KILJOY VOL4

CONTRIBUTERS Emilio

Special Thanks

To everyone that helped put this volume together. Every volume it gets harder and harder to decide who makes the cut, and the people I entrust to help me put the magazine together make it so much better easy to build the maga zine.

DISTRIBUTION

KILJOY is distributed domestically through independent book shops, boutiques, galleries, department stores and online. For all distribution or stocking enquiries please contact:dontbeakiljoy@gmail.com

Mohammed “CON” Cook

STEPHANIE SOUL

Pasamante Adam Ludwig Alex Rodriguez

Erica Carmaco

In Memory of

CLAYTON WINKLER

OCTOBER 11 1994 - JULY 27 2022

It’s been two years since I’ve moved back to Bakersfield. In that time I have come to known so many creative people. However there is only one that I have come to know as a friend. If you dont know who Clay Winkler is, he was an amazing director. I had the pleasure of guest staring in one of the many short films that he directed. I also had the pleasere of returning the favor and featuring him on one of my favorite episodes of my podcast DoingDopeShit. There are not many people I know who share the same excitment for cinema. Clay was very open about his addiction and the journey it took him on. When I met him he was in recovery and was trying very hard to spread the awareness of what addiction can do to a person. I was devestaded when I found out that Clay passed. Crasiest part is that I was talking to him just hours before about being in this very Volume. So I am dedicating Volume 4 of KILJOY magazine to Clayton Winkler.

Elijah David

elijah “ez” david editor in chief

ART ART ART ART ART

BY ADAM LUDWIG

IT’S ME,

UNAPOLOGETICALLY

Story

It was unusually hot this year. The typical outside activities all came at a cost. Initially, the interview was to take place in my friend’s garage that I was using as a makeshift studio, but due to the scorching heat and the lack of air conditioning in the garage, we had to move into the living room to speak. As I was setting up for the interview, removing the computer from my bag and making sure I brought a charged recording device. I started thinking, “how is this going to go?” Most of the interviews I’ve conducted have been over social media. As I finished setting up I

by Elijah David

received a text that she was outside and went out to greet her. This was the first time I met Stephanie in person, until now most of our interactions were through social media. My only interpretation of her was through her music and I would soon come to realize that I did not know her at all. Stephanie Soul was born Stephanie Solis in the city of Bakersfield. She explains that she is proud of her city. “It’s the city that I grew up in, a city that grew me. I love my city, I believe the city comes first before branching out, having a presence here is important and not just in numbers but by supporting other artists “. As we continue diving deeper into the origins of her career she informs me that she has

been taking music seriously for about the last 10 years. Towards the beginning Stephanie tells me that she operated an open mic right here in the city, “ I hosted an open mic, I did it for three years at the syndicate lounge, formerly known at least. I started playing my guitar and singing there and that’s how pretty much everybody was like ‘this is someone new’.” It was during this period of her career that Stephanie Soul was able to find her way onto underground rap group Binary Star’s album Water World 3. She was a feature on their song “Democrazy”, “...he hit me and we ended up solidifying a feature on his album [Water World 3]...

Photographed by Sydney

but I didn’t know the song I was featured on was picked until the tape and I saw the tracklist.” All of this early success Stephanie was experiencing was only setting the stage for something greater. In 2018 Stephanie Soul decided to part ways with her management team in search of a career that properly represented her as an artist. It didn’t take long until she was introduced to Bakersfield producer Ill Flow and the two immediately clicked. They would go on to work on her debut album Soulfully Speaking, but it has yet to see the light of day. For now, Soulfully Speaking is used to title the festival that she created and headlines. To date, Stephanie soul has released a few singles: “Kickbacks”, “Him” and “External”. “Him” which was released in 2021 is the standout track in her catalog. The video was directed by @4U&I and is currently at about 2000+ views on YouTube. This is the record that introduced Stephanie to me as an artist. I don’t remember who showed me the song all I remember is watching the visuals and expressing my amazement at how she sounds. Her style screams old-school “Chicana” and her voice has such a soulful sound to it. The song itself serves as a foundation of what you can expect to hear from her as an artist. Stephanie recalls how the record was made, “It’s just so crazy how that record came about, everything was made from scratch.” When asked what her interpretation of her music is, Stephanie Soul responds with, “IT’S ME UNAPOLOGETICALLY! “A theme that has served as the basis for some of the most successful artist ever.Then Stephanie touches on her writing process, “I have to listen to the beat, and then I come up with the chorus,

