In honor of tonight's big Gurp Fest 2010 at Club Six in San Francisco, the Amoeblog offers an overview of the San Francisco based hip-hop movement / collective known as Gurp City. What follows is a general history and a guide to some of the unique slang used by its members, plus a listing of the many talented artists (and the many more who are loosely affiliated) involved in this party-driven, homegrown underground hip-hop movement. Though based in San Francisco, it but has members beyond, all the way down to the Gurpy South.

Gurp City South will be well represented at tonight's Gurp Fest with (NJ by way of NC) emcee Foulmouth Jerk, Fist Fam, and Bay transplant & orchestrator of tonight's event TopR, who took the word of Gurp City with him when he moved to Asheville, NC. This article includes TopR's description of the Gurp City movement.

Other performers tonight include such key Gurp City members as Z-Man, Eddie K & Brandon K's Trunk Drank, Grand Invincible (Luke Sick from Sacred Hoop + DJ Eons), DJ Quest, Cutty Bang (aka Dick Nasty), Rec League, BOAC, DJ Cue and DJ 2 Fresh.

And given that the term to gurp means to party hard, a belief tha all of Gurp City's members hold close to their heart, tonight's Gurp Fest should be quite the party!


Although centered in “The City in a Bottle” (San Francisco), the origins of Gurp City are in two other locations at the end of the nineties: the city of Chico, CA and the long gone, beloved record/hip-hop store in Daly City, Cue's Hip Hop Shop. It was run by DJ Cue of the legendary Bay Area DJ groups Bulletproof Scratch Hamsters/Space Travelers and was a gathering point for hip-hop minds and talents. The shop may be gone but DJ Cue is still going strong and will be at tonight's event. It's been organized by TopR (aka Topper Holiday), once a very familiar face at Amoeba San Francisco, where he used to hang out years ago and in 2008 did an instore performance. Additionally, back in 2005 TopR appeared on the Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. 5 with a song that mentioned Amoeba in its lyrics.

Sadness struck both Amoeba and the local Bay Area hip-hop community this week with the tragic passing of the much-loved Anthony Marin (aka Big Ant) who, at the young age of 37, died of heart failure last weekend. 

A DJ/producer and multi-instrumentalist, not to mention an incredibly knowledgeable musicologist, Big Ant had been a fixture on the local hip-hop scene for many years -- ever since he moved north from LA in the nineties. Before working at Amoeba SF he had worked at Tower Records in the South Bay and Cue's in Daly City.

If you were into the local DJ or hip-hop scene you would have seen Big Ant over the years at countless events. A large framed man with a warm hug and a winning smile, plus an unbridled knowledge of all types of music (far beyond hip-hop), he had DJ'ed all over, played damn near every instrument it seemed (including guitar/drums/keyboards in Black Fiction - the experimental rock band he was a member of along with fellow Amoebites Jason Chavez and Tim Cohen), and was a ham at Karaoke.  This evening, Friday June 6th, from 5PM to 9PM, those who knew this great man will gather in his honor at Milk, which is directly across the street from Amoeba on Haight St.

For more in depth tributes to Big Ant, visit 4AM/Jason Chavez's MySpace or the text/photo dedication to him on the homepage of the Amoeba website, where Jason Chavez, his best friend, wrote so poignantly: "The best lesson he taught me is the lesson that every loved one that passes teaches us, that we are all still alive and we need to live, love and find our purpose and passions for ourselves and our passed loved ones who are watching us and guiding us towards our destinies. Everyone stay up, he'd want us to."   R.I.P. BIG ANT.

AMOEBA MUSIC SAN FRANCISCO HIP-HOP TOP FIVE (6.6.08)

1) J-Live Then What Happened? (BBE)
2) TOPR The Marathon of Shame (Gurp City)
3) Giant Panda Electric Laser (Tres Records)
4) Subtle Exiting Arm (Lex)
5) The Cool Kids The Bake Sale (Chocolate Industries/A&M)

As usual, there's lots of great indie hip-hop jumping off round the Bay Area this weekend, starting later today (May 30th) at Amoeba Music San Francisco where longtime local hip-hop artist TOPR, in celebration of his latest (fifth) solo album The Marathon of Shame, will be performing for free at 6PM.

Joining the Gurp City member onstage at the Haight Street store will DJ Quest, who incidentally celebrated his own new album (Questolous) release on the same stage not too long ago.

For some more background information on TOPR, who appeared on the Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. V with a song whose lyrics mentioned Amoeba Music, read his bio on the Amoeba Music website and/or scroll down a bit to the Amoeblog interview recently conducted with the hip-hop artist who is known for his homeless couch-surfing past, his gift  for graffiti art (see a piece he did with Lews of LORDS crew below), and of course his love for booze and partying.

Meanwhile some other Bay Area hip-hop shows happening this weekend include a great DJ throwdown tonight featuring two of the Bay's best turntablists, the world famous DJ Apollo (Triple Threat DJs etc.) vs. Goldenchyld of San Jose's Finger Bangerz fame at Vessel, 85 Camptan Place (near Union Sq., SF). Tomorrow night the ever busy DJ Apollo will join forces with his fellow Triple Threat DJs, Shortkut and Vin Roc and throw down a mix of hip-hop, breaks, and reggae at Berkeley's Shattuck Downlow, where tonight (Friday, May 30th) the reggae legend Eek-A-Mouse will be performing.