P-Lo drops STUNNA, a midsummer masterpiece studded with Bay Area hip hop royalty

Idris Ackamoor joins the Funkwrench Blues "Badass" series; interview and live recording of Baghead on Lower Grand Radio; Suzanimal, Saxreligious, RCA, and more

Sep 9

“Using growth mindset is a good way to break boundaries, whether personal or social. It’s important to recognize that we can grow and there are better days ahead of us if we work for them.” One of the best SF-based beatmakers, Baghead recently released Growth Mindset, a 22-track collection of precisely plucked samples, fuzzy stuttering drum kits, and soul-infused instrumental hip hop.

Right after his 26th birthday and the release of the new album—not to mention having seen the GOAT Kendrick Lamar perform at the Oakland Arena the night before—Baghead joined us on Lower Grand Radio for an interview and live performance.

Listen to the full show and check out the interview.

Peace,
ronny

MIDSUMMER STUNNA

“Stunna is a frequency. Stunna is having confidence in everything you do. Stunna is unwavering faith and belief. Stunna is moving with intention. Stunna is expressing yourself. Stunna is your inner light shining through. Stunna is Me. Stunna is You.”

Is it hot as hell or did P-Lo just drop the rap album of the summer? (Because we all know summer’s only halfway over around these parts.) The Bay Area native’s newest album STUNNA is a trim half hour of hyphy-inspired beats, effervescent verses, and breezy hooks—like a bottle of champagne getting popped and poured in the club track after track after track. Better yet, the album features some of the biggest and best in homegrown hip hop, including Larry June, Michael Sneed, Too $hort, Lucky, Kamaiyah, ALLBLACK, 22nd Jim, and LaRussell. Top it off with those poetical opening proceedings delivered by E-40, and you’ve got yourself an instant Bay Area classic. Check out a new interview with P-Lo over at UPROXX.

COSMIC SAX BLUES

Idris Ackamoor, the legendary SF-based saxophonist whose complete 1970s recordings with avant-garde jazz ensemble the Pyramids was recently reissued by Strut Records, is the next guest star on the Need to Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series by Funkwrench Blues. Less blues rock than earlier entrants in the series, “Song for Mongo” lays muted strummed guitars and starry-eyed, chime-dressed drum rudiments beneath Ackamoor’s astral brass wailing—ascending and descending again and again, from the depths of the soul to the center of the universe.