S1: You are now listening to Meridian Arts.
S2: The story you’re about to hear is true. It takes place in the wild world of rap , and contains mature content that may not be appropriate for all audiences , like N.W.A said.
S3: Parental discretion is advised. Five.
S2: What’s your name and where are you from ? My name is. Blind.
S4: Blind. I’m from San Francisco , California. Ooh.
S5: Ooh.
S2: Uh , have you ever done a show in San Diego , California ? Yeah , I have. Can you tell me anything about it ? Yeah.
S4: Uh , I opened up for atmosphere with my partner in rhyme. Gifted gab. Um , and I believe we played in an old movie theater turned into a venue , and the crowd participation energy vibes were amazing. Um , it was an incredible night. So much good energy in the room. Ooh. Pshaw.
S2: Pshaw. My name is Parker Edison. I’m an artist , and I’m fascinated by the impact of rap writers. Hip hop’s 50th anniversary yielded a ton of articles and interviews on the subject. Being the black rap nerd that I am. I started to notice certain cities have something about their contribution that makes them unique. San Diego is one of those cities for a couple of reasons. I played my share shows all over the country , and many a night has been spent in a van , taxi or green room with my crew and a shouting match about where S.D. sits in the wide world of rap and why. I tapped in with some of those close friends , and we put together this series to break it all down for you. I’m gonna map the whole thing out. But here’s the deal. This isn’t the history of hip hop. This isn’t a complete timeline , but it is what happened ? Some details will be left out when we talk about that time Wu-Tang , ODB interrupted the Grammys. We’re not going to name every musician in the crowd that night. We’ll talk about who was on stage , maybe who came on after. Keep that in mind while you’re listening. This is about San Diego rap and the incredible way it got where it is today. You ready ? Let go. This is a San Diego story. I’m listing album releases specifically to illustrate the evolution of our rap scene. As the scene expands , we get more sections similar to what we see in New York boroughs. Southeast has hustlers like Brooklyn. Our beat spots get money like Manhattan. South Bay can be gritty like the Bronx. I have a theory that North County is our Staten Island. The northernmost part of San Diego. North County includes Carlsbad , Del Mar , Encinitas , Oceanside , Solana Beach , Vista , Escondido , Poway , and San Marcos. It served as a backdrop for some popular TV shows such as Veronica mars or Netflix American Vandal. Also , the Showtime show weeds was based in a fictional North County suburb. The region’s picturesque landscape is dotted with pockets of innovators who played a significant role in shaping San Diego’s rap scene since its inception.
S6: Before Microphone Enhancer and after the Gangster Earn record , I did a demo for a kid. I’ll see DJ a cat that I know really well. I charged him like 400 bucks to do a demo , and he went and got a record deal with the demo. So hit the rapper in their group. It’s called mystery. And I did the production on this song called Rolling With the Funk. To be honest , man , that was probably the most commercial record I’d done. That was You Got to. If you haven’t heard it , you got to listen to it.
S7: You know what I think ? Did that used to play like on Beat Rap City ? And I remember that it.
S6: Was on everything. Yeah.
S7: MTV raps the whole nine right.
S2: Back in episode five. DJ ALK told us about rapper mystery and his hit track Rolling With the funk.
S8: Why don’t you bring in the.
UU: Funk and triple up the way they tried to beat this ? I’ma make another hit for the straight and I’m dropping all the fly girl nuts.
S8: So let that be the reason that I’m chained up in that girl.
S2: Our next guest , Frank Z , did the beat. He’s an OG and in this clip , he’s giving writer Jay Smith insight on where he’s from.
S6: If you ask people from San Diego , la mesa Hillcrest. Spring. Valley. Where are you from ? I’m from Diego. But if you ask me , I’m from Oceanside. Where they’re from. We’re from Oceanside. But it was all love , though. The hip hop culture was all love. Except for the gang related stuff. That is and always is what it’ll be. But the hip hop culture itself wasn’t really tied into that. You know , every jam that you throw , there’s going to be some , some problems , you know , that related to people. The music helped me transcend all that.
