July 8, 2025 • 20 mins
Bobbito Garcia Talks New Memoir, Betting on Yourself & The Art of Pivoting
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I mean, see everybody live from the babita room recording.
Where are you and.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is my record room, so you know all the
vinyls up in him, you know, books and yeah, just
do dads.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Not the dude dads. What's the best piece of vinyl
you got in that collection over there?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, my father was a Latin jazz musician and
he only recorded once in the studio. Most of his
performances were all live at us was this beautiful singer
in the sixties. I didn't even notice until he passed away.
His his his homeboy, a cat that was in the
band with him, you know, called me to his crib.
(00:39):
It was like, yo, Bobby, that's you know, my family
from the seventies, sixty seventies from me, Bobby. He was like, yo,
come over to the crib. I got something. He gave
me a seven inch vinyl. I didn't even know this
record existed. My father even never mentioned it. And his beauty.
He's playing the vibes on it, so that might be
the most special. Oh that's fire, shout shout outa Ramon.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's his name, Bobby. Though, what you know, your whole career,
you have done things that are like just left of center,
but the most authentic, uh, in the most authentic, culturally
authentic way come from you.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That's a big compliment, you know, because you've been holding
it down for you know, quite some time yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
We've been working a long time, Bobby. We've been working
a long time, Bobby. By I mean from like you know,
from from the from the from the back in the day,
in the radio show. Then you're you're the cow from
the column you did, directing the documentary b boy in
DJing all the things, basketball, your your role in basketball,
(01:43):
and it's just like, how how do you decide what's next?
So you have this book? Now, how do you get
to like this is where you are in your life
right now, this is what's important for you to.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, I'm just I'm a rhythm I'm a rhythm cat,
you know. I mean I was not like a musician,
but I have dj' right. So when I'm spinning in
front of a crowd out, you know, I have a
creative records and I don't have like Okay, I know
I'm going to play this record next. It's like it's
more like vibe Okay. The person's reacting to this the
(02:12):
dance is going nuts to the afroorhythm. Okay, let me
try this record. And that's how I am with my
career as well. It's like, okay, well, I've directed three films,
I wrote a kid's book, I wrote a uh you know,
a book about sneaker culture. Let me try to write
a memoir, like, I haven't done that yet. So it
was just more like a challenge, something new, something that
(02:34):
I knew would bring me joy. And I knocked it out.
It's titled I Beat Those Books of Beatbo Bang Bang,
a Memoir of sports, style and soul, and uh, you know,
I poured my heart into it. It's very you know,
it's it's fragile and points, it's delicate. You wrote a memoir,
you know I did.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I always tell people that you should. Everybody should do it. Yeah,
well do you publish it or not. It's the experience
of getting your whole story out and looking at your
life is so it's so like cathartic and so just
I don't know, you just learned so much.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It was such a fulfilling experience.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Right, yeah, yeah, I had it. I had a profound
journey writing it. I knocked it out in seven months,
and then I started shopping it and then you know,
at one point I didn't know if it was gonna
come out, and I was like, I was fine with it,
Like I was, Yo, this is dope. Regardless if I
got to put it out myself, I would have. Luckily,
Edge of Sports Slash of Kasha picked it up, the
(03:30):
indie publisher based out of Brooklyn, and you know, it's
been all love and it's been it's been a great, great,
great campaign with them leading up to today, Tuesday, July first,
it's the publication date. Now it's in stores worldwide, and
I'm amped up. I'm really amped up, and I'm talking
to Angie Martinez, you know, of.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Course, but of course I can't wait to be I
would I wish I would have read it. I just
got I don't know what happened, but I just got
the book. So you sent it. I know you sent
it last week. I just got it yesterday. So I'm
going to spend the fourth of July weekend looking into
the book. But what so what do we what do
we learn about you? From?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Like?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
What is what of the I don't know what are
the big moments?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, well I don't want to give all I don't
want to spoil the book, but I do want to
say that, Uh, you know, a lot of people know
me for me and Stretches radio show. In twenty twenty three,
we got inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Radio
Hall of Fame. You know, nineteen ninety eight Source magazine
voters the best hip hop radio show of all times.
