麻豆APP

Photo by wbls1075nyc. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Iconic Singers from Oakland

The Bay Area in Oakland has long been recognized as having an independent spirit, of doing things a bit differently than the rest of the country. Whether it鈥檚 the free-loving hippies of San Francisco鈥檚 Haight-Ashbury district and Berkeley鈥檚 Telegraph Avenue who popularized the public consumption of illicit drugs, or the rise of the militant Black Panther Party in Oakland, the Bay Area is where many people have come in the past half-century to buck the status quo.

These political and social movements affected Oakland鈥檚 music scene: Many local musicians coming up in the 1980s had personal ties to the Black Panther Party, such as having a parent who was a member (like Money B and Tupac, who bonded over this when Tupac joined Digital Underground) or being a recipient of the Panthers鈥� famed free breakfast program (like the Tonies鈥� D鈥檞ayne Wiggins).

As cultural historian Rickey Vincent, author of two renowned books on funk and soul music, says, 鈥淥akland鈥檚 ties to pop culture are interwoven with the militant Black Power self-determination milieu.鈥� Listed are the Top 10 Iconic Singers from Oakland.

1. Richie Rich

Richie Rich. Photo by Creator Lev berlak. .

Richard Serrell, better known by his stage name Richie Rich, is a rapper from Oakland, California. He currently runs his own record label, Ten-Six Records. Richie Rich first entered music in the late 1980s with the group 415. With D-Loc, DJ Daryl, and JED, Rich crafted a Bay Area album in 1989 called 41Fivin, which sold well around the Bay Area.

His rapping style had an influence on Snoop Dogg. In Snoop’s own words, “The reason I formed 213 with Warren G and Nate Dogg is because Richie Rich had a group called 415. I was lovin’ his style and voice which I incorporated into my style when I first started rapping.”

2. Too Short

Todd Anthony Shaw better known by the stage name Too Short (stylized as Too $hort), is an American rapper and record producer. He became famous in the West Coast hip hop scene in the late 1980s, with lyrics often based on pimping and promiscuity, but also drug culture and street survival.

This is respectively exemplified in his most popular songs “Blow the Whistle” and “The Ghetto”. A pioneer of West Coast rap, Shaw began recording in 1983, cultivating a large following in his native Oakland.

3. Carla Bley

Carla Bley is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and bandleader. An important figure in the free jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator over the Hill (released as a triple LP set), as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other artists, including Gary Burton, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Art Farmer, John Scofield and her ex-husband Paul Bley.

4. Sheila E.

Sheila E. at Huntington Beach Food Art & Music Festival 2014. Photo by Justin Higuchi.

Sheila Cecilia Escovedo better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band.

After leaving the group in 1983, Sheila began a successful solo career, starting with her critically acclaimed debut album, which included her career-defining song, “The Glamorous Life”. She became a mainstream solo star in 1985 following the success of the singles “The Belle of St. Mark”, “Sister Fate”, and “A Love Bizarre”, with the last becoming one of her signature songs. She is commonly referred to as the “Queen of Percussion”.

5. Keyshia Cole

Keyshia Myeshia Cole is an American R&B singer. Her career began when she met MC Hammer at the age of 12, and later met rapper Tupac Shakur.

At the age of 15, she moved to Los Angeles and was later introduced to A&M Records. She released her debut album, The Way It Is (2005), which spawned five singles: “Never” (featuring Eve), “I Changed My Mind”, “(I Just Want It) To Be Over”, “I Should Have Cheated”, and “Love”. It was certified gold within 17 weeks, and then platinum just eight weeks later. The album stayed on the charts for over a year, selling over 1.6 million copies.

6. D’wayne Wiggins

D’wayne Patrice Wiggins is an American singer, guitarist, and record producer best known as the founding member of the 1990s soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Ton茅! The group had 14 Billboard-charting R&B singles, including five number one hits, three Top Ten pop singles, one gold album, two platinum albums and one double platinum album. They sold over six million albums during their career together and toured internationally from 1998 through 2008.

7. MC Hammer

MC Hammer and Miiko Mentz. Photo by Brian Solis. .

Stanley Kirk Burrell, better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper and dancer. He is known for hit songs such as “U Can’t Touch This” and “2 Legit 2 Quit”, flashy dance movements, extravagant choreography and his eponymous Hammer pants.

Remembered for a rapid rise to fame, Hammer has also been an entrepreneur and celebrity spokesperson. A multi-award winner, Hammer is considered a “forefather” and pioneering innovator of pop rap (incorporating elements of freestyle music), and is the first hip hop artist to achieve diamond status for an album.

8. J. Stalin

Jovan Smith,  better known by his stage name J. Stalin, is a rapper from the Cypress Village housing projects in West Oakland. In 2007, he signed to Zoo Entertainment Production Company run by artist Mekanix, who described his style as a variant of Hyphy known as “Go”. J. Stalin’s first widely released performances arose when a DJ Daryl, a local recording studio owner, placed him on a track he was recording.

A colleague of Daryl’s, Richie Rich was impressed enough to put J. Stalin on three tracks in his 2002 album Nixon Pryor Roundtree album and two more as a member of Rich’s group, the Replacement Killers. He later recorded and performed with artists such as G-Stack and Beeda Weeda.

9. David Murray

David Keith Murray is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who performs mostly on tenor and bass clarinet. He has recorded prolifically for many record labels since the mid-1970s. He lives in New York City.

Murray was a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet with Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett. David Murray’s use of the circular breathing technique has enabled him to play astonishingly long phrases.

10. Marty Paich

David Paich, Michael Jackson, and Marty Paich. Photo by Chuge89.

Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles and Mel Torm茅. He is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.