Sweet Home California for Del the Funky Homosapien

PHOTOS BY MUHAMMAD ASRANUR

As tiny mushroom clouds of smoke puffed skyward and hands thrust above heads, celebration was in the air last night (Nov. 14) when East Bay hip-hop's prodigal son Del the Funky Homosapien took the stage at Slim's. The show was the grand finale to a nearly 50-date tour in support of his forthcoming studio LP, The 11th Hour. Fellow local Knobody opened the more-than-four-hour show with sincere gratitude and honest rhymes based on the tribulations of real life. Next, Houston-based rhymeslayer Devin the Dude, a Dave Chappelle look-a-like, had the help of the Coughee Brothaz crew and Odd Squad as he busted through raps like "To Tha X-Treme" and "Just Tryin' Ta Live," featuring breakneck-speed verse about smoking and ladies (to put it very nicely).

It may have already been past midnight when Del finally stormed the stage, but the party showed no signs of slowing down. Joined by Souls of Mischief's A-Plus, Del worked up the nearly belligerent crowd by delivering his signature seamless flow, and even a little call and response, on favorite tracks such as "Mistadobalina" and "Dr. Bombay." The Hieroglyphics founder also performed 11th Hour tunes like "Sit Down" and, with urging from A-Plus, "Workin' It." The latter cuts offered fans only a glimpse of the lyrical and musical impressiveness Del's new album promises. Whether anybody in the audience was sober enough to appreciate it at the tail end of a wild night, that's another story.

We asked: Del's collaborated with everyone under the proverbial sun -- from the Gorillaz to Dan the Automator. Who would you like to see him work with next?

Name: Tommy Lam
Age: 18
Hometown: Newark, CA
Occupation: Retail
"Murs. Having an L.A. rapper and Del would be crazy."

Name: Alison Filous (on right, with friend Brittany Pickett)
Age: 19
Hometown: Millbrae, CA
Occupation: Student
"The Divorce. I think it'd be cool to have the rock kind of techno with rap."

Name: Daniel Heitzman
Age: 19
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: Comic book artist
"MF Doom because they're both really great. That'd basically be one of my dreams -- like seeing Darth Vader versus the Terminator."

Name: Charlette Richardson
Age: 29
Hometown: Oakland, CA
Occupation: Pension processor
"Knobody because he's the next up-and-coming artist. He's an innovator bringing something new to rap."

Name: Tara Everett
Age: 25
Hometown: East Oakland, CA
Occupation: Medical biller
"Knobody. He's my brother! And he speaks about real things."

Name: Devin G.
Age: 28
Hometown: Pacifica, CA
Occupation: Graphic designer
"I want him to do a Rick Rubin album since everything those guys do turns to gold."

Name: Matt Miller
Age: 27
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: Business development manager
"Lyrics Born, or maybe RZA. Only because I like that kind of thing, and so much of the stuff I hear on the radio everyday is garbage."

Name: Brad Zuckerman
Age: 25
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Occupation: Traffic coordinator/DJ/producer
"Madlib, 'cause Del's the shit. Their styles are kind of similar; they're both out-of-the-box thinkers."