Introductions

DJ Berto- The element in hip hop I would practice is being a DJ. I think the DJ has a very important part in hip hop because they are the ones that sample the music before they play it out, whether it is at a party or at a radio station. I like to think of being a DJ as being a student. We sample all types of courses and activities until we can create the perfect playlist that is going to help us in building a better future. Our goal is not to "play" what the people want to hear or say, but to let the people see the best that we can be.

My Relationship to Hip Hop- I have always been a big hip hop fan since I can remember. Growing up in San Bernardino and in Rialto for most of life, I was surrounded by this genre. Hip Hop took its biggest toll on me when I was enrolled at Rialto High School. My high school was a majority of black and latino students. Everywhere I would go hip hop would follow me because all of my latin and black peers had some background in it. I would always remember having some random rap battles during lunch where someone would start to beat box and another friend would jump in and spit the flow. I never participated in these because I loved being an observer. When it came down to my friends asking me what kind of music interested me they would not because they automatically assumed that everyone was into hip hop. It didn't matter if you listened to other genres, the norm in my school was that you listened to hip hop. When a new song would come out, they would ask me what I thought about it. If I hadn't listened to it yet, I would simply tell them that it was a good song. When it came down to pep rallies, you would rarely hear any pop or rock music, it would strictly be hip hop.

Hip Hop was so big in Rialto because it enabled us to express ourselves. Here is a youtube video that talks about the city that is Rialto:

Hip Hop had a big influence on me when I played baseball for my high school. It wasn't until my senior year, when I was in Varsity that I saw the importance of the music. Before every game, whether it was home or on the road, we would always "blast" Eminem or Lil Wayne in the speakers. No one would talk or even look at each other, when the songs came on, everybody was locked in and focus on our goals for that day. Hip Hop would always get everyone hyped up because of the self expression that Hip Hop brings. When we would hear the self expression of the artist, we would get ready to play baseball because this sport was a way of us expressing ourselves.   Here are some of my favorite songs out/of all time: