In this latest episode of the Got No Control Podcast, host Ronek (@iamronek) sits down with legendary Bay Area turntablism pioneer DJ Qbert for a conversation about vinyl records, hip hop culture, creativity, and the independent spirit that shaped Northern California hip-hop.
Ronek, a head and writer himself from Los Angeles and an insider of the culture, asked what made the Bay Area different back in the day.
While New York and Los Angeles had their subcultures beamed across the globe through films like Breakin’, Beat Street, and Wild Style, Northern California didn’t have that same immediate mainstream Hollywood push.
Instead of being a disadvantage, that isolation became the region’s superpower. As Qbert explains, the Bay was forced to experiment and completely invent its own language.
Qbert: “Fuck Following the Crowd”
When you aren’t part of that blueprint, you stop trying to fit into the box. You build a new one. For Qbert and the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, that meant pushing scratching and cutting into a whole new evolution, one that forced the rest of the world to take notice.
When nobody hands you the keys, you pick the lock yourself!
Watch the video below
Check out the Got No Control Podcast episode with Ronek and DJ Qbert.
DJ Qbert LIVE in San Diego | Bay Area Hip Hop Legend | Got No Control