then everything elsefollows..it’s how the track speaks to me.” And this tells you something about Stephanie Soul’s artistry, the music that we do have access to comes from a place that is rooted in authenticity. As the con versation comes to a close I start asking Stephanie about her future. Where does she want her music to take her, and what is the end goal for her career? Every creative loves to create but, as with everything, we are doing so to reach an end goal, whatever that may be. She responds with “I see myself making it already, I’m already here.” And that’s natural when you are doing something you love it’s hard to quantify success. Since by all standards it’s already been achieved. But with a little more probing Stephanie Soul opens up about where she wants the next venture of her career to take her. “ and going back to your question where do I see myself ... it’s writing for other artists and writing melodies with like 90’s type vibes. I have a lot of choruses that I sound ok singing, but it would be better if someone else was singing them. I’ve always thought that being able to write for somebody would be dope”. And I hope she makes it there, there are too few true artists in the world. Many of them are in to make a dollar, no one is here to truly make an impact if not for themselves then for their fellow artist. I truly am excited for Stephanie Soul and the direction her career takes her.

‘L

Story by Elijah David

Photographed by Sabrina Patino

As an artist begins to navigate their newly found music career, one thing that usually gives the artist the confidence to continue is their support system. Most time that support comes from their friends and fans but usually it starts young and comes from the artist’s family. Let me introduce you to an artist that realized her singing abilities early. Brittainee B, now a 28-year-old singer/ rapper comming from Lancaster, California, started singing when he was just a kid. She recounts the moments she and her cousin would hook up a microphone in the living room and emulate their favorite singers. “I’ve always just remembered me singing in my cousin’s house. We used to have a microphone connected to

a speaker and I was singing my heart out and I got caught. I turned around, and my cousin looked at me and started laughing, and I started laughing and it was dope.” She has only recently decided to take her music career seriously. In high school, Brittainee B continued to practice her craft by singing in the school choir as well as the choir in her church. So many careers have been started by singing in the choir. Brittainee would continue to sing throughout high school, it was not until college that her craft took a back seat to her studies. Speaking about this period in her life Brittainee tells me there was a moment where she thought about picking singing back up, but not that she ever fully aban-

doned it. She was blessed with an opportunity to be an opener for Miguel. “I had an opportunity to open up for Miguel, at my school, Cal State University Bakersfield we had a concert called “Runner Nights” and they had artists come through and open up for bigger artists and I had an opportunity to try out to be an opener and won. But I didn’t take the opportunity because I didn’t have any music out and I was nervous. I just was not in the right headspace because I was technically not an artist but I was trying out anyway”

Although it seems like Brittainee B missed out on what could have been a huge opportunity, it just wasn’t her time yet. After graduating college, Brittainee moved back home and started work-

ove my friends for loving me so hard in my music, in my creation. I’m emotional, I’m sensitive about my shit. So that love I get it just helps me a lot. Sometimes you might not be feeling a certain way, but then they’ll come through and say ‘now you have to get your ass up and do it. So it’s definitely needed..”

ing. CUI Jones, a friend, and fellow artist realized that Brittainee wasn’t doing anything with her talent, so one day he asks her if she had an interest in going into the studio with him to record something. The session went well and it was at that moment Brittainee decided to make music her career. So she started spending more time in the studio, working on her song-building abilities, taking inspiration from some of the biggest women in the genre like: Jazmine Sullivan, Missy Elliot, and Erykah Badu. “A lot of folks influenced me -- music influences me, there are so many different ways to do music with many different sounds. It’s like everything is dope to me.” But it wasn’t just women in the business that Brittainee B took inspiration from. Brittainee took inspiration from 5-time NBA Champion Kobe Bryant. Kobe is credited as one of the hardest working people in his respective craft, so it makes sense that anyone who considers themselves wanting to accomplish anything is inspired by the man who became arguably top two greatest basketball players ever. During our conversation, one thing that I made sure to touch upon was her thoughts on performing. Being a newer talent, a lot of the earlier performances are in front of crowds that don’t know your music. So it’s expected for the artist to be anxious before performing. However, Brittainee does not feel that way. She expresses the rush of excitement she gets from performing because she understands that everyone in the crowd is going to become a fan after the performance. “...when I get on that stage and start doing my thing, and when people vibe with me it’s a dope ass feeling. So it just makes me relaxed, I get comfortable and vibe you know what I mean? I get a chance to show y’all what I have created.” In the pursuit of her career, Britainee B once again was given the opportunity to return to Cal State University’s Runner Nights to open up for Tinashe. Unlike the first time, she took the opportunity and, along with CUI Jones, she took the stage and made fans out of everyone in attendance. Not too long after that, she was given the chance to perform at Dream Big Mija, which is an event in Bakersfield spotlighting women in all aspects. As we continue to talk, I am reminded that Brittainee has only scratched the surface of

her career and she has already gained the accolades that most decorated artists have. Looking forward, Brittainee has been working on releasing more music with PlantetLoveTour, as well as releasing solo music she has been experimenting with sounds and stepping outside the lines of her initial genre. I have personally witnessed her growth over the last couple of months and I would not be surprised if this is the first of many appearances she has in a pop culture publication.

