Here's more proof that the Bay Area rap scene is as vibrant as ever. DJ Fresh, one of the region's most respected producers has tapped young Oakland rapper Ezale for the latest installment of his "Tonite Show" series of collaborative albums, which has spanned a decade and brought Fresh into partnerships with artists like E-40, The Jacka, Raekwon, and Freddie Gibbs. The Tonite Show With Ezale has been the source of immediate acclaim. The backdrops are a cosmic blend of funk, disco, and electro, driven by the glossy synths that are still a fixture in the Bay sound. Ezale matches Fresh's aura with free-flowing raps, stretching his imagination with his lyrics, but always with an effortless, thizzed-out sense of cool. Some have the funk, some don't. You'll catch it right after pressing play on the latest episode of "The Tonite Show."
"For anybody in the Bay Area growing up, you damn near thought anyone DJ Fresh did an album with was signed," Ezale told FADER. "And I thought they were signed to a major label. That's how much I loved DJ Fresh. I always wanted to do a 'Tonite Show' and I knew that if I ever got to do one, I wasn't gonna play with it."
DJ Fresh is responsible for producing six of 10 tracks on the album, with all the rest coming from Hawk Beatz. Stream The Tonite Show With Ezale below.
