Five Bay Area Artists Not to Miss at Noise Pop 2026 | KQED

"Giraffage emerged a decade ago with head-in-the-cloud beats evoking a hazy daydream. His most recent music (especially in his duo with Ryan Hemsworth, Bodysync) is much less cerebral. The San Jose-born electronic musician goes in on feel-good, four-on-the-floor beats that vibrate with the adrenaline-fueled energy of a '90s jock jam. Stretching and hydrating is a must before Giraffage's sweat-inducing set at Public Works during Noise Pop's first weekend."

"Over his 30-plus-year career, Lyrics Born has cemented himself as a laid-back wordsmith whose songs are as likely to get the dance floor moving as they are to hit listeners in the heart with pieces of life wisdom. His solo debut Later That Day made Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time; he's put out no shortage of funk-drenched bangers since, most recently his 2024 album Goodbye, Sticky Rice."

"Before he starred in Hamilton and Blindspotting, Daveed Diggs came up in clipping., a hip-hop trio that pairs his tongue-twisting lyricism with jagged, experimental production by William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes. clipping.'s 2025 album Dead Channel Sky pulses with the intensity of a warehouse rave, with industrial beats that match Diggs' careening verses. This is an album for letting go, moving your body and, who knows, maybe even hopping into the mosh pit."

Giraffage produces head-in-the-cloud beats transformed into feel-good, four-on-the-floor rhythms in his Bodysync duo, delivering adrenaline-fueled '90s jock-jam energy and sweat-inducing live sets at Public Works. Lyrics Born combines laid-back wordsmithing with danceable funk and heartfelt life wisdom, with a career spanning 30-plus years and a recent 2024 album, Goodbye, Sticky Rice. Daveed Diggs, rising from clipping., pairs tongue-twisting lyricism with jagged, experimental production; clipping.'s 2025 album Dead Channel Sky offers warehouse-rave intensity and industrial beats suited for release and mosh-pit movement. Jay Som returns with punchy, heartrending indie on 2025's Belong, featuring Hayley Williams, marking a hometown stage comeback.

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