In the Pursuit of Knowledge: The Brains Behind the Blogs
Throughout the season we interviewed a few leaders of Hip Hop who are still doing work within the Bay Area community to uplift and protect Hip Hop culture. Within each interview we heard stories that gave us insights to the birth of Bay Area Hip Hop and how the culture has bridged gaps between different identities across the coasts of the U.S.
Each interviewee also gave us the scoop on their thoughts on current Hip Hop culture and what they hope for the future of the genre that has created movements.
We are extremely grateful for the time and knowledge that these individuals gifted us. They informed the blogs that were written and gave us insight on how integral Hip Hop culture has been to the community.
Breakdancer: Profo Won
Deejay: Marky Enriquez
Emcee: Davey D
Graffiti Artist: Cece Carpio
History/Knowledge/Community: Alex Aquino
Alex Aquino has asked for all interview materials to be private. While there will not be a feature of his interview here, we still wanted to express our gratitude for his knowledge and community work.
About Alex: Alex was born and raised in San Francisco and has been involved with hip-hop culture in the Bay Area. He is recognized as a Bay Area hip-hop pioneer for his early involvement and organizing many early hip-hop events. He has managed various artist and turntablist and founded the International Turntablist Federation. He is a partner and co-owner of Black Scale Clothing Brand, hip-hop.com and Ankh Marketing.
PROFO WON
“What drives me to break is the actual breaking. I joined for the craft, not for the fame, or the clout, because I've already achieved that part of my life.”
“usually what will make people quit is because they're not being appreciated anymore. I'm more like, well, what's the next move to learn? And then how do I document it? if i compete its documented, me trying something new. let me try something new in a competition to the prelims And if I don't fall on my face, it's a win. whatever happens after that happens.
I'm just happy to be here. I'm happy to learn still. It's way more fulfilling personally, especially at my age, 48, like, who wants to learn power moves at 48?”
My interview with Profo Won left me with a lot of hope. Profo Won’s view on life reminded me that it is never too late to do what we love, and that throughout generations, we all have something to offer. When youre as accomplished as Profo Won, it would be easy to flex your skills and declare youre better than those younger than you. But Profo Won rejected that notion and wholeheartedly expressed his support towards the new generation of breakers, saying that he even pulls inspiration from young breakers who are breaking barriers.
Its funny people are like, “you still compete?”. I'm like ‘Yeah.’ I'll be very honest, I'll say I do it for the ‘gram. I don't do it to win, I do it to inspire people to show that we don't know the shelf life.”
ABOUT PROFO WON
Profo Won has been in the BAY AREA HIP HOP dance scene for 30 years and is still going strong. 27 of those years he has dedicated his life in the dance called Breakin’ representing the FloorGangz Worldwide and Knuckle Neck Tribe. He started the first Breakin’ podcast called the Epicenter back in 2012 and continued the concept in the podcast called “The Trades” in 2016.
The first to teach the art of Breakin’ in After School Programs in San Francisco from 2001 to 2009. He has judged, lectured and speaks on the history of Breakin’ in schools and colleges like San Francisco State University, Tufts University, and Temple University. He has thrown events for his crew the FloorGangz USA Anniversary 2018 and 2019 and has also done color commentary for Undisputed World Finals in 2018 and Massive Monkees Anniversary 2018 and 2019.
Profo Won has traveled judged and competed in countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, Russia, Philippines and other places around the world!!!
MARKY ENRIQUEZ (Livin Proof)
“I'm a record collector I, I love making mixes for people. And I like making mixes where I can express myself, and take people on a musical journey.”
During my interview with Marky, who was the former UNDISCOVERED SF Marketing Manager and Music Curator, he played the Beyonce Wetter Remix. We sat and listened and felt the music, vibing together, stank faces and all on the virtual call. After explaining that a Filipino DJ, DJ Esentrik, produced the track he said:
“When I just heard that song the hairs behind my neck were standing up. It's so good. it's a beautiful track. that's what I'm talking about. That song connected with a lot of people.
that feeling that you felt? that's what, as a DJ, you're striving to have. that's the feeling that you're striving for the audience to feel, that connection.”
Throughout the interview, I felt like I was talking to a friend about our passions. As a DJ, Marky really honors peoples experiences and connections. HIs relationship to Hip Hop is very people centered and has has a clear intent on using his platform to uplift the next generation. Our interview was fun and when asked about his personal connection he said:
“I feel like being a DJ is more than trying to get people to dance. I like being able to get people in their fields. To think, learn, and dig a little bit deeper and hopefully learn a little bit more about themselves. It's really just making that connection. Especially for somebody who doesn't really understand what DJs are, I feel like that's really important for people to hear.”
ABOUT MARKY
Marky Enriquez aka Proof is a San Francisco-based DJ, throwing game-changing events, and spinning coast-to-coast with the hottest selections. As one of the original members of Massive Selector, a collective of artists, DJs, and entrepreneurs, Marky produces acclaimed events such as Wonder-Full: A Tribute to the Wonders of Stevie, Soul Slam: Prince and Michael Jackson, and the bi-coastal event SFNY.
