I wish I’d taken the time to get this brother’s name. He was the videographer for the Hip-Hop and Comics panel discussion at SDCC 2013. Oddly (and, then again, not so oddly), people of African descent were dramatically underrepresented. For me, the highlight of the event was seeing Del tha Funkee Homosapien, the one rapper on the panel. Ironically, the guy who makes his money with his words and his wit had less to say than most of his fellow presenters. Perhaps he believes that his lyrics pretty much speak for themselves. Here’s one of my favorites, from his frequently quoted track, “At the Helm.” (I’ve done a minor “radio edit” to keep it PG-rated.):

Rap ain’t about bustin caps and [gettin’ chicks]
It’s about fluency with rhymin ingenuity
All of this is new to me, see I peep rhymes
with scrutiny, under a microscope I walk a tightrope
A thin line between insanity and sanity
mixed with a little vanity, boostin the morality
with Hiero hospitality, soon to strike it: rich
like calories, salaries, ahh sounds like a plan …

–Del tha Funkee Homosapien, “At the Helm“

Ajuan Mance