Matt's Writing

TheRumpus.net just published my interview with Rafael Casal , which is the final interview I’m including in my book . I spoke with Rafael on February 11, 2012 about his third hip hop album Mean Ones , how the Bay Area is similar to the world of Dr. Seuss, his thoughts on Occupy Oakland, and why he moved to LA. Read the full interview on TheRumpus.net .

The last 2 months have been filled with incredible releases from the Bay Area indie music scene. The Bay Area's indie and underground scenes have historically been engines of innovation, creating new musical styles and language. What's happening on the ground today in the Bay may take months or even years to reach "mainstream." Read at the bottom for more about this. Here are my favorite recent releases: Dave Smallen - Happiness Read my review . Daveed Diggs - Small Things to a Giant . Provocative freshman album. My review is forthcoming. K.Flay - Eyes Shut . Read my post . George Watsky - Watsky & Mody . This genre-bending album featuring bluegrass meets Bay Area hip hop is perhaps Watsky’s most experimental piece to date. Have you also seen Watsky’s Robot poem ? S for Lisp ? He's also a Wikipedia power user and can rap fast . Rafael Casal releases Mean Ones on Feb. 2nd. Read my review of the music vi...

Rafael Casal reps the Oakland Hills in his new Dr. Seuss-inspired music video Whoville . He raps while riding the Tilden Park Steam Trains (AKA Redwood Valley Railway) with Daveed Diggs and Chinaka Hodge of the Getback crew riding in small cars behind him. The end of the video features him walking up the Oakland Hills to the Chabot Space and Science Center where he looks into a telescope. Casal choosing to film the video in the hills showcases another side of Oakland that not many outsiders know about. The video captures Oakland's vibrant geography, natural parks, and wild landscapes along its border with Contra Costa County. The lighting in the video is superb. And given the conditions they were working with, shooting from a moving miniature train, pulling off a video like this is no easy feat. Casal and Nathan Lee artistically apply themes from Dr. Seuss into the Bay Area hip hop world. The attractive girl at the beginning hears a cry emanating from ...