S7: I got familiar with your name in the 90s. You know what I mean ? Chop shop.
S6: There was three DJs. Most Dash’s DJ , also from Brooklyn was Troy Skee. I was the DJ for MCTs and and John Love and and then just unique was the DJ for a kid named um the Blade , Kevin the Blade. Gordon. I got to a point where I had this catalogue of beats and they just never got on a record , and Kev approached me about , look , I got some beats to let’s put them together and put this chop shop out. And I just donated beats and worked on a few beats with them. Right. And we put this mishmash of unused beats together. And that was the Chop Shop record. And then a couple follow. What happened was one of the projects I worked on , there was some cats , ICB and D Mac that had this gangsta rapper that um , that they wanted me to make a beat for. So Gill made one of them and I made the other one for Gangsta Ern. If you came to my mom’s pad south where I had my studio , all these cats have tagged up the whole door frame. To this day , it’s still preserved there. They’re all up there like most King D’s. Still one of my boys to this day , Gangster Hearn. They’re all up there , man. They’ve all been right here in Oceanside. And , uh , I did this record for them , called Up Against it , which I don’t know. I guess it’s kind of an anthem. I mean , I spent so much time at Paramount Studio and in LA , and studio one was Jinx or Poo or whatever , and I’m in studio two or vice versa. It was like a daily operation. Right ? I’m talking to Hank Shockley about Sonic Space , right. And how he likes to fill it. And I always like , I’m going to make a record like that one day. I really love that stuff , man. I , I just like it. I really enjoyed it. So up against it was my , my outlet to do that. I flip that Curtis Mayfield I mean , I think I flipped it and actually so.
S7: The history that’s out there in the place that some of you cats have been and the people you guys have collaborated with , man , I had no idea you were with Hank Shockley and taking inspiration from him and Dre and it’s incredible , man.
S6: The thing that I never talk about that I wanted to bring up is being Mexican in that time and trying to bang out beats. It was interesting man. Also , I just wasn’t accepted as readily by the institution , not by the by the cats. What was cool with me. Right. What ? The institution didn’t have room for that in their mind.
S7: I got you , I got I mean.
S6: I’m spending it five , nine days for the brims , right ? And I am not a gangster. Right. Gotcha. But. But that music was my passport to those. To the real people. I was real enough , but in the record company that it was a problem. And we don’t have enough time to talk about it. But I wanted that to get documented. Gotcha.
S7: Gotcha. I got it.
S6: Because in this day and age , man , and hip hop has transcended all that.
S7: Um , can I ask you about. Uh , so microphone enhancer drops , man. I mean , for all you know , by all measures , man , that’s a that’s just a classic record. Classic song , classic San Diego track.
S6:
S2: Throughout Frank’s interview , you hear how he’s right there in the mix of things underground and mainstream. Signed an unsigned. He mentioned LPs , lyrical poets , strictly dope. The group’s hit single , Back At You is widely revered and still in rotation. Another hit there , connected to his 1995 Microphone Enhancer , a song by rapper most Dash that’s DSH , most dash. He featured LPs. D. At the end of Frank’s interview , we learned that he didn’t produce that backpack classic , but we happen to have an interview with the man who did.
S7: Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with ? Blade Gordon ? Uh , Chop Shop Records.
S9: Actually started that back in 9495. Previous to that , I was with The Damn Posse as a group that was formed in San Diego.
S7: So it’s like the mid 90s. I remember like one of the the first songs I heard , you know , I remember Microphone Enhancer , man.
S9: There was these these guys that formed a label in L.A. called Angel tracks. Okay , so basically they signed me to a production deal and made me a and , ah , that’s when I brought in , we had LPs and we had a female Jay Silk Juliana on that track.
S7:
S9: I really just go , man. I start digging by and stuff , and.
S7: They lead to any , um , you know , other opportunities after that.
