Bambu and DJ Phatrick are an MC and DJ who have been creative collaborators for more than a decade, making socially conscious music with a purpose.
Bambu’s grassroots approach to rap is fueled by his experiences growing up in Los Angeles. He started rapping as a teenager and established Native Guns with fellow Filipino American rapper Kiwi and DJ Phatrick in 2002. This group emerged from the West Coast underground hip-hop scene with a distinctive sound that sometimes included lyrics in Tagalog and a transnational perspective on social justice issues. On top of performing and recording, Bambu is a community organizer and youth counselor.
Patrick Huang, aka DJ Phatrick, started DJing as a teenager at house parties in Sugarland, Texas, before starting college in the Bay Area, where he became involved in grassroots activism. He co-founded the Oakland-based Bay Unity Music Project (BUMP) after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley.
As a recording engineer, he produced Bambu’s 2015 album, Party Worker. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2008, he combines his love for music and education by running digital music programs that teach production, recording, and performance to youth in low-income neighborhoods through the Sessions LA program.
