Filipino American Dance Culture in Suburbia: The Story of Funki Junction

Our project Empire of Funk: Filipino Americans in the Cipher of Hip Hop is continuing to grow. Please check out this compelling article written by Cerritos-native Cheryl Cambay. It time stamps a very critical moment in the development of Filipino American culture in the 1980s and early 1990s. Great work, Cheryl! 

Also, as a reminder, we are taking submissions for poetry, fiction, photography, and visual art for publication on the website until November 28th. Visit our website for more information.

 

Filipino American Dance Culture in Suburbia: The Story of Funki Junction

by Cheryl Cambay

"...I remember rehearsals well – we’d end up at someone’s house and practice in the garages, front yard or the street. At one of girls’ houses - without the mirrors like you see in dance studios, the way we viewed our progress was literally to video tape rehearsals on a camera that was propped up on a tripod and view the footage and make adjustments, corrections, blocking as needed. When we rehearsed at Emil’s house I remember his mother had a glass-mirrored closet that we used to rehearse in front of and it was small so you couldn’t see the whole group from the reflection! Oh the joy of practices at our parents’ houses after school! And whenever we needed to rehearse or perform at a gig we literally had to call each other at home (no cell phones or email) or page each other to make sure we scheduled rehearsals and made ourselves available for the gigs we were asked to perform at. We also went shopping for performance outfits, which consisted throughout the years of overalls, paisley shirts, timberland boots, embroidered hats, parachute pants – what we considered cool and hip at the time!..." [continue]

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Chasing Betty / Forming the Brotherhood

Remember this song? Did you know DJ Rhettmatic was a part of the group, Brotherhood Creed? A man of many affiliations I suppose. And interestingly, that's the Cerritos Mall that those folks are housing (the dance) in.

I'm telling you, the early 90s is coming back. The late 80s (via Kanye 'n em) is already here (minus the biking shorts), but can't wait till the Jnco, Cross Colors, unstrapped overalls come back. And those round glasses with the shades that flip up.

Now to the point of this post. I was listening to Cerritos All Stars Live Mix Show the other day, and they played a couple of songs with Betty Wright's famous "Tonight is the Night" sample. One of the songs was Brotherhood Creed's "Helluva," a Southern California jam back in like 1990 (?), not to be confused with "Heluva Good" the dip.

Maybe its Swedish?

Anyway, immediately after "Helluva" they played another song, and I can't figure out the artist. Like "Helluva," this song uses Wright's "Tonight is the Night" sample, but its a new song that came out very recently. Help me figure out who.

I thought it would be fun to try and list all the songs out there that sample the ever-so-popular "Tonight is the Night." Could it be the most sampled song (not artist) out there (Planet Rock should be somewhere up there)?* Whatever the case may be, help me "chase Betty" and add to this list...

"Chase Me"

Hip Hop songs that use "Tonight is the Night" samples:

1. Brotherhood Creed- "Helluva"
2. Lighter Shade of Brown- "On a Sunday Afternoon"
3. DJ Quik- "Tonite"
4. Color Me Badd "I Wanna Sex You Up" (incidentally, Wright sued them for royalties)
5. Candy Man- "Knockin the Boots"
(New) 6. Solo- "Heaven" (uses the same bass melody)

On a related note, I interviewed Ty (I hope that spelling is correct) from Brotherhood Creed back in 2006 in front of Zentro Bistro (now the O Bar) in Cerritos during Mark and Gloria Pulido's "Old School 80s" wedding anniversary jam. Below is an excerpt from that interview. Ty talks about Filipino involvement in the hip hop scene in Cerritos, the forming of Brotherhood Creed, and Miss "Helluva" Mexipina in the video! Try not to mind the crazy drunk 80s-generation Pin@ys in the background.



And the grand prize goes to anyone who knows where Miss "Helluva" Mexipina from the video is nowadays? Start searchin...
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*I take that back. "Apache" is probably way up there.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: It's Butta, baby

KJ Butta flexin at Yuko Entertainment, home of the Cerritos Allstars Live Mix Show

Been lookin for good music? DJ KJ Butta always delivers the hot mixes. He is on steady rotation on my shuffle. Download his joints here.

As a native of Cerritos, CA (and now a transplant in NY), Butta was a major player in the Fil Am mobile DJ/turntablism scene in the 90s. His DJ crew Grand Groove was a dominant force in the area. He eventually united rival DJ crews to create the now internationally famous Cerritos All Stars. His 90s hip hop background is evident in his mixes. I think his music sensibilities stays true to a "boom-bap" 90s hip hop aesthetic, but he also interweaves it with a neo-soul theme. He plays John Legend, Platinum Pied Pipers, and Erykah Badu alongside Lootpack, Dialated Peoples, and Dilla. Honestly, half the artists he lays down on these mixes I have no clue who they are. That's why I'm spotlighting him because I think he has an ear for quality joints.

Pulling from the Cerritos All Stars website, here is a little snippet of his role in the creation of CAS, which produces probably the best, longest running online hip hop mix show:

"By the time the mid to early 90s materialized, the Cerritos D.J. scene was dominated by three groups: Audio FX, Grand Groove, Icon Events. The competition between the three groups was intense, and claimed more than a few lives. The future of Hip Hop looked grim, until D.J. Butta of Grand Groove decided to put an end to the silliness, and unite the three powerhouses. The troika put away their differences and united, behind the Funky President, becoming the Cerritos All Stars."

Butta was also the Director of Sales for the popular Mixwell fashion clothing and helped it become an international brand. So the next time you're at a hip hop event and see a fool wearin a Mixwell shirt, yup, Butta is the marketing mind behind that fashion line.






Butta is also compelling because he seems to bridge the deep-rooted Filipino mobile DJ scene with the newer radical, protest soundscape of current hip hop created by Fil Ams. He became exposed to the latter after he linked up with members of the poetry group Balagtasan Collective, a Pinay/oy troupe in LA which many of today's Angeleno artists grew (Kiwi, Bambu, Kat Carrido, Alfie Numeric, Johneric) out of. He evokes a variety of genres in the Fil Am hip hop tradition. Cleverly (almost subversively), he inserts a lesson-giving Native Guns, Bambu, Kiwi, and/or Blue Scholars track into his mixes. Oftentimes, especially with Bambu, Butta drops an unheard of, non-album track that I guess is only available on his mixtapes. I love, love, love the Bambu/Lauren Santiago on Butta's "Transitions Mix."

Bambu and Butta at Pop Burger in Manhattan

DJ KJ Butta spins at Pop Burger in Manhattan. Me, Boogie Brown from the Get Down, and Kristia from Doorknockers stopped by to say hi to him over the summer. Hooked us up with some burgers and drank. Roll through and see him every Thursday and Saturday night.