Big Herm

Hunters Point

Herm, credited on his releases as Andre “Herm” Lewis and known as Big Herm, is a producer, compiler and street activist from the Bayview-Hunters Point section of San Francisco. In a 2023 interview with the SF Bay View, he said RBL Posse approached him after he came home in 1991 because of his militant outlook.

First recordings

His spoken-word verse appeared on RBL Posse's A Lesson to Be Learned in 1992. The response to it pushed him into music, and in 1993 he started his own label, Black Power Productions.

Trying to Survive in the Ghetto

Black Power's first release, Trying to Survive in the Ghetto (1993), was compiled and executive-produced by Herm, with T.C. supervising production. It gathered San Francisco's street rap in one place: Rappin' 4-Tay, RBL Posse, I.M.P., Young Cellski, Cold World Hustlers, and JT the Bigga Figga with D-Moe and San Quinn. Herm has said it sold about 100,000 copies with no major-label help. Still Trying to Survive in the Ghetto followed in 1995 and Trying to Survive in the Ghetto 2000 in 1999.

Later work

Black Power Productions also released T-Lowe's Keep It Real (1995) and Mack-A-Flama (1996). Herm's own releases include Solo Album (1998), Back in Stride Again (2001) and We Made It Happen (2002). In 2020 he appeared on “A Talk with Herm” from Larry June and Harry Fraud's album Keep Going.

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