Posted by Alpha Emeritus, Coach Bundy, Eyelife, Janitor Pee Jones and Language Art.
Today marks a special date for all those that reside in the most southwest corner of the continental United States. In case you missed it, the date marked on your calendars and schedule books is 6/1/9. We here at Truskool Tuesdays thought we’d celebrate this special San Diego day with the rest of the internet by taking a look back at our local hip hop scene. Although relatively young, we’d like to pay tribute to the local heroes who have paved the way and demystify any notions that San Diego hip hop is unaccomplished.
DISCLAIMER: In no way is this an attempt to create a definitive, authoritative source of San Diego Hip-Hop luminaries. The list referenced here simply reflects an off-the-top discussion (in our limited mind capacity, at least) of important/contributing persons in SD. And as such, if you the reader, feel in anyway that yourself, or any other prominent figure was left off the list, it was purely unintentional. So don’t get your butt hurt! Add discussion in the comments section and let us know. And if you don’t know, now you know.
Access Hiphop: Following in the footsteps of Tools of the Trade, Access is San Diego’s premiere source for underground hip hop. Located in Pacific Beach in, Access has shown nothing but love for San Diego’s hip hop scene, throwing free in-store shows by numerous hip hop legends. These are perfect for the young, enthusiastic hip hop heads who aren’t old enough to catch a show at a 21+ venue. Also, if you’re lucky enough to stop by when our very own DJ Norm Rocwell is working, you can chop it up with him about hip hop for hours…
Blame One: Virtually part of our extended fam (Kids of Soul!), Truskool Tuesdays is quite partial to Blame One. His unparalleled wit and maturity on the mic have allowed him to hold it down for North County rappers since he dropped his “Grown Man Rap”. However, it’s his hustle that has led to him sharing the mic with the likes of Sean Price and has allowed him to find his way into the iPods of hip hop heads everywhere.
Charlie Rock: Charlie Rock started out popping and locking as part of the World Famous Rock Steady Crew before delving into the realm of DJing. He went on to hold down spots downtown such as the Martini Room with his bi-monthly hip hop event entitled “The Bus Stop” which hosted up and coming DJ’s as well as more well known acts like the Beat Junkies and Visionaries. You can catch him at Sole Sauce every Friday in the Red C Lounge downtown representing Dojo Sessions.
Chongo: 5-10 years ago, this name was synonymous with SD hip hop. Throwing shows in venues such as the Mira Mesa Epicentre, the Scene, and Club Xanth, he brought underground hip hop superstars such as the Living Legends, Atmosphere, Loot pack, and Def Jux’s “Revenge of the Robots Tour” to San Diego. Chongo showed underground acts everywhere that San Diego is a place to stop by and do a show.
CROS1: The man really needs no introduction. He has been an integral part of the San Diego hip hop community since he started the Freestyle Sessions back in 1997. While still holding it down for the worldwide b-boy event, he also holds down numerous spots in downtown and North Park, opened up a slew of Armory retail stores, and had a hand in the production of several B-boy video games among other things.
DJ Artistic: Also known for bringing quality hip hop shows to San Diego, DJ Artistic started the “Breakthrough” @ the Scene. DJ Artistic also started Djing numerous spots in the downtown and North Park areas. He’s probably most known as the DJ for the SD hip hop group Deep Rooted, with fellow SD hip hoppers Mr. Brady, Johaz, and Brea.
DJ Hektik: If you’ve been down for San Diego hip hop for a while, you most likely have heard of DJ Hektik. DJing on San Diego hip hop radio station Z90, he broke the monotony of the usual rotation by playing golden era hip hop. He is also credited with DJing Friday Night Flavas and starting his own internet radio station titled “State of Mind Radio.”
DJ King of Cuts: DJ King of Cuts released many memorable mixtapes (read, actual cassette tapes) during the 1990s in San Diego. His “Hip-Hop Junkie” mixtape series had remixes that may have even outshined the originals. Down with Mo Mix Entertainment and 3 Deep.
Earthbound Radio: Earthbound began as a crew which evolved into an internet radio station. The radio station has grown tremendously with the aide of affiliates such as Armory Massive, Tribe of Kings, Homegrown Blends, and Kids of Soul Crew. They have represented underground hip hop to the fullest by continuously bringing underground music to anyone with an internet connection, all for free! Over the years, Earthbound Radio has been fortunate to feature guests like DJ Red Alert, DJ Q-BERT, LMNO, Abstract Rude, DJ Neil Armstrong, Aloe Blacc, Ladybug Mecca (of Digable Planets), Spice 1, Busdriver, DJ Shortkut, D-Styles, Exile, Akil, and the Rocness monster himself.
Greyboy: Dubbed as an acid jazz DJ, Greyboy has dropped some underground hip hop classics with the help of the P-Jays Unda-Pendent Hip Hop Volumes 1 and 2 (circa late 90’s). He has since dropped numerous solo works as well as projects with the Greyboy Allstars and is currently signed to Ubiquity Records.
Jabbawockeez: Not much needs to be said about the Jabbawockeez. B-boy crew representin’ SD and rode with CROS1 all the way to the top of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. In my opinion, no one was really touching them.
LPSD: If you haven’t heard of LPSD, then you must have not been down for San Diego underground hip hop in the late 90’s. Their most notable work was a track titled “Back Atcha” which was featured on Volume 1 of The World Famous Beatjunkies mixtape series.
Orko: In the late 90’s, you could see Orko in the flesh at almost any underground hip hop event. He made his mark as part of the Master of the Universe on the underground circuit showcasing his freestyle skills and joining the ranks of the legendary Project Blowed as well as signing to ninja tune. One of his notable projects is his work with Bigg Jus from company flow fame.
Zodak: Zodak is a San Diego based world renowned graffiti artist probably best known by hip hop heads for the album covers he produced for DJ Qbert. He’s also known for his clothing line”Top 2 Bot’m.
5 months ago | Tags: Access Music Alpha Emeritus Blame One Charlie Rock Chongo Coach Bundy DJ Hektik DJ King of Cuts Dj Artistic Earthbound Radio Eyelife Greyboy Jabbawockeez Janitor Pee Jones LPSD Language Art Orko Zodak Cros1
