HOW MY COUSIN AND HIS PASSION FOR CHRISTIAN HIP HOP CREATED AN ONLINE FAMILY
Patrick Via, aka DJ Elder
This is the story of my cousin, Patrick, better known in hip hop circles as DJ Elder, who spent the majority of his life trying to make it as a hip hop artist in the music world. I can tell you now that he’s not a household name. But the story of how much his journey changed him as an individual and what he has achieved should be an inspiration to anyone who reads this, especially to those of us who are creative. He is partly responsible for the creation of HeadzUpFM.com, an Internet Christian radio station based in Los Angeles that has been gaining consistent listenership since it was launched in 2006.
And I can personally attest that he fueled my creativity when we were children. As kids, he’s the one that got me interested in drawing comics. It was his idea to create radio plays on an old tape recorder. And he would be the writer and director of a Super 8mm film where I played the role of a super hero. Looking back, it seems as though the spark of creativity that we shared in those early days was a good indication of the creative paths we would later take in our respective careers as adults.
MUSICAL BEGINNINGS
Patrick Via was born in Blythe California in 1965. A few years later, his family would move to Indio California in the Coachella Valley. In recent years, Indio has gained some notoriety as the location for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, an annual three-day event that features many genres of music.
Remarkably, Patrick could read at the age of three . His first foray into music was reading the rhymes in a children’s book in the form of a melody. The book was “Tikki Tikki Tembo,” by Arlene Mosel. It’s unknown to me if Ms. Mosel intended for the book to be read as a song, yet, Patrick did it instinctively. This came as a big surprise to his parents who were not musically inclined themselves. They soon realized that their son, quite possibly, had a talent for music.
HIS FIRST EXPOSURE TO HIP HOP
When he was fourteen, his first exposure to rap was Rapper’s Delight performed by the Sugar Hill Gang. “I was trying to understand the lingo and I started writing what they said and performing in class during high school is when I became a DJ, in 1982.”
It was then that he joined an existing group that was called Sound System. “It was a group of around ten guys. Only a few of us took it seriously, though. That’s when I learned how to mix.” His first stage name was Mr. J. The “J” stood for “jammer,” as in someone who plays jams. As a DJ, he performed at schools, backyard parties and weddings.
He started his first group in 1985 and called it Fresh Force. He bought equipment: a drum machine, a sampler, turntables and a mixer. Now, he could begin creating beats with friends. He had heard some raps and thought he could do better and began “freestyling,” (which is improvised rapping to instrumental songs) at parties. “No one would pay me, I would just do it.”
At this time, he was inspired by the hip hop artist Hashim and his instrumental song “The Soul.” Also at that time, Kid Frost — a rapper based in Los Angeles — did his own raps over it as it played live on the radio.
Other rappers at the time that influenced him were: Eric B, Rakim, Divine Sounds, Ricky D., Doug E. Fresh with his song “The Show” and Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic 3 “The Roof Is On Fire.”
GANG LIFE AND DRUG USE
Latino gangs were abundant in Indio California, in the 1970s and 80s. Drug use and criminal behavior was an everyday occurrence and it has seemed to escalate over the years. Like any other gang-infested area, gangs in Indio offered young men status, respect and a sense of belonging. Part of that status came in the form of low riders — customized cars that were lowered through body and suspension modifications. To own a low rider — especially a beautifully customized one — was a point of pride amongst gang members and car enthusiasts alike.
Patrick was exposed to the gang life through his older brother, Rodney, who had been in gangs. When Patrick was eleven years old he caught his brother smoking a bong. To keep him silent, Rodney told Patrick to take a hit so that he wouldn’t tell their parents. That was the first time he smoked pot. Later, Patrick would buy marijuana during his high school years and smoking it recreationally. “I know it’s almost legal now and that people take it for pain, but it’s a gateway drug. Guys who smoke a lot of weed forget a lot of stuff.” Later, in his twenties he would go on to use crystal meth. “I never did heroin, though.” In his youth, he had gone to jail on several occasions. “It was nothing major, I spent a night here and there in the drunk tank.”
Before hip hop, gang members were listening to what is now referred to as “old school” music now, as well as classic oldies (rock and roll music from the 1950’s) and reggae. These were all influences in hip hop music, and as it grew in popularity, gangs would naturally gravitate towards it.
GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT BEING A HIP HOP ARTIST
In the mid 80’s, Patrick began a lifelong quest to find vinyl records. Later, CD’s would become the music industry’s delivery system of choice. But for DJs, vinyl is desired for scratching — a technique that produces the trademark hip hop sound of a record being moved back and forth. He would drive long distances just to get find the right vinyl record.
Patrick, together with some friends, created a record label in 1987. Rough Edge Records was its name. Their first record was “Spinning the Wheels” by the 2-person African American group, Top Dolla.
In 1992, he read an article about Kid Frost, an LA based rapper. Kid Frost was one of the few Latino rappers that had a hit with his song “La Raza.” In the article, Kid Frost stated that he was wanted to help up and coming rappers. He met Kid Frost and began hanging out with him. Kid Frost was impressed that Patrick could use a drum machine because it was a rare talent at the time.
By 1993, Patrick was completely devoted to his art. He would drive two hours to a hip hop class that was offered once a week at UCLA. Many of his friends and family said it was too far, too expensive, and a waste of time, but he said; “We believed in what we were doing. I put all my heart and soul into it.”
REVERSE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
“I always thought or knew I was different because of my mixed heritage.” Patrick is half White and half Latino, with fair skin and green eyes. “Mexican women would laugh when I spoke Spanish and it would make me feel different.” Patrick’s mixed ethnicity would be an obstacle in his desire to be a hip hop artist. A young African American woman who had been to one of his shows approached him afterwards and asked why he was involved in hip hop, using a judgmental tone. Patrick replied, “I like the music.”
But there were many friends of all colors who were supportive, especially his mother and father. And throughout his fledgling career he wouldn’t complain. He was inspired by the few hip hop acts that were all white — Beastie Boys, Third Base and Everlast, to name a few. Kid Frost had told him that he himself had had a difficult time making it in the business.
HIP HOP GETS POLITICAL
A big explosion of Muslim hip hop happened in the 1990’s. Malcom X was a big influence on hip hop at that time. Hate speech against whites was commonplace. Rappers like Chuck D from Public Enemy, were heavily influenced by the Nation of Islam and 5 Percent Nation theology. Public Enemy’s “Fight The Power was heavily political, wow!” But some hip hop in this category had artistic merits. “Chuck D and others such as X Clan were controversial but at least they had stuff to say.” But musicians weren’t the only ones to draw political lines in the sand. “The Source — a magazine about hip hop culture became a socio-political commentary of that time. Now, it’s changed and the content isn’t as political.” Patrick went on to say that currently, the political climate of rap today is grandfathered into Obama. “A rapper coming out against him would be chastised.”
HIS THOUGHTS ON THE EAST/WEST COAST RIVALRY OF THE 1990S
There were two major divisions in hip hop culture, East coast was more politically conscious, used hateful racial remarks but at the same time was more intellectual. Being a Californian, Patrick was immersed in West coast rap, which typified thug life, gangsters, and hate towards the police. There were several West Coast hip hop artists who were famous at the time and still are to this day that Patrick admired only for the fact that they had made it in the business. The first is Ice T — whose main strength was using irony, simile and using visually descriptive words to illustrate his ideas. Ice Cube was hateful against whites, misogynistic, but did have depth and content in his songs. Tupac’s rhymes were simple but he had emotion. There was something more to his simple ‘thug rapping.’ N.W.A. glorified the gangster lifestyle, but did it with thought and essence — it was deep. Of course, what would be edgy back then would be acceptable in the mainstream now.”
FROM ATHEIST TO BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN
Religion did not play a central role in his life as child. His father’s part of the family was Baptist. His mother was Catholic. Both parents were non-practicing in their respective religions. But there were times when our uncle Mike would take him to the local Catholic church with his kids. Like myself, young Patrick found the Catholic church in Indio to be a spooky affair. Candles were burning. Priests were speaking in Latin. Old women were praying the rosary. A big statue of Jesus was nailed to a cross. It was not a fun place for kids, so naturally, he didn’t want to continue going.
