Gangsta Backpacks

S1: You are now listening to Meridian Arts and 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 NWA said.

S3: Parental discretion is advised.

S4: Yes , sir. Thank you. Um , before we before we get into it first , who do I have the pleasure of speaking with ? Yo , you speaking to David Wiley ? Rockman ibn Hassan Balad , aka Orko. Elohim , the psychotic alien. Oh , hello. Hello. Peace.

S2: Peace. My name is Parker Edison. I'm fascinated by the impact of rap writers. Hip hop's 50th anniversary yielded a bounty of articles and interviews , and being the black rap nerd that I am , I started to notice certain cities were special. Their contributions sit differently. Some places have something about their contribution that makes them unique. San Diego is one of those cities for a couple of reasons. I tapped in with some close friends I've been discussing rap with over the years. We put together this series to break it all down for you. I'm gonna map the whole thing , but this is 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 Illmatic. We don't really mention all the other beat makers NAS got beats from. We talk about the ones that made it happen. Primo , Q-Tip , Pete Rock. Right. Keep that in mind while you're listening to this. This is about San Diego rap and the incredible way it got where it is today. You ready ? This is a San Diego story.

S1: With its start in the early 1980s. Gangster rap is a subgenre of American hip hop that highlights the culture and values typical of urban gangs and hustlers.

S2: The San Diego's rap have a sound.

S5: Know , just like San Diego's don't really have real supporters when it comes to the teams , because San Diego is like a port city , like a military town. So a lot of people are not from here , from here , from here.

S2: That's the voice of John Robinson , aka Reality Odell. He's an accomplished emcee from a San Diego crew called Ill Mannered. In this clip , he shares a hot take on the route and evolution of our rap sound.

S5: First of all , when I was coming up in seventh and eighth grade , there wasn't a lot of rappers. So at our school , if you rapped , everyone knew who you were. The gangster rap part didn't really. Everybody was like , still doing hip hop. And the pivotal point , the turning point of that was first N.W.A. Kinda. And then Doc's doc. Doc was right on the borderline of both because he was sounding a gangster. He was hanging with people that were professing to be gangsters , but he was hip hop. So doc was kind of like that catalyst. He was kind of like a straddle. Like how LL was a bridge between old school , new school ? Doc , was that bridge kind of between gangster Mick.

S2: Now John's specifically talking about San Diego and not all of San Diego. He's describing a specific wave of mainstream rappers that made sense to our local scene in a way that immediately affected the way it moved.

S5: And then later on , like that , saying that following year , D.J. quick hit and it changed everything. That's when you start getting those gangster rappers coming out.

S2: Here in San Diego.

S5: Here in San Diego , that I know about you guys , you know , because most of the gangster raps , you know , they wasn't really they would be doing like funny. Ty raps like , you know , they would be taking old songs and putting their lyrics in it like that , but they wasn't really taking it seriously because it hasn't , it hadn't , it wasn't really an art form yet to where you could gang bang and call you a sellout or nothing like that. So it wasn't like and quick , but they didn't have no choice but to like the gangster part of it. So it was like they didn't like Quik because he was a blur , but they like quick because he was talking gangster. Yeah. Cricket. The summer of 91. It was born and raised in Compton. Didn't buy that summer. He was doing tonight. Had hit. And that's when you've seen it on the box all the time.

S2: Maybe San Diego doesn't yield rugged lumberjack emcees like New York or Compton firecrackers that pop off. Maybe wear something sleek slicker. I say this because I avidly remember the wardrobe at that time as guest jeans , a belt , slick silk or rayon shirts. I also remember the rise of pimp clinics like Ruthless Organization , PBL , all these little four and five person crews mimicking DJ Quik and the Penthouse Players. I'm not implying that one begat the other , just highlighting how this wave moves through the mainstream and the underground. Here's another quick example.

S4: So I was a lot of house parties. I did a bunch of the , um.

S6: Bunch of the biggest , like birthday parties for a lot of the , um , gang parties all through southeast , literally from alcohol City all the way to to Barrio Logan. How would you know ? Party's over in East Diego , too. Because I used to live over there before I moved to skyline , and I was notorious. I was , I was , I was one of the go to DJs in the hood. That wasn't like if you couldn't get DJ King author , I might have been next on the list. Like in your budget. Like , you know what I mean ? Like , oh , bc you'll do it and you got a rock in system.

S2: Carrie Campbell's rap alias was BK , which to my understanding was short for Burnt Cereal , a name he got as a member of an old school skate crew called The Oatmeal Club. That's a tangent , but I'm bringing him up because he was deejaying parties locally in the early 90s , and he too remembers 91 being Quik Summer.

S6: I remember deejaying a party , and I had planned out this amazing set , right for all this Vinyl Tribe Called Quest , all this super sick stuff , so much stuff DJ Quik had dropped that week and I was only allowed to play DJ Quik.

