Growing up in the Cypress Village projects in West Oakland is tough. Especially when you go from hustling candy bars to pushing work. Unlike the stripped-down beats and absurdist view of street life trotted out by his hyphy predecessors, Stalin takes a bleaker, more serious tone over gooey beats that borrow from the G-funk-infused instrumentals of the mid-’90s Bay Area scene. When Stalin released his album Gas Nation in 2008 at the height of the hyphy movement’s popularity, E-40 and Too $hort hailed him as Oakland’s next breakout rapper. Stalin hosts a record release party at BackBar for his upcoming Gas Nation 2.
J. Stalin
Sun, 8pm, $25
BackBar SoFa, San Jose