As he entered adulthood, he considered himself an atheist and wanted no part of religion. Then in 1994 he had a spiritual awakening. One day he picked up the Bible and turned to the last book — The Book of Revelation. The book told of a future apocalypse that would ravage the Earth and would end with Jesus coming back to set things right. It was then that he felt a strong, emotional connection to Christianity and was spiritually born again, studying the Bible in earnest.
Of course, staying on the straight and narrow path of Christianity would prove to be a tough journey as he pursued a career as a secular hip hop artist. His friends, specifically, his band mates at the time, were a few years younger than him and were living like there was no tomorrow, doing the whole sex, drugs and rock and roll bit. When he told his friends of his new life path: “It was difficult. You feel like you have to leave your friends behind. I didn’t want to alienate them. From a social standpoint you want to stay. The term for walking away from God is ‘backsliding’ and it became a tug of war. In 1996, I stumbled a few times and let my guard down, but I got stronger. I had to get away from music. Some people destroy their records and CD’s. I stopped listening but I kept them.”
DECIDING TO LEAVE HOME
After high school, Patrick went to a trade school to learn plumbing to make a living. He’s still working as a plumber. “I don’t hate plumbing — it’s an honest trade — but I thought that I was more than just that. I paid my way through college with it and it got me where I’m at.” It was hard work but also good income. He could now buy the expensive audio equipment that would allow him to create professional sounding demos to submit to music labels. To further save money, he lived with his parents. “Hip hop is a young person’s music. I was pushing thirty and I figured that if I’m going to do it, I should do it now. It’s the same as wanting to learn to cook, to do it you hang around a kitchen.”
It was in 1995 when Patrick moved to Los Angeles, specifically, Canoga Park in the San Fernando Valley. A family reunion was held in the summer of that year that brought him into contact with our Uncle Mario (better known by family members by his nickname, “Joe,” who sadly, passed away earlier this year at the age of 87 from cancer). Patrick approached Joe about renting a spare room to share with one of his band mates, Herman, and our kindly uncle agreed to the arrangement. Patrick would stay there for a few years helping Joe with work that needed to be done on his house as well as house sitting during the summer when Joe, his wife and stepson would leave to spend the summers at their house in Idaho. After that, he and I shared an apartment in Glendale and became roommates for period of five years.
KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF DEATH ROW RECORDS
Now that he was living in Los Angeles, Patrick, along with his two band mates, Herman and Low Down, were on a mission to meet anyone who was working in the music industry. Patrick told me “We created a four-song demo tried to shop it.” They had met Mack, who had some connections with Death Row Records. At that time, Death Row was the biggest record label on the West Coast and managed many popular hip hop artists such as 2pac, Snoop Doggy Dog and MC Hammer. Sadly, their connection with Death Row didn’t work out. “Mack was trying to take advantage of us. With him there was always strings attached. We had to separate. There was another small label that we talked to but that didn’t go anywhere.”
“SAMPLING” AND THE GOLDEN ERA OF HIP HOP
Sampling is a common method that many hip hop artists have used to create songs. They take pieces of recordings from various sources and mix them in various ways to get the kind of sound they want. This creates the background beat, which may be an instrumental by itself or have a rapper’s vocal on top of it. It’s the auditory version of how a visual artist can take different images and put them together to create a collage. This practice has been controversial throughout the years. Detractors view it as musical theft from the musicians who created the original recordings and believe that they should be compensated for the use of their work. Supporters regard it as an art form all its own and see it more like Jazz. Patrick explained, “In the early nineties, some musicians were suing hip hop acts that sampled their music. For example, there are the famous court battles of the Beastie Boys. Biz Marky was the first rapper with legal woes due to sampling. Labels make a big deal about sampling for legal reasons but the don’t really care about it as an art. They only care if it makes them money.” Patrick says there are bands that do great work without sampling from others. “The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, are an example of a hip hop band that uses no sampling.”
