On Thursday, April 6, 2017, DJ Elbo, Tika and riz aka djrsd attended the sold out SOB X RBE show live at The Atrium, at The Catalyst in downtown Santa Cruz. Riz aka djrsd was the first person ever to interview SOB X RBE back on February 4th, when they opened up for award winning and Platinum recording artist and producer, Sage the Gemini. After the show, riz aka djrsd interviewed Xslapz, the DJ for SOB X RBE, who is also an upcoming producer which can be found below. Don’t forget to check out the concert review on the kzsc blog written by Tika and riz aka djrsd!
SOB X RBE Concert Review
Xslapz (DJ)
With the rain coming down hard in downtown Santa Cruz, the crowd — which sold out in less than 48 hours — could not wait to get inside the The Atrium in The Catalyst. To get the night started off, my childhood friend Xslapz educated the crowd with his taste of his favorite bay area slappers (bayslaps). He played brand new music from various new hot artists like Mike Sherm, Tee Grizzley, and Mozzy. He was playing all our favorite songs from high school and everyone was giggin’ just like they do back at home. It was refreshing to see the culture we grew up loving being spread outside of the Bay. After nearly 20 minutes of solid mixing, Xslapz introduced the Bubble Boyz.
The main rapper for Bubble Boyz was a big dude with a sick beard and a smooth flow. He had a relaxed demeanor while he brought up his crew, and he interacted with the crowd a lot which made everyone hyped during his set. Bubble Boyz was also featured at SOB X RBE’s All Stars show that happened in December 2016 in Vallejo.
Next up, Lil Sheik representing Big Money. We got hella excited when we saw Lil Sheik and the crew hop on stage. Not only were they showing off their full gold grills, they also had sick matching blue varsity jackets to add to their sick style. Their set was was probably the most well put together of the three openers and we were surprised to hear that a few are under the age of 18. Check out Lil Sheik’s Mixtape “Stuck In These Streets” which is also a banger.
Before SOB X RBE, the only “Wheel One,” Remedy, came through to perform. Obviously Tika was going dumb to this dude’s set because he’s repping his area code of 415 (San Francisco)! Big homie didn’t let his wheelchair or personal problems stop him from killing his set and spitting some red hot fire that has been featured non stop on Thizzler On the Roof. Definitely give this guy a listen if you’re interested in San Francisco rap or just love seeing him produce tons of songs.
RBE X SOB THAT’S THE GANG *****! If you aren’t familiar with the group, they are four young rappers from North Vallejo (The Crest), CA that have been increasingly gaining attention in the Rap community. Our favorite part about the group is the way they combine classic Bay Area hip-hop roots with more modern rap flows. With Tika being a SF native, he was excited to see Bay Area artists growing and thriving, so Tika had to show some love at their show in Santa Cruz. As soon as we walked into the Atrium, we were immediately hit with the comforting nostalgia of the hyphy atmosphere that is quintessential of Bay culture and music. There were a lot of opening acts before the SOB X RBE came out, so when they finally came on the whole crowd went mainey. The gang performed hit singles like Calvin Cambridge, On My Momma, Anti, Shots Yo Way, Lane Changin’ and some songs from the self-titled album. Afterwards Tika and his friends were posted behind the the venue when we ran into SOB X RBE. Tika hit them up and they were hella down to earth and humble despite being, in our opinion, the forefront of modern Bay Area music. Tika talked to DaBoii for a while about the show and thanked them for representing the bay as it should be represented; hella hyphy. For Tika, the concert made him feel like he was at home, and he was glad to see people who weren’t from the Bay sharing and enjoying a culture that he holds so dear. We encourage everyone to hit up the next SOB X RBE show in your city because the tickets for the SF show sold out in less than THREE minutes. Bring your friends, bring your mama, bring citas, bring your pets, bring everyone from different parts of the world and enjoy music from SOB X RBE, a group of very talented Bay Area homies that will add some spice to your lifestyle, just ask Yhung T.O!
Since February 4, 2017, SOB X RBE have been featured by Complex, theFader, and HYPEBEAST.com and all have been referenced back to riz aka djrsd’s first interview and blog post on them! They have sold out tons of shows and recently came back from SXSW 2017. Yhung T.O., DaBoii, SlimmyB and the whole gang have been on everyone’s radar about releasing their own albums. Check them out on theFader’s most recent post about them. On top of that, KIINGR0D made his debut with his song “Knockdown.”
Additionally, check out coverage of the Santa Cruz show 4.6.17, filmed by riz aka djrsd!