dre was gunned down in Kansas City. Almost 20 years later, there is still no definitive answer as to what led to his death. Using thousands of documents obtained from the KC police department, journalist Donald Morrison conducted a thorough investigation of the facts for his 2021 article, "Who Killed Mac Dre?...

Mind Motion is a staple in the Bay Area hip-hop scene who's been DJing since the early 90s. For decades, millions of people heard him breaking classic records on the airwaves of 106.1 KMEL alongside Chuy Gomez. Before that, he came up in San Francisco as a dancer, graffiti writer, and party DJ. Mind Motion has been instrumental in getting almost every hit song from the Bay off the ground, and...

Jason Goldwatch is a director and co-founder of Decon, a hip-hop record label. Growing up in San Francisco, he was inspired by hip-hop and graffiti and studied media production at School of the Arts. This led Goldwatch to the California Institute of the Arts, where he started professionally directing music videos. Over the years he has worked with Pharrell, Jay-Z, 88 Keys, Kanye West, Aceyalone, A...

Hugh EMC is possibly the first San Francisco rapper to distribute an official release with the 1988 single, "It's The Game." His early songs like "H-Nigga Groove" (aka "Keep A Bitch Broke") and EP "Gangsta Knowledge" with DJ X-1 inspired an entire generation of SF hip-hop. Hugh's hardcore storytelling raps were directly inspired by witnessing the Fil...

JT The Bigga Figga is a legendary rapper, producer, record label owner, and entrepreneur from San Francisco's Fillmore District. While incarcerated as a juvenile in the early 90s, he decided to enter the emerging independent Bay Area rap scene. Despite successfully self-distributing his first demo tape, JT was rejected by In-A-Minute Records. This pushed him to start his own label, Get Low Rec...

In addition to being one of the producers on the podcast, D.E.O. is a Bay Area legend in his own right who started as one-half of the San Francisco rap duo Evenodds and transitioned into studio engineering and artist management. Over the years he's produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered some classic songs. Currently, he's managing Lil Kayla, supporting her in signing a major-label deal an...