Step Off! Radio

For the past several years underground Hip-Hop Selene Selah aka Emcee Tr3s, has made her rounds in the underground Hip-Hop scenes of Los Angeles, California. Hailing from Inglewood, California and her family Tracing their roots to Colombia, the up-and-coming emcee regularly uses her platform to incorporate a blend of various philosophies from decolonization, to Indigenous empowerment, and new age...

For the past seventeen years, Ric Scales, an Underground Hip-Hop artist from San Diego, California has made a name for himself in the region's Underground Hip-Hop scene. As an adept battle rapper and ½ of the duo 18 Scales, consisting of himself & emcee/producer Ralph Quasar (aka 18sense). Ric Scales has created a tapestry of sounds, ideas, and philosophies that have set his music apart from anyth...

Three years ago, after much contemplation we here at Step Off! Magazine decided to branch out from the medium of print media and made the leap into the world of podcasting with a brand new podcast series. With little more than an iPhone and a Mac, we launched our official podcast of Step Off! Radio. We made it our mission to interview artists, performers, activists, community organizers, and those...

For the past fourteen years, Azomali, an Underground Hip-Hop artist from Freeport, New York has made a name for himself in New York’s underground Hip-Hop scene. Like many of our guests previously featured here on Step Off! Radio, Azomali regularly incorporates philosophies of decolonization, pan-Indigenous unity across, and is a vocal critic of U.S. Imperialism in his music. Whether rapping about...

For the past several years underground Hip-Hop group Indigenous Cats, comprised of recording artists Calmplx and Ina Eyeris have made their rounds in the underground Hip-Hop scenes of Los Angeles, California. Garnering a small but dedicated and growing audience online, the duo regularly incorporate philosophies of decolonization, pan-Indigenous unity, and spirituality into their unique brand of mu...

We don’t normally have a lot of repeat guests on the show, but, for our latest edition of Step Off! Radio we have back on the podcast from our very first pilot episode Jaguar Arreola and Native Threat of Kozmik Force to talk about their latest EP 'Sound of a Weapon'. Since we had Jag and Threat on the show back in 2018, the duo has released several albums 'Untamed Unchained' and 'Ceremony on Concr...

Over the past decade, Latino entertainers have been vocal proponents in advocating for better representation in Hollywood, even as a national discussion about diversity and access in film continues. Among this crowd of innovating entertainers is David Fernandez Jr., who over the past several years has made a name for himself in Hollywood as one of the industry's go-to actors for his portrayal of t...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, we bring to you a 'lost' episode from the Step Off! vaults. This episode with Tulengua was originally recorded last year on February 27th, 2020, to promote the release of their album, LOWKEYBANGERSVILLE. Shortly after this interview was recorded our computer crashed. We lost a bunch of material and seemingly our beloved Tulengua interview along with it...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, and our first show of 2021, we had the chance to interview Stacey Uy and discuss her role as the founder, researcher, writer, and illustrator of the Radical History Club, a series of illustrated decolonized history zines that detail long-neglected areas of U.S. social history, focusing on the experiences of BIPOC, women, and other marginalized communit...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, we had the chance to interview Jaguar Arreola, 1/2 of Indigenous-Chicano Rap duo Kozmik Force come on the show to discuss his very first solo project 'Maria’s Seed', the latest effort in the Inland Empire based emcee’s ever-growing catalog of work. Coming right on the heels of Kozmik’ Force’s third project Ceremony On Concrete which dropped late last y...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio we interview Juan Carlos Lozano, a musician, entrepreneur, and community organizer based out of San Diego, California. In our conversation we had the chance to discuss his background as a community organizer, as well as little about his backstory growing here in San Diego, and how the legacy of the U.S./Mexico has had a direct impact not just on his fam...