Heavily influenced by funk, soul, hip-hop, disco, and house, Marky's sound caters to the discerned dance floor. His mixes, known for their global flavor and crossing genres seamlessly, have created quite a buzz with music lovers. Marky has booked and spun alongside internationally known artists such as Questlove, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Gilles Peterson, DJ Spinna, Bobbito Garcia, Rich Medina, Dwele, Dam-Funk, Prefuse 73, Flying Lotus, and countless others.
You can catch Marky spinning regularly at Sweater Funk, San Francisco's only party dedicated to boogie funk and modern soul on original wax at The Knockout; Straighten It Out, a long-running hip-hop and R&B party at Madrone Art Bar every 2nd Saturday; and Full Tilt at Emporium Arcade Bar every 4th Friday.
DAVEY D
“You document [history] because if you don't, your story can be erased. I'm seeing the attempts to rewrite, to erase, and it's good to have receipts.”
It was an absolute honor to interview Davey D. Prior to the interview, I had read Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, a hip hop history must-read that he co-authored with Jeff Chang. When reading the book, there was so much passion, thought, and rawness, backed by the pursit of truth and sharing Hip Hop cultures massive impact through stories. One of the stories he told me is of the very first Hip Hop song by to be on the charts, which was made by a Black and Filipino artist.
“One piece of history that often gets left out is the story of Joe Bataan. Bataan is often considered one of the fathers of salsa music. Joe is black and Filipino, he did the song Young, Gifted, and Brown, but here's an interesting thing that people forget: Bataan put out maybe the second recorded rap album ever. And that particular song that he put out, which was called Rap-O-Clap-O.
Joe had invited the duo Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde (Andre "Dr. Jeckyll" Harrell and Alonzo "Mr. Hyde" Brown) to record. They was supposed to come in record a song at his studio, and now he had all this stuff set up and laid out, but they never hit the studio time.
So he decided, ‘hey, they're not here, I'm gonna do the song.’ So he does a song. It's kind of cheesy, but it wasn't cheesy at the time. And that song did quite well, overseas. I think it was number one in New York.”
As a fellow historian and storyteller, I admired how Davey D had so many stories to share and how established his intentions when sharing them. He was unapologetic about using Hip Hop culture to evolve and fight for social justice. Davey D is a very accomplished man who wears many hats but underneath it all he showed a sense of wonder and wanting to give back. A lifelong learner to his core, my conversation with Davey D left me hungry for more, and with a sense of responsibility to do Hip Hop culture and history right.
ABOUT DAVEY D
Davey D is a nationally recognized journalist, adjunct professor, Hip Hop historian, syndicated talk show host, radio programmer, producer, deejay, media and community activist. Originally from the Bronx, NY, Davey D’s been down with Hip Hop since since 1977 where he started out as an emcee for two crews TDK [Total Def Krew] out of Co-op City and the Avengers out of the Marble Hill Section of the Bronx. He moved to California and graduated from UC Berkeley.
Davey D is the co-founder and host of several of the most cited Hip Hop radio and online news journalism projects of all time. Hard Knock Radio (HKR) is an award-winning daily syndicated prime time afternoon show focusing on Hip Hop culture and politics. In 2003, HKR was cited as best on air show by the East-Bay Express and Davey D voted Best On Air Personality. He was awarded The Profiles in Excellence Award by ABC 7 in the Bay Area (2005). He was recently awarded 'Thank You Award' in 2009 for Independent Artist Week.
He is the founder and webmaster of Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner, which is widely considered to be one of the oldest and largest Hip Hop sites on the web. The writings on his website are frequently referenced and quoted by journalists, scholars and professors and fans around the world. Davey D’s most recent radio effort is Breakdown FM which can be heard through downloadable podcasts, live streaming, radio stations features, and now cell phone outlets. Davey D is the co-founder of the Bay Area Hip Hop Coalition which started out as one of the first Hip Hop radio deejay collectives in the country.
CECE CARPIO
“I'm honored to partake in, see, and be influenced by Hip Hop. The Bay Area is able to produce street art, and graffiti for displaying messages of the radical change that we want to see in the politics of it all, beyond just putting a name on it and being influenced. It’s just not about getting your individual status, but what our collective experience is supposed to be?”
My conversation with Cece was one that I felt I had to reflect on a lot. Cece reflected many identities and ideals that I shared, yet how she talked about Hip Hop culture and the work she did was so grounded in reality, action, and walking the walk. A committed advocate for marginalized peoples across the world, Cece detailed how Hip Hop “culture” isn’t something you just stumble across and can discard. Hip Hop culture is a commitment to the communities that built it, and if it saved your life, the least you can do is use it to save others too.