That's like, it's like those are like real accolades. And
(04:31):
there's some people who only know me as a hypno
personality and that's it, right, But we all are multi dimensional, right,
we all have profound wide interest in life and joy
and me my whole core is I'm a ballplayer first
and foremost, And people, are.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You a ballplayer before? Like a DJ before, like a
music head and hip hop like Angie.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I played professionally in Puerto Rico in nineteen eighty seven.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Wow this.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I don't get my job in depth jam until two
years later. I don't go on a radio until nineteen
ninety so. But I mean even before I was playing
pro in superiority, I was in the parks growing up
playing ball. I mean I grew up in the go
Aka rock Steady Park so I'm on the ask for
playing ball three on three twenty one, booties up, whatever.
(05:22):
And who's on the other side of the fence is
the rock Steady Crew, Kent Swift, Doze. I knew those
dudes from playing football from like the seventies. Crazy Legs
is new to the neighborhood, you know, Frosty Freeze, Kutiaki
take Taki one. I mean, all these dudes, like I'm
seeing them, they're right there, you know. And the handball
wall had Bill Blast and Doze with top to bottom,
(05:46):
you know, like beautiful, beautiful art. So it's like, this
is the this is my daily I'm just stepping into
culture like nobody's business, both basketball and hip hop in
one park right across the street from where I lived.
And you know, so yeah, I got I got sunk
into to b ball and it just took over my life.
(06:07):
And that's so anyway, So the book, you know, the memoir,
the thread is me playing, right, but also me announcing
because I started geting getting on the mic before I'm
on the radio, I'm on the mic doing games in
the parks, and so a lot of people don't know
that a lot of people don't know I didn't know
that the bedrock my. The way I got my job
(06:28):
at Depth, Jam Angie is because a former teammate of mine,
Mark Pearson, we were in Harlem at the Upper Fund.
He introduces me to Pete Nice and MC Search when
they're unsigned. MC's on the come up. They introduced me
to Dante Ross when he's A and R Tommy Boy
working with Del Sola and Queen Latifa. I'm like, Yo,
(06:49):
Dante's cool. I'd like to have a job like that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
You know, we all wanted that job back in the day.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Of course, Beat and Search get get signed to death Jam.
What do they do like? Yo? Bob is cool, he
plays ball, he got ill sneakers, he paints. You know,
he's hardworking.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yo.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Let's put him on. And that's how I get my
job at Depth Jam. It goes back.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
What was your role at Depth Cham?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
What was the Angie? I started out as a messenger
working five dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yo, and then went to what like, what was your
actual title?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
I was a messenger working five dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Did you get another title at some point.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Of business calling or nothing? No? But what I started
doing was I took over Dave gossip was a lovely
cat man. He kind of showed me the ropes with
the promotions, and he was like, YO, start calling up
college radio stations. And I just took it upon myself.
What the foundation he gave me, I just ran with it,
and I started calling a red alert and I started
giving records A Chuck Chill Out and Mally Maul and
(07:44):
all the DJs across the world did calling me up
for promos, and that's how it became promotions rep. And
then because I had my head to the street, then
I started becoming the A and R Rep at Depth Jam.
And so I went from messenger to promo to A
and R and just a four year span and then
I left and I never looked back. I've been freelanceins
nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You never like had like a job job like you
never worked for somebody, Not.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Since nineteen ninety three. My last job was at Depth Sham.
Ever since then, I've worked for myself that I've done
a lot of different things. I've written three books, I've
I've directed three films. I've done Nike commercials, I've done films.
I mean, I've been on camera. I just I just
did the voice. I was voice talent for this new
movie called Sneaks where Anthony Mackie.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, yeah's a lot of people
in it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I stay busy. I stay busy. But in between all that,
I got to work on my passion projects and this,
this book, this is one of the bet ball Bunk
Bong is one of those.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
When you look at it, though, when you look at
your whole story, and that would like what is your
proudest moment?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Oh man, you asking me the tough questions.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
And y oh sorry, sorry sorry, we could do that too.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
We can do both. I'm just asking me, like my
favorite my favorite flavor beat Agua or something like.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
What is your favorite flavor beat out Well by the way.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Chy Chaddy, Oh, it's not from I mean, my proudest
moment might be playing pro for at Sewell in nineteen
eighty seven. And I talk about this in the memoir
because it's it's like a it's a big deal. I
played ball every single day from the from nineteen eighty
(09:24):
when I decided I want to be the bestball player
that I possibly can't be. I didn't miss three days
for eight years. And so in eighty seven, after getting
cut from my college team three years in a row,
Angie I gets scouted at the Goat aka rock Sety
Park on ninety ninth and Amsterdam to play professionally in
Puerto Rico, Mi Patria. So now I'm going to the homeland.
