MITCHY SLICK article in San Diego City Beat magazine.....
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Mitchy Slick represents San Diego the hard way
by @Large
“Look, right here they’ve got everything a kid needs to get [gang] banged out—tats and guns.”
It’s a deceptively tranquil morning in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Southeast San Diego, and Mitchy Slick is buying some juice from a passing ice cream truck. Here in one of San Diego’s neighborhoods most notorious for gang violence, the ice cream man sells toy tattoos and plastic guns.
The irony’s not lost on Slick.
“When you’re 7 or 8 years old, you don’t really know right from wrong. It’s not really an ‘I wanna be bad’ situation,” he explains.
Mitchy Slick, who is gaining momentum as San Diego’s most successful gangster rapper, says the initiation into gang life is pretty innocuous for many ghetto kids.
“Today, I might say I shoulda never hung out with this mutha fucka, but when you’re 8 years old, you don’t know. This is the same dude you’ve been playing racing cars with. Then when you’re 13, and he goes to juvenile hall, it doesn’t matter… he’s still your homie.
“When you get into a fight, and he’s at your side, even if you say, ‘I ain’t gang banging!’ it doesn’t matter. No one will listen.”
Southland gang violence has been a familiar story in the media since Ice-T scored the tale of a conflicted South Central L.A. gangster in 1988’s groundbreaking movie Colors. NWA first appeared on the national radar in 1989.
Slick’s point is that this stuff goes down in sunny San Diego, too. While the ’hoods of Southeast San Diego may be a long drive from the city’s main tourist attractions and white-bread coastal beach towns, their problems are very real.
“I don’t tell the glamorous side,” Slick says. “I’m not talking about how fun it is to be a Crip—C-walking and making it look fun. That’s what we’ve been shown as West Coast gangster rap. I don’t represent that. This shit ain’t fun.”
Slick’s albums and mixtapes depict San Diego gang life at its most raw, and sometimes the line between education and exploitation is hard to discern. But self-aware descriptions of gang life and drug dealing let the message be known. In “Curb Servin’,” a track off his Handgunner mix CD, he describes drug dealers “standing on the corner with a pocket full of genocide.”
These days, it seems Slick’s not lacking for heads willing to listen. He’s been featured recently in national hip-hop publications like XXL and the current issue of Source, and gets plenty of local air play on Z90 and 98.9 Mor FM.
“You can’t really break out from [San Diego],” he explains. “There’s too much drama. Too many people here hate me for who I am and where I’m from.”
That’s what’s prompted Slick to reach outside of San Diego to collaborate with some of the West Coast’s most important hip-hop artists, starting with meeting Ice Cube’s producer, Sir Jinx, years ago, and on to current collaborations with L.A.’s Strong Arm Steady Gang, which includes Xzibit, Krondon and Phil Tha Agony.
“I’ve got a song on Xzibit’s next album. After that, 300,000 worldwide will know about me,” he says.
But it’s not just been about lucky breaks and knowing the right people. Slick’s been putting in hard work inside San Diego for years, building a following from around the way.
As advertised on the inside cover of his latest CD, Trigeration Station, Slick built his reputation by seling CDs at local mom ’n’ pop outlets such as the Southeast staple, Fam Mart.
“Fam Mart is the mecca for underground music here,” he explains. “People from all the outer areas—Mira Mesa, El Cajon, white kids, black kids, Asian kids, whatever—they’re all coming to the ’hood to get the music. I damn near don’t need to have my record anywhere else.”
As for plans for the future, Mitchy Slick’s formula is simple: ”Keep it gully.”
Mitchy Slick mix CDs and albums are available at Fam Mart, the Armory, Stax Records and “indoor swap meets everywhere.”
Mitchy Slick represents San Diego the hard way
by @Large
“Look, right here they’ve got everything a kid needs to get [gang] banged out—tats and guns.”
It’s a deceptively tranquil morning in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Southeast San Diego, and Mitchy Slick is buying some juice from a passing ice cream truck. Here in one of San Diego’s neighborhoods most notorious for gang violence, the ice cream man sells toy tattoos and plastic guns.
The irony’s not lost on Slick.
“When you’re 7 or 8 years old, you don’t really know right from wrong. It’s not really an ‘I wanna be bad’ situation,” he explains.
Mitchy Slick, who is gaining momentum as San Diego’s most successful gangster rapper, says the initiation into gang life is pretty innocuous for many ghetto kids.
“Today, I might say I shoulda never hung out with this mutha fucka, but when you’re 8 years old, you don’t know. This is the same dude you’ve been playing racing cars with. Then when you’re 13, and he goes to juvenile hall, it doesn’t matter… he’s still your homie.
“When you get into a fight, and he’s at your side, even if you say, ‘I ain’t gang banging!’ it doesn’t matter. No one will listen.”
