RTSB 16: CELEBRATING 50 YEars of Hip Hop

THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2023

Skyline College

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LISTEN TO RTSB 16 SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Keynote Speaker

Unlearn The World

As a born and bred product of the late 90's New York City and Golden Era of Hip Hop, UnLearn takes the best from all dimensions of the culture as an MC, Songwriter, Producer and Hip Hop Educator. His work is paving a new pathway for artists to integrate education and community work into their brands, to teach the art of Hip Hop as a new form of thinking to the next generation of aspiring creatives. As an artist, he has shared stages with the likes of Wu Tang, Griselda, KRS-One, Rakim and countless others. His latest album CROWNS has surpassed 2.5 Million Streams on Spotify and he has lectured extensively at the collegiate level from UC Berkeley to Harvard University.

OPENING PERFORMER

Oswald Ferrer

Oswald Ferrer is a talented and ambitious individual with an unwavering passion for music. Born and raised in Harlem, New York, they have been immersed in the world of music from a young age, fostering a deep appreciation for various genres and styles.

Oswald Ferrer attended skyline university where they pursued a degree in nursing. After countless people informed Oswald to pursue his natural talent in music Oswald created his music label (Wherethelightingisbetter LLC). Driven by a relentless desire to succeed, Oswald Ferrer aspires to become the best artist in the world. They have dedicated countless hours to refining their craft, experimenting with different sounds and styles to create a unique and captivating musical identity. They have a natural ability to connect with audiences, evoking powerful emotions through their performances. Oswald Ferrer is not only focused on their own success but also on inspiring and uplifting others through their music. They are committed to creating songs with meaningful messages that resonate with listeners, sparking conversations and driving positive change in the world. Their profound love for music fuels their journey, pushing them to break boundaries, defy expectations, and leave an indelible mark on the global music scene.

LUNCHTIME PERFORMERS

Feline Finesse

Feline Finesse is an all-female, youth community organization - serving ages 0y through 17y. We are rooted in Bayview Hunters Point, and specialize in performing arts and community stewardship. We encourage, empower, and finesse.

Allen Bustos

Allen Bustos (he/him/siya) is a 2nd generation Filipino American and Bay Area native (San Francisco/Daly City). He is an aspiring Artist Educator that aims to help bring critical education into marginalized spaces by blending Ethnic Studies, Health Education, and Hip Hop pedagogy into his social justice advocacy work. He graduated from Skyline College and is now studying Health Education at San Francisco State University. He currently is a teacher with Pin@y Educational Partnerships and intends to pursue a graduate degree in Education. In his wellness and healing journey, he expresses himself through poetry, spoken word, and hip hop music as a lyricist and emcee where he is working on his first album as we speak.

KJ Focus

KJ Focus born Kalin Freeman, is an American musician saxopho- nist,producer,and song writer. The Oakland native has made his name in the industry by showcasing his talent within the many genres of music. Confidently crossing the playing fields of R&B, Neo-Soul, Jazz, Hip Hop, reggae, Latin and Tribal.

DJ BITE SIZE

DJ Bitesize is a turntablist/party rocker from the 415 and has won 2 local DJ Battles. She has rocked numerous events from birthday parties to school dances to even throwing her own parties. On her downtime she puts mixes together and posts them for the public on soundcloud. Make sure you follow her on social media to catch her next set or her mixes for your next car ride!

WORKSHOPS

Crowns Of The Culture: A Case Study In Hip Hop Creativity

Facilitator: Unlearn The World

Bio: As a born and bred product of the late 90's New York City and Golden Era of Hip Hop, UnLearn takes the best from all dimensions of the culture as an MC, Songwriter, Producer and Hip Hop Educator. His work is paving a new pathway for artists to integrate education and community work into their brands, to teach the art of Hip Hop as a new form of thinking to the next generation of aspiring creatives. As an artist, he has shared stages with the likes of Wu Tang, Griselda, KRS-One, Rakim and countless others. His latest album CROWNS has surpassed 2.5 Million Streams on Spotify and he has lectured extensively at the collegiate level from UC Berkeley to Harvard University.

Graff Attack with Rhymosaurs

Facilitator: Orlando "ZEPS" Molina

Bio: Orlando "ZEPS" Molina is an MC and author who was born and raised in Brooklyn NY. He moved to Stockton California in 2017 when he published his first book, then the 209 helped him grow into a community leader and hip-hop educator with his kids book series "Rhymosaurs".

Breaksport Workshop-introduction to the art form and newest Olympic sport taught in “Sets” aka choreography form

Hip-Hop 360 - History lecture, demonstration, archive display on Hip-Hop culture and where it came from.

Facilitator: Zulu Grem

Bio: Steve Zulu Gremlin Roybal is also known as King ZG on all platforms. He hails from Los Angeles and is part of the world famous Medea Sirkas/Rock Steady Crew/Zulu Nation/Latin Alliance His Credits include the movies Step up 2, Step up 3-d, The Freshest Kids, and TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars, and more. You can access more information at www.zulugremlin.com.

