‘How The Grouch Stole Xmas’ tour stops at Strummer’s

For the past eight years, Bay Area rapper The Grouch has had a yuletide tradition – namely his “How the Grouch Stole Xmas” tour.

The annual winter tour started as a way to fill the dead spot in his end-of-the-year calendar, while enjoying time on the road with some of The Grouch’s favorite independent hip-hop acts. Past tour openers have included Dilated Peoples emcee Evidence (2011), Atlanta rap group CunninLynguists (2014) and the international rap duo the ReMINDers, who join The Grouch on this year’s tour.

The tour stops Saturday, Nov. 28 at Strummer’s.

The Grouch is himself a star in the West Coast underground hip-hop scene. He was a founding member of Living Legends (which included Los Angeles rapper Murs and Fresno’s own Aesop) before becoming a prolific solo artist. The Grouch has released close to 20 collaborative project albums under the monikers Zion I & The Grouch, The CMA and The Grouch & Eligh.

The latter duo released “The Tortoise and The Crow,” a triple album that debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart last year.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "‘How The Grouch Stole Xmas’ tour stops at Strummer’s."