(09:47):
I'm getting paid, I'm getting checks, I'm on contract. I
haven't even played college ball. I'm not No, I'm not
going to the NBA. I'm not. I'm just a five
foot nine, one hundred and sixty pound kid that loves ball.
But you know, could do a couple of cool things
and entertain the crowd and hit the jump shot, so
you know that would that like set me off. It
(10:08):
was like, wow, if I put my time in, if
I don't let people block me from my goals, because
you know, when the coach kept on cutting me from
the college team, you know, friends of mine were like, yo,
I would have just quit basketball period. But I was like,
I can't do that. I love this. I'm going to
keep on. And then it just showed me that the
(10:28):
universe presents gifts when you work hard, you know, and
it might be the gift that you don't expect, but
it's like you just pivot and I pivoted and then
ever since then like that's why I wasn't scared to
go freelance. I wasn't scared to quit death jam. People
thought I was crazy to be like, yo, I'm leaving
the top grossing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Records at that moment too, where they were fired the
Christmas party alone reason the way cool.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
JA slick, rig beastie boys, I mean, Thurn based EPMD, nice, smooth,
forget about it. But I was like, nah, I'm good.
I want to work for myself. And I took that jump,
that leap of faith, and I never looked back, and
here I am. You know, nobody approached me to write
a memoir. You know, I was like, I want to
write a memoir. I just want to write it.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And then I feel like you've done that a lot
in your career.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Time and time again. Nobody taught me to be a filmmaker, Angie.
I wound up directing three doing it in the park
pick up basketball and y see stretching by Beethrow Radio
Chance you have a cameo in and we were blessed
to have you on camera.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Pleasure. I'm sorry and I said it was my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, And then my last film Rock up for forty fives.
I mean I've had my films on Netflix, PBS, Showtime, Festivals,
Urban World Awards, everything, And who taught me to do that? Nobody?
So I'm just you know, I just try to use
my strengths and use my network and my community and
my good will and just make things happen, like just juggle.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You know, that's amazing. The hard question, no, no, no
hard questions, only easy questions. Where you spoke the stretch.
Are you guys still close? What about that?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah? I love you're kidding me. We uh this is
our thirty fifth anniversary of our first broadcast. Wow, yeah,
coming up in October twenty October twenty.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Fifth, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, nineteen ninety was the first time we were on air.
I mean, you know, we we we we just we'll
have some screenings of our documentary or you know, the
anniversary week and you know, we put we've been putting
our merchandise together and we had our radio show with
Apple Music Hits for four years. That came to an end,
but you know that it's all good. I mean that
(12:39):
that was nothing, nothing between me and him, that was
with Apple. Yeah, so you know, yeah, that's my man.
Love each other. You know, I hang out with his
kid and he hangs out with my kid. And yeah, one.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Family is family. I mean people connect you forever, you know,
forever you guys are connected.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Whether we like it or not, whether you like it
or not. Yo, I feel bad because, I mean, truth
be told, I haven't done it in person appearance in
five years. I haven't traveled in the same time frame
because I got family responsibilities right now where I can't
be out and about. I don't want to go too
deep in that, but I actually talking about that in
(13:17):
then memoir and so I you know, stretches out. He's
doing gigs and I know people are going up to Yo,
where's Bob. You know, Yo, where's Bob? Yeah, and I
know he gets tired of that. But I mean that's
just what it is.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
That's what it is right now in this season. In
this season. Oh and you do talk about that in
the book, huh a life.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, the book is delicate. The book is I'm transparent
about my life. I mean, you know, a kashik it's
just sports and the kashak publish it. And there was
one section in the book they were like, YO, should
we think you should take that out, and I was like, nah,
like I'll chop it down, I'll edit it myself. But
people got to know my struggles throughout this timeline to
(14:02):
appreciate when Okay, now he's globally recognized as an announcer,
he's just got you know, he's got props and respect
as a ball player, Like, they need to know what
I came from, the cloth, the struggle that, you know,
the grit to come to that side. So we kept it.
We kept it. He did.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's good. You have to People got to learn from you.
You give. You don't share the how they're supposed to learn, Like,
you know what I mean, you got it, you got
you gotta share some of that. I can't wait to
read it. I'm gonna spend the weekends forth. The July
weekend I got off, so I'm gonna I'm gonna spend time.