S9: I remember it was in the in the back of the sauce. It did make it did make that. And actually there’s a portion in the sauce at that time. What was the hottest beat. That microphone enhancer beat was the second best beat the first. The number one beat was tried by 12.
S7: Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. That was.
S9: That’s the one. Ah.
S10: Ah.
S7: Yes , sir. Um. Wow.
S2: Both back at you and Microphone enhancer are still getting spins around the country. Quick shout out to Stephen Flex , a member of LPs D and an integral part of this season’s writing team.
S7: They don’t call me just for nothing. It’s a fact I’ll be destroying them since single handedly. Every time I rap , when I attack feeble minds. This time , if I ever stop rapping , that’s it. And nothing ever. But until then , I’m the executioner. Like the gang said. Whack him. He’s must die. We have no use for. Yes. Go for your girl because she might don’t work for you and you better tie your boots and put them.
S2: Welcome back. You hear me ? Say it in the credits. But this episode features beats by phenom producer sojourn , who is also a prominent figure in a subgenre with a rich history gospel rap. And he’s not alone. In 2015 , Oceanside’s John Gibbs Soul Rebel album garnered him interest from major labels , leading to an offer from Interscope Records. He’s a staple in Christian hip hop , having collaborated with some of its most notable personalities , including Ruslan , Belief , and Lecrae.
S7: We was in the back seat bumping Jagged Edge just when you asked me if I had a rap artist. I gladly pulled it out my pocket , my conscience telling me to stop it. God is watching us , but I can’t fight that feeling , baby. I just want to. We proceed the program ourselves accordingly. Souls tied to each other. So disorderly.
S2: Perhaps North County should be recognized for its distinctive quiet success , a trait I noticed in another artist we recently interviewed.
S11: There is actually a big Christian rap scene down here , and , uh , I’m personally not part of that , but the scene I know is very strong down here in terms of that. There is a big movement down here for sure.
S7:
S11: What I’m mainly known for doing in hip hop is emceeing. I also consider myself a strong graffiti writer , and pretty much I study every element of the culture and participate in every element. But definitely emceeing is what I’m known for.
S7:
S11: 100.
S7: What was the local.
S2: Rap scene like in North County when you got into.
S11: It ? So when I.
S7: First moved.
S11: Out here , the majority of people didn’t really know a lot about rap other than the mainstream rap acts , which would be like Run-D.M.C. , the Beastie Boys , maybe like Whodini , LL cool J , you know what I mean ? The public didn’t know much about it. However. There was a place called The Armory in Vista not to be confused with Armory Hip Hop Shop in SD , Big Up , Cross and Kingsland and all my folks out there , you know what I’m saying ? But I’m talking about an actual armory , like a military armory , and they would throw hip hop functions there. And then from there I would say about , uh , 88 to 89 , I started going to the distillery east , and the distillery east is where I really found like , oh , wow. Like there’s a strong hip hop scene. I first saw the flyers at school. It was a all ages event. So I used to ask my mom , like , can you take me over here ? And so essentially what I’m saying is that the hip hop scene was actually flourishing , like in terms of people that knew what was up , it was dope.
S2: So there seems like there’s a connection between San Diego and North County from what you’re talking about , but absolutely.
S11: I’ll , uh , give you an example. So San Diego has always kind of looked at North County as like , ah , those schools aren’t they ? Go , you know what I mean ? Like , and and I get it because even in North County , like for somebody like myself. So for instance , people will say like I’m in Oceanside right now and they’re actually in Carlsbad , and Carlsbad and Oceanside are like two completely different cities. It’s like being in freakin Compton and Santa Monica , two very different cities , even though they’re right next to each other. And then if you look at somewhere from Carlsbad , all the way , I would say to La Hoya. To me , it’s like it’s own world. Basically. I think San Diego was looking at us as that zone of like that Carlsbad to La Hoya , like these fools that like spoiled or whatever. And I felt like I played a big part in terms of bringing an understanding of that to San Diego , because once I started rocking a lot of shows out there , you know , I had like Cut Father and and King D and all these casts like , oh man , what’s what’s up with North County ? And I would just jewel them on like , you know , we got our hoods down here too. It’s just that people aren’t exposed to that , you know , unless you’re from the area.
