Must Be the Water

There's a soul food joint in San Francisco near Giants stadium that's owned by a Vietnamese American guy who's originally from Louisiana but then moved to the Bay and finally came through with his dream of opening up a down home soul food restaurant. $9 for a plate of fried chicken and 2 sides, and there's also catfish, cornbread muffins, po' boys, lemonade served in a Mason jar, and all the good stuff in between. Oh, and he rides a very pimped out Harley. Talk about collision of cultures. Random, I know. But that's what's so great about the Bay Area. Things just sort of collide. And when I'm away from the Bay, I long to be grubbin at the cozy little conundrum known as Hard Knox Cafe.

Bay Area music seems to settle comfortably into the eclectic mess that is the Bay Area. While the dot com industry bust might've disturbed this dynamic in many ways, there's still a lot of beauty to be found in the culture that's kept under wraps. What I love about these artists is that they are Bay Area local favorites who have somehow managed to keep their own flavor without blowing up.

[MP3] Sugar Pie Desanto + Etta James :: In the Basement
Sugar Pie Desanto is a tiny lady with some gritty vocals. Grew up in the Bay Area and now lives in Oakland. I hear her live performances are amazing.

[MP3] Goapele ft. Zion I + Casual :: The Daze
[MP3] Goapele :: Closer
Love this girl. She's probably the only person who can rock a tie-dyed shirt and make it look hawt! I hope everyone has Closer, but I'm posting it just in case you've slept on it.

[MP3] Keyshia Cole ft. Lil Kim + Missy Elliot :: Let It Go
New joint by Keyshia. No more singing hooks for P. Diddly. No sir.

|||debstar|