The Bay Is Back http://www.thebayisback.com The Best Of Bay Area Hip Hop Wed, 09 May 2012 06:43:55 +0000 en hourly 1 Can There Be Too Much E-40? http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/05/can-there-be-too-much-e-40/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/05/can-there-be-too-much-e-40/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 23:30:14 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2462

I know I’m listening to a great album when after a playing it for a few weeks, there are almost no tracks that I skip. When a typical artist drops an album, this is unlikely to happen if there are more than 12-15 tracks. It takes a lot of creativity to put 20 songs on an album without sounding repetitive with the content. It takes a good ear and solid relationships with producers (or a big budget) to get 20 great beats to rhyme over. It takes talent to hold my attention for an hour and twenty minutes, talent that the typical rapper lacks. E-40 is not your typical rapper.

E-40, now in his 40′s with over 20 years in the music industry, is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, he has accelerated his music output, releasing 2 albums on the same day in both 2010 & 2011. I enjoyed all 4 albums, but thought they would have been better if each pair was cut down to just one album with the best tracks from both. When it was announced that E-40 would release 3 albums on the same day, with 18 tracks on each album (20 if you count the bonus tracks), I wasn’t as excited as I was about previous releases. My expectations were that there would just be 20 extra tracks that wouldn’t have been good enough to make an E-40 album if he released only 2 on the same day as in the previous two years. I began to wonder if it was possible to have too much E-40 music.

The Block Brochure: Welcome to the Soil 1,2, and 3 - E-40

I decided to see what I would do if I had to cut down the 3 albums to just 15 tracks.

1. Wasted (ft. Cousin Fik)
2. Turn It Up
3. Function (ft. Y.G., Iamsu & Problem)
4. In This Thang Breh (ft. Turft Talk & Mistah F.A.B.)
5. Fast Lane
6. I Aint Doin Nothin (ft. B-Legit & Willy Will)
7. Memory Lane (ft. Andre Nickatina)
8. In The Ghetto (ft. The Jacka & Rankin Scroo)
9. Can You Feel It (ft. B-Legit)
10. This Is The Life (ft. Sam Bostic)
11. Be You (ft. Too Short & Sam Bostic)
12. What Happened To Them Days)
13. My Life (ft. R.O.D.)
14. Sidewalk Memorial
15. Help Me (ft. Mike Marshall & Go Hard Black)

Next I listened to all the songs that did not make my cut. What was left was at least another full, solid album. All together, there are only about 6-8 tracks I wouldn’t want to hear again. This lead to a change in my original opinion. There cannot be too much E-40.

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/05/can-there-be-too-much-e-40/feed/ 1 Real Lyrics In An Unreal World http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/04/real-lyrics-in-an-unreal-world/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/04/real-lyrics-in-an-unreal-world/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:50:20 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2265

I had never heard of Big Vic until I saw him perform at A-1′s record release party for The Book Of Adam. I was instantly impressed by his refined flow, stage presence, and most of all, lyrical content. The performance offered a small sample of Big Vic’s music and I was interested in seeing if he had the ability to put together a solid project. An opportunity to find out came towards the end of last year when he dropped The UnReal World for free download. I clicked play with high expectations based on what I heard inside the Brick & Mortar Music Hall a few months earlier.

The project starts off with a promising intro where Big Vic touches on some current events with impressive world play and some insight on his mentality. Then “The Unreal” starts playing and halfway through I was feeling disappointed. The lyrics on the track are the same ignorant bullshit lyrics we hear from other rappers that brag about things such as violence, crime, hoes, drugs, and no respect for education. Just as I start thinking that Big Vic is just a typical street rapper, he ends the track by saying “you wanna know the best part of the song? None of this ever happened.” I was relieved to find out my assumption was incorrect and this was a track that fit perfectly with the theme of the project. Next, The UnReal World transitions to a track titled “The Real”. This track also mentions crimes, but it’s deeper than bragging about it. Big Vic tells us his personal story with lyrics that show us a little about his relationships with people in his life, especially his family. For me, the greatest quality in music is authenticity. It’s not difficult to differentiate between what’s real and what’s fake (for the most part), and I’ll take authentic content with a mediocre beat and flow over fake content and a great beat and flow any day. Fortunately most of this project features authentic content with greater than mediocre beats and flows.

The thing that makes real content so great is that it makes it easier for the average person to relate to a song. For example, “Escape” is based on how Big Vic was feeling due to certain events in his life. I definitely have not had the same experiences as Big Vic, but I found myself really connecting to the mood of the track when I was going through tough times at my job. I think most people have had experiences that have made them feel like running away and could connect to the song. Another song I really felt a connection to is “The City”. I typically like any track about the city where I was raised, but this track is one of the better ones in recent years.

Big Vic’s creativity shines throughout the project. Here are some of the lines that stood out to me:

Cuz one step for me is like 10 for ya’ll, and that wasn’t even to point out the fact that I’m tall.

My George Foreman flow will grill them with hot bars.

I can shoot slower like MAC-10 [Mack 10] or faster like TEC-9 [Tech N9ne], is he talking guns or rappers? You decide.

