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.

 

R.O.T.C. Official Newsletter

I have started the Official R.O.T.C. Newsletter!! If you don’t know by now, Return of the Cypher is where Hip Hop culture resides in the SF Bay Area!! Every Sunday evening at the historic Boom Boom Room in the Fillmore District of San Francisco, we facilitate an organic, top-tier cypher, backed by our in-house live band. The event celebrated its 5 years anniversary this past summer, and the movement is showing no signs of slowing down.. please come through!! Please sign-up here!!

 

R.O.T.C. x Strictly Business

As you hopefully know, Return of the Cypher has become San Francisco’s premier Hip Hop weekly.. I proudly serve as a R.O.T.C. Director and I am extremely excited that our event is about to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. R.O.T.C. is your rightful home in the SF Bay Area, if you were raised by Hip Hop culture. Welcome home. We continue to operate as a FREE weekly. Come visit us Sunday nights starting at 9:00 at the Boom Boom Room in the historic Fillmore district of San Francisco.

Oakland Legionnaire‘s weekly Strictly Business party will be joining forces with R.O.T.C. on a monthly basis starting on 03/14/18. Every second Wednesday from midnight to 1:00AM will feature a R.O.T.C. cypher overseen by R.O.T.C. Director Unlearn the World. Shout outs to Foreign Legion and DJ Saurus!

Last 2FS Shows before Asia Tour

2nd Floor Samurais will be performing three shows on American soil before we go tour in Asia. The first of the three installments is NGO Hip Hop for Change‘s monthly Concrete Roots event at the Legionnaire in Oakland on 07/20/17. We will be headlining the event, DJ Netwerk is holding down our set, JPZ is hosting, and our allies Dr. Charity Clay and Blackcloud MC are also on the roster.

On 07/22/17, we will be performing at the Precita Eyes 21st Annual Urban Arts Festival. This event is an outdoor celebration with kid stations and community booths.  Patrons are encouraged to bring their own paint to bomb the walls. Our R.O.T.C. brethren Unlearn the World will rock this one as well..

Later that Saturday, we will support Namaste Pizza’s Grand Opening of their Pleasanton restaurant. The first 100 guests will receive a FREE medium pizza of their choice!! Our R.O.T.C. infantry, including Watzreal, Breathless, and Unlearn the World, will be doing performances and freestyles alongside 2FS.

 

2nd Floor Samurais NEW Site

My group 2nd Floor Samurais have a brand new site!! We have 4 album tracks, 3 FREE downloads, and 2 new videos!! Please also make sure to sign up for e-mail list to receive notification about our upcoming debut project and performances..

Rymeezee @ROTC 01/31/16

Rymeezee is a San Francisco MC I’ve know since the late nineties, and he was featured on my first debut cassette. It’s reassuring to witness an artist withstand the test of time, strengthen his grind, and continue developing. He is not only an emcee with an expansive catalog, but a fashion brand designer/ owner, juvenile justice case manage and a father of three boys.

Return of the Cypher will proudly have him as the featured performer on 01/31/16. Yours truly will be on hosting duties, alongside DJ Kevvy Kev, the Gem Stone Band, and all of our usual cast of dope characters.

Rymeezee ROTC

“Pyrex poetry with potency of potpourri/ I know they feel it in the big cities overseas”

02/03 Update: Event went wonderful.. it’s really refreshing to see artists we book at ROTC come through with hella people, bring their own cameraman, and then upload the performance video within few days..

Gigio- “Brainshine” Video

My ROTC comrade Gigio recently released the “Brainshine” video off of his “It’s An Everyday Thang (EP)” produced entirely by DRMDLR’s Tahaj the 1st. The video features cameos by members of his Smooth Beast crew, including my old school folks Monolyth. This dude stays blessing microphones at our event and Hip Hop shows in the Bay on a regular basis, and more importantly, he’s a humble soul who’s a pleasure to be around.

12/06/15 ROTC x HH4C 2nd Annual Toy Drive Hosted by Pep Love

On December 6th, 2015, Return of the Cypher will be teaming up with Hip Hop for Change to bring you our 2nd annual toy drive. For those of us unfamiliar with the above terms, ROTC is a weekly Hip Hop open-mic which occurs every Sunday evening at the Boom Boom Room in San Francisco; it has arguably become SF Bay Area’s most successful regular Hip Hop event, and is frequented by local legends, a platoon of hungry MC’s from literally around the world, and weekly featured performers. HH4C is a NGO dedicated to battling socioeconomic disparities, police brutality, and cancerous corporate rap, through educational outreaches, grassroots canvassing, and local Hip Hop showcases.

Our 2nd Annual Toy Drive will be hosted by Pep Love from the legendary Hieroglyphics crew, feature a ROTC x HH4C mini-showcase, and also the December ’15 ROTC MVP competition. All collected toys will be donated to City Team, which will then distribute the gifts to youth living in impoverished conditions.

fly

12/07/15 Update: The Toy Drive a tremendous success!! We got everything from Spiderman drums to remote controlled puppies to mini jengas!! Thank you for participating!! We made an actual difference!!

Toys

ROTC 2 Year Anniversary

Return of the Cypher will be celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary on 06/14/15. If you don’t know by now, ROTC is the livest weekly Hip Hop party in the Bay Area; a free open-mic jam session with a resident band, weekly featured performers, and the legendary DJ Kevvy Kev. It goes down every Sunday night at the SF Boom Boom Room. Point blank, it’s your home if you were raised by this culture. We will have 15+ performers on the 2 year anniversary and my crew 2FS will be the hosts. See you there. Oh, and the Black Film Festival will be premiering a Mac Dre Documentary called “Legend in the Bay” prior to our celebration.. and that’s free too..

ROTC 2 year anniversary

2FS Live Performance @ROTC

2nd Floor Samurais (Kensho Kuma x Orukusaki) will be headlining the Boom Boom Room on 05/24. As you probably know by now, Return of the Cypher is our weekly Sunday event at BBR, and on May 24th, we will be doing a full performance for our home team. We will be premiering some of our new material and our comrade Xienhow will be opening for us.

2FS Flier