Bay Area Hip Hop

Khayree Shaheed interview with Murder Dog

2007-08-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

Khayree interviewed by Murder Dog Khayree speaks on some real shit. He calls out KMEL too.

Timberland Releasing Hyphy Boots

2007-08-01T23:22:00.000-07:00

They're a little late with the whole hyphy thing. I won't be buying these, but it's good to see the Bay is still setting popular trends. The black and orange ones seem like the only decent colorway.

The A'z - Rocketship

2007-07-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

http://theazgo.imeem.com/music/Sf09l9eT/rocketship/ This is a new single from the A'z. It's all lovey dovey. These cats are hella confusing. I heard they were on some B2K and it sounds like they're going back to it on this song. But either way, it's a lot different than Rep My City.

Ya Boy - Still in the Hood (VIDEO)

2007-07-25T23:25:00.001-07:00

http://videos.onsmash.com/v/2qKBPwCcnQ4dcdhm

Fresh off the turf of Nothern Killafornia, bay area artist Ya Boy brings to you "Still In The Hood" the official video from his mixtape with DJ Skee "Chapter 1 : The Rise."

Balance, Big Rich, Clyde Carson - Doe Boy Fresh

2007-07-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.myspace.com/balanceskillz The track is produced by Traklordz. It's from the new CD Unda Dogg Kingz. Hear more of the CD at Big Rich's Myspace.

Beeda Weeda - On Like Shit (VIDEO)

2007-07-19T22:21:00.001-07:00

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mLQQehpnx_Y

Beeda Weeda - On Like Shit video is out now. Cool song with just a decent video. Story is funny and there's some good lookin broads in the video.

Pretty Black and Choppa City Collaborating on a New Album

2007-07-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

Pretty Black and Choppa City are collaborating on a new album which should be released by February 2008.

Learn How to Get the T-Pain Sound

2007-07-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

The "T-Pain sound" is becoming increasingly popular. It is a cheap alternative to a talkbox or vocoder and takes a lot less skill than either of them.

To achieve the "T-Pain sound," you can use Autotune maxed out on Automatic setting. T-Pain might even sing out of tune (sing higher and lower and do vibratos) to make that extreme tinny sound. You can tell only at some points it starts to get extremely metallic and tinny sounding.

T-Pain doesn't use any vocoder. He has high sounds playing the same melody he's singing, but he never uses a vocoder. Roger (Zapp) and Bosko use vocoders.

If you do want to use a vocoder, here's how to get the vocoder plugin working in FL Studio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91igHV0CwJk (www.warbeats.com). The video drags a little but it explains how to get it to work. In short, you put the modulator (usually the voice, the sound that the frequency fluctuation is based on) panned all the way left, and you put the carrier (usually a synth, the sound that plays) panned all the way right. You can switch it, but that's the default setting. Pan the tracks before sending em into the Vocoder mixer Send Track, and disable their send to the master track.

The most common brand of Autotune is Antares Autotune. You can use autotune as a plugin in almost any program. It works with Pro Tools, Adobe Audition (Cool Edit Pro), Reason, FL Studio, etc. The official website of Antares Autotune says it's for "TDM (Mac & PC), RTAS (Mac & PC), VST (Mac & PC) and Audio Units."

Here's an interesting video of a live T-Pain performance on the Jimmy Kimmel show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6lfHb2DDLw. I think a lotta y'all out there in your shower probably sing better than he does in this performance.

(note: This is in no way in disrespect to T-Pain. He's gettin' his money, and he has shown the bay much love.)

Mac Dre Graffiti Murals in the Bay

2007-07-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

The three major Mac Dre murals are:

Vallejo water tank. This one is about 50 feet high! Painted by Chez, with some tags from Rome, Natrl, Chez, and Tybo.
East Oakland. Painted by Chez.
San Francisco. This one's in Langton Alley, near the overpass south of market. Painted by the ICP crew.

The A'z Rep My City

2007-07-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

Another summer song, this time it's coming across the water from Push Up On Me. It's called Rep My City by The A'z. You can hear it on their Myspace or on Stash Magazine. The highs in the mix sound warped on the Stash Magazine one. The Myspace one is clean from any swear words. This is a good summer song, it's also a little inspiring. The chorus is almost reminiscent of Mike Marshall choruses.

Keak Da Sneak signs with Koch Records

2007-06-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

Keak Da Sneak has signed with Koch Records. This is a big move. Yet another bay artist on a major label. He's doin it big, and he's gonna rep the bay in a good way. Hopefully the distribution and promotion go well.

San Quinn's New Single: "Push Up On Me"

2007-06-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

The new San Quinn single Push Up On Me is up on his Myspace. This single will be on the new Quinn album From A Boy To A Man. It features Clyde Carson of The Team and Selau. Selau is a Samoan R&B artist. You probably know her from A Man That Goes with Goldie Gold of The Federation. She also had songs on What You Know About Me by Messy Marv and also Big Rich's Block Tested Hood Approved. She's also made songs with Keak Da Sneak and Ya Boy.

This is a great song for the summer. It's got a laid back feel to it with a female hook to it, and it still makes you dance. The production is on point of course too. It's got a great club/radio/dance appeal so hopefully it'll reach out to a lotta people.

A Brand New Fresh 2 Death Blog

2007-06-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

This is the first day of the Bay Hip Hop blog. This blog will be about hip hop in the Bay Area. It’ll be updately frequently so you can know about the latest songs, videos, news, stores, clothes, and everything else related to Bay Area hip hop. If you have any ideas, just drop a comment or contact me privately.