It’s been a busy week for “Cloud Rap,” the budding Bay Area scene headed up by young Oakland rappers Squadda B and Mondre M.A.N., aka Main Attrakionz. The duo has been putting out tapes at an insane clip for a couple years, finally coming into their own with this summer’s 808’s And Dark Grapes II, but they haven’t slowed down at all.
Cloud Rap sort of branched off from the previous generation of Bay hip-hop. MAz use a lot of the same producers as Lil’ B, guys like Clams Casino and Keyboard Kid, but with the help of an extended network of producers that grows by the day, they’re developing a sound that’s more and more distinctive. The beats are like a long sigh, wistful and echoey. Often sampled from YouTube, or anywhere that’s convenient, these lo-fi methods used by leading lights like Clams Casino have become a stylistic choice for many. Cloud Rap is an appropriate name, too, not only for its cumulus billowy vibes, but because, as non-commercial releases, all of it is distributed via “cloud” technology. There’s a heap of new music this week, and it’s basically all free. Here are some highlights:
