After toiling for roughly a decade in the West Coast underground, Strong Arm Steady finally releases what they're billing as their debut full-length. San Diego fans should be happy: SD-bred Mitchy Slick is back after …
April 17, 2011
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Stories by Quan Vu
Arms & Hammers by Strong Arm Steady
Yelawolf Drops on Epicentre
Going to watch Yelawolf in Mira Mesa was like being let in on a secret. Even through several underwhelming openers (except for locals Black Resume, whose lively set seemed to gain a few new fans …
February 8, 2011
Critical Beatdown at Kava Lounge
Walking into Kava Lounge for Critical Beatdown, a new monthly series devoted to the burgeoning beat scene, you immediately notice two things out of place. First, it's packed, which doesn't happen in San Diego for …
January 18, 2011
A Man's Heart, by Treali Duce
I frequently hear the claim that gangsta rap all sounds the same. And on the surface, that's true. Most gangsta rap deals with the same themes of violence and crime. But good gangsta rap goes …
January 4, 2011
Blame One's Endurance
If you've ever read Wooden on Leadership, a motivational book by UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, you'll remember that one of his keys to success was never playing to win. Rather, he trained with the …
November 30, 2010
Portugalia in O.B. Hosts Hip-Hop Family Reunion
Peering at the audience on the small dance floor of Portagalia in Ocean Beach, you realize that We Are Hip Hop II is less a concert than a family reunion. It starts onstage. Between Trust …
October 23, 2010
Saviorself's Self-Employed Mixtape
It was inevitable that Saviorself, half of National City hip-hop duo Old English, would branch out and release a solo project. In previous Old English music, he clearly comes across as the lead. Self-Employed Mixtape …
October 16, 2010
The Awakening
The Awakening EP, the newest release from Anti Citizens, comes with all the underground hip-hop bells and whistles that you could ask for from the duo. Grandiose dystopian beats ("Blackout," "2012 Armageddon"), impressive double-time lyrical …
August 18, 2010
Califoreigner
Boston transplant Jimmy Powers's debut is a workman's album, workman rap from a musician who has a day job. That perspective lends Powers’s music honesty, humility. This is apparent in personal songs such "Janice Marie," …
May 23, 2010
The Seed
There couldn't be a better title for this project than The Seed. If The Seed is about anything, it's about roots. On the EP, rappers Kahlee and Uptown Swuite and producer Adikt 1 come to …
August 10, 2009