ALLBLACK Details

In a bare-bones rehearsal studio, on a crisp day in March, rising Oakland rapper ALLBLACK prepared for his biggest performance to date. He circled the hollow space with his backpack on, finalizing cues and transitions with confidence, as songs from his 2016’s mixtape NO SHAME 2 and his 2017 EP KimSon echoed. The following night, he would take the stage in front of a sold-out crowd at Oakland’s Fox Theater, opening for Vallejo phenoms, SOB X RBE.

Over the past year, ALLBLACK has been ticking off accomplishments: dinner with elder statesman E-40; features from West Coast hitters Nef the Pharaoh and 03 Greedo on his newest EP, Outcalls; and selling out a local co-headlining show in February with OMB Peezy. The day after that commanding performance, he tweeted, “Shit crazy how people really memorize my diary.”