Latest news with #Too$hort
San Francisco Chronicle
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
From Eminem to E-40, Nickatina to Zeppelin, what goes into Giants' signature sounds?
Logan Webb start days have a signature sound. And it is so, so Bay Area. As the San Francisco Giants ' ace strides to the mound, a symphony of whale calls fill Oracle Park underscored by the bump of hard bass. It is the prelude to 'Killa While,' a song by San Francisco-based rapper Andre Nickatina. Since Webb debuted in 2019, the Rocklin native decided it was important to him to make his warm-up song a Bay Area tune. He used to use 'Feelin' Myself,' by Mac Dre, but switched to Nickatina when his results on the mound were lacking. All he knew was he would stay local. Former Giant shortstop Brandon Crawford's walk-up song had been 'Jungle' by Nickatina for his entire career, which inspired Webb. 'I've always listened to Andre Nickatina or Mac Dre or P-Lo,' Webb said. 'I heard Craw's was Jungle by Andre Nickatina and I was like 'Man, that's cool.' Then I listened to Killa Whale, and think it's cool when the whales are going off as I'm running out.' Webb isn't the only Giant who goes local. Kyle Harrison, a Danville native, chose 'Gettin' It' by Too $hort upon his return to the bigs. Willy Adames, new to the Bay Area after signing a seven-year deal this offseason, chose 'Yay Area' by E-40 to embrace his new home and learn more about the culture. The roster's walk-up song playlist is eclectic, ranging from classic Mexican artists – Camilo Doval saunters out of the bullpen to 'El Hijo Desobediente' by Antonio Aguilar – and a good amount of country crooners. Starter Landen Roupp warms to 'Honky Tonk Badonkadonk' by Trace Adkins and closer Ryan Walker takes over with 'Neon Grave' by Tyler Braden blaring. Many Giants go with whatever tune caught their ear, few stick with songs that have become part of their in-game routines while a handful have a full story behind their choice. Wilmer Flores has used 'I'll Be There For You' by the Rembrandts – better known as the 'Friends' theme song – since he was with the New York Mets in 2016. Flores chose the song because it was connected to his all-time favorite show; when his baseball career brought a teenage Flores to the U.S. from Venezuela, he watched 'Friends' on repeat. Not only was it comforting, the dialogue helped him learn English. 'At first I started watching the news, but everything they say on the news is very hardcore,' Flores said. 'It's good to watch the news with subtitles when you're learning another language. But then I started watching ('Friends') and got the sarcasm. If you don't get the sarcasm, you don't get the show because it's your second language. I started getting into it.' Flores has custom cleats with running jokes from the series, including a pair that say 'Pivot' across the back. It's a reference to an episode in which Ross Geller (one of the main characters) is trying to get a couch up the stairs to his apartment. Flores said he has watched the show too many times to count. 'Sometimes it feels like I'm not even watching it,' he said. 'When I'm cleaning or something I'll just put it on. Not even paying attention, just listening to it.' The 33-year-old has been in the league since 2013, chose the song around 2016 and doesn't plan on ever changing it again. 'I still get the same feeling,' he said. 'I don't see myself walking up to the plate and not hearing that song.' Flores' walk-up song reminds him of a comfortable feeling, Mike Yastrzemski 's song has become part of a sensory routine. He's used 'When the Levee Breaks' by Led Zeppelin since his rookie year with the Giants in 2019. While Yastrzemski is thinking over situations that could present themselves in the at-bat, the song's guitar riffs act as a signal for him in the on-deck circle to lock in. 'I hear that song and I already know where I am. I'm going to the box now,' Yastrzemski said. 'I hear that dinner bell and it's 'oop, I know where I am right now. Especially if you're thinking about other things, a play or baserunning or pitch selection. All of the sudden I hear it and it's 'OK, time to dial it in.' I hear the song start and I don't hear anything else. I'm lost right after I hear that song start.' Historically, a walk-up or warm-up song became part of certain players' baseball alter ego and intimidation factor. Think Mariano Rivera using 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica, Trevor Hoffman using AC/DC's 'Hells Bells' or Robb Nenn walking out to 'Smoke on the Water' by Deep Purple. Justin Verlander, a 20-year veteran, has been warming up to ''Til I Collapse' by Eminem since his days with the Detroit Tigers. The song choice couldn't be more appropriate now that Verlander, at age 42, is the oldest active pitcher in the majors – pitching until he can't anymore. Some players change their walk-up song regularly, often depending on performance. Matt Chapman, the current Giants clubhouse DJ, typically switches up his walk-up song when he's in a skid at the plate. Anything that can shift the energy. Chapman has used the Grammy-winning track 'Not Like Us' by Kendrick Lamar since midway last season and stuck with it as he glided into a hot August in which he batted .270 with six home runs. Off to a slow start to start in 2025, Chapman is considering changing things up when the Giants return home from an 11-day road trip through Washington, Detroit and Miami. 'I'll probably change my walk-up song soon,' Chapman said. 'See how today (Wednesday) goes and then I might change it.'