Story by Elijah David

Photographed by Marcus Flowers

Forced to adapt for convenience, sitting in my office on my computer as our zoom call rings. C.U.I. answers the call, sitting in what seems to be a coffee shop. The internet connection is not that good so the picture and sound keep cutting out only holding long enough in between answers to piece together what was being said. CUI Jones, born Ronald Anthony Jones III, is a 28-year-old rapper from Palmdale, CUI Jones, born Ronald Anthony Jones III, is a 28-year-old rapper from Palmdale, California. Not too many rappers come from Palmdale, the most notable being Afroman, so the setting to make an impact in the city is there. As the conversation progresses, I uncover that music has played a significant part in CUI’s life since he was a child. Having an uncle that played the guitar, influenced C.U.I. to want to start a band of his own. “I wanted to be in a band. I wanted to before like sports and stuff came up, me and my boy. He was gonna play the drums and I was gonna play the guitar.” The band was never formed but CUI never lost sight of his eventual musical career. In school, CUI was very involved with extracurricular activities. He spent most of his college career playing football while music was taking a backseat, outside of him going to the studio with his homies as they recorded music. “ I was always the one just sitting in the back watching you know, my cousins and my brothers would get it in the studio. And I’m just chilling because I play sports like my brother. So I was always around it. But when I

went home, you know I’m like, I could do this.” So CUI starts hopping in the booth, working with his brothers and homies to record his first song, which is somewhere out there. He promised he would find the song and let me listen to it. After a few years of hard work and practice, CUI finally had the confidence to put together a full-length project. CUI’s firstlength project is titled Different Bread. CUI has made it clear that he is only looking to clear out a lane for himself without having to copy or follow the footsteps of other rappers.

“ I just love music, I like listening to it. I don’t try to mold myself after anybody. Because I’m a different breed. Their lane is their lane and my lane is my lane.” Not to say that there aren’t influences in his career, CUI respects people like LeBron and Jay-Z for what they mean to their respective lanes. “When it comes to my flow like I’m really designing my flow as mine. I didn’t take that from anybody.” And that’s what I respect the most about CUI Jones, it’s his originality and authenticity. He is working hard at being his own artist, and carving out a lane that he has worked hard to make. Hip Hop as a genre advocates on the side of rappers being authentic and the best part of being an up-and-comer is how easy it is too relate with fans. CUI most certainly has a promising career ahead of him. He currently is working on new music with PlanetLoveTour, a music collective comprised of individual artists. He is also currently working on new solo music with plans to release more this year. With the passing of his brother, which jumpstarted his career CUI has vowed that he was done letting his story go untold...

‘After my boy passed away last year. I really felt obligated to take music more seriously because I didn’t want anyone else to not hear what I got to say.’

RUG CANDY

Emylei Gonzalez is the creator of Rug Candi. Rug Candi specializes in creating one of one custom rugs for your home or office. Emylei started with selling custom paintings and wanted to try something new. “I saw it as a new way to give your safe haven a new personality.”

