Rap by the Bay: Oakland Emerges As a Force in Pop

• Published in: The New York times
• Main Authors: Ross, Michael E, Michael E. Ross is a freelance writer living in Manhattan
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 10.09.1989
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: Hammer, M C; MUSIC; RECORDINGS (AUDIO); REVIEWS; ROSS, MICHAEL E; Wiggins, Dwayne; OAKLAND, Calif
• ISSN: 0362-4331

The group's 1988 debut album ''Who?'' (Wing/Polygram 835549), produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster - Oakland-based producers and two of the creative forces behind Club Nouveau - blends several musical influences, including gospel and blues, with a streetwise flavor that could perhaps have only come from Oakland. One of the album's singles, ''Little Walter,'' a cautionary tale of a drug dealer's demise, borrows its chorus from the gospel staple ''Wade in the Water.'' The record stayed on Billboard's black-music album charts for 65 weeks. The record recently went gold, and the group's second album is set for a January release. While the first album is characterized by lush, smooth, three-part harmonies and horn charts, [Dwayne Wiggins] said the new album will be ''more street,'' using elements of the rap sound. ''In the Bay Area, there's never been a central base, a central entity to set the standards,'' said David Cook, a disk jockey for KPFA in Oakland. ''People have brought their own ideas into the music. The Bay Area's always overshadowed by Los Angeles. It just hasn't been recognized for the talent it's put forth.'' ''There's a real division, a schism, between San Francisco and Oakland,'' said Barry Weiss, the vice president for marketing operations for Jive Records. ''There's a real urban feel in Oakland that isn't in San Francisco. Maybe it's more affluent in San Francisco; maybe there's just more money. It's like a nationalistic pride. People in Oakland see the affluence across the bridge. They want a piece of that pie.''