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Freaky Tales' Review: Totally Oakland
Crammed to the margins with peaceable punks, vicious skinheads, ambitious rappers, racist police — oh, and a green supernatural whatsit — Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden's 'Freaky Tales' is a nostalgic homage to the music, movies and personalities of the 1980s. Set in 1987 in Oakland, where Fleck grew up, this revenge-of-the-underdogs picture unfolds through a lens of pop-culture goofiness. Blending multiple genres — action, comedy, horror, martial arts — Fleck and Boden's screenplay is blunt and broad, a flurry of flyby references only loosely tethered to narrative logic. Bursts of animation and graphic-novel gore lend familiar gimmickry to the film's four, vaguely connected stories, none of which feel fully cooked. In the first, two teenagers (Ji-young Yoo and Jack Champion) and their fellow punks are forced to defend a beloved music venue from a tribe of marauding neo-Nazis. This segues into a sparking rap battle between a young female duo (Dominique Thorne and Normani, both standouts) and Too $hort (played by the hip-hop artist Symba). The third segment feels more robust, thanks to Pedro Pascal's performance as a burned-out enforcer trying vainly to escape his violent past. And a bloodily operatic finale sees a loathsome detective (Ben Mendelsohn) pay when a scheme to rob the home of the basketball star Sleepy Floyd (Jay Ellis) goes spectacularly awry. High on revolutionary spirit, 'Freaky Tales' is a frisky, frantic pastiche that doesn't always make sense. (In the third chapter, an unexpected cameo by a major celebrity is such a non sequitur even Pascal seems momentarily flummoxed.) Yet the visuals are meaty, and the filmmakers (whose last feature collaboration was on 'Captain Marvel' in 2019) show considerable affection for their movie's setting. I wish, though, they had focused less on the era's greatest hits and more on the details of their script. Maybe then we would have learned the provenance of that supernatural whatsit.
