My only complaint with the Shwayze album that came out today is that it is a month late.  I should have been blasting this on my way to the beach all summer long.  But it’s okay, I’m in California and we like to stretch summer till the end of September.  Since moving to Los Angeles I always discover that summer is over when I look around and I’m sitting on a Torrance bench under an Oktoberfest tent.  But I digress…

What is So Cal hip hop?  Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube – seems obvious right?  But I’m not talking about LA Hip Hop, or Westcoast Hip Hop.  The phrase So Cal brings scenes of chillin’ at the beach, biking around on a Sunday, hanging out on the balcony of a house party on a warm summer night.  And that is the exact feeling that I get from Shwayze.

To indulge my hobby of inventing music genres I’m going to label these guys Folk, Laid Back, Melodic Hip Hop.  The closest comparison I can think of is the Lupe Fiasco song with Matt Santos on the hook.  Gym Class Heroes come close, but this album is very much a California affair.

I would suggest you drop a few duckets on this album and hit up the beach this weekend, windows down, stereo blasting.  Here are a couple songs to wet your whistle.

Shwayze feat Cisco – Buzzin

Shwayze – Polaroid