Rock The Bells recently spoke to a few Bay area Hip-Hop icons about the sound of the Bay for Rock The Bells Radio's All City Day: Bay Area, which dedicates an entire day to Hip-Hop from the Bay Area and features music and commentary from Too $hort, E-40, Spice 1, Money B of Digital Underground, Del The Funky Homosapien, and more. Additionally, Bay Area DJs including  DJ Fuze, DJ Apollo, and DJ D-Sharp will contribute exclusive mixes.

MC and Hip-Hop journalist Sway Calloway, who is also participating in RTB Radio's All City Day: Bay Area, talked about the Bay's expansive musical scope. 

"To me, Bay Area Hip-Hop is an extension of R&B and soul with different variants of street," he explained. "It's soul mixed with technology and so it's really about where you're from, your region, and what inspired you. Sly and the Family Stone, a Bay Area group, was a heavy influence on us. From songs like 'Everyday People,' to the way they played their bass and mixed their drums influenced us."

Hiero member Del The Funky Homosapien echoed Sway's sentiments about the influence of other genres. "The Bay is famous for musical breakthroughs, like the summer of love type thing, rock music, we got the Fillmore up here, Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station, The Headhunters, Herbie Hancock, Tower of Power. The sound is funky and soulful, and in Hip Hop, it's funky, but stripped down. That became popular across the country, especially with hyphy music. They just took that and ran off with it, but that came from the Bay."

Bay area legend Too $hort says that many people attempt to put the sound of Bay Area Hip-Hop in a box.

"I don't think that you can legitimately put the sound of Bay Area Hip-Hop in a box," he said. "The inception of Bay Hip-Hop is Too $hort, E-40, MC Hammer, Digital Underground, and 2Pac — all completely different sounds. None of us approached the making of the music from the same aspect, so when you think the Hyphy movement and other things that came from The Bay give you a reason to explain the Bay area sound, I don't think that we have a sound. It has an emotion, a feeling, and a certain swag. It's the lingo, the look, and a lot of things."

The legendary E-40 says that the Bay area sound was originally referred to as "Mob Music."

"Mob Music was before a lotta music," he remembered. "Too $hort would call it 'The Dope Fiend Beat.' E-40 and The Click call it 'Mob Music' because it's heavy basslines. So, between Too $hort and E-40 and the Click you got Studio Ton, Mike Mosley, Ant Banks, and even Too $hort, he's a producer. He produced all of his early music. You have Rick Rock, Bosco and you have me. I'm a composer. I'm the one who made my track 'Mr. Flamboyant.'"

Sway stresses the influence of live instrumentation and funk bands on the area.

"A lotta that live instrumentation like Con Funk Shun was high energy," he explained. "For us, Con Funk Shun was equivalent to somebody like The Dazz Band or The Commodores. Sheila E. and her family were very huge with Latin percussion and the grooves that they included in their music — that's all Bay Area. So when you hear those older groups that were around before Too $hort and Tony! Toni! Toné!, you understand where that information that informed their music came from. Too $hort, Tony! Toni! Toné! Sheila E., MC Hammer, Souls Of Mischief, The Luniz, Rappin' 4-Tay, Sway & Tech — the list goes on. You'll find 20 or 30 different sounds coming from 20 or 30 different artists from the Bay based on the fact that a lot of older groups influenced our sound. It's Funk and Soul mixed with Hip-Hop and technology, all rolled up in one with some dope-ass melodies and crispy, precise vocals with true-to-life lyrics. That's the Bay Area sound."

Rock The Bells Radio dedicates an entire day to Hip-Hop from the Bay Area, California. Tune into All City Day: Bay Area to hear music and commentary from Too $hort, E-40, Sway, Spice 1, Money B of Digital Underground, Del The Funky Homosapien, and more. Plus hear exclusive mixes from some of The Bay's best DJs including – DJ Fuze, DJ Apollo, and DJ D-Sharp. Premieres 10/28 at 8 am ET on Rock The Bells Radio, Sirius XM Ch. 43. Listen to Rock The Bells Radio on @SiriusXM free for 3 months. Learn more: http://www.siriusxm.com/RTB3.