New York Times
05-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Oakland Ballers add Too $hort and Billie Joe Armstrong to ownership group
Last summer, the Oakland Ballers — a Pioneer League baseball team that played its inaugural season in 2024 — welcomed more than 2,200 fans into its ownership group through a community investment round that raised $1.234 million. On Tuesday, the Ballers announced they opened a second community investment round, intending to raise $2 million. New investors will join an ownership group that now includes Bay Area music legends Too $hort and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. Advertisement 'We're delighted that Too $hort and Billie Joe Armstrong will be joining our ownership group, along with thousands of Oakland fan owners. These two local legends were real supporters in our first season, and it's great to now have them on board in a more formal capacity,' Ballers co-founder Paul Freedman said in a statement. The minimum requirement to participate in the round is $510, a nod to Oakland's area code. As part of the initial investment round, the Ballers became the first U.S. professional franchise to add a fan owner to its board of directors. Fan owners elected Jorge Leon of the Oakland 68s to the board in December. He will serve a two-year term. The Ballers are gearing up for a second season at Raimondi Park in West Oakland. As they fill out their roster for the 2025 season, the team will hold open tryouts on March 8. Oakland made the Pioneer League playoffs in their inaugural campaign. The 2025 season kicks off on May 20. 'Oakland has produced some of the best athletes and sports fans in the world and the Ballers' commitment to feeding that competitive fire is exciting for me as an Oakland native,' Too $hort said in a statement. 'I'm proud to be joining the Ballers ownership group, and excited for the impact we're going to have on the community and the overall sports landscape in the Bay Area and beyond!' Oakland natives Bryan Carmel and Freedman founded the Ballers in response to the Athletics' announcement that they would leave Oakland for Las Vegas. Through a $1.6 million donation to the city, the Ballers refurbished Raimondi Park, a historic public park in West Oakland where Curt Flood, among others, played youth baseball. The Ballers drew 92,046 fans in 48 home games in 2024. The Ballers are among an increasing number of professional franchises that have offered their fans opportunities to invest in their teams through community investment rounds. Another Oakland-based sports franchise, the Oakland Roots and Soul Soccer Club, recently closed its second community investment round after raising more than $540,000. In total, the Roots and Soul have raised more than $3.5 million in their two investment rounds. Advertisement The Roots will play their 2025 home schedule at the Oakland Coliseum, recently vacated by the Athletics. Opening night is March 22 and Too $hort will perform at the game's halftime. 'Sports in the Bay Area have been transforming over the last couple of years. We've had some emotional goodbyes to teams we grew up with, but recently there has been a major shift,' Armstrong said in a statement. 'The Oakland Ballers and the Oakland Roots and Soul represent everything I love and grew up on in the Bay Area. The welcoming atmosphere, DIY attitude and the people behind it make me proud to be an investor and support the next generation of teams kids in the Bay will be proud of.' Thank you @billiejoe of @GreenDay for supporting us and other local sports groups in Oakland, loved having you! — Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) July 7, 2024 (Top photo of Raimondi Park: Penny Collins / NurPhoto via Associated Press)
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Too $hort Mourns Brother In Emotional Video: 'Real Tears'
Too $hort has uploaded an emotional video amid the loss of his brother, Wayne Shaw. Taking to Instagram on Thursday (Jan. 30), the 58-year-old shared a clip of himself riding to the Ohio Players' 1977 track 'Angel.' In the video, the rapper begins with black sunglasses on. He then lifts them up, revealing red eyes still wet with tears. The Hip-Hop veteran does not speak in the video, however, the lyrics of the song emote deep feelings. He is met in the comments with the support of fans and celebrities including Styles P, DJ Premier, Larry June, YoYo, Monica, and Terri J. Vaughn. 'You put my life before your own/And you set my love upon a throne/Only someone from up above/Could ever give a man so much love,' sings the funk band in the background. The clip is captioned 'Real Tears.' A second video uploaded by Too $hort features another Ohio Players song, 'Pain,' with the caption 'Aint really replying to a lot of texts or answering calls right now. I can't.' Wayne Shaw was shot and killed on Wednesday in what law enforcement believe to be an attempted robbery of his marijuana growing facility. Shaw was 61 years old. He reportedly also slept at the warehouse where a group of people allegedly tried to use a vehicle to ram their way inside. Shaw was shot while confronting the group. Investigators discovered a 'bullet-ridden' Honda Civic nearby. The vehicle was previously reported stolen. The Oakland Police Department is asking anyone with information about the case to call its Homicide Section at (510) 238-3821 or a tip line at (510) 238-7950. People can also send videos or photos to cidvideos@ More from Too $hort's Brother Shot And Killed In East Oakland Kamala Harris Holds Star-Studded Hip-Hop 50 Celebration Jazmine Sullivan Issues Statement After Juneteenth Performance Is Canceled Due To Stampede
