When the pioneer rapper known as Too Short moved from Los Angeles to Oakland during his teen years, he soon became creatively inspired by the city’s rugged street life.
“It looked like a movie to me,” he says in the latest edition of “Bay Area Revelations.”
The compelling documentary series from NBC Bay Area (KNTV) turns its attention this weekend to “The Culture of Hip Hop,” telling the colorful stories of local artists such as Too Short, MC Hammer, E-40, G-Eazy, Kamaiyah, Nef the Pharaoh and more. It airs at 10 p.m. Saturday, April 27, on Channel 11.
The hourlong film, narrated by actor Peter Coyote, explores the impact of hip hop on the Bay Area and recalls the people who brought the regional sound — with “more bass, more swagger and more reality” — to the rest of the world.
While those profiled in “The Culture of Hip Hop” all inject their work with distinctive flavors, they tend to generally share some essential traits — including a robust work ethic, a fierce do-it-yourself spirit and a deep devotion to the communities that gave them a chance.
Too Short, a.k.a. Todd Shaw, was a drummer in the Fremont High School marching band back in the 1980s, when he began filling “hundreds of pages” with observations about what he saw going on in the neighborhoods around him — the drugs, the pimps, gangs and guns. Those notes became raps on tapes that he sold on the streets for $5 a pop. If someone, often a drug dealer, wanted a personalized song, it went for $20.
Too Short eventually landed a record deal and became a highly influential figure in the West Coast hip hop scene. He also paved the way for self-made regional artists such as former Oakland A’s bat boy MC Hammer (Stanley Burrell) and Vallejo’s E-40 (Earl Stevens).
“The Culture of Hip Hop” is packed with colorful tidbits: For example, E-40’s nickname sprang from his love of 40-ounce beers. Oakland’s Kamaiyah (Jamesha Johnson) worked three security jobs while waiting for her break to arrive. And a young G-Eazy was once booed off the stage during a show in which he forgot the words to a rap.
The film also reflects how the DIY game has changed over the years. While the old-schoolers sold tapes or CDs out of their cars or backpacks, the newbies now generate their own buzz on social media. To wit: Hayward native Saweetie (Diamonté Harper) was “broke as hell” when she began posting short raps on her Instagram account. One of them — “Icy Girl” — became a viral sensation and led to a record deal.
Saweetie, a USC grad with a business degree, continues to think big — with visions of becoming a CEO of her own record label “within five years.”
Like most “Bay Area Revelations” offerings, “The Culture of Hip Hop” leaves you wanting more. MC Hammer, for example, is not interviewed, and the contributions of rapper icon Tupac Shakur, who spent his fledgling artistic years in the Bay Area, are given rather short shrift. As always, an hour — with commercials — just isn’t enough to pack it all in.
Still, it’s a lively, fun and informative hour. And fortunately, NBC Bay Area provides plenty of supplemental interviews and other material on its “Revelations” web page at www.nbcbayarea.com/bayarearevelations.
