Amoeba Music Berkeley Hip-Hop Top Five Week Ending 01:13:12


1) The Roots Undun (MCA)

2) Common The Dreamer/The Believer (Warner)

3) Pac Div The Div (RBC)

4) Onra Chino Series Pt 2 (All City)

5) Thirsty Fish Watergate (Mush)

Thanks to my man E-Lit for both the above latest top five hip-hop chart and the video interview in which the diehard Berkeley Amoeba employee/ hip-hop fanatic gives a nice run down of both brand new releases and some upcoming 2012 hip-hop releases that we should keep an eye out for. As E-Lit says and I fully agree 2012 looks like it is going to be a really exciting year for new hip-hop. E-Lit mentions some of the upcoming 2012 releases in the video clip above. I also mentioned some, including Gift of Gab's sure to be dope forthcoming 2012 album The Next Logical Progression, in last week's Amoeblog Weekly Rap Up and again in a recent Amoeblog on both Pep Love's forthcoming Rigmarole album on the Hiero label. Other upcoming 2012 releases to keep an eye out for include a new one from Blacastan and a DJ Premier produced joint by Big Shug that features guest spots from both M.O.P. and Fat Joe.

San Francisco's Dregs One, the conscious hip-hop artist featured in the above video for his uplifting 2011 song "Wake Up," will be among the numerous local artists uniting tomorrow night (January 13th) in a performance at the Eastside Arts Alliance in Oakland to both help spread awareness and raise money for  the legal defense funds of Mumia Abu Jamal and Leonard Peltier.  Aptly titled From Oakland to Freedom! Peltier Abu Jamal! Shut It Down! Free 'Em All this fundraiser has been inundated with artists wanting to donate their time and talent for a cause that strikes a nerve with so many. In addition to Dregs One artists scheduled to perform include Aztec, Fly Benzo, De-Colonized Rymerz, Sogorea Te Warriors, Salah Shambe, Eseibio The Automatic, Abdul Malik, Mestiza, Seneca, Jeremy Goodfeather, Mikhael, and Shango Abiola. The organizers, who say that there may even be some last minute additions to this line up, time permitting, in their official statement for the event say that, "We of Labor Black Brown as well as numerous allies are organizing a fundraiser for the Legal Defense of Mumia Abu Jamal and Leonard Peltier." 

Yesterday I caught up with Dregs One to ask him why he and all these other artists were so willing to donate their time and collective talents to this event and what he sees as the importance and implications of this concert? "Even though Peltier and Abu-Jamal were locked up decades ago, it's beautiful that people are still fighting for their releaese - and ugly that they're still in prison," he said. "I think it's important for people to know that there are American citizens who are jailed as political prisoners and it's sad that more folks aren't informed of their story. Hopefully we can change that through the music we make and events like this one!," said Dregs One who did an instore performance at Amoeba San Francisco a couple of months ago for his latest album The Wake Up Call.

If you are in the Bay Area and seeking a rewarding and fun thing to do for this coming Monday's Martin Luther King Jr holiday then seriously consider  volunteering at John O'Connell High School in San Francisco with the Center for Music National Service and MusicianCorps' MLK Day of Song & Service on January 16, 2012. The upcoming event comes on the heels of last year's "wonderfully successful, daylong event at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA), which brought together 250 community members and volunteers from a wide variety of ages and background to make music, paint murals and celebrate diversity" according to Alaia Zeno - the community programs & service leader with The Center for Music National Service (MNS) who recalled how at last year's premiere event, "Participants honored the spirit of MLK Day with a group performance of the classic Bill Withers soul song, “Lean On Me,” and came together to show the power of music, artistic expression and shared community." See above video.

For this year's MLK Day event participants/volunteers (all ages welcome), whether musicians or not, are invited to join in the fun and give back to the community at the same time. The emphasis for this year's event, according to organizers, is "focused more on beautifying the under-served public school setting we have selected. Led by MNS Staff and MusicianCorps Fellows, volunteers will focus their efforts on improving school grounds, organizing supplies in art classrooms, painting murals, and other small projects." Additionally folks who volunteer will have the opportunity to participate in a mid-day open mic performance as well as an end-of-day sing-along. This year's event, which runs from 10am to 4pm, takes place at John O'Connell High School in San Francisco's Mission District. Breakfast, snack, and lunch will be provided to all volunteers. To register and find out more information click here.  And below is a video from compiled from various sources including some national news reports (NPR, NBC) on MusicianCorps' work. Good stuff!

2012 looks like it is going to be another great year for hip-hop especially Bay Area hip-hop with forthcoming releases from both new and established acts. These include the first solo release in over a decade from Pep Love of Oakland's long running Hieroglyphics hip-hop collective who will drop his anticipated new full-length Rigmarole via the Hiero Emporium on March 6th. 

The album, which is the first solo release (he has recorded stuff with his Hiero crew and others including respectively Casual and Zion I) from the Mississippi born East Bay emcee since 2001's Ascension, was described by the artist as therapeutic, coming to his aid at a challenging time in his personal life.

"[Rigmarole] was recorded during a time in my life when the music I was making was one of the few things that was actually working. It was therapy; it made me feel better. So there was a lot of learning, personal growth, and healing that continues to this very day. I was focused on where I was headed as a human being more than as a rapper or recording artist," he said of the new album's recording process, adding that, "In the process, I reinvented myself as an artist and discovered my love for what I do."


The therapeutic theme is evident in the album's lyrics too with the song "Reflections," which is produced by Unjust, examining his own life and where it is at  nowadays while in the lyrics of the track "Runaway Slave" the 37 year old emcee wears his heart on his sleeve and expresses how he sees his own personal mental/creative development as an individual who has been in the ever challenging rap music industry for so long.

Above is the brand new video/song from NJ native Shawn Lov who has been hard at work to bring in the new year with a bang by releasing a music video as part of an underground Hip-Hop coalition of pioneering artists from Trenton, NJ area called 7 Immortals which consists of many members that regularly recorded with the late, veteran Trenton NJ producer (and emcee) Tony D who is best known for his work with Poor Righteous Teachers and YZ. Produced by The Custodian of Records "Thursday Night Live" is the lead single from the forthcoming 7 Immortals album - one of the many new releases to drop in 2012.

Welcome to the new year of 2012 in hip-hop when there should be some real good releases (and lots of them) dropping; albeit most will be digital files since, of all genres, hip-hop seems to be releasing the least physical copies - ironic considering that the genre was built on vinyl records. As with the past numerous years 2012 got off to a start with Skillz (formerly MC Skillz) doing his always fun, annual wrap of the main happenings (hip-hop and mainstream news) of the previous year in a nicely wrapped up rap song. Uploaded on January 1st below is Skillz' "2011 Rap Up" with references to such folks as white Oakland rapper Kreayshawn and the late great golden era hip-hop star Heavy D. 


Due out later this month is Kid Cudi's anticipated new album which will feature the popular Dot Da Genius produced-song "No One Believes Me" that was released in advance several months ago. The video below, directed by Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock), was featured on Fright Night movie soundtrack. Note that the album is not the follow up to 2010's Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager but rather the first release from the rock band he and Dot da Genius formed called WZRD (formerly Wizard).