Snoop Dogg performs at Toyota Pavilion in Concord, Calif. on Aug. 26, 2023. David Jones/STAFF. CONCORD, Calif. — Before Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa returned to the stage at the Toyota Pavilion for an encore on Saturday night, attendees were shown a video skit. In it, the the two…

The best hip-hop albums of 2022 include Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, Nas, Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, Locksmith, Pusha T, Lupe Fiasco, Mount Westmore, Denzel Curry, Ho99o9, Freddie Gibbs, Homeboy Sandman, Bob Dylan, Czarface, Black Star, Black Thought and Danger Mouse, Your Old Droog, Open Mike Eagle and Token.…

Mount Westmore, “Snoop Cube 40 $hort.” What happens when four of California’s most legendary MCs come together to form a hip-hop supergroup for the ages? You get Mount Westmore, featuring Angelenos Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg and the Bay Area’s own Too $hort and E-40. Snoop Cube 40 $hort is…

Twenty One Pilots perform at BottleRock Napa Valley at the Napa Valley Expo on May 28, 2022. Steve Carlson/STAFF. NAPA — Saturday night’s BottleRock Napa offerings presented, perhaps, as challenging a headliner clash as the fest has ever seen. On one stage was one of the most exciting live bands…

Insert Foot is ready for Jeff Tweedy, his first concert in nearly two years. Original photo: Karen Goldman/STAFF. I’m going to my first concert in two years on Monday, which is exciting, if not a little scary. But first I need to check and see if the coast is…

Eminem performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2022. Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images. It was an Aftermath reunion, as legends from the ’90s and 2000s took to the stage at the Super Bowl LVI half-time show at…

A bold and bittersweet closing chapter for one of the greatest rappers of all time, the long-awaited album from DMX, Exodus, comes a little over a month and a half after his death. His first release in nine years (following 2012’s Undisputed) and his first on Def Jam since Grand Champ, Exodus is…

Snoop Dogg performs at the Fillmore in San Francisco on December 2, 2019. Photos: Derek Tobias. SAN FRANCISCO — On the first day of the appropriately titled I Wanna Thank Me tour, Snoop Dogg brought long time collaborator and friend Warren G to the Fillmore. “Hello San Francisco, do you know…

The Killers. Photos: Chloe Catajan, Martin Lacey and courtesy NAPA — The Killers turned the heat up in Napa on the second day of BottleRock Napa Valley Saturday. The Las Vegas band may not have been responsible for the noticeable increase in sunshine, but it brought the glitz and glamor…

Before unboxing and haul videos, before disembodied hands very quickly mixing ingredients, before whatever it is Logan Paul did, there was YouTube’s first class of breakout stars. Taking advantage of early streaming video’s Wild West freedom, they pushed the limits of creativity, producing everything from Star Wars comedy to excessive foods.…