IN THE EAST BAY

Back when I first got into rap from the San Francisco Bay Area, it didn't seem that different. In the early '90s I introduced myself to people like Paris, Too $hort, Digital Underground, N2Deep, the Hieroglypics, and adapted fairly quickly. But as time went on, the Bay began to produce a distinct style of rap music of which the infamous E-40 was only the tip of the iceberg. It took me many an intense listening session to get accustomed to the local slang, but that didn't prevent me from soon standing knee-deep in records by 3XKrazy, Dangerous Dame, RBL Posse, Dru Down, Mac Dre, Mac Mall, etc. To this hip-hop fanatic raised in the '80s, hearing mob music (as it came to be known), felt like being reborn, similarly to when I discovered old school hip-hop or when the Southern wave swept over us. It was hip-hop, it messed with your mind, it bullied your body, it soothed your soul, and it was fresh as f**k. Since then, Oakland, San Francisco and neighboring communities have put out more rap records than the New York metro ever will, and they're not about to stop. There's a steady influx of new blood, keeping the scene alive and thriving. One such young gun is Fremont's Csteroc (spelled 'Cee-steroc'). With several tapes (like "Young Viet Vet") under his belt as well as a compilation he put together featuring various Asian rap artists from the Bay Area ("Young Csteroc presents Reality Raps"), Csteroc is now coming at us with his first solo CD. Gathering new tracks as well as remastered older ones, "In the East Bay" is a short but satisfactory introduction to the "young Vietnameze" and how he puts it down. by Matt Jost RAPREVIEWS.COM NOTE : (EXTREMELY RARE CD!!! ONLY 1000 COPIES PRESSED!!! ARTWORK BY EVAN FROM PHOTODOCTOR GRAPHICS)