BAY AREA HAS NO HIP HOP SAVIOR

amsu. Sage the Gemini. Kool John. Jay Ant. P-Lo. All of HBK. Neff the Pharaoh. Kehlani. G Eazy. Alexander Spit. Roach Gigz. Lil B the Based God(All Praises to Based God, please don’t put a curse on me). Ladies and gentleman, these are some of your current Bay Area artists and they aren't doing shit for the Bay Area hip hop culture.

That might be harsh. Let me retract a little bit. They don't do enough to push the Bay sound or Bay culture forward. The "Bay Bubble" is a strong one, and breaking through seems nearly impossible. The Bay has been in a long drought for a superstar to make it out of this Bay Bubble.

As a precursor, let me mention these points just because I know some of y’all will bug me about it:

I ACKNOWLEDGE that yes, San Francisco has a smaller music market than NY, LA, London and etc.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that if there’s ONE artist on that list I rattled off that might be CLOSE to reaching a point of “saving” Bay Area hip hop, it’s G-Eazy. It takes every fiber in my body to admit that. I am not a fan. He works damn hard—can’t take that away from him. And he’s completed a good amount of the festival circuit this past year. Cool. But holy shit I do not fucks with G-Eazy and many Bay Hip-Hop purists don’t as well. He respects Bay culture and hip hop, but dude's flow is Macklemore-esque. He currently is the ambassador for Frat-Rap. He’s just a polished and handsome fusion of Asher Roth, Shwayze(yeah I went there), & Chiddy Bang. I will admit: “These Things Happen” is a SUPER solid body of work. Point is, HE’S GOT A SHOT. But there’s GOT TO be someone else out there. I just don't know what he's trying to convey with his music. He's got Bay-like beats, & raps about bitches, drinking, and hard times with a nasal-y delivery---it's just all over the place — ok I’ll stop hating now.
I ACKNOWLEDGE that a good amount of these artists are just starting out, so with time maybe this article will prove to be a shittier article than it already is.

ANYWAYS, lets get on with it:

Ok, ok. Each artist has their niche fan following. Each sells shows out. Each has their baydestrians thizz-facing and waving their hands in the air respectively. They are good artists, with dope music, and solid fan bases---- but it's not enough. It's as if these artists have resided to settling with careers along the lines of Dom Kennedy, Memphis Bleek, Paul Wall, Gucci Mane--- their music stays in their region, and they are revered as hometown heroes. But that's it.

It's also as if the Bay has become the go-to spot for one hit wonders.

There have been flashes of progress here and there, for example Neff's "Big Tymin" making its way down to LA, or Sage's "Red Nose" getting some love on the east coast, but these one hit wonders aren't cutting it. Bay Area artists have almost become caricatures of themselves: they bop and thizz and sway to emphasize that they're from the Bay, and unfortunately the music world outside of the Yay don't take them seriously.

To be completely honest, E-40's had the most recent & relevant impact with his verse on Big Sean's "I Don't Fuck With You". That's a big deal--- people all over the world recited, or at least tried to recite, E-40's verse. But us millennials don't want E-40 to carry the Bay on his back. All respects to him, but he's done his job. He deserves to focus his attention on pushing his new malt liquor 40’s and helping Droop E out with his music. A new, fresh, and current artist needs to take that Bay Throne.

As Bay Area citizens, we've resided to turning the fuck up whenever Mac Dre, E-40, or Too Short get played. Those are the forefathers of Bay Area sound. They pushed a culture forward with the hyphy movement. Their mark on Bay Area culture broke through the bubble and their work is revered outside of the Bay. They created a culture for the kids. Unfortunately since then, no such impact has been made.

Kendrick and Tyler the Creator in LA. Drake and The Weeknd in Toronto. J Cole in South Carolina. Future in Atlanta. Kanye in Chicago. These artists have made huge dents culturally, musically, and globally---very recently as well. They rep their cities but aren't trapped by them. They cosign artists from their area, they host events that the youth grow from, and they create a culture within their cities that resonates with the youth.

Drake's OVOFEST as well as putting on multiple other young artists from Toronto. Tyler's ODD FUTURE Carnival. Tyler also made huge strides with creating a culture for kids on Fairfax Street, creating a hub for skaters and Odd Future stans in the form of the Odd Future store. Kendrick doing multiple meet and greets in his own city of Compton, as well as rocking with Compton and LA artists with verbal co-signs. Futurerecently doing a free show in Atlanta, as well as a couple other cities. Kanye giving Chief Keef, Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa keys to the world outside of Chicago through features and remixes. To quote Yeezus himself, " LISTEN TO THE KIDS, BRO!"

These Bay artists need to do more for the kids and culture. Give local Bay kids more cosigns. Host a festival. Do more free shows. The youth of the Bay needs to be more involved in the culture. HBK made strides by pushing their Bay bounce sound, rocking Pink Dolphin, and generally making positive movements towards creating a culture. But things have been stagnant. Experiment more with your sound so that it resonates beyond the Bay Area. Or better yet, evolve the Bay Area sound: take bits and pieces of that unique sound and update it for today’s current market and listeners—which G-Eazy’s latest project does, to a capacity. Whatever it is, there's a disconnect and the Bay youth don't have that one artist to put their city on the map. We don't have our music and culture savior.

Side note: New York is currently struggling with the same problems too. Harsh/ critical fans, un-suppportive radio shows, and trying to live up to the NY greats. It’s tough in NY. But that’s a completely different story.

Maybe the right opportunities haven't risen for these artists. Maybe the Bay Bounce sound needs to be updated. Maybe these artists haven't gotten the right cosigns from bigger artists. Maybe they’re content with their followings and don't want the global recognition. Maybe the curse of Mac Dre does exist. Maybe D-LO really doesn’t give a fuck about no hoes outside of the Bay. Maybe Keak Da Sneak’s effervescent smoker voice serves as a reminder that the Bay is just into weird rappers. Maybe there's just a disconnect. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

As far as right now is concerned, the Bay Throne is still for the taking. Who knows. With more time, work, and pushing the culture forward for the kids, we might be in store for a Bay Renaissance. Kehlani, Iamsu, and G- Eazy DO make a pretty solid foundation. For the most part, however, G-Eazy is on the cusp of taking it. I don’t want to pigeon-hole him in the “white-rapper” stigma. He’s way better than that. But I just don’t think he’s the one. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see.

On second thought, G-Eazy kind’ve fits the changing landscape and demographic of the Bay Area. As the techies, transplants, and generally mainstream-music listeners start to flood the city, the sound of the Bay might be following this ever-changing demographic. Silicon Valley Swag. Yikes.

In the mean time, I’ll stick to listening to D-LO at the De Young Museum, ghost riding my Honda CRV, and sipping on my secret stash of Hyphy Juice while I wait for someone to challenge G-Eazy for the spot. Please, someone. Anyone. Save Bay Area hip hop.