So what do people give up? Give the people? Like,
what are they gonna get from this book?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Okay, well, give them the.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Heart, give them the good barrito sell.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Well, I think everyone who reads the book will extract
something different because there's so many different there's so many
angles and entry points. For example, you don't have to
be into ball to identify five with growing up in
New York, you know, parents moved here from out of
the country and you know, not speaking your native language
(15:09):
and dealing with you know, sort of like those identity
issues that I expose and and part of that I
discover some of my identity by playing ball. You know.
Another example is you may not be into basketball, but
you might be into social justice issues, and I wind
up using the sport as a tool for social change. Currently,
(15:33):
I run a tournament in thirty international locations called FC
twenty one. It's a one v five that means one
versus five. Whoever has the ball, everybody else on the
court is playing defense, right, It's not five, it's not
three on three sounds. It's the only tournament in the
history of the sport to do this, And I came
up with the idea because I wanted to be inclusive.
(15:56):
Anybody can roll up and sign up. I do it
in thirty international city and then all the winners come
to New York for the All Roll Final at the
goat Aka Rocks that he park every summer. I've been
doing this since twenty thirteen, so I'm given a platform
for people to participate and to create community and connection, right,
and so you know, I talk about that in the book,
(16:16):
and so like you know, but I mean, ultimately, I
think my first audience, the niche audience that's gonna love
this is all the ball players, you know, both retired
and active and up and coming. And I think for
those who may love the game but can't play, maybe
because of injury or they just to scrub, they don't
(16:38):
have the skills, they can learn from my book to
subut high become an announcer. My book also features thirty
years of my thirty five millimeters photography. I've been out
in the courts for three decades shooting, and nobody knows
me for that. I mean, Nike done license my photos.
Footlock of Oh it's in a museum of the City
of New York. You don't know that. Most people don't
(16:59):
know that. I didn't know that, right, but the basketball
world knows me as a photographer. So, but what I'm
saying is that, like basically the book kind of gives
a template for how to love a game so much
and to create other opportunities out of it, whether you have
a ball on your hand or not. And I think
that's that's a jewel. And you know, I love important
wisdom to to to those who look up to me
(17:23):
and who are inspired by me, and and so I
feel like this book is like domine, you know, and
liking yourself and and think and think why about the
possibilities in this universe?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I love that, all right, Babyito's Book of b Ball
Bang Bang a memory of sports, style and soul. And
everybody where do they get it? Where do they get it?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Everywhere? That's cool? And the reason why I say that, No,
the reason why I say that is because, uh, you know,
the first tier of bookstores who are carrying it, to
my knowledge, all Black African American African Caribbean Africanarribbean Baudigua
(18:07):
owned shops. Leave it those Puerto Rico, Julio, the Boudigos
in Philadelphia, Word Up Books in Washington Heights, Tailing Company
and Brooklyn. I mean, you know it's at the major
retailers too. But I'm always gonna tell people, yo, go
support the indie stop stores, Buckets and baskets dot Com.
(18:27):
They selling my T shirts because I did you know
I do merchandise for the projects or T shirts, shorts, hoodies.
I mean, you can go anywhere online. Just go to
cool Bob Love k O O l B O B
l o v e dot com, all my social media
k O O l b O B l o v E.
The links in the bio. You can go to my website,
(18:47):
click on any store that's carrying it and go to
it and support and enjoy and read and or don't read.
Just look at the pictures. The pictures.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Oh there you go. Now that's a good sell. You
need to let me don't know that?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but no, here's my self. Here's myself.
This is the first book, Angie and the History of
publishing written by a Latino voice raised on hip hop,
embedded in the outdoor basketball community does not exist. Otherwise
point blank period and the story mic drop. They want
(19:24):
to be down with the first to buy the book?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Boom boom? What type OFO? Look at the book, everybody?
It was so good to see your face, my love.
I feel like We'll have to do another one. After
I read it. I feel like I'm gonna be like,
hold up, I got questions about the book now Part two,
Part two coming soon?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Now you know I'm I'm with it. I mean, I
love talking to you. I've always loved talking to you.
I interviewed you, I had you in my Bibe magazine column.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I remember that we were babies.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Oh my god, you talked on in front of the
Jamaican spot on. I got a crazy memory, Yo, that's
really good.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
That's really true. I had a sweat tracksuit, a sweatsuit on.
I think I remember the phone. I was like, purple
is something crazy? Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I always, you know, always got love for you.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
And back at you, my brother. Congrats on the memoir.
I can't wait to read it. Everybody go check it out.
Part two coming soon, all right,
I mean, see everybody live from the babita room recording.
