How does the sociological perspective relate to the reading entitled “Shop Talk: The Influence of Hip-Hop on Filipino-American Barbers in San Diego” by Vito? perspective contain three main aspects: seeing the strange in the familiar, being able to see the sociological perspective in our everyday lives, and who is likely to see it?
ghhs 1 (1) pp. 13–23 Intellect Limited 2020 global hip hop studies Volume 1 Number 1 © 2020 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00002_1 www.intellectbooks.com 13 Received 22 September 2019; Accepted 1 February 2020 ABSTRACT Barber culture frequently intersects with hip hop. Barbershops often incorporate rap music, street wear apparel and popular culture into their daily environment. In tandem, an important part of hip hop culture is the haircuts and designs that people choose to get. Many Filipino-Americans across the United States utilize barber and hip hop culture to help create their own unique sense of identity – a sense of identity forged in the fires of diaspora and postcolonial oppression. In this first instalment of the GHHS ‘Show and Prove’ section – short essays on hip hop visual culture, arts and images – I illustrate the ways in which Filipino- Americans in San Diego use barber shops both as a means of entrepreneurialism and as a conduit to create a cultural identity that incorporates hip hop with their own histories of migration and marginalization. I interview Filipino-American entrepreneur Marc Canonizado, who opened his first San Diego-based business, Goodfellas Barbershop Shave Parlor, in 2014. We explore the complex linkages between barbershops, Filipino-Americans and hip hop culture, as well as discuss his life story and plans for the future. KEYWORDS barbers barbershops Filipino-Americans haircuts hip hop San Diego CHRISTOPHER VITO southwestern College Shop talk: The influence of hip hop on Filipino–American barbers in San Diego ghhs Global Hip Hop Studies Intellect https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00002_1 1 1 13 23 © 2020 Intellect Ltd 2020 ARTICLEs https://doi.org/10.1386/ghhs_00002_1 Christopher Vito 14 global hip hop studies Imagine opening up your first barbershop in the heart of San Diego. With fresh paint on the walls, five brand new chairs complete with fully equipped workstations and a sleek designer logo, you are ready to do a grand open- ing for your family and friends. During the gathering, a fellow barber spots the famous battle rapper, Supernatural, at a nearby store. You frantically try to catch him to show your appreciation for his work and contributions to the game, all while trying to promote your newly opened shop. Supernatural walks into the family event, and even proceeds to bless the celebration with a freestyle shouting out the local business. I still recall when Marc Canonizado, a Filipino-American barber and co-owner of Goodfellas Barbershop Shave Parlor, texted me immediately after his ‘family and friends grand opening’ describing how ecstatic he was to have Supernatural stop by. To this day, he cites it as one of the greatest moments in his career. The next time I was in the chair getting a fresh fade from Marc, his expe- rience with Supernatural reignited our long-lasting conversation about how haircuts and hip hop have tremendously shaped who we are today. HAIRCUTS AND HIP HOP Barber culture frequently intersects with hip hop. Barbershops often incorpo- rate rap music, street wear apparel and popular culture into their daily envi- ronment. Conversely, an important part of hip hop culture is the haircuts and designs that people choose to get. Alexander (2003) highlights these intersec- tions by conceptualizing barbershops as a space of cultural currency, or cultural communities where information such as music and current events can be shared and relationships can be created. As just one notable example, HBO’s 2018 series The Shop features Lebron James alongside guest stars discussing social and cultural issues in sports and entertainment as they receive haircuts. Barbershop culture first garnered mainstream popularity in the United States with the Barbershop film franchise (2002). It featured an ensemble cast includ- ing Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Anthony Anderson and Eve. Mukherjee (2006) contends that the film series is a reflection of the ‘ghetto fabulous aesthetic’ of hip hop culture, which emphasizes the success of the black entre- preneur but simultaneously critiques the hegemonic discourses of neo-liberal capitalism. While much of the literature and mainstream media focus on black barbershop culture, you can similarly find many Filipino-Americans across the United States who also utilize barber and hip hop culture to help create their own unique sense of identity – a sense of identity forged, like that of African American communities, in the fires of diaspora and postcolonial oppression. Similar to Mukherjee (2006), in this first instalment of the GHHS ‘Show and Prove’ section – short essays on hip hop visual culture, arts and images – I illustrate the ways in which Filipino-Americans in San Diego use barber shops both as a means of entrepreneurialism and as a conduit to creating a cultural identity that incorporates hip hop with their own histories of migration and marginalization. FILIPINO–AMERICANS AND HIP HOP Previous research has highlighted how Filipino-American culture has been long intertwined with hip hop. For example, Wang (2015) documents the Shop talk www.intellectbooks.com 15 Fil-Am Bay Area mobile DJ scene from the 1970s to the 1990s. A cornerstone of this genre-defining movement, Legendary DJ Q-Bert, garnered national attention and eventually joined the Rock Steady Crew