Ezale

Ezale follows in the brash, devil-may-care tradition of Mac Dre while leaving his own mark on the Bay Area rap scene. Based in Oakland, the affable independent rapper made his name during the mid-2010s with tracks like "5 Minutes of Funktown," "Foreal Foreal," and "I Ain't Trippin' Off Nothin'," frequently refurbishing funk and old-school classics by the likes of Rick James, Run-D.M.C., and Whodini. In 2016, DJ Fresh tapped Ezale for a volume in his Tonite Show series. The Tonite Show with Ezale, issued that September, was promoted with the slinking, 2 Live Crew-referencing "We Want Some Pussy." ~ Andy Kellman