A close-up portrait of a light-skinned person with a goatee standing against a bright, textured coral-red wall. They are wearing a bright red t-shirt that closely matches the background, a gold chain with a square pendant, and a dark green baseball cap. The cap features an oval patch with a vintage graphic of a woman's face and text. The person is looking directly at the camera with a calm, serious expression. The overall lighting is bright and even, highlighting the vibrant color coordination of the outfit and the background.Sponatola Credit: c/o Deyson Rodríguez

Marc Irvin, a patriarch of Tampa’s beat scene better known as Sponatola, marks the release of a new album, Spaced Out, by bringing out a hibernating giant of Bay area hip-hop, Seefu McCloud.

The release is Spon’s first of the year, and follows five 2025 beat tapes available on Bandcamp right now.

Other producers like Wally Rios (coming off the release of his own new album), Knux, and St Beatz round it out. Fellow legends Slopfunkdust and DJ Shafiq play support.

TAMPATOLA by Sponatola

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This article appears in Apr. 30 – May 06, 2026.

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Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief…
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