Southland gang violence has been a familiar story in the media since Ice-T scored the tale of a conflicted South Central L.A. gangster in 1988’s groundbreaking movie Colors. NWA first appeared on the national radar in 1989.
Slick’s point is that this stuff goes down in sunny San Diego, too. While the ’hoods of Southeast San Diego may be a long drive from the city’s main tourist attractions and white-bread coastal beach towns, their problems are very real.
“I don’t tell the glamorous side,” Slick says. “I’m not talking about how fun it is to be a Crip—C-walking and making it look fun. That’s what we’ve been shown as West Coast gangster rap. I don’t represent that. This shit ain’t fun.”
Slick’s albums and mixtapes depict San Diego gang life at its most raw, and sometimes the line between education and exploitation is hard to discern. But self-aware descriptions of gang life and drug dealing let the message be known. In “Curb Servin’,” a track off his Handgunner mix CD, he describes drug dealers “standing on the corner with a pocket full of genocide.”
These days, it seems Slick’s not lacking for heads willing to listen. He’s been featured recently in national hip-hop publications like XXL and the current issue of Source, and gets plenty of local air play on Z90 and 98.9 Mor FM.
“You can’t really break out from [San Diego],” he explains. “There’s too much drama. Too many people here hate me for who I am and where I’m from.”
That’s what’s prompted Slick to reach outside of San Diego to collaborate with some of the West Coast’s most important hip-hop artists, starting with meeting Ice Cube’s producer, Sir Jinx, years ago, and on to current collaborations with L.A.’s Strong Arm Steady Gang, which includes Xzibit, Krondon and Phil Tha Agony.
“I’ve got a song on Xzibit’s next album. After that, 300,000 worldwide will know about me,” he says.
But it’s not just been about lucky breaks and knowing the right people. Slick’s been putting in hard work inside San Diego for years, building a following from around the way.
As advertised on the inside cover of his latest CD, Trigeration Station, Slick built his reputation by seling CDs at local mom ’n’ pop outlets such as the Southeast staple, Fam Mart.
“Fam Mart is the mecca for underground music here,” he explains. “People from all the outer areas—Mira Mesa, El Cajon, white kids, black kids, Asian kids, whatever—they’re all coming to the ’hood to get the music. I damn near don’t need to have my record anywhere else.”
As for plans for the future, Mitchy Slick’s formula is simple: ”Keep it gully.”
Mitchy Slick mix CDs and albums are available at Fam Mart, the Armory, Stax Records and “indoor swap meets everywhere.”
THOSE MAGAZINES ARE ACTUALLY FREE. U CAN FIND THEM ALL OVER DAGO:
Carlsbad
Spin Records
370 Grand Ave
Wherehouse Music
2525 El Camino Real #171
Clairemont Mesa
Par Liquor
5199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
North Clairemont Library
4616 Clairemont Drive
College Area
Woodstock's Pizza
6548 El Cajon Blvd
Music Trader
6663 El Cajon Blvd
Living Room Coffee House
5900 El Cajon Blvd.
Del Mar
Wherehouse Music
12995 El Camino Real
Downtown
Wahrenbrock's Books
726 Broadway
E Street Alley
914 4th Street
Hard Rock Cafe
801 4th Avenue
Downtown Library
820 E Street
Pokez
947 E Street
PJ's Coffee and Tea
238 5th St.
