Have not been to Norcal in like 8 years (have no clue why) and figured it was about time to visit especially since it was the Renegades 26th year anniversary! It was already crazy figuring out transportation…whether I should drive, fly, take the amtrak, chinatown bus, or carpool LOL. Anyways, I got a ride with Steelo, Lil Roc, Lil John, and MYY FRIEND Nabikyyy hahah (inside joke). Headed out from Santa Monica pier in the afternoon and arrived in San Francisco around 1am. The ride did not seem to long especially with people like Steelo keeping us awake with singing “Apologize.” The car ride itself was real dope just vibing out with them.
We drove on the Oakland Bay Bridge and passed by downtown San Francisco to drop off Lil Roc and Nabiky. The streets were packed with cars and people from the bars and the club. I was ready to jump out of the car and just start bar hopping or something. Now it was my turn to be dropped off in Daly City or pretty much the Phillippines lol. WE GOT SO LOST getting to my place. Steelo and I were insanely confused because his blackberry and my iphone gps were acting retarded. After all the frusturation of being lost, we found my uncle’s place and he looked pissed. Went inside the house and they had a feast of food waiting for me. I ate it and immediately fell asleep.
Woke up early the next day and spent time with the family which was refreshing. They took me out to a Japanese buffet called “Moonstar” before going to the Renegades jam and I pretty much devoured everything… Crab legs, sushi, tempura, and mussels to name a few. Felt amazing to eat at a good restaurant, felt like its been awhile. Afterwards, the fam dropped me off in downtown SF for the Renegades jam and I met up with my fellow partner and crew mate Sam Marks (Marks the Spot). I knew I was definitely in SF as soon as I saw Hella Hung in the building getting interviewed haha!
Got into the venue and saw one of my favorite Dj’s BLESONE. Honestly I have not stopped listening to his newest mixtape since I got it from World of Dance Pomona. It was great seeing him and I bought a Mashhall sweater from him too. He’s got one of the nastiest brands, check his gear at thebboyspot.com/forum and cop it! Even got to see the famous bboy Wicket again. I think the last time I saw him was when he judged our event, Claws Out 3 back in L.A. Wish I got to talk to him but he was real busy running the event. Explored around a little bit because it took awhile for the jam to get started but at least it opened with a bang, BEAT FREAKS RIPPED IT!
Surprisingly there were only 8 crews entering the 4 on 4 bboy competition, definitely expected to see more crews representing but the cyphers were real dope. Got to dance alongside Flo Master, Ynot, BeatFreaks, Kid David, and many others. I entered the comp with Marks The Spot, Dre Hood (Head Hunters) and this guy Aaron…entered under the name CLAWS OUT. Went up against Beatz and Pieces and it was a cool battle even though we lost to them. The guy from China was REAL NASTY if anyone knows his name. Ended up cyphering hard the rest of the night and it felt good.
Highlight of the jam for me was Vietnam just BLOWING IT UP. In his first battle he did his double forearm slide all the way to the other crew and popped on his head. When he landed his head freeze he must have stuck it for like 5 seconds literally. The best part was he started shaking his head and sticking his tongue out while nailing the freeze. I looked at the other crew and they just stared at each other like WTF??!! I mean what do you do after that? Steelo, Lil Roc, and Nabil all did really well, staying consistent like they always do. They ended up winning the jam in a hype final battle against RockForce Crew/Unique Styles (Profo, Ajax, Squid, and Mark?). After the jam I thought we were heading straight back to L.A. which I was dreading but Steelo said that we needed to stay an extra night in a hotel. I was super down and actually excited to stay one more night. I was starving as most bboys feel after a jam and we all rolled out to this hidden Italian Restaurant to eat with the Beat Freaks. Dinner was great and it was mad fun hanging out with the Beat Freak, watching all their slapping fights LOL. Lady Jules and Shorty must have been hitting each other for like 30 minutes . Lil Rock even got into the action hahah. Also it was mad entertaining watching Nabil and Vietnam flirting with our waitresses. After dinner, we walked around the city and went to the Embassy Suites where we got hooked up with a niiice room! Stayed in and kicked it with Killafornia for the rest of the night.
We left in the morning and I saw the funniest thing, the official Claws Out twitter road exit so we took a picture. Overall, a real crazy and memorable trip. Thanks Wicket for organizing the event, 26th year anniversary! Now that is longevity. Much love to Lil Roc, Nabil, Steelo, Lil Joh, and Vietnam for being the crazy mofos they are and making the trip memorable for me. Until next time…
JUSTROC 