As a bay area resident (by way of New York), Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist made his mark by curating top notch events featuring hip hop legends and supporting independent artists from the Bay and beyond. In 2000, his True Skool events won the "Best of the Bay" in the SF Bay Guardian. Ren has appeared on numerous publications, such as the XLR8R, 7x7, SF Weekly, SF Examiner, Mugshot and SF Magazine, to name a few. Since True Skool's inception in 1999, his online magazine and newsletter has served as a resource that covers hip hop history, politics, emerging artists and events. As a DJ, he has shared bills with world-renowned artists such as Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool DJ Red Alert, Q-Bert, Cut Chemist, DJ Premier, Wu-Tang Clan, Lupe Fiasco, Black Thought (The Roots), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), Michael Franti & Spearhead, Blackalicious, Lyrics Born, Masta Ace, Biz Markie, Dilated Peoples, The Coup, KRS-One, Pharcyde, DJ Bobbito, DJ Cash Money and the list goes on. His diverse selections are influenced by his East Coast background, from b-boying in the early 80s to attending house parties and the burgeoning mobile DJ scene in New Jersey to frequenting parties like Giant Step, Soul Kitchen and legendary rave party, N.A.S.A in NYC. Ren is a professional party rocker who can put it down among the best of them with a vast arsenal of weapons to drop on any dancefloor, from hip hop, reggae, soul to house and electronic music. He has graced many venues with his non-stop seemless sets with regular appearances at Mighty, The Independent, Ruby Skye, 1015, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Sony Metreon, among a slew of venues in San Francisco. In addition, he has appeared at the Bay's new throwback station Q102.1 FM, Michael Franti & Spearhead's annual 9-11 Power to the Peaceful Festival, Outside Lands Music Festival, now defuct Distortion2Static hip hop show, Myx.tv's Built from Scratch and KPFA's Hardknock Radio.
January 2, 2026 at 9pm to October 3, 2026 at 1:45pm
FRIDAY, JAN 2 True Skool in association with Days Like This present ELEVATION (1st Fridays)Featuring:Davey D (KPFA)@ Golden Ratio, 1517 Franklin St., Oakland 21+ / Doors 9pm / FREE B4 10pmFree B4 11pm with RSVP: http://bit.ly/elevationfirstfridayABOUTELEVATION is a brand new party series! Curated by renowned DJ and crate-digger Renoir…See More
December 24, 2025 at 9pm to July 8, 2026 at 1:45am
WEDNESDAY DEC 24 THROWBACK (2nd & 4th Wednesdays)Experience the ultimate Throwback party! 🎵 DJ Audio1 spins all your fave jams from back in the day! 🕺 Featuring DJ Audio1at Hello Stranger Bar, 1724 Broadway, Oakland. Doors 8pm. DJ Set starts at 9pm. No cover!RSVP: https://bit.ly/throwbackmusic…See More
December 12, 2025 at 9pm to December 13, 2025 at 1am
Fri, Dec 12 Kick off your weekend at Feel Good Fridays! 🎧 Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist brings the best Hip Hop, Top 40, House & Throwbacks. Come dance and feel the good vibes! 🙌🔥Mad Oak Bar, Oakland • FREE entry | 21+ | 9pm-1am>>…See More
December 12, 2025 at 9pm to December 13, 2025 at 1am
Fri, Dec 12 Kick off your weekend at Feel Good Fridays! 🎧 Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist brings the best Hip Hop, Top 40, House & Throwbacks. Come dance and feel the good vibes! 🙌🔥Mad Oak Bar, Oakland • FREE entry | 21+ | 9pm-1am>>…See More
New York State rapper & producer duo Tone Chop & Frost Gamble celebrate their three decades of working together with the release of the new album “Beautiful Foundations” on May 15th 2026 through New Dawn Records.From the early days of recording demos in their Binghamton basement to becoming one of the most prolific partnerships in recent years with a quite…See More
Charlotte Artist JTMsocial's New Single Features Epic tha Dawn, Phylia Adam’s, 1Chedda & MoreCharlotte, NC - JTMsocial, also known as Jeffrey Travis Mcmillian, is making waves with his latest single, "Mind On a Mission," a powerful blend of hip hop, pop, and…See More