The Market Place
2601 5th Ave
El Cajon
Grossmont College
8800 Grossmont Center Drive
Wherehouse Music
872 Jackman St.
Borders Books & Music
159 Fletcher Parkway
Music Trader
447 Broadway
Encinitas
Filiberto's
4766 N. Coast Hwy.
Escondido
Escondido Library
239 S. Kalmia St.
Hillcrest
Off The Record
3849 Fifth Ave
Landmark Theatre
3965 5th Ave
El Cuervo Taco Shop
110 W. Washingon St.
Gelato Vero Caffe
3753 India St.
Whole Foods Market
711 University Ave
Wherehouse #391
1060 University Ave.
Cafe On Park
3831 Park Blvd
La Jolla
Hard Rock Cafe
909 Prospect St.
Pannikin Coffee and Tea
7467 Girard Ave
Tower Records
3200 Noble Drive
La Mesa
Guitar Center
8825 Murray Dr
La Mesa Market
6062 Lake Murray Blvd
Subway
5307 Lake Murray Blvd
Leucadia
Leucadia Surfboards
1144 N. Hwy 101
Linda Vista
Linda Vista Library
2160 Ulric St.
Mira Mesa
Keith's Family Restaurant
9449 Kearny Mesa Rd
Epicentre
8450 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Calahan's Pub
8111 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Mission Valley
Todai Seafood Buffet
2828 Camino Del Rio South
Borders Books and Music
1072 Camino Del Rio North
Madstone Theatres
7510 Hazard Center
Normal Heights
Kensington Coffee 4141 Adams Ave
Di Mille's Pizza
3492 Adams Ave
Lestat's
3343 Adams Ave
Antique Row Cafe
3002 Adams Ave
North Park
North Park Deli
3823 30th St
Ocean Beach
Rancho's Mexican Food
1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd
Hodad's
5010 Newport Ave
OB Quick Stop
4984 Voltaire St
Chris' Liquor and Deli
2275 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Oceanside
Boney's Market
1820 Oceanside Blvd
Pacific Beach
Crest Liquor
3787 Ingrahm St
Mojo Sounds
1084 Garnet Ave
Buffalo Exchange
1007 Garnet Ave
Zanzibar Coffee Shop
976 Garnet Ave
Taco Surf
4657 Mission Blvd
Poway
Music Trader
13240 Poway Rd
Pt. Loma
Boll Weevil
2743 Shelter Island
The Living Room
1018 Rosecrans St.
Serra Mesa
Serra Mesa Library
3440 Sandrock Rd
Solana Beach
Pizza Port
135 N. Hwy 101
Belly Up Tavern
143 S. Cedros Ave.
South Park
M Theory Records
3004 Juniper St.
Sports Arena
Fuller Liquor
3896 Rosecrans St
Tower Records
3601 Sports Arena Blvd
Carlsbad
Spin Records
370 Grand Ave
Wherehouse Music
2525 El Camino Real #171
Clairemont Mesa
Par Liquor
5199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
North Clairemont Library
4616 Clairemont Drive
College Area
Woodstock's Pizza
6548 El Cajon Blvd
Music Trader
6663 El Cajon Blvd
Living Room Coffee House
5900 El Cajon Blvd.
Del Mar
Wherehouse Music
12995 El Camino Real
Downtown
Wahrenbrock's Books
726 Broadway
E Street Alley
914 4th Street
Hard Rock Cafe
801 4th Avenue
Downtown Library
820 E Street
Pokez
947 E Street
PJ's Coffee and Tea
238 5th St.
The Market Place
2601 5th Ave
El Cajon
Grossmont College
8800 Grossmont Center Drive
Wherehouse Music
872 Jackman St.
Borders Books & Music
159 Fletcher Parkway
Music Trader
447 Broadway
Encinitas
Filiberto's
4766 N. Coast Hwy.
Escondido
Escondido Library
239 S. Kalmia St.
Hillcrest
Off The Record
3849 Fifth Ave
Landmark Theatre
3965 5th Ave
El Cuervo Taco Shop
110 W. Washingon St.
Gelato Vero Caffe
3753 India St.
Whole Foods Market
711 University Ave
Wherehouse #391
1060 University Ave.
Cafe On Park
3831 Park Blvd
La Jolla
Hard Rock Cafe
909 Prospect St.
Pannikin Coffee and Tea
7467 Girard Ave
Tower Records
3200 Noble Drive
La Mesa
Guitar Center
8825 Murray Dr
La Mesa Market
6062 Lake Murray Blvd
Subway
5307 Lake Murray Blvd
Leucadia
Leucadia Surfboards
1144 N. Hwy 101
Linda Vista
Linda Vista Library
2160 Ulric St.
Mira Mesa
Keith's Family Restaurant
9449 Kearny Mesa Rd
Epicentre
8450 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Calahan's Pub
8111 Mira Mesa Blvd.
Mission Valley
Todai Seafood Buffet
2828 Camino Del Rio South
Borders Books and Music
1072 Camino Del Rio North
Madstone Theatres
7510 Hazard Center
Normal Heights
Kensington Coffee 4141 Adams Ave
Di Mille's Pizza
3492 Adams Ave
Lestat's
3343 Adams Ave
Antique Row Cafe
3002 Adams Ave
North Park
North Park Deli
3823 30th St
Ocean Beach
Rancho's Mexican Food
1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd
Hodad's
5010 Newport Ave
OB Quick Stop
4984 Voltaire St
Chris' Liquor and Deli
2275 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
Oceanside
Boney's Market
1820 Oceanside Blvd
Pacific Beach
Crest Liquor
3787 Ingrahm St
Mojo Sounds
1084 Garnet Ave
Buffalo Exchange
1007 Garnet Ave
Zanzibar Coffee Shop
976 Garnet Ave
Taco Surf
4657 Mission Blvd
Poway
Music Trader
13240 Poway Rd
Pt. Loma
Boll Weevil
2743 Shelter Island
The Living Room
1018 Rosecrans St.
Serra Mesa
Serra Mesa Library
3440 Sandrock Rd
Solana Beach
Pizza Port
135 N. Hwy 101
Belly Up Tavern
143 S. Cedros Ave.
South Park
M Theory Records
3004 Juniper St.
Sports Arena
Fuller Liquor
3896 Rosecrans St
Tower Records
3601 Sports Arena Blvd