Biography:

Young Slo-Be comes from the empty void that Americans know as Stockton, that is, if they know where Stockton even is. The city of 320,000 in California’s Central Valley was hailed by Forbes as “America’s Most Miserable City” in 2009 and 2011. The rapper born Disean Jaquae Victor, shrugs those descriptions off. He describes a city just like any other, with the caveat that its people refuse to enjoy themselves. He tells me: “When they put the real good shit for the city, we fuck it up.”

Empty politics and meaningless reform with no tangible effect on the streets fog local news with buzzwords like “Universal Basic Income” and “Public Subsidies,” but it’s all a façade. Slo-Be will tell you that, and so will any of his affiliates in EBK (aka EBK Hotboiiz). The city filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after scamming its people, and their solutions now involve a rebranding campaign that features the Stockton Flavor Fest.

Despite typical government dealings, Young Slo-Be cites Nightingale Avenue as the birthplace of a new era for Stockton. Stockton has never had its own rap success story, unlike its California counterparts in the Bay Area and Los Angeles; Slo-Be and the EBK Hotboiiz are the first of their kind.

Surrounded by music on both sides of his family, Young Slo-Be saw his uncle become a local musician legend in San Diego. His father rapped too. Neither made it past their respective cities, but Slo-Be got exposure to the love possible for successful artists, as well as a studio that he could fool around in. As a kid, he listened to Lil Bow Wow and Messy Marv, but he attributes the whisper flow to his mellow demeanor. Bris once told him, “You don’t look like you fuck with a lot of people,” and it’s fitting. As he smokes his blunt, Slo-Be keeps to himself, relaxed and speaking calmly.

In South Central, the late Drakeo the Ruler built his own coded vernacular, whispering accounts of “flu flamming” and “mud walkin” through Neimans, Barneys, and Saks. In Sacramento, the late Bris muttered his own lingo as well, telling tales of hitting the plug because he “needs hammy,” crowning himself the one-and-only “Tricky Dance Moves.” Young Slo-Be meets these two in the middle – both geographically and stylistically, as the soft-spoken Slo-Be Bryant.

From the first EBK Hotboiiz music video, “EBK Anthem” featuring Slo-Be and Skeammy Ru, there was instant camaraderie. If you watch the now-classic posse cut, there are at least fifteen people in the video hyping each rapper up – as well as Bris standing amongst the crowd to support his brothers. They boast about poles and money routes, but the most tantalizing phrase is their reference to “Nightinganistan” — the uniting 2100 block where they’ve faced economic inequality, street politics, and warfare.

Credits: