Max Bell was thizzin when he wrote this. Bay Area rap comes and goes in the national rap consciousness. In the early ‘90s Digital Underground made impregnating someone in a Burger King bathroom socially acceptable.  Luniz’s “I Got 5 on It” remains in contention for the best smoking song of all time. Hyphy had its […]

Kyle Ellison is a Rossi Wine connoisseur. How do you go about learning to rap when your dad shredded the instruction manual years ago? With his little black book of slang and slippery, offbeat flows, E-40 is one of the most inventive emcees to ever grace a microphone – but studying his style won’t do […]

Somehow IAMSU! didn’t make that XXL Freshman list, which is mildly insane, considering the dude’s sound has been ubiquitous on West Coast radio for the last six months. He produced a large portion of that Shmop Life tape, Loverance’s “Up,” his own solo material, and Sage the Gemini’s “Gas Pedal.” If you haven’t heard the […]

Jimmy Ness once rapped in the New Zealand Super-Group, The Untouchables. For better or often worse, 2012 is the year of the white rapper. Roach Gigz joins the ranks of the chosen few who rhyme without catering to college bros, performing at the Gathering of the Juggalos or sounding like this. The San Francisco native […]

DaVinci: A Fillmore Story from WEREHAUS on Vimeo. Watch the video. It articulates everything about DaVinci that I’ve been thinking for the six weeks since I first heard Feast or Famine. The Fillmore raised rapper is a man of absolutes. No bullshit. No dance tracks. No crossover attempts. He has knowledge of self and understands […]