Hip hop started out as a way to organize and uplift the community – with a mixture of civil rights and creative expression, Dregs One is an artist who is doing just that. And as an influential emcee/producer and a community organizer in the movement, he “can’t help but be aware.”

“I’m tired of the gangster rap bling bling fantasy that they show on TV,” he says. “We can’t lose sight of what’s real.”

His newest project, The Wake Up Call, illuminates the street politics of California’s Bay Area, taking listeners on a journey into the Frisco haze with his jazzy beats and eloquent rhymes. Coming from a background of graffiti, freestyling and beat-boxing he credits his creativity to the diverse style of his rap group, the Gas Mask Colony.

Dregs One has made a name for himself in the Golden State appearing on numerous releases and music videos, and touring in other parts of the country. With a passion for justice and a dedication to rapping about issues that plague inner-city youth like homelessness, drug use and violence while sampling artists such as Sade and the Doors, Dregs One is changing the world with his mic and turntables.

(words by Crystal Carter)