Where are you and.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is my record room, so you know all the
vinyls up in him, you know, books and yeah, just
do dads.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Not the dude dads. What's the best piece of vinyl
you got in that collection over there?
Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, my father was a Latin jazz musician and
he only recorded once in the studio. Most of his
performances were all live at us was this beautiful singer
in the sixties. I didn't even notice until he passed away.
His his his homeboy, a cat that was in the
band with him, you know, called me to his crib.
(00:39):
It was like, yo, Bobby, that's you know, my family
from the seventies, sixty seventies from me, Bobby. He was like, yo,
come over to the crib. I got something. He gave
me a seven inch vinyl. I didn't even know this
record existed. My father even never mentioned it. And his beauty.
He's playing the vibes on it, so that might be
the most special. Oh that's fire, shout shout outa Ramon.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
That's his name, Bobby. Though, what you know, your whole career,
you have done things that are like just left of center,
but the most authentic, uh, in the most authentic, culturally
authentic way come from you.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
That's a big compliment, you know, because you've been holding
it down for you know, quite some time yourself.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
We've been working a long time, Bobby. We've been working
a long time, Bobby. By I mean from like you know,
from from the from the from the back in the day,
in the radio show. Then you're you're the cow from
the column you did, directing the documentary b boy in
DJing all the things, basketball, your your role in basketball,
(01:43):
and it's just like, how how do you decide what's next?
So you have this book? Now, how do you get
to like this is where you are in your life
right now, this is what's important for you to.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, I'm just I'm a rhythm I'm a rhythm cat,
you know. I mean I was not like a musician,
but I have dj' right. So when I'm spinning in
front of a crowd out, you know, I have a
creative records and I don't have like Okay, I know
I'm going to play this record next. It's like it's
more like vibe Okay. The person's reacting to this the
(02:12):
dance is going nuts to the afroorhythm. Okay, let me
try this record. And that's how I am with my
career as well. It's like, okay, well, I've directed three films,
I wrote a kid's book, I wrote a uh you know,
a book about sneaker culture. Let me try to write
a memoir, like, I haven't done that yet. So it
was just more like a challenge, something new, something that
(02:34):
I knew would bring me joy. And I knocked it out.
It's titled I Beat Those Books of Beatbo Bang Bang,
a Memoir of sports, style and soul, and uh, you know,
I poured my heart into it. It's very you know,
it's it's fragile and points, it's delicate. You wrote a memoir,
you know I did.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I always tell people that you should. Everybody should do it. Yeah,
well do you publish it or not. It's the experience
of getting your whole story out and looking at your
life is so it's so like cathartic and so just
I don't know, you just learned so much.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
It was such a fulfilling experience.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Right, yeah, yeah, I had it. I had a profound
journey writing it. I knocked it out in seven months,
and then I started shopping it and then you know,
at one point I didn't know if it was gonna
come out, and I was like, I was fine with it,
Like I was, Yo, this is dope. Regardless if I
got to put it out myself, I would have. Luckily,
Edge of Sports Slash of Kasha picked it up, the
(03:30):
indie publisher based out of Brooklyn, and you know, it's
been all love and it's been it's been a great, great,
great campaign with them leading up to today, Tuesday, July first,
it's the publication date. Now it's in stores worldwide, and
I'm amped up. I'm really amped up, and I'm talking
to Angie Martinez, you know, of.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Course, but of course I can't wait to be I
would I wish I would have read it. I just
got I don't know what happened, but I just got
the book. So you sent it. I know you sent
it last week. I just got it yesterday. So I'm
going to spend the fourth of July weekend looking into
the book. But what so what do we what do
we learn about you? From?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Like?
Speaker 1 (04:06):
What is what of the I don't know what are
the big moments?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, well I don't want to give all I don't
want to spoil the book, but I do want to
say that, Uh, you know, a lot of people know
me for me and Stretches radio show. In twenty twenty three,
we got inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Radio
Hall of Fame. You know, nineteen ninety eight Source magazine
voters the best hip hop radio show of all times.
That's like, it's like those are like real accolades. And
(04:31):
there's some people who only know me as a hypno
personality and that's it, right, But we all are multi dimensional, right,
we all have profound wide interest in life and joy
and me my whole core is I'm a ballplayer first
and foremost, And people, are.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
You a ballplayer before? Like a DJ before, like a
music head and hip hop like Angie.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
I played professionally in Puerto Rico in nineteen eighty seven.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Wow this.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I don't get my job in depth jam until two
years later. I don't go on a radio until nineteen
ninety so. But I mean even before I was playing
pro in superiority, I was in the parks growing up
playing ball. I mean I grew up in the go
Aka rock Steady Park so I'm on the ask for
playing ball three on three twenty one, booties up, whatever.