The golden era of hip hop, is considered to be from 1988 to 1994, and it’s the kind of hip hop that Patrick tries to emulate. “It’s when the content of the songs was better and sampling was accepted. Today, it’s lacking.”
DJ ELDER: A NEW NAME IN HOLY HIP HOP
Patrick had gone through several rap names before finally settling on DJ Elder — which would now be associated with his new Christian hip hop persona. “I was older than everybody else. In the Bible, you aspire to be an elder and make wise decisions. These days I feel like ‘DJ Older.’”
Very little of his secular hip hop work exists today. After being born again, he took all the previous work that he had that was recorded on tapes and CD’s and hid them away somewhere. But whether it be secular or Christian, he has always stayed passionate in creating and performing hip hop. “I was serious about it. I put a lot of work into it. I think it was good but maybe ‘good’ is a relativistic term. Anyway, it didn’t go anywhere, so I don’t have to apologize.”
By 1997, after being morally at odds with the secular hip hop world for some time, Patrick made a conscious decision to focus only on the Christian component of it. He readily admits that Christian hip hop is a subculture, but a subculture that has the potential to change lives for the better. “Spirituality is the final frontier. After all of his personal issues, what’s Eminem going to rap about, the big bang and string theory? Once you’re headed for a casket you start to become spiritual.” I then asked him if he had known about the subculture before he had made the transition. “There were Christian rappers doing stuff before me — tons of people. One of he first Christian hip hop artists was Stephen Wiley, that was 1985. In 1988 there was Danny Boy. They were doing it way before me.”
THE CALL TO BE A PREACHER
In 1999, a short time after beginning his new direction as a Christian hip hop artist, Patrick felt a spiritual call to preach. “It was like the old Hebrew National hot dog slogan: ‘We answer to a higher authority.’” He enrolled at the Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in 1999. He graduated from there with a Master of Divinity degree in 2010. Right now, Patrick is considering going back for a doctorate, with the focus of being a theologian.
In 2003, he met his mentor at the seminary. The following year, Patrick told him of his passion for Christian hip hop. His mentor then gave him the idea to start a hip hop church. At that time there were only two that his mentor knew existed: one in New York and the other in Florida. In 2005, he and some of his friends flew to Florida to check it out. It inspired him to hold a weekly Bible study at his apartment with the intent of starting a new hip hop church. “My view of the church is community, not where I rule from the throne.” He would hold these meetings, services and put on an occasional show, up until he would have to pick up and move to Dallas Texas where his fiancée lived in 2008.
THE NEW MILLENNIUM AND THE BEGINNING OF HEADZUPFM.COM
“In early 2000, I wanted to get serious about Christian hip hop.” Patrick began seeking out other like-minded Christian hip hop artists in the Los Angeles area and formed a Christian hip hop band named Synoptix. “There were five guys, Stephen Moore (aka The Sermonist), Fernando (aka Johnny Gospleseed), Double R (and old band mate from the eighties) and H2 Flow. They were all rappers. After a while the group split and in 2002 the group reformed into another group. Fernando and myself were the only members that stayed from the previous group.” New member Xero Gravity rounded out the trio. They called themselves Living Proof. The group put out a CD and worked together for a couple of years.
Around that time, Patrick was interning at a Christian dance music label. Using his resources there he put on a show with the help of friends. The event, which was called Headz Up, was a success. 350 people came and a local radio station aired a commercial for the show as it was happening.
In 2006, Internet podcasting had emerged to become a viable and economically effective way to reach people on a global scale. Enter DJ One3, who was willing to work with Patrick to create an online community of Christian hip hop. They started with a show on Altered Lives Radio. However, they wanted to do their own thing and left Altered Lives after six months to start HeadzUpFM.com. “We wanted to create our own Internet radio station, that wasn’t a multimedia website. Other sites were more interactive and had blogs and message boards — we didn’t. We would lose listeners to those sites but there has been a core group that have stayed loyal to us who just want to listen to our shows. It’s DJ oriented, meaning there is no top ten, the DJ plays what he likes.” When asked about the global reach of HeadzUpFM.com, Patrick tells me; “We get listeners from Japan, Europe, all continents. There are soldiers in Kuwait that are Christian who listen and it’s usually places where there’s military people and English is spoken.”
THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY
The HeadzUpFM website.
After many years of struggling to succeed as a hip hop artist, — both secular and Christian — Patrick is considering ending the journey he started some thirty years ago. “I’m ready to quit hip hop. I’m getting older and I’m not serious about it anymore. I like supporting artists. I would still do that. But times have changed. Being a Christian hip hop artist is not as easy as you would think. A viable ‘scene’ is nonexistent. And artists who are trying to get noticed can’t sell CD’s — they have to give away their music as free downloads. Now we have artists that want listeners to support the making of their CD or their song. So, that tells me that things are not very good.”
Patrick goes on to say that the major roadblock in creating a Christian hip hop community, is the lackadaisical regard for the cause by the artists themselves. “Los Angeles had a great hip hop Christian scene at one time. I would try to rally and pull my resources but found it to be too physically and emotionally draining to do it myself. Most Christian artists don’t want to do anything unless they’re paid. They only want to support themselves and their friends. From their own mouths they’re not interested in doing any heavy lifting or footwork when it comes to the Christian hip hop scene. HeadzUp was working to create venues so that their music was heard and provide places for artists to perform at. But very few people were with this cause.”
HIS LATEST ENDEAVOR: SAMPLE MINDS
These days Patrick keeps a hand in the daily operation of HeadzUpfFM.com, and occasionally records a new episode of his podcast, HeadzUp Knights, which can be listened to there. In addition to the podcast, he’s also started a new underground hip hop group that he’s created with his old band mate, Fernando. “People have been telling me to put up my beats for years.” The group — Sample Minds — creates instrumental hip hop songs with a heavy dose of sampling from obscure musical acts from the past that would be hard to trace. “I sample from dead people! Everybody’s dead! And with a name like ‘Sample Minds’ that’s a riff on ‘Simple Minds?’ It’s a joke! So, for legal purposes, I tell people the songs on there are parodies so that they fall under fair use.” As far as taking it to the mainstream, Patrick tells me that “It’s not a money making endeavor. I’m not an entrepreneur.” He says that it only exists as his creative outlet and hopes that people can listen in and just have fun. With enthusiasm for his new project and confidence in his voice from the years of honing his craft, he tells me; “I know what I’m doing. I’m at the top of my game.”
THE CURRENT STATE OF HIP HOP AND BEYOND
Sometimes, when he’s driving to work, Patrick will listen to the Power 106 FM — the most popular hip hop radio station in Los Angeles — and it’s the repetitive programming on that station that is his biggest criticism. “For the last few years, they’ll play the eight most popular songs currently out and then they’ll play either one 2Pac song or a Biggie song, then rinse and repeat. It’s frustrating to listen to. 2Pac and Biggie were great artists and what they did is ingrained in hip hop culture, but dude, there’s other music. What these station managers are doing is driving me up the wall!”
“Good rapping and sampling has gone by the way of the dodo bird. It’s a lost art and it’s all about money. You hear a girl singing to computerized beats. The guy is rapping about going to the club. He’s checking out her booty. He shows his juice card. It’s shallow. It shows that people are shallow. We’re being spoon fed what they think we want. It’s the same thing again and again and they’re afraid to take chances. If you have Katie Perry singing your hook what could you say of any substance? Anyway, that’s my two cents. It won’t cover the gas or the cover charge.”
“But good music is going to continue to come out. Maybe I’m a cliché, but I like the older stuff. The best stuff right now is underground.”
Click to see a timeline of DJ Elder’s hip hop odyssey.
ROB’S FINAL WORD
Many thanks to Patrick for taking time out to talk to me and answer my questions (thanks, yo!). Please click on the links to go to HeadzUpFM.com or Sample Minds where you can listen to Patrick’s podcasts and music. Feel free to contact him through those sites as well.
After writing Patrick’s story, I can only wonder of the countless others who shared a creative passion like his and went to great lengths to try to make it happen. If you have a story to tell, please do so in the comments section.
Voice of Rob 