Oakland Rapper Philip Bank$ Is All Gas, No Fakes
The late-blooming lyricist opens up about his debut solo album, ‘East Bay Times.’
Culture
Oakland Rapper Philip Bank$ Is All Gas, No Fakes
The late-blooming lyricist opens up about his debut solo album, ‘East Bay Times.’
About a decade ago, I used to bike all over Oakland. I’d ride from the edges of Emeryville, across uninterrupted stretches of asphalt in the North and West, along the salty marshlands towards the airport, and into the potholed trenches around the Oakland Coliseum. On other nights, I’d just mob down Telegraph or Broadway until I found my group of friends or made new ones.
Times were different. Money stretched further. People were outside. And on a pedal bike, you could really see everything up close: the incoming faces from out of state as they unloaded moving trucks, the construction of chic high-rise apartments, the city’s most glaring struggles and its flashes of euphoria. A certain kind of capitalism, and hints of its future consequences, were on full display.