The role of the music rebel is always relevant, and the
rebellion against conformity flows from hip-hop, to jazz, to funk,
to rock.
One of the emerging hip-hop voices coming out of Los Angeles is
Bambu, a Pilipino American rapper who pens lyrics about life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He will perform at noon today
on the Westwood Plaza stage.
Bambu predominantly flows on openly about liberal political,
social and spiritual issues.
“I’m not a communist, and I love many of the things
democracy offers, but I think the key word “˜community’
is lost in the Western world,” he said. “My whole
(philosophy) is just believing in family and community.”
Growing up in the Watts District, one of America’s most
underprivileged and violent neighborhoods, did much to form his
voice.
“I remember going to school and using books from the 1930s
and ’40s,” said Bambu. “And yet a couple miles
out from Watts, kids have computers and are learning to use the
Internet; kids are learning how to function in society.”
The violence and crime in his neighborhood was a constant factor
in Bambu’s life. At age 16 he was arrested and sent to
juvenile hall for armed robbery, a charge he claims he was framed
for simply because he fit a profile. At around the same time he was
a witness to his cousin’s murder in a gang slaying.
“My cousin Frankie, we called him Frankenstein, I watched
him get murdered in front of a church,” said Bambu.
“They drove up and shot him in the face with a shot gun, then
the driver got out and shot him some more with a
revolver.”
Bambu managed to get out of Watts after earning his high school
diploma and joining the U.S. Marines. Later he became a member of
an elite special operations recon unit and a dive instructor at the
Navy SEALS BUDS training program.
But what makes Bambu’s voice most unique is his role as a
Pilipino rapper in a hip-hop industry dominated by black MCs. Well
versed in his own cultural heritage, he often rhymes in his native
tongue.
“I learned to speak Tagalog when I was a kid, just
speaking it around the house with my mom and grandma,” he
said.
While being an avid supporter of Asian hip-hop artists and
hip-hop as a source of creative freedom, Bambu respectfully credits
blacks as being at the root of the hip-hop movement.
“You’ll never hear me say I’m doing straight
Pilipino rap,” said Bambu. “Hip-hop comes from the
black inner-city youth, and I just caught on to it, and I do
it.”
But regardless of its origins, Bambu is aware of hip-hop’s
ability for expressive freedom within the Asian American
community.
“That rebellious (element) in hip-hop is what we cling
onto, it’s an escape,” said Bambu. “I love going
to shows and seeing Asian people doing hip-hop. (Growing up), I
wish I had someone like me to look to on stage.”