West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.
Filipino hip-hop or Pinoy hip hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans.
Charles Kente Williams, better known by his stage name Keak da Sneak, is an American rapper from Oakland, California. He is known for his gravelly voice, for coining the term hyphy in 1994, and for his contributions to the hyphy movement.
Thizz Entertainment is a Sacramento-based originally, independent record label, started in 1999 by rapper and music producer Andre Hicks, who was professionally known as rapper Mac Dre. Best known as a poster child of the hyphy movement that swept through the Bay Area in the 1990s and early 2000s.The label was relocated to the S.F. Bay Area shortly after his untimely death.
I'm from Rolling Stone is a MTV reality television show directed by Norman Green. It began airing in January 2007 and was planned for ten episodes. Six aspiring music journalists were given the summer internships in hopes of getting a contributing editor position at Rolling Stone magazine.
Jovan Smith, better known by his stage name J. Stalin, is an American rapper from the Cypress Village housing projects in West Oakland. In 2007, he signed to Zoo Entertainment Production Company run by artist Mekanix, who described his style as a variant of Hyphy known as "Go".
Mandolyn Wind Ludlum, better known by her stage name Mystic, is an American singer and rapper from the San Francisco Bay Area. After touring and recording with Digital Underground she released her debut solo album in 2001.
Polo Grounds Music is a hip hop and R&B record label, distributed by Sony Music's RCA Records. Founded in 2006 by Bryan Leach, Polo Grounds Music is a full-service entertainment company with a focus in publishing, management, marketing and promotions.
Andre Lamond Adams, better known by his stage name Andre Nickatina, is an American rapper from San Francisco, California. He previously performed under the stage name Dre Dog.
Eric Strand, better known as Fatgums, is an American record producer, hip hop DJ and independent record label owner/president. He is best known for his work with rapper Bambu of the rap group Native Guns. Fatgums' independent record label, Beatrock Music, was founded in 2009 in collaboration with the Long Beach based clothing company Beatrock.
Marlanna Evans, better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. After signing with music producer 9th Wonder's music label It's a Wonderful World Music Group, she released a series of mixtapes and collaborated with Erykah Badu and Talib Kweli. Soon afterwards Rapsody released her debut album The Idea of Beautiful (2012). She would attain further prominence when she was featured on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly, on the track "Complexion ".
Gerald Earl Gillum, better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, These Things Happen, was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. It featured the single "I Mean It", which reached number 98 on the Billboard Hot 100. His second studio album, When It's Dark Out, was released on December 4, 2015, and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. It featured the single "Me, Myself & I", which reached number 7 of the US Billboard Hot 100.
Marcel Wade, better known by his stage name Cellski, is an American rapper/records producer from San Francisco. He is also the CEO of his label, Inner City2K Records.
Phillip Anthony Beasley, known professionally as Philthy Rich is an American rapper and convicted criminal from Oakland, California.
Danyel SmithWilson is an American magazine editor, journalist, and novelist. Smith is the former and first African-American editor of Billboard and Vibe magazine, respectively. She is author of two novels and a history of African-American women in pop music.
"U.O.E.N.O." is a song written and performed by American rapper Rocko featuring fellow American rappers Future and Rick Ross. It was released on March 5, 2013, as the lead single from the former's sixth mixtape Gift of Gab 2 (2013). Produced by Childish Major, "U.O.E.N.O." peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as number 87 on the year-end Billboard Hot 100.
Bayer Leevince Mack is an American record executive and filmmaker. He is the publisher of the late-1990s, early-2000s urban entertainment website HOT 104.com, the founder of Block Starz Music and the director of The Czar of Black Hollywood.
Ruby Ibarra is a Filipino-American rapper, music producer, and spoken word artist from San Lorenzo, California. She raps in Tagalog, Waray, and English. Her raps concern her cultural heritage and her experiences as an immigrant to the United States from the Philippines. In 2023, Ibarra co-founded a record label, Bolo Music Group, which highlights Filipino American artists.
Chinaka Hodge is an American poet, educator, playwright and screenwriter. She has received national recognition for her publications, especially her artistic work on gentrification.
Filipino Americans have a long history of music in the United States. The Philippines have musical context and varied influences due to indigenous traditions and early colonial influences of Spanish and American occupation. During occupation by the United States, many Filipinos were recruited for manual labor along the West Coast. These early laborers commonly would perform Spanish-influenced rondallas as well as choral groups. With many Filipinos living in the United States beginning around the 1900s, Filipinos have contributed towards early Americana staples such as blues and jazz, and continue to influence more modern contemporary genres such as hip hop and rock. American music has also been influential in the Philippines for artists and vice versa. Though contributing to the evolution of American music, large number of Filipino Americans have a strong identity with culture of the Philippines by participating or organizing traditional dances and musical performances, largely in the form of PCNs on university campuses. Traditional dances and musical performances commonly practiced in the US are rondallas, choral groups, and gong chime ensembles. College campuses often organize performances on campuses, but can also have characteristics unique to America, as many Filipino Americans want to share their experiences of living in America and perform a more neo-traditional variation of traditional performances.
