San Francisco lyricist and graffiti writer Dregs One is making sure Bay Area hip-hop culture is properly documented, and at the same time he's becoming a recognized historian.
In a series of videos he simply calls "History of The Bay," Dregs is using TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to highlight aspects of Bay Area culture that are often overlooked. In one video he dives into the use of local slang, noting that music "slaps" and food doesn't. Dregs has multiple videos honoring the work of legendary aerosol artist Mike "Dream" Francisco of the TDK crew, among numerous posts he's done in dedication to local graff writers.
Dregs' videos are short, often sprinkled with a touch of wry humor, and always laced with game straight from the soil. I talked to him about what it means to have thousands of views on his videos and how the work of documenting a culture that is often word of mouth inherently brings forth differing opinions. Dregs, who is still deep in the rap game and enmeshed in the world of visual arts, says it's not easy to continuously make videos and do the heavy lifting of keeping the "Frisco-ism" alive, but he loves seeing how many people his work is influencing — and that's what matters the most.
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