For many artists, the COVID-19 pandemic has delivered an absolutely devastating blow to the creative arts scene. In a profession already often filled with highs, lows, and hardship, even in the best of times, the pandemic and the subsequent economic shutdowns over the past several months have been an absolutely devastating obstacle for many artists, musicians, and creators to overcome. San Diego’s...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, we had the chance to interview Beatrice Zamora, author of a brand new children's book The Spirit of Chicano Park / El espiritu del Parque Chicano, a new bilingual, children’s picture book written by Zamora and illustrated by artist Maira Meza that depicts the creation of the iconic landmark located in the neighborhood of Barrio Logan in San Diego, Cali...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio, we had the chance to interview Phoenix-based visual artist Edgar Fernandez also known as 8Ahau. Edgar Fernandez is a Chicano muralist and multi-disciplined artist from Phoenix Arizona. He was born in Los Angeles California in the early 90s and is the son of immigrant parents who migrated from Mexico to the United States in the 1980’s. Coming of age in...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio we interview Oree Originol, an acclaimed Oakland based visual artist Justice For Our Lives, an open-source digital portrait series of people who have been killed by US law enforcement. Since 2014, inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement Oree’s bold artwork of black and white portraits has served as pivotal instruments in supporting families of those...

In our latest installment of Step Off! Radio we interview former co-host José Cortés, who is running in California's 50th Congressional District located in the southern portion of the state and includes much of San Diego County and portions of Riverside County. As a candidate running on the ballot for the Peace and Freedom Party of California, Cortés joins a crowded field of candidates which inclu...

When discussing the pioneering figures of what would eventually come to be known as Chicano Rap, there is perhaps no group more iconic and more revered than A Lighter Shade of Brown. Formed in Riverside, CA, in 1990, when ODM (One Dope Mexican, born Robert Gutierrez) was introduced to DTTX (Don't Try to Xerox, born Bobby Ramirez); the duo was part of an explosion of Latin Hip-Hop groups and artist...

Earlier this year we had the pleasure of talking with Tall Can, who you may remember from our second episode of the year back in February. Tall Can has once again returned to Step Off! Radio, this time as one-half of the duo Digital Dust Mites which consists of both Tall Can and Pawps the Medic; the group's producer and DJ.  For the past several years since 2012, both Tall Can and Pawps have been...

It is an understatement to say that Nate Whitsell is a wearer of many hats and of most versatile figures in the local San Diego Hip-Hop scene. He’s an emcee, a music journalist, an English teacher at Garfield High School and he is the founder of SDLovesHipHop.com; one of the premier online Hip-Hop publications based out of San Diego, California. As an educator, artist and music journalist he has b...

For years San Diego has cultivated small but dedicated Hip-Hop scene which has become increasingly more and more interconnected; and grown at a tremendous rate over the years. While there are hundreds, perhaps even thousands of various emcees, DJs and producers who regularly contribute to the local; one of it’s most dedicated and tireless advocates is none other than producer of theme music DJ Roo...

The Brown Berets as an organization can trace their origins back to East Los Angeles in the late 1960's at the height of the Chicano Civil-Rights Movement. At the time, many young Chicanos were struggling to make sense of their own cultural identity and were faced with daily acts of discrimination and even violence. Founded by David Sanchez in wake of the 1968 East L.A. Student Walkouts the Brown...

For more than a decade, Ramel Wallace, better know by his stage name Real J. Wallace has been a constant and tireless figure in the local San Diego Underground Hip-Hop scene. As a native born, self-taught San Diego artist, over the course of the past thirteen years Real J. Wallace has made the transition from the humble origins off an aspiring neighborhood freestyler to a prominent, local indie Hi...

In the burgeoning, yet often overlooked Hip-Hop scene of San Diego perhaps, no voice is as unique and drive as dedicated as that of Jesse Cannon; better known professionally by his stage name Tall Can. For the past several years Tall Can has been producing his own unique brand Hip-Hop, cross pollinating genres, collaborating with producers from all over the world and releasing a string of dozens o...

In our latest installment of Step Off Radio, we interview local student journalist Katy Stegall of the Southwestern College Sun. Stegall’s coverage of last year’s hate rally staged by white nationalists in Chicano Park, dubbed ‘Patriot Picnic 2.0’ has by far been the most nuanced & critical analysis of the Chicano Park protests out of any news media outlet in the San Diego region, with not one loc...

If there was one word that could perhaps best describe Blame One it would probably be Versatility. Throughout the years Blame One has donned quite a variety of different hats throughout the span of his extensive and at times rocky music career. As an emcee, graffiti writer and B-boy the North county Hip-Hop artist has more than earned the well deserved status as an elder statesmen and icon in the...