Return of the Cypher

If you know me from real life, you already know that I am one of the directors for the weekly Return of the Cypher party @the Boom Boom Room in the historic Fillmore district in San Francisco. I am proud to report that our event recently celebrated our 5 year anniversary!!

R.O.T.C. is an open-mic cypher accompanied by our in-house Get Down Band and legendary DJ Kevvy Kev. All emcees and vocalists are welcome to rock with us.. as long as they read the rules, acquire a wristband, and of course adhere to the guidelines stated in the rules. It is the most accurate representation of Hip Hop culture in the SF Bay Area.. and if you were raised by this culture, you will surely agree. Many of our patrons consider R.O.T.C. to be their temple/ mosques/ church , and religiously attend. Iconic legends that are in your iTunes right now regularly are in attendance. Large Professor, MC Akil of Jurassic 5, RZA, Killah Priest, Rappin’ 4-Tay, and Lyrics Born, have all stopped by and/or performed at R.O.T.C.!!

Our event features a special performer doing a set every week. We have had touring acts from every imaginable region of the U.S., as well as international artists that ventured from Japan, Mongolia, Bali, Vietnam, U.K., and Sweden. We also feature the monthly M.V.P (Most Valuable Poet) contest, where competitors go after the coveted R.O.T.C. dog tags, a beatsmith live production set known as the Boom Boom Bap Session, and guest hosts with varying flavors.

If you are a newbie emcee still mastering elementary skills, there doesn’t exist an environment more supportive than R.O.T.C. If you are a mid-tier flame spitter or veteran, our platform is the perfect place to try out new material, keep your bars sharp, and be reminded why you love rapping in the first place. If you are a veteran, please help us carry on tradition!! The essence of rap camaraderie is extremely powerful in our community; cats routinely cypher outside the venue after the party has ended.

 

the Game Music Video

I am featured in the brand new music video “the Game”, off of Japanese emcee/ producer Rikinish‘s album “Everyday.” The video also features and is directed by R.O.T.C. all star Jane the Message. Shot by Sarah Arnold and cameo appearances by UnLearn the World, Po, Ismael Ahmad, quattro, Alex Pascarz. Special Thanks to Christopher Tang and the Boom Boom Room.

Cloud NI9E- Oriental

My producer in Tokyo, Japan, is releasing a brand new album on 04/10/2019!! Yours truly is featured on “Never Ending Story”, which we have uploaded ahead of the release date. マイメンクラウドナインが4月10日ニューアルバム ”オリエンタル” 発売します。予約は We Nod Records からお願いします。俺は二曲フィーチャーされていて、最初に一発アップしました!!

the Means of Money w/ the Heroes of Time

I teamed up with my cohorts, the Heroes of time (Señor Gigio x Mister Cleen), to bring you this brand new banger. I have known these two for years, and they have tirelessly released hustled in the Bay Area Hip Hop scene. We spit from the perspective of independent musicians (duh, that’s what we are) and the song serves as a breath of fresh air in this era of financial fantasy fiction. Production by: Mister Cleen Cover by: Señor Gigio Mixed by: D-Wiz

Kensho Kuma Verse: “I think like the man behind the register/ been broke for so damn long, gotta get my cheddar up/ live life benevolent, just like an emperor/ numbers mean everything, it’s not about better luck/ It’s all mathematics, know the economics/ while rappers showing off, huh smoking on that chronic/ I fly around the world, get rings like Sonic/ never buying Gucci, investing my profits/ on real-ass producers that make my shit raw/ and then spend the rest on vacations in Prague/ when the facts are involved, see your fraudulent facade/ while tryna flirt with, teenie boppers at the mall/ I’m on a Skype call with potential investor/ from overseas, which means, Ken’s getting cheddar/ but the sense of adventure means more than a guarantee/ passion for traveling, burning like kerosene/ even with scrilla, I don’t floss my assets/ never am I bragging ’bout the props and mad checks/ when I’m broke, it’ll never cost me respect/ let’s make a million, and get lost in Tibet/”


R.O.T.C. Wednesday Weekly

Return of the Cypher is teaming up with the Legionnaire Saloon in Oakland to bring you the East Bay’s rawest Hip Hop weekly. Every Wednesday, starting 02/06/2019, we will be facilitating the top-tier, organic MC cyphers our brand has become synonymous with. Myself and R.O.T.C. Director Unlearn the World will serve as host MC’s and DJ Kevvy Kev will be on the decks. We plan to regularly schedule guest artists to make appearances in the near future.. if you’re interested, please write hiphoprotc@gmail.com and send your pertinent EPK, links, and videos.

R.O.T.C. TV Season 2 Episode 1

R.O.T.C. TV Season 2 Episode 1 is here!! Orchestrated by Return of the Cypher Director Unlearn the World and Boogie the Man, the debut episode for the new season accurately captures what our R.O.T.C. world has become. We will have ongoing episodes getting produced, so please stay tuned!! Photo credit: Sarah Arnold Photography

If you don’t know by now.. R.O.T.C. facilitates top-tier, organic cyphers powered by our in-house Get Down Band and songstress Jenna Medina. It goes down every Sunday evening at the Boom Boom Room in the historic Fillmore District of San Francisco. These cyphers are open to the public, and all MC’s, lyricists, rappers, vocalists, etc., are welcome to participate.. as long as they read our rules, acknowledge them, and receive a wristband. Our event also features a traditional dance party segment overseen by R.O.T.C. Commander DJ Kevvy Kev and a special weekly guest performer!!

Permanent Scars (Final Fantasy Instrumental)

2 Mello is a multi-faceted producer who samples retro Nintendo games. I was immediately interested upon discovering his Final Fantasy- the 3-6 Chambers project.. (he flipped Wu Tang acapellas over Final Fantasy samples!) He also has Nas x Castlevania, Jay-Z x Chrono Trigger, and the full instrumental version for each project!! WHAT!? A beat from the FF batch served as the perfect, beautifully melancholic soundscape for some painful-ass bars I was chiseling when I lost my older brother this past July. This instrumental truly saved my damn sanity.

I present to you Permanent Scars. Props to 2 Mello. Mixed by DWiz. Pic by Sarah Arnold.

Kensho Kuma & Cloud NI9E- Temple Work

Here we go once again.. my partner in crime Cloud NI9E and I released a brand new banger.. this one’s called Temple Work and it’s from a vinyl that we’re currently working one. This is the free version, so it’s been ran through a maximizer, but it hasn’t been mastered..

For those of you who don’t know, Cloud NI9E is a producer/DJ from Tokyo, Japan. I did a collaborative album with him back in 2013, and he has served as our tour DJ on numerous overseas solo and group tours.