Sage The Gemini and Tyga grace the remix of Anjali World’s “Nobody.”

Clinton Sparks gives a preview of his new EP, iConoclast, dropping tomorrow.

Another remix of Chris Brown’s addictive ratchet hit, “Loyal”.

IAMSU! blows it out, performing “Only That Real” featuring Sage The Gemini.

While stopping by the Crisco Kidd Block Party, Sage the Gemini addresses XXL’s “no longevity” comment and reasons as to why he and IAmSu were left of the 2014 Freshman cover. Sage also talks about how the Bay gets no respect, everything he’s accomplished this past year and says he has no plans to support XXL as long as they don’t support him.

The Bay Area’s HBK Gang has been slowly infiltrating the club scene, led by IamSu’s multiple appearances on hits like E-40′s “Function” and Jonn Hart’s “Who Booty”. But most recently, HBK made a name for themselves through Sage The Gemini’s twin hits “Gas Pedal” and “Red Nose”. This pair of mellow, grooving hits defied the rah-rah of 100 BPM hits of the past like Lil Jon’s “Get Low” or DMX’s “Party Up”, for a more chilled out, grinding sound, seeing runaway success in the process. With his debut, Remember Me, the time comes to see if Sage is in it for the long haul, or if he’s just a two-hit wonder.

Truth be told, Remember Me sets The Gemini up pretty well for being the new face of the Bay Area. For what it lacks in substance, the album is loaded with potential hits, meeting somewhere at the crossroads of LA’s ratchet sound and the post-Hyphy movement of his own backyard. Songs like the title cut “Remember Me” and “Nothing To Me” don’t betray his city’s foundations, while both “Bad Girls” and “Don’t You” are late night, heavy beats for Sage to spit his game, talk his shit.

As far as the future hits, there’s a handful of tracks here that will be local classics and others that will catch the same fire as “Red Nose” and “Gas Pedal”. The melodic “Go Somewhere” is just itching for radio play, as Sage and Iamsu weave a sort of “Excuse Me Miss” / “Around The Way Girl” type of narrative, sure to strike a chord with the ladies, without pouring on the heavy R&B collabos. The already buzzing “College Drop” is the album’s most aggressive track, but Sage keeps his cool throughout, creating a good juxtaposition.

The regular album clocks in at 12 tracks, weaving a pretty tight tracklist, however the deluxe edition is weighed down with some overdone radio jams. The cheesy “Second Hand Smoke” closes the album out on a sour note, and the deluxe edition takes it even further with “Just A Kiss” and “Desert Of Mirages”, both of which are drowned out in the thickest of R&B syrup, and could have been left on the studio floor. “Give It Up” is the only redeeming factor among the bonus tracks, as a harder edged Bay banger.

Light on substance, but heavy on production and catchy melodies, Remember Me is not without its faults. While Sage is an obvious hit machine, and the album still has a few up its sleeve, it truly remains to be seen if Sage will indeed stick in our memories years down the line.

As HBK Gang member IamSu follows up the release of Sage’s Remember Me, he debuts a new video from his own Sincerely Yours LP, which hits May 13th.

The northern California rapper performed “Gas Pedal” on Late Night w/ David Letterman, from his album, Remember Me., which is in stores now.

Jason Derulo went full Janet Jackson with his album cover. The hit title track gets a new version with Sage The Gemini added.

We’re not too sure how this album sounds, but damn if that isn’t the illest album cover of the year thus far. Stream Sage’s new LP down below, courtesy of Spotify.

The HBK Gang duo jumps on this remix of Lorde’s “Team”.

No, we don’t have inside information, and no, these aren’t OUR picks, we just think we have a pretty good ear for what’s happening in the industry. So place your bets, here are our predictions for XXL’s Freshman Class issue for 2014.

1. Jon Connor – This Flint, MI emcee has been slaying tracks on the mixtape scene, and received great critical acclaim with the release of his album, Unconscious State. What the album lacked in polish will surely be made up for on his major label debut, as he is now signed to Aftermath. Shoe-in.

2. Troy Ave – We think its pretty likely that we’ll be hearing an announcement of Troy Ave’s major label signing any day now, if not right around the time the XXL Freshman 2014 cover is released. Troy has a huge buzz in New York City, with the intent to bring back the sound curated by G-Unit and the Ruff Ryders, after southern styles of French Montana and A$AP Rocky have taken over the region.

3. Chance the Rapper – As we detailed in our review of Acid Rap, we don’t really see what the hype on Chance The Rapper is, but that’s probably because we are old and we don’t know shit about anything. The numbers on Chance don’t lie, and if anything, he is a healthy alternative to the detrimental-to-society rap that’s currently coming out of Chicago from any number of rappers with “Lil” attached to their name.

4. Isaiah Rashad – TDE’s buzz couldn’t be stronger at the moment, and their youngest-in-charge, Isaiah Rashad, proved to be worth the label’s endorsement with the release of Cilvia Demo. A timely release, which is likely to cement his place on this list, and secure him a deal with Interscope for his next project.

5. Problem – LA’s Problem has been putting it down for a minute now, with a brief breakthrough back in 2008 with “I’m Fucked Up”. His buzz resurfaced in the last year or so, thanks to his verse on E-40′s “Function”, and his comeback hit, “Like Whaaat?”, which was one of the biggest west-coast hits of the summer.

6. IamSu & Sage The Gemini – It’s likely that these two Bay Area HBK Gang reperesentatives will be treated as one entry on the list, much like Schoolboy Q and Ab-Soul were last year, as they share an almost equal buzz, and Su was just as responsible for “Gas Pedal” crossing over as Sage. If it is narrowed down to one, Sage has the upper hand with “Red Nose” being an equally hot club cut of the moment.

7. Ty Dolla $ign – Ty broke through briefly in 2011 on “All Star”, which borrowed its melody from Swedish House Mafia’s “One”, as well as on YG’s “Toot It Or Boot It”, another artist who is currently receiving a second childhood. The success of both is owed to the DJ Mustard-led West Coast resurgence and creation of the “ratchet” sound, which is currently helping propel “Paranoid”-led Beach House EP to heavy buzz for a full-length debut.

8. Riff Raff - There’s always at least one melanin-deficient MC on the list, whether they have a legitimate buzz or not (ahem: Logic). We won’t be surprised to see walking trainwreck, Riff Raff, on this list, as he not only is making noise in the club with his current single, “How To Be The Man”, but also carries the backing of perhaps the most buzzworthy industry-wide producer of the moment, Diplo.

9. Rich Homie Quan – This list wouldn’t be complete without an Atlanta, GA representative, and aside from Migos, whom are likely to be excluded due to being a group, Rich Homie Quan held the biggest buzz this past year with “Type Of Way”. Mr. CEO is what his title say.

10. Gunplay - Although Gunplay’s legal troubles have gotten him more mainstream press than his music, MMG’s resident wild card is next to join the ranks of Meek Mill and Wale, thanks to his astute pen and underground buzz. The only thing we see holding him back is his name, which might not “sit well” on Wal-Mart shelves or Clear Channel radio playlists. 5-to-1 he’s called G-Play or GP when his album drops….

There you have it. We may be off slightly, but we’re guessing we’ll end up with at least a 70% by the time the list drops. Usually the list includes one female emcee as well, however perhaps not this year with such heavy male competition, not to mention the lackluster success of Angel Haze and Iggy Azalea in past years.

Sage The Gemini delivers this video from his upcoming debut LP, Remember Me, hitting March 25th.

“Only That Real” from the debut full length Sincerely Yours dropping this April.