A 'brotherhood' of Oakland and SF rappers drop epic collab album

"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't beg for attention. It commands replay. It spreads the old-fashioned way, through word of mouth, car speakers, and group chats."

"Oakland's ALLBLACK and 22nd Jim joined San Francisco's 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."

"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."

1 Umbrella is a supergroup comprising Oakland's ALLBLACK and 22nd Jim alongside San Francisco's Lil Bean, ZayBang, and Lil Yee. Their self-titled debut album, released February 6 through independent label EMPIRE, exemplifies music that resists algorithmic churn and gains traction through traditional means like word-of-mouth and group chats. The collaboration represents more than cross-city collaboration; it expresses the deep connections between Oakland and San Francisco's Black communities, including shared schools, families, and musical heritage. Following the album's release, the group held a signing at EMPIRE's San Francisco headquarters, where the tangible momentum and family-like dynamic among the five artists demonstrated their unified vision rather than individual stardom.

Read at The Oaklandside