Stich Rug

Chao Rug

Betty Boop Angel Rug

Cinnamon Roll Rug

Strawberry Heart Rug Hange Rug

Tekashi Murikami Rug

Mac Miller “Divine Feminine ”Mirror Rug

Prada Rug

BB Verano Rug

Skeleton Kuromi Rug Deftones Rug

Initial D Car Rug

Eddie vs Keith

Staple Hood Movie

E. Friday

K. Boyz N The Hood

Martin v Fresh Prince

E. Fresh Prince K. Martin

Guilty Pleasure

E. Tacos  K. Romantic Comedies

If I Wasn’t On A Podcast

E. I would be a very boring human being K. I’d probably be out of touch with current events

Important Rap Song

E. “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your self”  K. “Fuk Da Police”

Favorite Celebrity E. Denzel Washington K. Jay Z

Favorite Movie E. Forrest Gump  K. I Am Legend

GOAT Rapper

E. Curren$y/ Method man  K. Jay-Z

Will Smith Or Denzel Washington

First Thing On Bucket List E. Sky diving  K. Make a movie

Youtube Search

Eddie vs Keith

Eddie vs Keith

WELCOME TO

NATE’S room

Story by Elijah David

Photographed by Mohommed CON Cook & David Coston

The city of Bakersfield has a very extensive music scene. Since the city is so excluded, two hours from Los Angeles and a few more away from the Bay, it’s become important for an artist to conquer Bakersfield before moving on to another city. The need to conquer the city has resulted in a discussion on who has become the face of Bakersfield. Rap is already a competitive genre so it makes sense that there is going to be competition amongst the artist in the city. However, it’s become common practice to overlook the individuals who work behind the scenes with these artists. On the forefront of the people who work so hard with Bakersfield artists, as well as artists outside the city, is audio engineer Nathan Smith or more commonly known as Aye Nate. Nate is the definition of “hard work beats talent”, not saying that Nate is not talented at what he does but being an audio engineer is some

‘The concept of ‘hard work beats out talent’ is a proverb that is only experienced by those who live in it...’

thing that requires attention to detail. If you’re unfamiliar with who Nate is, he is one of the most momentous audio engineers in Bakersfield. If you’ve ever come across an artist out of Bakersfield chances are their music is mixed and mastered by Nate. One of the more prominent rappers Nate has worked with is Joe Maynor. Their relationship has surpassed Nate just being his audio engineer. Nate also happens to double as Joe’s manager. It’s not something that Nate initially started out wanting to do but Nate recognized an opportunity to add to his musical resume. “It was more of a thing where I just really fucked with his music. And I believed in him and he would ask me to be his manager because I was already making moves for him like a manager would. But I was just the homie. I was always telling him that it would be dope if he did this with this artist or whatever.’’ And sometimes I would just reach out to people for him and try to make connections. And he was always asking me and at first, I said ‘no’, because I just felt like I wasn’t providing anything. I couldn’t be his manager, because what am I going to bring to the table, Right?

And then I think eventually I was just like ‘forget it, I’ll just be a manager.” With all this information it’s so easy for people to focus on Nate’s accolades without knowing what happens behind the scenes. We must remind ourselves that everyone has at one point had to put in their 10,000 hours. The concept of “hard work beats out talent..etc” is a proverb that is only experienced by those who live in it. On the outside looking in people only pay attention to the wins, very seldom do we acknowledge the journey it takes to get to the top. Sometimes even the people on the inside can overshadow their journey by paying attention to the success of other people. Many times this results in them taking shortcuts to the top without having to complete their 10,000 hours. Nate put in his 10,000 hours early, as a child he recalls the beginning of his musical journey as listening to the music that his parents use to play in the car.

“extremely grateful for everything, every opportunity is worked for nothing is ever just given...”

“I gotta go harder...And I learned a lot...”

“I’d be in the car with my mom when she’d be playing music. I was always just really attracted to the sounds... I fell in love with the music. It wasn’t just something that was playing in the background. So I feel like that’s kind of my introduction to it early on.” Even as a child, Nate took a particular interest in production and audio engineering. It was that very interest that introduced Nate to the idea of joining Drumline so early in his school career. While participating in Drumline a friend of Nate’s suggested that he try to make beats on the computer as opposed to doing it physically with a drum. Nate was given access to a demo version of F.L. studios and once again Nate saw an opportunity to explore a different path within his interest. It took Nate a while to learn how to effectively make beats, what started as a 4-bar loop eventually graduated to making full beats,”I didn’t even know how to format beats out into a song. I was just doing like a 4-bar loop because I couldn’t figure out how to make full beats... So I’m like alright, I’m gonna learn off at YouTube. So I just YouTube’d everything for like two years and for my whole Junior/Senior year up until right after I graduated that was all just me on youtube like trying to figure it out.” It takes serious dedication to learn how to do something off youtube for two years, especially if it’s your passion. So thoughout those last two years in high school Nate was perfecting his craft. He started working with artist in the city,

charging them for studio time and engineering their projects. Nate continued to practice making beats and enginnering throughout his college years, it’s actually one of the factors that led to yet another door opening for Nate. During his last semester in college, Nate was able to secure an internship at Atlantic Records as an assistant engineer. Another sign that reinforced his career decision. At the end of his internship, Nate was not able to secure a permanent position with Atlantic Records “I ended up trying to get hired with them as an assistant engineer, they didn’t have runners or anything and I was trash at the time, so I didn’t get the job and I was devastated...” Although he did not get the position, even though he was already operating in that space, Nate knew he was meant for this and continued to work hard, “I gotta go harder. And I learned a lot in that one session... I learned so much. You know what I mean, so that set it off for me.” It was thinking like that and all his hard work that made it possible for Nate to later score a position at Paramount Recording Studios Throughout all this success there was one thing that remained constant. It was Nate’s involvement with artists and the music scene in his hometown of Bakersfield. “So even though I left, you know, went to college for those two years I never stopped coming back. You know, because I was already established out here because I was doing this in high school.” This brings me back to a question I asked Nate at the