“I paint images of everyday people claiming dignity and respect, just living and fighting for more dignified existence. I do that because that's the community I'm part of, and that's the community that is not always visible. That's the community that I want to visualize through my work, our stories and our narrative, our hopes, and our dreams, needs to be broadcasted. And that's the way I can do it, is painting larger than life images that represents not just who we are and what we've been through, but also what we hope and what we achieve what we envision, I think is just as relevant.”
Cece’s newest project on Russ St, tells the story about the Karabao on the Snail, a Philippine tale similar to the Tortoise and the Hair. CeCe explained that
“The Carabao on its own it's already motif of the Filipino community of hard working labor. The carabao, carrying by Bahay Kubo, For us, the correlation that those images are our us as immigrants, we've learned to take and create homes wherever we go. we meant to represent our communities with power and resilience, and for folks to take a look at it and do their own interpretation. For folks who are not familiar, definitely move out of common conversations, to be curious enough to learn more.”
ABOUT CECE
Using acrylic, ink, aerosol and installations, Cece Carpio tell stories of immigration, ancestry, resistance, and resilience. She documents evolving traditions through combining folkloric forms, bold portraits and natural elements with urban art techniques.
Her work is influenced by people she have met and places she’ve been. Cece paints everyday people who have been invincible in order to share their thriving presence, to show the dignity and power of their existence.
Cece has produced and exhibited work in the Philippines, Fiji Islands, Cuba, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Italy, Norway, Ireland, United Kingdom, India, Guam and throughout the United States. She has been awarded the Rockwood Institute Fellowship for leaders engaged in the Arts as critical agent of change. She also received New York Foundation of the Art Immigrant Artist Fellowship, a teaching residency at Café R.E.D & La Botica Espacio Cultural at Xela, Guatemala, and artist residency with KulArts at SOMA San Francisco. The City of Oakland, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, UC Berkeley, and Oakland Museum of CA, have commissioned her work. She is currently working as the Galleries Manager for the San Francisco Arts Commission, and is a Public Art Advisor for the City of Oakland.
She can often be found collaborating with her collective, Trust Your Struggle, teaching, and traveling around the world in pursuit of the perfect wall.
Looking to the future
A tenant in Hip Hop culture, as well as Filpino and Black cultures, is to look back to move forward. It is important to honor the knowledge, people, and work done before us to build for those after us. When asked about what each person is looking forward to seeing in the future if Hip Hop, here is what they answered:
PROFO WON
“I don't know the future of hip hop. Back then we're hearing hip hop is dead in ‘97. As a culture now, as far as the music not dominated, everyone's into everything else. For Gen Z, they don't care. They don't care about the history, really don't care about hip hop. They care about winning, and which is fine.
You have to create the thing you want to see. If you want to see it, then create it. How do I spread this knowledge without sounding preachy? How do I make people engage without being like, ‘you guys are wack if you don't know this’ I suggest anybody that organizing, study marketing, study human psychology, study how to reverse engineer things that are successful. I think that's, that's the main thing I do. I always reverse engineer other genres to see if can I do the same thing. It it worked for that genre, maybe it could work from for breaking or hip hop.”
CECE
“For myself, and for our crew, we're going to continue the work that we're doing, using the tool that we know, that we have, to form real solidarity with both black liberation and other social movements. For me as an immigrant they are definitely the forefront of themes, and my narratives are still within the third world struggle. Bringing visibility to that and hope that you know, people will give it more attention and see its relevance.”
MARKY
“We want to give shine and give props to those who laid it down before us and to acknowledge the legacy that they've paid. But we want to highlight new artists who are leading the way for the next generation, This is all going to stop if we're not able to pass the baton and have the next generation take it and run with it.
There's so much talent so that's another reason why it's super important for events like Undiscovered. To give the opportunity and give shine to folks that are talented right here in our community. That's really the most satisfaction out of that seeing those folks on stage who may not get that opportunity. But they kill it on our stage and take the tape off and run with it because they're, they're so inspired by that. That moment shows that they can keep going.”
DAVEY D
“We have a culture that's been around since the years that has had its challenges because music industry, corporate culture survives on the notion of controversies and disruptions. We don't want to be a mirror. What I would love to see us move in a direction where we look back at some of the things that, it made sense in 2020, it don't make sense now. I love the fact that people are willing to explore those cultural aesthetics. That's what Hip Hop allows us to do. That's what the industry has not encouraged. But that's what we should be doing.
And so that's what I would like to see like, art internationalism I wanted to extend hip hop is, is worldwide and how that is reflected in what we do. Aside from me trying to sell records in the Philippines, and vice versa, me selling records in Nigeria or something like that. But how is that reflected in what we learn from those places?”
If I could livestream the interviews I would. Each person offered so much of themselves and their love for Hip Hop culture that it made me want to do them justice. As youth coming up, and as Kultivate Labs continues to put on UNDISCOVERED SF, I have learned how important it is to preserve, honor, and seek out the stories of our predecessors.