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Hieroglyphics Tuesday, Nov. 4. Zoe Nightclub, 417 S. First St., San Jose, 408.971.6646, 8pm. $15 East Oakland, Calif., churned out many of rap's most popular hustler/baller prototypes--Too Short, Dru Down and the Luniz--but lurking beneath the busted out streetlamps, a posse of right-brained brainiacs were working on their own revolution. Under the Hieroglyphics banner, rappers and producers Del the Funky Homosapien, Domino, Casual, Opio, Tajai, A-Plus, Phesto and Pep Love set out to change West Coast hip-hop, and for a few years they did. The crew created vibrant lyrical expressions like Del's I Wish My Brother George Was Here and Souls of Mischief's '93 Til Infinity--both considered West Coast classics. It was apparent that Hiero would ascend, likened to the West Coast version of the Native Tongues, but shady major-label deals killed the momentum. They spent years figuring out what to do, releasing cassettes, playing live shows. Then along came the Internet, and Hiero mastered the art of online marketing, selling product from their website (www.hieroglyphics.com) straight to the fans around the world. Today, they got their business side together and are releasing music regularly, including the 2000 Souls of Mischief album Trilogy, Pep Love's excellent solo drop Ascension and the 1998 family album Third Eye Vision. In particular, Del has enjoyed a sustained renaissance of his microphone skills--recording with Gorillaz, Deltron 3030 and on his own solo, Both Sides of the Brain. On Oct. 9, the Hieroglyphics released their follow-up to Third Eye Vision, called Full Circle--an appropriate title as the band of brothers from the Eastside O hit the road. (Todd Inoue) Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. Winter Music Guide 2003 The Fingerbangerz The Faction David Bowie The Matches Jucifer The Ataris Hieroglyphics Primus Evanescence The Brian Setzer Orchestra Good Charlotte Hot Water Music Mya The Polyphonic Spree Ticketmaster's new bid-for-tickets system Winter music listings [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]