As a member of the iconic South Bay hip-hop group Subcontents, Tape Mastah Steph was an integral part of the emerging underground hip-hop scene in San Jose back in the ’90s. Today, he still is, even though he moved out of California almost a decade ago.
He recently produced The Treatment, the latest solo record from his friend and former Subcontents collaborator Dave Dub. Dub, of course, now heads the Isolated Wax crew, maintaining the most important hip-hop label in the South Bay.
But the connections don’t end there. Dub’s new joint was released in May on Stones Throw Records, run by San Jose expat Peanut Butter Wolf. Steph has released a companion beat mix called Courtesy Flush, also out on Stones Throw.
Wolf was the first person to show Steph how to use an Ensoniq EPS sequencer, back when they were both pause-mixing in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Crazy how things come full circle—for Dub’s record, Steph convinced him to use nothing but the tools they had back in the day: an SP-1200 and…an Ensoniq EPS.
Steph, who now splits his time between Houston and Vegas, will return to San Jose tonight for a DJ show at Johnny V’s spotlighting Stones Throw artists that will also feature Baron Zen and Danny Hackintosh.
“You can expect to hear some original work in the mix with classic grooves and all that jazz,” Steph tells me.
TAPE MASTAH STEPH performs Friday, Aug. 10, at 9pm at Johnny V’s in San Jose; free.
.Tape Mastah Steph Returns To South Bay For Stones Throw Records
