Skyline College stayed hype for the entire day during the 7th Annual Rock The School Bells event Saturday, March 1, 2014.

The day began with workshops and a complimentary breakfast. Hip hop culture was discussed in detail during the workshops. Refreshments included snacks and hot beverages, like coffee and tea. Rockstar energy drinks flowed freely from the Rockstar pick-up truck in the quad, giving a much needed boost to keep the day flowing.

After a complimentary lunch, there was an MC Battle, turning the dining hall into an underground hip hop club vibe. The crowd cheered on their favorite MCs, who dropped slick rhymes to a heavy bass beat.

To cap off the daylong event, there was a concert. About three hundred people were in the theatre, coming from Sacramento and all around The Bay. The DJ worked overtime, spinning old school and new school hip hop. He kept the crowd entertained while waiting for the show to commence. Some of the illest beats thumped through the speakers, heads nodding and fans singing along.

Host Nate Nevado came out fresh to death in his RTSB7 hoodie and busted a quick rhyme. Nevado is the man behind the RTSB and CIPHER, bridging hip hop and education together to create a culture that is accessible and understood by youth. He kept his energy on high, getting the crowd ready for each act, with the help of his co-hosts. Each act was introduced with the same flair. RTSB t-shirts were thrown into the crowd between sets, encouraging people to keep their excitement.

The first act to grace the stage was The Family Business. A husband, wife, and three children took mics, rapped, and danced to a cheering crowd.

To break up the rap, the Fresh Dynamics Dance Group from Hayward, Calif., wowed the crowd.

16-year old Sacramento rapper Issa took the stage after the crowd chanted his name repeatedly. His fan base kept the energy up, responding to him, and encouraging him to bring it hard. Issa seemed to feed off the energy, with clever, sharp lyrics letting the crowd know that although he is young he can hold his own with other rappers. Lyrics like it’s a “white man’s world, black man’s dream” and “I’m like heroin, dope as can be” amped up his intro and kept the audience’s attention during his set.

Nevado brought up several members of the audience, mostly children, to ask them what they learned from the workshops that they attended during the day. The children learned about beat box, hip hop dance, and pop locking. Tupac Shakur, the legendary 90s rapper, was discussed during one workshop where the children learned about the man behind the music. All of the children agreed that it was a fun day.

Skyline Professor Jackson was proud to present the Urban Music Academy. It was the first semester and first performance for the dance group that composed their own music and performed an original piece “Beautiful Lie.”

Carlos Bryant repped the 209 hard, putting us on to Stockton’s rhymes. With swag on point and prowling the stage from left to right, Bryant kept the crowd boppin to his clever rhymes. The crowd clung to his, words, oohing and ahhing throughout the set. Hard to believe this wise man has only been performing for four years.

Bryant is a humble, very grateful young man who has a palpable love for music.

“We’re in the building process right now, working on our independent albums,” said 19-year-old Bryant. “We’re pushing our websites by the end of this year. We’re pushing independent music and get it mainstream as quick as possible.”

“My main message is that there’s good times, there’s bad times and we’re just out here to have fun and reach our dreams, that’s all we really want to do,” Bryant said. He wants to continue to gain knowledge, inspire others to reach their dreams as well, and spark others creativity so they can do the same.

With critical acclaim for his mixtape on The Music Reform, it seems like Bryant is well into reaching his dreams. Follow Carlos Bryant on Twitter @MindofCarlos. His video for “The Crown” is up on YouTube on the Carlos Bryant channel. Be sure to check out “Underrated” and get the flava for how this brotha is creating a lot of buzz in the hip hop community.

Bryant was joined by his own dj and featured singer Kylle Thomassonon stage for a high energy set that impressed the hip hop aficionados in attendance.

Singer Thomasson came out to sing the hook. With long, curly, wild hair, he added an R and B flavor to Bryant’s rap. The crowd mellowed out when he pulled out a guitar and serenaded with a love song that he tells the crowd he “wrote while on the toilet.” Love at first flush? Sitting and dropping a beat? It’s all good.

“The performance came together real smooth,” said Thomasson. “The whole get together was well organized. The love that Skyline group gave was so genuine. The energy in the room lifted us”.

Headliner Bambu came out cool as hell with a black jacket; baggy jeans, sneaks, and a signature look knit cap with a pencil behind his ear. He let he crowd know he was starting the pencil behind the ear style, so you know who to credit with the upcoming trend. Well worth the wait and keeping hands waving in the air, Bambu slid quickly into rhymes while his dj spun. Bambu did a call and response with the crowd, keeping everyone on their feet and the energy levels up. The crowd gave Bambu much love.

Bambu has recently relocated to Oakland where he works with youth. He is originally from Los Angeles, so he is still getting the vibe of the East Bay while keeping his music flow. Dubbed as the “Filipino Mos Def” by DadWagon.com’s Nathan Thornburg, Bambu has music that feeds the mind and encourages the thought process.

“Educate yourself, share some of the things that you’ve learned, but really the ultimate goal of the music I make is to actually get you to go out and organize,” Bambu said. “Applying that education to society.”

Although he did not graduate from high school, like other activists in the community, Bambu applies the education he has to society.

“Organizing is about facing the people and figuring out what we could do, fixing he problems, and create that impact to social change”, Bambu said. He is creating that change locally. He lives in Oakland, working with AYPAL and an arts writing workshop. Still getting the vibe of Oakland and the East Bay, he is observing the community and planning how he will next make a change. Bambu’s music can be found on YouTube, Beatrock Music, and iTunes. However, Bambu encourages all to access free music. This is a man who deserves to be heard.