S2: Tell me about the rap that comes out of North County.
S11: So the most known rappers right now , I would say coming out of Oceanside would be , uh , Dizzy Hollow and probably bishops. No , they’re legitimate dudes. Like , they’re not out here faking the funk. So it would be easy to say , like , oh , you know , it is kind of gangster , but not at the same time. The majority of the scene is not that , but that’s kind of the most popular. You know , artists , I would say to the public is like , oh , it’s gangster. But I was saying the majority of it is more like , uh , underground hip hop , backpack oriented , you know , versus , uh , the other side of things. But , you know , I guess it could be perceived either way.
S2:
S11: That’s definitely his vision. And I would define it really as just basically handpicked talent of the highest caliber as far as that. I see Mrs.. And producer’s exile has a way of bringing out what other people can’t see in yourself and others. And so basically that’s his baby. And he handpicked , you know , all the talent in that talent pool , you know.
S2: Which you’re one of. Yeah.
S11: Which I am one of. Yes. Uh , I’m pretty I’m like the old outdated version , but but yes , I am part of that talent pool for sure.
S2: Tell me about the difference in putting out music from , let’s say , 2005 to 2015.
S11: The biggest difference would be like from 2015 is when the streaming started to take over in 2005 , you were more prone to listen to an album still from front to end. You know it might grow on you as you ride in your car over time. Now we’re all guilty of a certain thing , and this definitely happened. By the time 2015 Hit Place was , we started just picking our favorite songs off the instant reaction. So it was like , okay , we’re skipping through this album and oh , this one instantly stuck out to me. This one stuck out to me. I’m gonna save it to a playlist and then you just get stuck on those songs , whereas you didn’t give those other , uh , joints any replay value and give them a chance to actually kind of soak in and , and become songs that you eventually like.
S2:
S11: During that time , I was doing shows 3 or 4 times a week. I was charging features on a regular basis. I was making money off of iTunes , not streaming to where people were buying my albums , and I got a large portion of that money , meaning like , if you bought my album for $10 , I might get $7 of it. So where now if you’re streaming my album , I’m getting pennies to the dollar like everybody else. It was a beautiful time. I couldn’t have been more proud of myself because I had set out to make that a goal. And so that was probably my favorite time period in hip hop.
S2: I just got two more questions. I’ll let you go. I appreciate your time.
S10: Um , how did you get a track.
S9: With Sean.
S2:
S11: MF doom because I was a KMD fan as a kid.
S7: Here’s my chin. Chin chin. Got some string bars soon I think I count like 20 year old me if I return them with interest. If not , I’ll simply twist your wrist. So listen up closely.
S11: We’re listening to like , Peach Fuzz , and then hearing doom become doom was like , what ? And then when I heard Shaun Price , you know , go from Ruck to Shaun Price , it was like , wow. Like this is a whole different style. Like this is a whole different dude. And um , and so I was working on my album days Chasing Days. I had a budget and I was like , bro , if there’s anybody that I’m going to get , I gotta get Shaun Price. The funny story is that finally he was like , yo , I’m performing at Pay Dues Festival and I’m like , okay , well , yo , can I come pick you up and we’ll go record the joint ? So for anybody that knows , like the distance between Paid Dues Festival and Oceanside , it’s like an hour and a half an hour , 40 minutes or whatever. So I drove out there with my friend Rathke , who I’ve worked with forever , old friend of mine. And when we got to the hotel to pick me up , I was really nervous because I had been arguing with Pete , and the whole boot camp clique is out front of the hotel row. Like literally the whole boot camp click in. These photos look like they’re staring at me like , oh man , oh , this is that dude or whatever. So literally I’m going into it and I’m like , yo , finally Pete comes down the stairs and I was like , look , bro. I was like , man , I apologize , you know , if I came out you sideways. But I was like , bro , that was a lot of money to me and whatever. And he’s like , no , no , no need to apologize. Don’t even trip. That’s my bad. And move to move. I drove him all the way from pay dues back to Vista , which Pay Dues is a San Bernardino. We recorded at my house. Had a great time , dude. P is like one of the most funniest dudes ever. We just connected. We bonded. It was a beautiful thing. Afterwards , drove him back to San Bernardino , back to his hotel. And the original version of the song , disturbed that I did with P , was over at DJ Shag Beat , and afterwards I played it for exile exiles like bro let me remix that. So I sent the vocals to exile. The version that everybody knows to this day is the one that exile remix. The song is called disturbed featuring Sean Price , produced by my man exile.