AI & Hip Hop: The Past & Future of Music Technology

Facilitator: Kaila Love

Bio: Kaila Love was born and raised by her great-grandmother in the Bay Area, CA. She started rapping at age 14, to impress a boy in high school and never stopped. Rapping helped her deal with her struggles from becoming a homeless teen, to becoming the first in her family to graduate college when she received her Bachelor's in Political Science from UC Berkeley. As an independent artist, her music has been featured in ESPN and NBA2k. She’s been investing in crypto since 2017 and in March of 2021, sold her first music NFT, making her one of the first women rappers to sell her music as an NFT. She went on to author “NFTs for Music." Continuing on the tech path, she's built her own software for musicians and is pioneering the space on artificial intelligence in music.

The Power of Story & Pinay

Facilitator: Kim Davalos

Bio: Kim Davalos (kd) is a third generation Pinay (Filipina-American) born and raised in Stockton, CA. For the last decade, Kim has resided in the Bay Area as an educator, artist and creative. She first started in spoken word and has performed in local and national competitions to find her voice and narrative she wanted to tell. Kim has a primary passion for staying connected to her surrounding community and values using entrepreneurship, creativity, and critical performance art in the classroom and within her counseling practices as an educator.

THE FEMCEE: Women's Empowerment Writing Workshop

Facilitators: LiL MC, Amani Jade, Hip Hop For Change

Bio: LiL MC is a Bay Area Based Latina, bilingüe rapper, singer, producer and rap battle champion. She’s also classically trained in piano and teaches music theory, beat-making, songwriting, and comic book-writing with Oakland Based non-profit, Hip Hop for Change. She conducts workshops for Meta's educational initiative, Code Remix, a free program aimed at developing students' computer science skills through coding and beat-making. In 2020 she developed a Women’s Empowerment Hip Hop curriculum, teaching students from elementary to college aged about the female pioneers of Hip Hop. In 2020 she was selected to go to El Salvador through a program run by the US Embassy, to run a week-long Spanish Hip Hop program for students across El Salvador. She's the founder of Queens of the Underground, an all-women performance showcase and She’s had tracks featured in NBA 2K21 and been featured in Billboard Hip Hop.

Bay Area Filipin@/x Hip Hop Origin Story

Facilitator: Gabriel Dela Cruz

Bio: Gabriel Dela Cruz, M.A.Urban Education and Social Justice is an award winning educator, organizer, DJ, producer, and small business owner. For over a decade he has worked with young people in the Bay area as a youth organizer and educator. He has developed and taught one of the first Critical Hip Hop History courses in San Francisco Unified School District. As a students and adjunct professor at The University of San Francisco’s School of Education he co-authored two published educational articles; “Developing and Enacting Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Voices of New Teachers of Color, Equity & Excellence in Education” and “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Emerging Cultural Assets, Equity & Excellence in Education”. He is currently an Ethnic Studies educational consultant in Daly City with Community Responsive Education and an educational coach with the J Dilla Foundation and Save The Music at June Jordan School For Equity. In addition to being an educator he is the owner of The Stacks Record Shop in Hayward, CA.

From Breaks to Beats: An Interactive Beat Making Workshop

Facilitators: Elwin Williams III aka Da Rap Nerd and Mike Cochran aka Maitre D

Bios: TFS Project Coordinator and Teaching Artist Elwin G. Williams III is a producer, DJ, sound engineer, videographer, photographer, and touring artist who started working with Today’s Future Sound in 2014. Williams (stage name, Da Rap Nerd) has also worked with Youth After School Program Mentorship and Leadership and served as After School Director with FME After-School program.

TFS Teaching Artist Mike Cochran (MAITRE D) has been a DJ/Producer/Engineer for over 10 years, working with notable Bay Area Hip Hop acts such as Hieroglyphics’ DJ Toure and Casual, Clyde Carson, and Lateef the Truth Speaker of Latyrix. Since 2007 he has competed in numerous beat battles in the Bay Area and abroad. As a veteran senior instructor with TFS, he has taught for nearly a decade with TFS.

‘Till the Wheels Fall Off: Yay Area Car Culture Panel

Facilitators: Charlie Hustle

Building Independence in Music & Film

Facilitators: Jermaine Fletcher, Infinite Ethos, Curators of Hip Hop LLC

Bio: Jermaine Fletcher is a multimedia producer and music producer for film & television. He's also the co-founder of Curators of Hip Hop (Media Company) and Infinite Ethos (Music Publishing). Over the last 20 years, he's produced music and original documentary content featured on Showtime, CBS, The New Yorker, Bloomberg, MTV and many more.

Honoring Bay Area Hip Hop Through Emceeing

Facilitator: Maricar Bamba

Bio: Maricar Bamba (she/her) is a San Francisco native with almost a decade of experience as an educator and a lifetime of love for music, poetry & emceeing. She leans on her experience as a poet to story tell in her music and raps as if we’re taking a peek inside her diary. She uses every opportunity to honor her Bay Area roots and recognizes how much influence the region has had on Hip Hop culture. Having released her first EP: Beats, Bars & Poetry in January 2020, it features San Francisco’s legendary rapper San Quinn as well as upcoming producer QuakeBeatz (from Stunnaman02’s Big Steppin).

Writers Workshop: Getting down on the wall

Facilitators: Amir Saber Esfahani, Skyline College Art Department

Bio: Amir Esfahani is an artist and associate professor at Skyline College. His artwork juxtaposes elements of technology, graffiti, and patterns.