I guess it’s fake it ’til you make it, go into clubs trying to make it rain, knowing you wanna rake it.

The UnReal World is more of a mixtape than an album and has Big Vic rapping over different types of beats, including some well known beats used by mainstream artists. It’s a solid introduction to new listeners, giving us a glimpse of what he’s capable of. The high expectations I had before I listened to this project will be even higher before playing his next release.

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/04/real-lyrics-in-an-unreal-world/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 1/14/12 to 1/20/12 http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/03/bay-area-hip-hop-11412-to-12012/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/03/bay-area-hip-hop-11412-to-12012/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:13:02 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2177 New Releases

The Jacka- The Verdict

Magruff Muttley- His Mixtape Collection

Free Downloads

D-Varg & K. Jones- California Dreamin'

Armani Depaul- I Declare War Vol. 2

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/03/bay-area-hip-hop-11412-to-12012/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 1/7/12 to 1/13/12 http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/02/bay-area-hip-hop-1712-to-11312/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/02/bay-area-hip-hop-1712-to-11312/#comments Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:17:45 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2164 New Releases

Young Lox- Loxycotin A Futuristic Voyage

Homewrecka- On The Stove

Free Downloads

Bailey- Champ On These Streets

Prank- MMXII

T-Buiz- Growth Stage

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/02/bay-area-hip-hop-1712-to-11312/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 12/31/11 to 1/6/12 http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-123111-to-1612/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-123111-to-1612/#comments Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:33:48 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2110 New Releases

H2 Hardheadz- Welcome To Trife City

Da Tykoon- Get On Ya Grind EP

Free Downloads

Philthy Rich & The Hoodstarz- Conspiracy

80s Babiez- Back To The 80s

Mike-Dash-E- I Am Hustle

Erk Tha Jerk & London- The Wake Up

DB Tha General- I Invented Gas

Daveed Diggs- Small Things To A Giant

Proe- Be Brave, Gladiator

Mike Pre- The Movement

STICKUPKIDDZ- Reporting Live

Legacy9- Rising Up

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-123111-to-1612/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 12/24/11 to 12/30/11 http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-122411-to-123011/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-122411-to-123011/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:54:22 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2040 New Releases

Young Curt- Selfmade Mixtape Volume 1

Free Downloads

The Team- Hell Of A Night EP

Bueno- Maloof Money 3: Executive Decisions

Beeda Weeda- Bass Rock Babies The Leak

D-Boi- Living A Legacy Vol. 3

Lil B- Gold House

Salty- Shmopaholic

Gigio & Josef Blo- Caught In Traffic

The Ghost- Acuna Montana

King Nooch- Everybody Wants To Be King

Cutty Dame- Refuse 2 Go Broke

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-122411-to-123011/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 12/17/11 to 12/23/11 http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-121711-to-122311/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-121711-to-122311/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 06:48:00 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=2025 New Releases

No new retail releases this week.

Free Downloads

Moe Green- Free Water

Stevie Joe- Shop Open

Willie Hen- 2000 & Hen

Willie Hen- Gangsta Mackin Vol. 1

Shigady Da Playboy- The Gift 2

Kobe, Young, & Base- All About Us Vol. 1

Bayboy- Cocaine & Kush

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2012/01/bay-area-hip-hop-121711-to-122311/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 12/10/11 to 12/16/11 http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-121011-to-121611/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-121011-to-121611/#comments Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:08:59 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=1933 New Releases

Young Lox- Retro Mob

Dub Da Mac- Made It This Far

Free Downloads

D.Willz- Hood Pop 2

P Child- Free P

Show Banga- Pre-Election II

EMoney- Too Suburban

Drew Deezy- Connected

Yarrow Slaps

Gargeezy & Neco 15- OG Night Life

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-121011-to-121611/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 12/3/11 to 12/9/11 http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-12311-to-12911/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-12311-to-12911/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:27:16 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=1932 New Releases

Young Gully- David

Mistah F.A.B.- I Found My Backpack 2: The Lost Notebook

Cellski- Big Mafi The Don

V-Nasty & Gucci Mane- Baytl

Da Tykoon- Gettin 2 Da Money

Free Downloads

Iamsu!- The Miseducation Of Iamsu

Philthy Rich- Hood Rich 3

A.B.- The Addiction II

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

]]> http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-12311-to-12911/feed/ 0 Bay Area Hip Hop: 11/26/11 to 12/2/11 http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-112611-to-12211/ http://www.thebayisback.com/2011/12/bay-area-hip-hop-112611-to-12211/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:34:19 +0000 Denis http://www.thebayisback.com/?p=1885 New Releases

Dregs One- Wake Up Call

Ricky Mena- Ricky Mena

Free Downloads

Young L- Praktica

G5 The Jett- Never Land

Pody Mouf- Prepare For The Paycut

E.Klips Da Hustla- Hellboy

C-Villain- Stereos, Dominoes & A Few Flows

Santa Rosa Hot Boy- American Heart Throb

Oneself Davinci- The Modest EP

Video Pick Of The Week

Music Videos

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