(05:22):
And who's on the other side of the fence is
the rock Steady Crew, Kent Swift, Doze. I knew those
dudes from playing football from like the seventies. Crazy Legs
is new to the neighborhood, you know, Frosty Freeze, Kutiaki
take Taki one. I mean, all these dudes, like I'm
seeing them, they're right there, you know. And the handball
wall had Bill Blast and Doze with top to bottom,
(05:46):
you know, like beautiful, beautiful art. So it's like, this
is the this is my daily I'm just stepping into
culture like nobody's business, both basketball and hip hop in
one park right across the street from where I lived.
And you know, so yeah, I got I got sunk
into to b ball and it just took over my life.
(06:07):
And that's so anyway, So the book, you know, the memoir,
the thread is me playing, right, but also me announcing
because I started geting getting on the mic before I'm
on the radio, I'm on the mic doing games in
the parks, and so a lot of people don't know
that a lot of people don't know I didn't know
that the bedrock my. The way I got my job
(06:28):
at Depth, Jam Angie is because a former teammate of mine,
Mark Pearson, we were in Harlem at the Upper Fund.
He introduces me to Pete Nice and MC Search when
they're unsigned. MC's on the come up. They introduced me
to Dante Ross when he's A and R Tommy Boy
working with Del Sola and Queen Latifa. I'm like, Yo,
(06:49):
Dante's cool. I'd like to have a job like that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
You know, we all wanted that job back in the day.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Of course, Beat and Search get get signed to death Jam.
What do they do like? Yo? Bob is cool, he
plays ball, he got ill sneakers, he paints. You know,
he's hardworking.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
Yo.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Let's put him on. And that's how I get my
job at Depth Jam. It goes back.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
What was your role at Depth Cham?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
What was the Angie? I started out as a messenger
working five dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Yo, and then went to what like, what was your
actual title?
Speaker 2 (07:17):
I was a messenger working five dollars an hour.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Did you get another title at some point.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Of business calling or nothing? No? But what I started
doing was I took over Dave gossip was a lovely
cat man. He kind of showed me the ropes with
the promotions, and he was like, YO, start calling up
college radio stations. And I just took it upon myself.
What the foundation he gave me, I just ran with it,
and I started calling a red alert and I started
giving records A Chuck Chill Out and Mally Maul and
(07:44):
all the DJs across the world did calling me up
for promos, and that's how it became promotions rep. And
then because I had my head to the street, then
I started becoming the A and R Rep at Depth Jam.
And so I went from messenger to promo to A
and R and just a four year span and then
I left and I never looked back. I've been freelanceins
nineteen ninety three.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
You never like had like a job job like you
never worked for somebody, Not.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Since nineteen ninety three. My last job was at Depth Sham.
Ever since then, I've worked for myself that I've done
a lot of different things. I've written three books, I've
I've directed three films. I've done Nike commercials, I've done films.
I mean, I've been on camera. I just I just
did the voice. I was voice talent for this new
movie called Sneaks where Anthony Mackie.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, yeah's a lot of people
in it.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I stay busy. I stay busy. But in between all that,
I got to work on my passion projects and this,
this book, this is one of the bet ball Bunk
Bong is one of those.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
When you look at it, though, when you look at
your whole story, and that would like what is your
proudest moment?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Oh man, you asking me the tough questions.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
And y oh sorry, sorry sorry, we could do that too.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
We can do both. I'm just asking me, like my
favorite my favorite flavor beat Agua or something like.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
What is your favorite flavor beat out Well by the way.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Chy Chaddy, Oh, it's not from I mean, my proudest
moment might be playing pro for at Sewell in nineteen
eighty seven. And I talk about this in the memoir
because it's it's like a it's a big deal. I
played ball every single day from the from nineteen eighty
(09:24):
when I decided I want to be the bestball player
that I possibly can't be. I didn't miss three days
for eight years. And so in eighty seven, after getting
cut from my college team three years in a row,
Angie I gets scouted at the Goat aka rock Sety
Park on ninety ninth and Amsterdam to play professionally in
Puerto Rico, Mi Patria. So now I'm going to the homeland.
(09:47):
I'm getting paid, I'm getting checks, I'm on contract. I
haven't even played college ball. I'm not No, I'm not
going to the NBA. I'm not. I'm just a five
foot nine, one hundred and sixty pound kid that loves ball.
