Winter is a notoriously slow time in the music industry, most bands are either huddled up in some cozy studio recording their next masterpiece or taking time off to spend time with their families, leaving Santa Cruz music lovers with little in the way of live music shows. Just kidding. We got a reggae legend,…
Posts Tagged: rap
King of the Summer Reigns in Santa Cruz
With a name that inspires a smile as it rolls off the tongue, Shwayze (pronounced: “Shway-zee”), first burst on to the indie-rap scene in the summer of 2008, with writing partner, Cisco Adler, and their massive single, “Buzzin,” off their debut self-titled album. The laid-back summer anthem would go on to hit #46 on the…
Going Through Hell with Sage Francis
At this point in his career, it feels like a disservice to Sage Francis to call him an “underground” rapper. Widely considered to be a forefather of the independent hip-hop scene, Sage got his start by sneaking out of his house at night to compete in Rap Battles when he was just 12. His initiative…
Local Rapper Gets a Break
Things are falling into place for Alwa Gordon. The Aptos-based rapper just returned from Las Vegas with three professionally produced hip hop tracks by Grammy-nominated production team the Audibles. Not only did he not pay a cent for them, he was flown out by the record label Future Music to make the recordings and sent home with the tracks free and clear.
