{"id":207603,"date":"2026-03-06T17:23:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/207603\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T17:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:23:12","slug":"a-brotherhood-of-oakland-and-sf-rappers-drop-epic-collab-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/207603\/","title":{"rendered":"A ‘brotherhood’ of Oakland and SF rappers drop epic collab album"},"content":{"rendered":"

We live in an era where most music releases live fast and die young, flaring up and fading out in the span of a scroll, swallowed by the algorithm and replaced by the next viral song by morning. But every so often, a project resists that churn. It doesn\u2019t beg for attention. It commands replay. It spreads the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth, car speakers, and group chats. A slow burn that leads to real traction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enter 1 Umbrella, a five-man alliance bridging two cities often framed as opposites. San Francisco, the global tech metropolis, and working class Oakland, long defined by resilience and political resistance, carry different reputations and rhythms. Yet, for black communities in both cities, the bridge has never been just a way to get from here to there. It has meant shared schools, shared families, and a shared soundtrack. Oakland\u2019s ALLBLACK and 22nd Jim joined San Francisco\u2019s Lil Bean, ZayBang, and Lil Yee not simply as collaborators, but as a visible expression of those ties. What 1 Umbrella represents is not a cross-city sibling rivalry dissolving, but shared realities moving in the same direction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"San Francisco rappers Lil Yee and Lil Bean. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Oakland rappers 22nd Jim and ALLBLACK. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

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A week after 1 Umbrella\u2019s self-titled debut album dropped on Feb. 6, the super group held an album signing at the San Francisco headquarters of independent label EMPIRE. The momentum around the collaboration was tangible. The rappers signed merch until the very last second before being rushed to catch a flight. A steady stream of fans moved through the space, sharpies glided across glossy covers, and the five artists operated less like solo stars and more like family at a reunion who happened to share the same stage. Oakland and San Francisco rap scenes can sometimes feel like they move in parallel, so seeing these artists shoulder to shoulder felt deliberate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The album was released by EMPIRE, a label founded in 2010 by Ghazi, which has grown from a Bay Area distributor into a global powerhouse. Over the years,\u00a0 EMPIRE has played a role in amplifying major artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B while continuing to invest locally, supporting Oakland artists Philthy Rich and Too $hort. Last year, Ghazi received the prestigious Clive Davis Visionary Award, which recognizes bold leadership and innovation in the music industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On \u201c1 Umbrella,\u201d the 15-track album has traveled further than they have anticipated. Built on stark production and blunt force realism, it does not water down Bay Area edges for mass appeal. It translates them. \u201cWe just rap about our upbringing and represent where we from..and talk about what we\u2019ve seen, what we\u2019ve done,\u201d Lil Yee told The Oaklandside.<\/p>\n

\"\"A fan at a 1 Umbrella meet-and-greet event at the San Francisco headquarters of the new group\u2019s record label, EMPIRE, on Feb. 13, 2026. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Lil Yee hugs a fan at the event. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

The appeal lies in the lack of filter. The stories are specific to neighborhoods, blocks, and lived experience, but the hunger they rap with is universal. That perspective comes through clearly on the song \u201cRun the City,\u201d produced by Brutal Money, where ALLBLACK and 22nd Jim rap from the vantage point of East Oakland\u2019s San Antonio district, the stretch of International Boulevard locals know as the Murder Dubs, running roughly from 20th to 29th avenues.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood that inspired their 2019 joint project \u201c22nd Ways\u201d still anchors their perspective. Over laid back Bay Area production that feels built for a late night drive, the verses move between the realities that shape them and the spoils of success they\u2019ve now experienced \u2013 cruising past Lake Merritt, crossing the bridge into San Francisco, and taking in what the city has to offer after dark. The result feels like an on-the-ground snapshot of Oakland life, told with the calm confidence of artists who have lived it and are now moving differently within it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s strength is its cohesion. Singles like \u201cThe Blueprint,\u201d \u201cCODE,\u201d and \u201cBaller Blockin\u201d amplify the group\u2019s Bay Area influences without confining them to a regional box, helping them cultivate a loyal audience that now stretches well beyond Northern California. That expansion has not slowed their motivation. \u201cWe\u2019re super focused. We\u2019re back in the studio,\u201d ALLBLACK said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to go to the club. We want to come right back here and do the same thing over again. We want to wow ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some will frame the group as a strategic cross-bay alliance, Oakland meeting San Francisco in a calculated effort to merge audiences, increase leverage, and expand scale beyond regional ceilings. The members see something deeper. \u201cIt was a brotherhood,\u201d Lil Yee said. The origin story sounds more like a group text than a boardroom pitch. 22nd Jim made a record, and Yee jumped on it. Bean got called in. Momentum built organically.<\/p>\n

\"\"Friends and family showed up for the Feb. 13 fan event at EMPIRE. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\"\"Fans lined up around the block for the \u201c1 Umbrella\u201d album signing. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just thinking\u2026we should do all this, all come together as one,\u201d Yee recalled. The name itself came casually, via an Instagram comment that stuck. \u201cThat\u2019s it right there, 1 Umbrella,\u201d he said. The metaphor resonated immediately. \u201cWe all under this umbrella. When it rain, we stay dry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The spirit extended to the guest list \u2014 Bay Area heavy hitters like DaBoii, 1100 Himself, Larry June, and Rexxlife Raj. Even those appearances feel familial rather than transactional. In an era when verses are often emailed in, much of the album came together inside EMPIRE\u2019s studio walls. \u201cOur sessions became a party after a while,\u201d 22nd Jim said. \u201cEverybody wanted to come get the energy\u2026people were just pulling up on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

A month later, there\u2019s no sense of coasting, only momentum building. \u201cYou put it in their face for the rest of the time being. Man, this is just what it is,\u201d Lil Yee said, laying out a roadmap that includes a deluxe, a tour, solo projects, and then another group tape. \u201cWe coming at least two, three tapes a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the deluxe has outgrown expectations. \u201cThese songs so hard\u2026 we going eight to 10 songs, like it or love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For 1 Umbrella, momentum is not something to manage. It is something to multiply.<\/p>\n

\"\"Lil Bean, 22nd Jim, ALLBLACK and Lil Yee in front of EMPIRE\u2019s wall of fame listing Bay Area musical luminaries. Credit: Ximena Natura for The Oaklandside<\/p>\n

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