S7: I don’t care which Tik-Tok.
S11: Of famous rich hip hop or Phantom of the opera types. Liquid stop the mad scientist dropper with the vocal. I’m almost 33 , homie. Get a hell of an Thomas Young veteran.
UU: Chop off the tongue and take the head of man. Young bucks know me. Ask a much better blend I like to set a trend. Never try to.
S7: Follow fool’s knowledge.
UU: Wisdom over standing side. Never hollow tools. Swallow the bottle full throttle. Just like a menace and match around Cali. From Diego to Venice. Let me replenish. I’m far from finished. Young apprentice lab. Coat on the floor. Drop science in the sentence.
S11: Broken beaker. Got you open to the speaker.
UU: Cats a pro side like we were hoping you were weaker. Nope. And call me teacher fam. Fuck what you heard. I’m a master of words. Words. I’m mentally disturbed. Disturbed. I walk around like I’m wearing a crown. Talking to myself. Cast steady , stare me down. Clown I heard you got lost I could write precise but I’m murderous. Craps on the mic device cause I’m disturbed I walk around wearing a crown , talking to myself. Cast Eddie staring me down now. Heard you got lost. I could.
S11: Write precise , but I murderous clock’s.
S12: On the mic. This black on black crime. Call me my jig. This black and white rhyme. Clap the black line and smash your trash lines. Put your ass to sleep. Good night. It’s nap time. Listen , the best rapper in the world is Shawn. The worst rapper in the world. As you skate , clap your hands and curl the song. Bus back at you , girl on you if you wanna do listen flows phenomena off the chain would really take off your chain. I ain’t joking around towing the pound , homie. Think I’m a clown like homey the clown I will put down the pound and pound on you. Then pick up the pound. This round’s on you. Cheers. Y’all ready for rock ? How you wanna handle your gun ? Let me know.
S2: From Meridian Arts in KPBS. This is episode nine of Rap Diego A San Diego Story. Our next episode brings us into the 20 tens. San Diego rises into the spotlight , attracting mainstream attention as our industry expertise continues to pay off.
S7: For all the big artists.
S9: On Down to Small. So it was like , uh , like we introduced Mach ten before people really knew who backed him.
S7: Was rapping. 4K.
S9: 4K.
S7: Digable Planets , Gabriel , the damage of Wu-Tang , you know , Big Pun , just different people came through rap.
S2: Diego is a co-production of KPBS and Meridian Arts host and co-creator Parker Edison. Episodes written by Jay Smith , Chris Reyes , Don Jaeger and Stephen Fleck’s extra special thanks to guest writer Melody Herald. Editing by Platform Collection. Music soundtrack. By Monday Adams , executive producer for KPBS is Lisa Jane Morrissette , KPBS director of audio programming and operations. Technical and operational support provided by KPBS technical producer sound designer Adrian Villalobos and KPBS producer Julio Ortiz Franco. This programming is made possible in part by the KPBS Explore Content Fund shout outs at no particular order. Two certified records Maleek bow beater , Vaselin low profile records , Bow Cab Company , Dave Moss , Sick Twisted Insane , Yung Mass Packed in Black.
UU: Mikey and Kali.
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