The Golden State Valkyries’ latest victory came with another reason to celebrate when a Bay Area rapper announced the release date for his long-awaited new album.
Pinole native P-Lo took the floor during halftime of the Valkyries’ game against the Toronto Tempo at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Sunday, Aug. 2, to reveal his sixth solo studio album, “Out the Box,” will be released Aug. 14.
He marked the moment, fittingly, by performing a medley of his hits alongside dancers from the Flock, the Valkyries’ hype squad as part of the WNBA team’s Filipino Heritage Night.
“I think Ballhalla is a special place, and the Bay Area is a special place, so I wanted to share it here first,” the Filipino American rapper told The Chronicle after his set. “(The album is) full of surprises. It (has) a lot of Bay Area artists on there, too.”
The crowd erupted into cheers after the announcement, with some fans getting up out of their seats to bounce along to the beat.
P-Lo has been teasing the record since January, including a trailer for the project released earlier this summer starring Marshawn Lynch, the Oakland NFL champ turned actor.
Most recently, on July 24, P-Lo dropped his single “DUMBLR,” a bass-heavy hyphy collaboration with Vallejo rap legend E-40 and Oakland artist Kreayshawn, the rapper and singer who shot to fame with “Gucci, Gucci” in 2011 and made a comeback with a performance at Mosswood Meltdown in 2025.
P-Lo has produced music since he was a student at Pinole Valley High School, earning a reputation for infusing his music with elements of his Bay Area and Filipino roots.
He last performed at Chase Center in 2022 during the first game of the NBA Finals. In 2025, when NBA All-Star Weekend was hosted in the Bay Area, he was featured on “For the Soil,” a collaborative record made in partnership with Golden State Entertainment and San Francisco record label EMPIRE. The album also featured fellow Bay Area artists such as Saweetie, Too Short, G-Eazy and Kamaiyah.
“The Bay Area is such a special place … I really love the environment here. I always want to feed back into that,” P-Lo said. “The Bay is just a cultural hub, so it’s like to be here from here, it’s a true honor and you’ve really gotta carry yourself with some respect.”
Sunday’s Valkyries game marked another hometown victory, with the San Francisco team winning 96-79 over the Tempo, despite trailing in the second quarter.
The two teams are set to face off once more at Chase Center on Tuesday, Aug. 4.
