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An Exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop History

An African American man facing forward, looking at the camera as he wears a black hoodie adorned with animated characters.

20 Years Later, Traxamillion’s ‘Slapp Addict’ Remains the Royal Standard of the Hyphy Era

The San José producer’s debut album is a cultural time capsule of the hyphy movement in 2006.
A close-up on a Black man's face, wearing a Groucho Marx style novelty mask with glasses and a big nose, his hands on his cheeks

A New Memoir Captures Shock G’s Brilliance — In All Its Funkiest Forms

‘Keep It Beautiful’ is an inside look at the Digital Underground frontman’s artistry and complexities.
A black-and-white photo of Shock G performing, wearing a fur hat over a zebra-print hat, a patterned blazer and a fake nose. He holds a champagne bottle as he raps into the mic.

Digital Underground’s MC Was Secretly a Genius Illustrator

Shock G, aka Humpty Hump, created countless brilliant drawings — many unseen — under a pseudonym.
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Timeline

Explore 5 Decades of Bay Area Hip-Hop

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Too Short, Going Strong at 60, Makes the Case for ‘Senior Citizen Rappers’

‘Who laid the rule down that in hip-hop you gotta stop at 40?’ asks Short, whose 23rd album drops Friday.

After 20 Years of Blaps, The Mekanix Thrive on Willpower and Alignment

For 20 years, the Oakland production duo has helped define the sound of Bay Area rap — and they're not done yet.

How Turf Dancing Came to Define Oakland Street Dance

Hyphy videos, youth centers and street battles all propelled Oakland's 'street ballet' of turfing, now known around the world.
A black-and-white photo of Shock G performing, wearing a fur hat over a zebra-print hat, a patterned blazer and a fake nose. He holds a champagne bottle as he raps into the mic.

Digital Underground’s MC Was Secretly a Genius Illustrator

Shock G, aka Humpty Hump, created countless brilliant drawings — many unseen — under a pseudonym.
Two Black men, one in white with dreadlocks and one in brown and bald, embrace and smile for the camera

‘Blow the Whistle’ is 20 Years Old — and Keeps Going On and On

Tamara Palmer recalls Too Short's video shoot in Oakland, and the makings of a Bay Area classic.
A twentysomething Black man in a light blue collared shirt, gold chain and sunglasses on top of his head looks upward and to the left

The Bay Showed Love to Messy Marv in 2025

This year, the outpouring of love for the San Francisco rapper was a beautiful thing, writes Pendarvis Harshaw.

Unsigned and Hella Broke: The East Bay’s Dirt-Hustling 1990s Hip-Hop Subculture

How a movement made of homemade cassette tapes and independent hustle changed Bay Area hip-hop history.
A Black man in a yellow printed tank top and headband sits looking off to the left

Spice 1 Talks Growing Up in Hayward, Running From Cops and Breakin’ at the Mall

‘Those years, everything was a learning experience,’ the Bay Area rap legend says.

Remembering Anticon and Hip-Hop’s Reckoning With Weirdness

The dizzying Bay Area collective forced listeners to hear differently, even within a burgeoning ‘indie rap’ scene.
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