MC Mars

12/06/15 ROTC x HH4C 2nd Annual Toy Drive Hosted by Pep Love

by

On December 6th, 2015, Return of the Cypher will be teaming up with Hip Hop for Change to bring you our 2nd annual toy drive. For those of us unfamiliar with the above terms, ROTC is a weekly Hip Hop open-mic which occurs every Sunday evening at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco; it has arguably become SF Bay Area’s most successful regular Hip Hop event, and is frequented by local legends, a platoon of hungry MC’s from literally around the world, and weekly featured performers. HH4C is a NGO dedicated to battling socioeconomic disparities, police brutality, and cancerous corporate rap, through educational outreaches, grassroots canvassing, and local Hip Hop showcases.

Our 2nd Annual Toy Drive will be hosted by Pep Love from the legendary Hieroglyphics crew, feature a ROTC x HH4C mini-showcase, and also the December ’15 ROTC MVP competition. All collected toys will be donated to City Team, which will then distribute the gifts to youth living in impoverished conditions.

fly

12/07/15 Update: The Toy Drive a tremendous success!! We got everything from Spiderman drums to remote controlled puppies to mini jengas!! Thank you for participating!! We made an actual difference!!

Toys

ROTC 2 Year Anniversary

by

Return of the Cypher will be celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary on 06/14/15. If you don’t know by now, ROTC is the livest weekly Hip Hop party in the Bay Area; a free open-mic jam session with a resident band, weekly featured performers, and the legendary DJ Kevvy Kev. It goes down every Sunday night at the SF Boom Boom Room. Point blank, it’s your home if you were raised by this culture. We will have 15+ performers on the 2 year anniversary and my crew 2FS will be the hosts. See you there. Oh, and the Black Film Festival will be premiering a Mac Dre Documentary called “Legend in the Bay” prior to our celebration.. and that’s free too..

ROTC 2 year anniversary

ROTC TV Episodes #6-10

by

Orukusaki and Tefari at Filmatic Productions are continuing the weekly ROTC TV webisodes; every week, the episodes will capture the featured performers, patrons dancing to Kev’s set, MC’s, the Gemstone Band, and the overall vibe of ROTC. Khali at aFilmNoob shot and edited episodes 6.

 

ROTC TV: Episode 6- Return of the Beat Boxer

ROTC TV: Episode 7- Jern Eye

ROTC TV: Episode 8- Brycon x Luke Sick

ROTC TV: Episode 9- Mack Deezoe

ROTC TV: Episode 10- Boom Bap Sessions

ROTC x HH4C First Annual “Hip Hop Toy Drive”

by

Not all children receive toys during the holiday season. We can do our part in changing this. On December 21st, 2014, ROTC will be teaming up with Hip Hop for Change, to host our first annual “Hip Hop Holiday Toy Drive.” Hip Hop for Change is a non-profit organization dedicated to combating the detrimental messages of corporate Rap music and social injustice, through educational outreach, grassroots activism, and real Hip Hop showcases. All collected toys will be donated to City Team at their San Francisco and Oakland locations; the toys will be then distributed to children living in low-income communities. Our culture is for the people, by the people. Let’s bring some toys for kids in the hood.

ROTC x HH4C

 

 

ROTC- Every Sunday Night @ the Boom Boom Room

by

ROTC (Return of the Cypher) is a freestyle jam session which occurs every Sunday night @ the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco. The Gem Stone band provides live instrumentation and veteran DJ Kevvy Kev holds down the ones and twos. Special featured guests rock almost every week. Myself, Orukusaki, Slice 9, and MC Mars usually alternate as hosts. All MC’s and vocalists are encouraged to attend and participate in the cyphers, which probably takes up more than 2 and a half hours of each Sunday night. Oh, and it’s absolutely free!

If you are an emcee, you have to be willing to freestyle… period… it’s just part of the craft. And this is the perfect boot camp/ church/ gym/ whatever you want it to be!

ROTC New

Breathless “Go Crazy” Video

by

Breathless is a comrade of mine who routinely rocks with us at “Return of the Cypher.” I have always been thoroughly impressed with her live performance (she dressed up as Michael Jackson one time and merked it,) and her radiant personality shines through on the brand new “Go Crazy” video. It features cameos from ROTC soldiers MC Mars, Jay Peezy, and yours truly. Make-up/ costume designs by Sara Stylism and directed by Beto Moon Cricket Lopez.

Revolver Open Mic

by

Revolver Open Mic is a sister event of “Return of the Cypher” which occurs first and third Wednesdays at the Showdown (60 Sixth St. San Franciso.) The event is coordinated by my teammates Orukusaki and Denero, is frequented by all the ROTC regulars, and beatsmiths like Bayroo Burner, Stonerock, and Decap often show up to play instrumentals. SF icon DJ Johnny Venetti of BPos is the venue owner, so it’s got a very welcoming environment.

Revolver Open Mic

ROTC 1 Year Anniversary Showcase

by

You probably know by now that I help organize a weekly event called Return of the Cypher, which is an open-mic jam session at John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room on Sunday nights. You probably know that it’s the fastest growing Hip Hop event in the Bay Area and that we have a very supportive community. If you were raised by the culture, you will feel like you finally made it home. All MC’s are encouraged to spit. We will be celebrating our one year anniversary on 06/15 with an amazing showcase filled with a diverse range of artists that have come through in the past year.

ROTC One Year

Preceding the anniversary showcase, the San Francisco Black Film Festival will be premiering “‘Til Infinity,” a Souls of Mischief documentary. Needless to say, it is extremely appropriate to host a world premier documentary about the Bay Area legends before our platoon of independent rappers set it off.

Hiero BFF