Funkocity of godzillic proportions was wrought forth on March 24 during Skyline College’s fifth annual “Rock the School Bells” event. While the concert was itself an enormous draw, it was preceded by a day of equally popular workshops which explored various aspects of hip- hop culture, such as writing lyrics, DJ fundamentals, and graffiti writing, to name a few.
Beyond the initial draw of the concert, the conference also provided a means to directly benefit education. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the concert went toward the awarding of scholarships for high school and college students who are planning to major in the arts. Likewise, the workshops gave participants an opportunity to develop in new areas of interest.
Skyline counselor Nathaniel Nevado explained that the goals of the conference were to provide a forum that fosters education and understanding of culture, empowering students by providing them with new sets of skills and an understanding of work ethic, which are applicable in daily life, and by exposing people to contacts and facilitators who can help to further develop what the participants learned.
“Hip hop is a culture,” Nevado said. “Whether you are Filipino, Armenian (or) black . . . education is important in (fostering) understanding. . . . What we’re teaching our kids are leadership roles.”
The “Rock the School Bells” event has grown exponentially since its 2007 inception. Where it previously drew upon a relatively small base of ardent local supporters, it has since grown in scale, incorporating performers from across the country and supporting a diverse array of performances.
One of the particularly notable aspects of the event was the overall strength of every performer in virtually every performance. The planning put into arranging the order of the evening was clearly well thought out, as the performances slowly built in intensity and energy until the final act, New York-based “Dead Prez,” finished the performance.
It was this particular aspect that made it difficult to say that any one performer stood out as the best, as every act contributed in its own way to the ever-escalating momentum. It is much more apt to note a small, albeit incomplete, section of performers based on their distinctiveness: BRS Art Alliance provided one of the most entertaining and dapper dance battles in memory; Bay Area Rapper “Dregs One” performed in front of a lowered curtain, needing nothing more than a DJ and his own fevered intensity to whip the audience into a frenzy; Francisco (Frisco) Romero delivered an inhuman beat box performance (he somehow mastered that sound Transformers make when they, well, transform); and the evening’s closing act, “Dead Prez,” managed to pull nearly every member of the crowded theater to the front with their music, which was as infectiously catchy as it was politically conscious and volatile.
One other striking standout was the spoken word and rapping of the diminutive, yet utterly ruthless Ruby Ibarra, who prattled off lines of spoken word poetry with furious, Gatling gun intensity. Ibarra stated, in far calmer terms, how well the event went for her.
“It was good,” Ibarra said. “The crowd was very energetic. I was very humbled to take part.” Student organizer Ruce Head also found that the performance was executed well. ”From my perspective, the event was amazing-unbelievably amazing” said Head.
“Rock the School Bells” has become an established part of Skyline College, and even Bay Area, culture. The entire event is put on by students and community members who seem to genuinely care about what they are doing– and it shows in its quality.