But you know, could do a couple of cool things
and entertain the crowd and hit the jump shot, so
you know that would that like set me off. It
(10:08):
was like, wow, if I put my time in, if
I don't let people block me from my goals, because
you know, when the coach kept on cutting me from
the college team, you know, friends of mine were like, yo,
I would have just quit basketball period. But I was like,
I can't do that. I love this. I'm going to
keep on. And then it just showed me that the
(10:28):
universe presents gifts when you work hard, you know, and
it might be the gift that you don't expect, but
it's like you just pivot and I pivoted and then
ever since then like that's why I wasn't scared to
go freelance. I wasn't scared to quit death jam. People
thought I was crazy to be like, yo, I'm leaving
the top grossing.
Speaker 1 (10:49):
Records at that moment too, where they were fired the
Christmas party alone reason the way cool.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
JA slick, rig beastie boys, I mean, Thurn based EPMD, nice, smooth,
forget about it. But I was like, nah, I'm good.
I want to work for myself. And I took that jump,
that leap of faith, and I never looked back, and
here I am. You know, nobody approached me to write
a memoir. You know, I was like, I want to
write a memoir. I just want to write it.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And then I feel like you've done that a lot
in your career.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Time and time again. Nobody taught me to be a filmmaker, Angie.
I wound up directing three doing it in the park
pick up basketball and y see stretching by Beethrow Radio
Chance you have a cameo in and we were blessed
to have you on camera.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Pleasure. I'm sorry and I said it was my pleasure.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Yeah, And then my last film Rock up for forty fives.
I mean I've had my films on Netflix, PBS, Showtime, Festivals,
Urban World Awards, everything, And who taught me to do that? Nobody?
So I'm just you know, I just try to use
my strengths and use my network and my community and
my good will and just make things happen, like just juggle.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
You know, that's amazing. The hard question, no, no, no
hard questions, only easy questions. Where you spoke the stretch.
Are you guys still close? What about that?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah? I love you're kidding me. We uh this is
our thirty fifth anniversary of our first broadcast. Wow, yeah,
coming up in October twenty October twenty.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
Fifth, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, nineteen ninety was the first time we were on air.
I mean, you know, we we we we just we'll
have some screenings of our documentary or you know, the
anniversary week and you know, we put we've been putting
our merchandise together and we had our radio show with
Apple Music Hits for four years. That came to an end,
but you know that it's all good. I mean that
(12:39):
that was nothing, nothing between me and him, that was
with Apple. Yeah, so you know, yeah, that's my man.
Love each other. You know, I hang out with his
kid and he hangs out with my kid. And yeah, one.
Speaker 1 (12:51):
Family is family. I mean people connect you forever, you know,
forever you guys are connected.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Whether we like it or not, whether you like it
or not. Yo, I feel bad because, I mean, truth
be told, I haven't done it in person appearance in
five years. I haven't traveled in the same time frame
because I got family responsibilities right now where I can't
be out and about. I don't want to go too
deep in that, but I actually talking about that in
(13:17):
then memoir and so I you know, stretches out. He's
doing gigs and I know people are going up to Yo,
where's Bob. You know, Yo, where's Bob? Yeah, and I
know he gets tired of that. But I mean that's
just what it is.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
That's what it is right now in this season. In
this season. Oh and you do talk about that in
the book, huh a life.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
Yeah, the book is delicate. The book is I'm transparent
about my life. I mean, you know, a kashik it's
just sports and the kashak publish it. And there was
one section in the book they were like, YO, should
we think you should take that out, and I was like, nah,
like I'll chop it down, I'll edit it myself. But
people got to know my struggles throughout this timeline to
(14:02):
appreciate when Okay, now he's globally recognized as an announcer,
he's just got you know, he's got props and respect
as a ball player, Like, they need to know what
I came from, the cloth, the struggle that, you know,
the grit to come to that side. So we kept it.
We kept it. He did.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's good. You have to People got to learn from you.
You give. You don't share the how they're supposed to learn, Like,
you know what I mean, you got it, you got
you gotta share some of that. I can't wait to
read it. I'm gonna spend the weekends forth. The July
weekend I got off, so I'm gonna I'm gonna spend time.
So what do people give up? Give the people? Like,
what are they gonna get from this book?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Okay, well, give them the.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Heart, give them the good barrito sell.
