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Part of the legendary Bay Area collective HBK Gang, Kool John is a rapper and trendsetter from Richmond. After meeting Loverance in high school and Iamsu in junior college, John played a role in getting their music heard by premiering them at his epic Shmop Fest parties. Fast forward and the Shmop House became a gathering place for Bay creatives, Kool John started his own Shmop Life brand, and HBK went on to stardom. John tells the entire story in detail, as well as touching on life after surviving a shooting in Oakland and his newest album with P-Lo.

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For promo opportunities on the podcast, e-mail: [email protected]

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Produced by DEO @deo415, videography by @mvp_kingced

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History of the Bay Spotify Playlist:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ZUM4rCv6xfNbvB4r8TVWU?si=9218659b5f4b43aa

Online Store: https://dregsone.myshopify.com

Follow Dregs One:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1UNuCcJlRb8ImMc5haZHXF?si=poJT0BYUS-qCfpEzAX7mlA

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dregs_one

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@dregs_one

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dregs_one

Facebook: https://facebook.com/dregsone415

00:00 Intro

01:20 New album with P-Lo

4:50 Life after getting shot

10:27 Growing up in Richmond

13:15 Getting into music

15:13 Shmop Fest

22:43 Starting to rap

27:44 HBK movement

32:44 The Hyphy movement

35:50 Solo career

42:00 Music business