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Tag: <span>California</span>

Dakari

INTERVIEW: Producer Dakari on His African Roots & How He Became G-Eazy’s Top Engineer

Originally posted on Billboard 12/10/2018

Hip-hop may have originated in the Bronx but not even Kool Herc could have imagined the reach and impact that his art-form would soon achieve. Rap officially kicked down the door in 2015 when Spotify reported that hip-hop was the most listened to genre in the world. In 2017, Nielsen’s Music year-end reportshowed that R&B/hip-hop had taken the crown from Rock to be the most purchased music in the United States.

That kind of global reach has empowered new creators from all over the world. For Zimbabwean producer Dakari, hip-hop has provided a way of life for him that he couldn’t have dreamed of. After moving to Dallas, DG would have his coming of age moment in high school that would eventually lead to a world class internship and writing and producing for G-Eazy.

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Nip

INTERVIEW: Nipsey Hussle Teams Up With Recording Academy For ‘#NoCover’ Documentary

Originally posted on Billboard 10/5/2018

It’s been a groundbreaking year for Los Angeles MC Nipsey Hussle. This past February, his major label debut album Victory Lap peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and his acclaimed LP is garnering Grammy buzz. On Thursday (Oct. 4), he teamed up with the Recording Academy for #NOCOVER — a new documentary series that takes a look at what goes into putting together a concert experience. Swanky West Hollywood digs played home to the screening as

Reporters and industry professionals gathered in West Hollywood for an early look along with a chance to speak with Hussle about the process.

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Warren G

MOVIE REVIEW: Warren G’s Brilliance Revealed In YouTube’s ‘G-Funk’ Documentary

Originally posted on Vibe 7/25/2018

In the 1990s, three best friends at Long Beach’s renowned Polytechnic High School polished a new sound at the intersection of funk and rap music. Warren G, with the help of Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, ushered in what will be forever known as the g-funk era. While the three didn’t create the musical subgenre, they built on the foundation created by the West Coast rap quintet Above The Law and took the sound worldwide. YouTube Originals partnered with Warren G to create G-Funk, telling the untold tales of arguably hip-hop’s most underrated legend.

The full-length documentary starts off in Long Beach, Calif. as we’re introduced to a young Warren G and Snoop Dogg. “Every time you seen Warren, you seen Snoop,” Warren recalls as he and Snoop trade stories of their early LBC experiences. They would later meet Nate Dogg at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and form the group 213.

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Jimmy Duval

INTERVIEW: Producer Jimmy Duval on Creating XXXTentaction’s ‘Look at Me!’ & Expanding Outside of Rap

Originally posted on Billboard 7/17/2018

It’s not everyday that you wake up to your song hitting one million streams online and without even realizing it. For Jimmy Duval, that hard-to-believe scenario about producing his first hit almost never happened. “Look at Me!,” the track that took Florida rapper XXXTentacion from SoundCloud to RIAA Certified Platinum was a beat that was never meant to land in XXX’s lap.

If left up to his late collaborator, the success of the record was also never meant for Jimmy to enjoy. Initially released on SoundCloud by Rojas, a former associate of Jimmy’s, the song not only left him off the credits, but he didn’t even know it existed until his manager happened to stumble upon the track.

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Greedo

EVENT REVIEW: Los Angeles Shows Up to See 03 Greedo One Last Time at Globe Theatre Event

Originally seen on Billboard 6/18/2018

Filled with family and friends, the Globe Theater played host on Friday night (Jun. 15) to what could possibly be Los Angeles MC 03 Greedo’s final performance for a very long time. 

On that fated Friday night, there was just as much jubilance as their is anxiety about the future. The show, put together by Red Bull, was a celebration of Los Angeles producer Ron-Ron’s birthday. Greedo was adorned by fans and friends as he got to let the uncertainty of his future melt away for a few minutes — before he is set to turn himself into authorities to begin a 20-year sentence, after pleading guilty to possession of more than 400 grams of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in 2016.

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Ziggy

INTERVIEW: Zaytoven Discusses His Faith, Gucci Mane, “Trap Holizay” LP & Joint Album With Lecrae

Originally posted on HipHopDX 4/25/2018

Often considered the architect of the trap music sound, Atlanta producer Zaytoven recently teamed up with Red Bull Music for The Note. The documentary series takes a dive into the life of Zay and explores his relationship with trap music, as well as his devotion to his faith.

HipHopDX was able to catch up with Ziggy before a special screening of his documentary in Los Angeles where we talked about the duality of church and secular music and the tremendous amount of music he has coming out this year.

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Dizzy Wright

INTERVIEW: “One Week Notice” Crew Talks Ambitious Collaboration Ahead Of Concert Shutdown

Originally posted on HipHopDX 1/11/2018

In today’s microwave society, it’s rare to see artists recording together. Tracks are sent through email and Dropbox as rappers and producers go about their lives from different corners of the globe. So when nine artists got together in Austin, Texas to record an album in a week? DX had to find out more.

Dame Ritter of Still Movin’ and Beatstars reached out to nine creators from different walks of life and put them up in a house for one week in December — the outcome was One Week Notice. Dizzy Wright, Audio Push, Emilio Rojas, Jarren Benton, Demrick, Reezy, and producers DJ Hoppa and Kato came together to create a body of work that most collectives would be hard pressed to create in a month. The #DXLive team was able to catch up with most of the crew earlier in January as they prepared for the release and an epic show in Long Beach that fans who went won’t soon forget.

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