to win the 1992 DMC World DJ Championship. Female DJs also played a central role to the 1980s party scene. Wang interviews women who regularly snuck out of their tradi- tional Filipino homes to stay out late and perform gigs ranging from garage parties to nightclubs. On the mic, Los Angeles Fil-Am rappers Kiwi (Jack DeJesus) and Bambu (Jonah Deocampo) gained popularity after their release of Barrel Men in 2006 as the rap group Native Guns (Viesca 2012). Drawing on their experiences from the Los Angeles Riots, both rappers organized to support broader movements of cultural activism rejecting neo-liberalism, class inequality, police brutality and racism. In particular, they used hip hop to navi- gate their own identities as Filipino-Americans in conjunction with the strug- gles of other racial minorities at the time. Hip hop’s reach in the Filipino-American community has also extended well beyond the music industry, and has long been intertwined with sports, film, clothing and fashion, and even hairstyles. For instance, accompanying the Bay Area DJ scene of the 1990s was a distinct sense of style and iden- tity that utilized street brands and unique hairdos (Wang 2015). Javier (2014) similarly highlights how Pinoy Apparel merged urban fits with Filipino repre- sentation. Their projects ranged from the Revolt Jacket of 2009, which incor- porated the Filipino flag in a half-zip cotton hoodie, to the PI/LA Snapback of 2010, a collaboration with MC Bambu and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill and Soul Assassins. Today, barbers across the United States still use hip hop as a source of inspiration for their urban style haircuts. Rich Mendoza, aka Rich the Barber, is the owner of Filthy Rich Barber Shop in New York. He attributes his success to his growing Instagram following and rap-star clientele, which includes the likes of Drake and Big Sean (Potkewitz 2019). On the West Coast, Jay-R Mallari has similarly created buzz around his craft. He resides in Vellejo, California and works at Legends the Barbershop on landmark Fairfax Ave. His clientele most notably features Stephen Curry of the NBA Golden State Warriors, but also includes Los Angeles Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers and DJ/Record Producer Carnage (Quijano 2015). Their influence has been part of a larger movement of Fil-Ams incorporating their own histories into barber and hip hop culture. This article thus aims to contribute to the aforementioned research by examin- ing the complex linkages between barbershops, Filipino-Americans and hip hop culture. THE BARBER: ON BARBERSHOPS, FILIPINO–AMERICANS AND HIP HOP Marc Canonizado (Figure 1), 36, is a Filipino-American entrepreneur who opened his first San Diego-based business, Goodfellas Barbershop Shave Parlor (store logo shown in Figure 2), in 2014. He studied sociology at CSU San Marcos, focusing on human interaction and the formation of culture. Using his knowledge of people and culture, Marc chose to become an entre- preneur and enrol in barber-college. He started a business out of his parents’ backyard, cutting friends and family to build his clientele while working full time as an instructional teacher’s aide at a local elementary school. Despite Christopher Vito 16 global hip hop studies cultural expectations from the Fil-Am community to work a traditional full- time job, Marc chose to do an apprenticeship at a local barbershop to gain experience. He remembers having to make the decision to go ‘all-in’ on cutting hair. To this day, he still credits his family, mentors and friends for helping him learn how to start and run a small business. He eventually began working at Goodfellas Barber Shop, which was created in 2008 by Aaron Anderson. They worked together to build the brand and a client base heavily rooted in urban culture. The barbers cut in a shop that blasted rap music, discussed current events, and even had the occa- sional turntable session. On any given Monday, you could find them skate- boarding outside or free styling over a beat. Notably, they were also able to bring together barbers from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to come together and form a tight knit community. Marc recalls one of his favourite memories: cutting alongside his long-time mentor and cousin from the East Coast, Khalil Malamug. He discusses how inspiring it was to see both East and West Coast, regardless of race and gender, coming together to cut hair. Marc, a first generation Filipino-American, credits hip hop culture (specifi- cally rap music, art and urban streetwear) as major influences growing up in the San Diego Filipino-American community in the late 1990s and early 2000s. As it became clear in our barber shop reminiscences, we both recall growing up often having our Filipino identities relegated to the household and within ethnic enclaves. Our families spoke to us in both English and Tagalog, taught us our own family histories and incorporated Filipino cultural traditions and practices. Yet, to avoid standing out beyond our own community much of our Figure 1: Marc Canonizado cleaning up his client’s beard at Goodfellas Barbershop Shave Parlor. All image credits: Marc Canonizado (@gfbsshaveparlor, Instagram) and Garrett Tartt (@findyourplayground, Instagram). Website: https://goodfellas-barbershop-shave-parlour.business.site. https://goodfellas-barbershop-shave-parlour.business.site Shop talk www.intellectbooks.com 17 cultural identity stayed in the home. We were instead encouraged to assim- ilate into ‘American’ culture, which included speaking English first, learning American customs, and adopting popular culture. Hip hop spoke to both of us and provided us with a means to