Spotlights · Full archive

rry June raps about healthy food, smart money and enjoying life, and has built a large audience doing it his way. Cruise USA with Cardo an

HT Mistah F.A.B. is part of Oakland’s identity, as a rapper and through Dope Era, his brand and community platform. “New Oakland” with G-S

Mack keeps it classic: Bay rap with a West Coast funk feel. Getting Kokane on a hook is a nod to that history, and “Make It Make Sense” w

hael Saadiq, and her work since then includes a series of live sessions with Good Compenny, “Stare at Me” with Anderson .Paak, and collabo

TLIGHT Adrian Marcel has been one of the Bay Area’s go-to R&B voices for years. GMFU and “MOBBIN” with Too $hort and Boosie Badazz show ho

a’s most prolific rapper. Records like “Ghetto Ghetto” with P-Lo and Too $hort show his talent for connecting generations, and a 40-track

he Documentary III on August 21: 24 tracks with Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Drake, Kanye West and the late Drakeo the Ruler among the guests. T

ptember 11 through Def Jam — 20 tracks with guests including Ab-Soul and Tyga. She also joined Larry June on “California Dream.” Her earli

Cordae’s joint album Heavy Is The Crown pairs .Paak’s soul and drums with Cordae’s storytelling. Their COLORS performance of “58th Floor”

y Millian writes R&B that feels lived in — smooth on the surface, honest underneath. The official video for “Baby” is a good place to meet

ENGE” and his feature on Nutty Brainz’s “GOOFY GOOBER.” The official video for “Put That On Everythang” with Hash Hearted shows the other

tting the right voices together. His catalog — “Energy” with Jay Millian and CALIthePOET, “Fast,” “CLOSER,” “Out the Way” — reads like a l

IFORNIA · ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Tha Duce’s “Gen 5” video is a straightforward introduction: West Coast bounce and a confident delivery. His sin

his 2022 album Prince of the Westside, and he has kept defending the title since, with the Doggy Child EP, a steady run of singles and rec

ists have shaped West Coast rap like Snoop Dogg. Three decades after “Lodi Dodi,” he is still releasing albums, running Death Row and appe

ch him work. His channel shows full sessions — like cooking up at the house with Pookie F’n Rude, TC Savage, 4Ever Juice, Freeze and Caddy

ame you find in the credits of records you already love. His work with P-Lo is the best-known example, and their partnership continues in

ng, and between serious records and playful ones — like her appearance on “PDX (Wooden Roof),” a song about Portland’s airport with DJ Ave

t writers — sharp, conversational, and willing to talk about more than just rap. “Razor Tongue” is the place to start, then work back thro

been releasing music and supporting local artists for a long time, and his recent credits — with Mikey Vegaz, Serge Severe, Ras Kass and m

in project series is literally called Rose City GOAT. He has also appeared next to Cool Nutz on “The Town,” one of several records connect

spaces and the people in them. It’s a good snapshot of what he does best: laid-back delivery, local pride and a collaborative streak that

and’s hip-hop community as DJ O.G. ONE. He’s behind “The Official Portland Trail Blazer’s Anthem” with OP1, and his releases regularly bri

Dooski has been releasing beat tapes since at least 2019’s Pretty Dope Beat Tape, followed by They Slap My Beats, two volumes of In Case

show up. His “2K12 Rip City Anthem” became a local favorite, and his releases since — “Win the Down,” “Poor Man, Rich Thoughts,” “Vibrant

PORTLAND · ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Mighty is a Portland rapper whose videos look like the city he comes from: concrete, graffiti, low light and n

ves between singing, songwriting and DJing, and you can hear all three in her records: the hooks are spare, the drums feel picked from a c

en LUCY in 2025, the BIG FEELING singles and a feature run that includes Coi Leray’s “Pink Money,” she has moved between rap, club and alt

t. BigXthaPlug lets it come to him. The Dallas artist built his name on a heavy, conversational flow that sounds just as natural over soul