S4: On I'll repeat four hours.

S6: For four hours.

S4: He only had 12 songs. He only had I remember. Yeah.

S7: Quick is the name. Win.

S4: Win. Percentage wise. Between.

S2: Between.

S4: What we call backpack.

S2: And gangsters in in rap at that time. What was the what was the percentage backpack rap to gangster rappers at that time.

S6: I would say only like 20% gangster and the rest backpack rap. I mean , there's a lot of gangsters , but none of them rap. You might have like 20 gangsters , 30 gangsters , but only two rap , you know what I mean ? And then out of the backpack crew and all the dancers and all of that , you may have 30 , but 2015 of them. Rap , dance , DJ , do graffiti like , you know , I mean , so yeah.

S2: Amidst the popularity of gangsta rap , a second school of thought is in the wings backpack rap , its signature item being the Jansport backpack , consistently full of cassette tapes and rhyme books. DJ Gil was there like a backpack element at that time ? Yes it was. Yeah.

S4: Yeah. Um , the backpack element was , I don't know if you heard a group called Boot Without a Soul. Yes. Uh , with the rapper Orko. Yes. I actually was one of their producers too.

S2: Come on , man. Yeah.

S4: Yeah. Come on. I don't know if you buried.

S2: The lead on this. One.

S4: One. Yeah , I just I just forget about them , man. So boot without a soul crate. Oh my God.

S2: Oh , wait. Let's take a quick break so I can cue up these next couple clips. I want to make sure this gets just right. We'll be right back.

S4: Welcome back. I can't say enough about these guys. I mean , to hear something different. Mhm. Um , to hear something different come out of San Diego. That would have been in I don't know. Well management again the same management that I had me had them and they. Yeah. So they dropped the ball on that I know they were going to get signed in the Virgin. They were going to get signed to Virgin. But what I saw would have been the you know what I mean ? The s yeah , it would have been great.

S1: Carrie Campbell.

S2: Were you in the first iteration of Boot Without a Soul ? Yeah.

S6: That was something where we were really trying to do it.

S2:

S6: Oracle , eclipse , Vinnie here on , uh , gusu.

S8: His name is. Marvin.

S6: Marvin. Can't remember my last name right now. And , uh , zombie six one niner , which is , uh , Kenny.

S2: Andrew's backpack rap is gathering momentum. Leading the charge is a virtuoso from Paradise Hills , a savant who forever changed the look , sound , and philosophy of San Diego rap. My guy Jay Smith is on the line with this legend right now. Listen in. This is your introduction.

S4: To Psychotic Alien ? Yeah. How bout what Out of Soul came together was basically we were , uh , rap division of our dancing crew. House clan. So house clan , we had this crew. No soul well before was no soul. It was just house clan. And we were all like four element B-Boys , so you know what I mean ? All the mix. And , you know , the San Diego history. Most of the emcees were dancers and stuff like that. Or they're dealing with multiple elements , just like athletes. Usually when athletes play one sport , they got the off season sports that they play and other stuff like that. So we were really not only were we really big into dancing and DJ and graffiti , but we were really big into emceeing. We was those kids , man. We knew what we wanted to do super young in life , you know what I mean ? Even if the homies didn't , even certain people didn't stick with it all the way. At least at a young age. They knew what they wanted to do for at least a certain amount of time , which our creativity just it opened up different avenues for everybody. And you can see to this day that everybody still has a piece of that spark , and they're using it to the best of their ability , and I'm really proud of that. You mentioned gangster Ern being a mentor. You know what I mean ? I think I'm getting it right , man. Yeah , that was me. Okay. Was he an early advocate ? Like. Cause , you know , from the outside , right ? You think OG gangster rapper , right ? You know what I mean ? And then you got beat without a soul. Very , very left field with it , man. And you know , from the outside , it might not seem like it gels.

S9: All the great things you've heard about her gangster are true , are true.

S4: It was times where , you know , money was thin and and and Aaron would come around and be like , yo , this is for what I sold. You know what I mean ? Like , straight up off the top , like , made sure that we stayed in the studio. He was a real , like , a private investor for what we were doing. Back in the days , gangster rappers didn't really see themselves as rappers. They seen themselves as real , as gangsters. Right ? So when it comes to like B-Boy culture and , like , Backpack wrappings and shit like that even to this day. Like gangster emcees really having the admiration for like boom bap lyricists and stuff like that , because that's what we came up with , Run-D.M.C. and all that stuff. So they hold that in high esteem. And if you could really , really , really rhyme , then you kind of really got the heart of a gangster. Gangster is going to appreciate your music is going to be like , yo , okay , man , I'm not the dude that dance around , and I'm not the dude that raps with the big words , but I love that , I love that keep going and , um , earnest. A very , very , very real brother never wanted us to get involved with any type of gangster vibes or anything. We're always safe. I mean , these are people that were like , feared , deathly feared inside the city. And then like we just rolling around them , we like with the craziest pit bull Doberman Pinscher , you know what I'm saying ? We were the wild ones. You know what I'm saying ? A quick story real quick. How they put me through boot camp. And it was Gangster Island two that put me to this boot camp. It was deemed gangster. And they asked me how did I hold the microphone ? And I was doing all this stuff and all that , and , and I couldn't project into the mic , so they had to teach me how to do this. So I learned basically how to run , how to produce , how to perform and breath control all in the mic , all at the same time. I was super blessed and super lucky to have mentors that taught me all of these different disciplines of being an artist all at the same time. When gangster earn.