Speaker 2 (14:47):
Well, I think everyone who reads the book will extract
something different because there's so many different there's so many
angles and entry points. For example, you don't have to
be into ball to identify five with growing up in
New York, you know, parents moved here from out of
the country and you know, not speaking your native language
(15:09):
and dealing with you know, sort of like those identity
issues that I expose and and part of that I
discover some of my identity by playing ball. You know.
Another example is you may not be into basketball, but
you might be into social justice issues, and I wind
up using the sport as a tool for social change. Currently,
(15:33):
I run a tournament in thirty international locations called FC
twenty one. It's a one v five that means one
versus five. Whoever has the ball, everybody else on the
court is playing defense, right, It's not five, it's not
three on three sounds. It's the only tournament in the
history of the sport to do this, And I came
up with the idea because I wanted to be inclusive.
(15:56):
Anybody can roll up and sign up. I do it
in thirty international city and then all the winners come
to New York for the All Roll Final at the
goat Aka Rocks that he park every summer. I've been
doing this since twenty thirteen, so I'm given a platform
for people to participate and to create community and connection, right,
and so you know, I talk about that in the book,
(16:16):
and so like you know, but I mean, ultimately, I
think my first audience, the niche audience that's gonna love
this is all the ball players, you know, both retired
and active and up and coming. And I think for
those who may love the game but can't play, maybe
because of injury or they just to scrub, they don't
(16:38):
have the skills, they can learn from my book to
subut high become an announcer. My book also features thirty
years of my thirty five millimeters photography. I've been out
in the courts for three decades shooting, and nobody knows
me for that. I mean, Nike done license my photos.
Footlock of Oh it's in a museum of the City
of New York. You don't know that. Most people don't
(16:59):
know that. I didn't know that, right, but the basketball
world knows me as a photographer. So, but what I'm
saying is that, like basically the book kind of gives
a template for how to love a game so much
and to create other opportunities out of it, whether you have
a ball on your hand or not. And I think
that's that's a jewel. And you know, I love important
wisdom to to to those who look up to me
(17:23):
and who are inspired by me, and and so I
feel like this book is like domine, you know, and
liking yourself and and think and think why about the
possibilities in this universe?
Speaker 1 (17:36):
I love that, all right, Babyito's Book of b Ball
Bang Bang a memory of sports, style and soul. And
everybody where do they get it? Where do they get it?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Everywhere? That's cool? And the reason why I say that, No,
the reason why I say that is because, uh, you know,
the first tier of bookstores who are carrying it, to
my knowledge, all Black African American African Caribbean Africanarribbean Baudigua
(18:07):
owned shops. Leave it those Puerto Rico, Julio, the Boudigos
in Philadelphia, Word Up Books in Washington Heights, Tailing Company
and Brooklyn. I mean, you know it's at the major
retailers too. But I'm always gonna tell people, yo, go
support the indie stop stores, Buckets and baskets dot Com.
(18:27):
They selling my T shirts because I did you know
I do merchandise for the projects or T shirts, shorts, hoodies.
I mean, you can go anywhere online. Just go to
cool Bob Love k O O l B O B
l o v e dot com, all my social media
k O O l b O B l o v E.
The links in the bio. You can go to my website,
(18:47):
click on any store that's carrying it and go to
it and support and enjoy and read and or don't read.
Just look at the pictures. The pictures.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Oh there you go. Now that's a good sell. You
need to let me don't know that?
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but no, here's my self. Here's myself.
This is the first book, Angie and the History of
publishing written by a Latino voice raised on hip hop,
embedded in the outdoor basketball community does not exist. Otherwise
point blank period and the story mic drop. They want
(19:24):
to be down with the first to buy the book?
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Boom boom? What type OFO? Look at the book, everybody?
It was so good to see your face, my love.
I feel like We'll have to do another one. After
I read it. I feel like I'm gonna be like,
hold up, I got questions about the book now Part two,
Part two coming soon?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Now you know I'm I'm with it. I mean, I
love talking to you. I've always loved talking to you.
I interviewed you, I had you in my Bibe magazine column.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
I remember that we were babies.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
Oh my god, you talked on in front of the
Jamaican spot on. I got a crazy memory, Yo, that's
really good.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
That's really true. I had a sweat tracksuit, a sweatsuit on.
I think I remember the phone. I was like, purple
is something crazy? Wow, that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I always, you know, always got love for you.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
And back at you, my brother. Congrats on the memoir.
I can't wait to read it. Everybody go check it out.
Part two coming soon, all right,
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