S2: Pass man.

S4: How did that affect you moving forward ? Ah man , it was worse than Tupac dying , man. I Island was like the Robin.

S9: Hood of Southie.

S4: You know what I'm saying ? So as much as he was feared and and probably hated and feared , he was loved at the same time by the community and. And when you see a beautiful person and you don't really you don't get to see they. I saw all gangster earn sunshine. I never got a chance to see his shadow. You know what I mean ? You gotta remember , man. Like we were super young. You talking 14 , 15 , 10th grade , 11 , 10th grade book. Without a soul is like 10th , ninth , 10th , 11th grade. Wow. Wow. Okay , by the time 12th grade years rolling around , it's like just about massive. The universe. Michael. Crucifixion time. Okay , because I graduated in 94. So you're thinking like 90 to 92 is what out of soul era ? Okay. 93 is kind of like gray area. We us getting our stuff together. I'm like in the industry of the industry. I keep saying that and I'm like , you know what I keep saying ? Everybody's saying it , but nobody's saying it. So I was like , I want to run with it. That's the name of my label. I put my music out any time , any place. As long as I can create art , I can create a tangible product and get it to the people's hands. And yeah , I really , really wanted to be original. Like , of course we all don't start original. We all start tracing before we can draw whatever we really want to draw , right ? But I always wanted to like , okay , once I've found myself and once I've , I figured out how to rhyme or figured out how to make beats or figure it a little bit of this out , I wanted to shut myself away from the world to , to to come up with my truly unique kind of like jazz , you know , come with a truly unique art form within this context. You know what I'm saying ? Do you ever think about how you want to be considered as an artist ? You know what I mean. When you know a forefather trailblazer or.

S10: Anything like that.

S4: I just want to be like , damn , bro , this fool was really on it like that. Yeah , like when you think of Thelonious Monk and you think of , like Coltrane , you think Coltrane. Just , like , slept with his saxophone. Like , but with the basketball , you can't even see these people like you see pictures of Thelonious Monk without piano and not on the piano , but the way you think of Thelonious Monk. You can't separate them from the piano. And that's that's the way I want to be seen and remembered and and knowing that I'm synonymous with my art , I'm synonymous with my craft. My name is it. As soon as you say my name , you're going to think of a drum machine. Or think of a microphone , or think of a cadence or a poem or some type of structure.

S2: From Meridian Arts and KPBS. This is episode four , wrap Diego a San Diego story , and our next episode , gangster Rap puts the city on the map when Def Jam Records comes into the picture.

S4: Jail felony.

S11: Was cracking. Local entertainment , putting it down. You know what I'm saying ? San Diego in the building.

S2: Rap 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 Harold. Editing by Platform Collection. Music soundtracked by Monday Adams. Executive producer for KPBS is Lisa Jane Morissette , 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.

S4:

S6: Inside of you.

UU: Inside of you.

S3: I pray to the Most High. Every day. That a queen female come my way. Melanin black with a head wrap. First contact by the heat , by your feedback. Relax. Everything is in moderation. Conversation for our relation. Your mind for the mental masturbation. I regulate sexual stimulation. You just need someone to talk to. My actions show you that I love you , bless you. Your physical form will test you. Brothers try to get at you every day , but don't let Satan stress you. Your sweat cells. Soaking my sheet with sex smells. I look into your eyes and hear the waves inside the shells. Nobody. Why ? From Kenya we make an eye to dinner. No books , no spoons. We both bless the food before we eat with our fingers. Massage your back. Smoking a sack. Girl , you got me looking. Reflect on California every time I visit. If you can see inside of me that I will be inside of you.

UU: Is inside of me I will be inside of you.

S3: Now there she goes again. The door opens at the end. You got my heart wide open. Now I'm closing in. I'm not satisfied with being home in love A friend serenade the temple.

UU: Of your skin with I hadn't been in deep in your gates. I have been thinking about how long it's been.

S3: It's had effects from ecstasy. I hope you're not a lesbian. I'm here again. I live.