beginning of the interview, “Is it possible to make it out of Bakersfield”? It’s safe to say that Nate has successfully started to navigate the industry outside Bakersfield. Every creative has dreams of being able to say that they are popping in their city, and those same people want to be able to say the same thing about places outside the city. The problem most people run into tho is the lack of support or not committing to the hard work it takes to get noticed by someone who doesn’t live down the street from you. So I asked Nate his take on the question, considering how by most people’s standards he has been very successful in his musical endeavors. Nate responded with an answer I wasn’t quite ready for, “my mom and my dad are both very supportive. So I know most people don’t have that. So when they feel like they can’t make it out of Bakersfield, it’s probably because their parents are not helping, you know what I mean? And some don’t have the means to help so not being able to get up, I understand that... That being said, I feel like there’s always a will and a way.” And I agree, that having support from your family or your friends contributes heavily to your drive, and for the people who do not have access to that support you are going to have to grind harder to make it out of the 661. So throughout my conversation with Nate, I was able to understand him better and an individual and as an artist.

Throughout my conversation with Nate, I was able to understand him better as an individual and as an artist. What I struggle with and where most people struggle is the legwork. How amazing would it be if fame was easily attainable? Nate tells us a different story though, from joining Drumline in school to spending multiple years learning the art, to being denied certain opportunities but still becoming one of the more prolific creatives in the city should be enough to inspire anyone. And what stood out to me the most was how humble Nate was during the interview. I am in no way a fan of being humble because I understand what it takes to reach the point of recognition, so I am going to be more than happy to let people know how I feel. But Nate understands that there is more work that needs to be done. “Like every opportunity, we are extremely grateful. Nothing is ever just given. Every opportunity is earned and worked for.” I respect the humble brag but if Nate isn’t gone to talk his shit then I’ll talk shit on his behalf!

As a creative there is this desire that lives

bottle, to create something so brand new that

Story by Elijah David

Photographed by Drewshotya

within you, a desire to catch lightning in a it solidifies your name in the history books.

The city of Bakersfield has steadily earned the reputation of being a city lacking in talent. Being so close to LA and the Bay, artists in The Field have to work harder and they are. Videographer and photographer Drewshotya is doing what he can to make sure these artists are working harder than they have before. Chances are you recognize the name but can’t place a face and that’s all by design. For the last 8 years, Drew has steadily built a reputation where his work speaks for itself. Drew is more concerned that the quality of his work is what drives the rise of his career and not his face. Drewshotya is the creator of the freestyle rap series OutTheField. An action that has led him to accomplish the aforementioned action of catching lightning in a bottle! When asked why he created OutTheField Drew responded, “it’s bigger than me and bigger than The Field. Bakersfield has been lacking on a platform and even though I don’t want to be that platform, I do have one and I want to use it for Bakersfield. It’s my way of giving back to the artist out here.” It was a great answer but I knew there was more to it. Many people would love to see Bakersfield get the spotlight it deserves but only a few are actually going to do something about it. So I doubled down, why specifically is Drew wanting to give back in the form of filming these one-off freestyles? “I was seeing a lot of cyphers and they were cool but it was just a bunch of rappers on a shared beat. They were too long, people’s attention spans die out in like two minutes. And these cyphers are more about ‘who is better. The freestyles are more about highlighting the artist and the fans get to choose who they think is better.” October 2021 marked the day Drew officially released the first recorded episode of the series. And just like he said, Drew shined away from the traditional cypher setup of one beat and 5 rappers. Nobody knew at the time that OutTheField would soon turn out to be the collaborative showcase debuting the many talents that were hidden amongst Bakersfield. The first artist to showcase

OTF VOL. 2

Artist: BreyMac

Artist: Baby Ricky OTF VOL. 1

their talent was artist and entrepreneur Jayevataan. To date, the video has over 2,000 views and the comment section is filled with artists, some with blue checks, asking to link for the next one. It did not take long for people to realize how important OutTheField was for the city. A few months later Drew released the second freestyle with Bakersfield rapper 99buck. With OutTheField still being in its developing stages Drew felt like there were still kinks to be worked out, “the thing with volume one you’ll see there is like a 6-month gap from the first freestyle to the second one.. that shit was discouraging bro.” Although people loved the series, as with anything there is a period of that initial growth. People needed time to understand what exactly they needed. It would not be until April that the third episode was released. From that point forward there was a more regular release of the freestyles. After a few episodes, other artists start to wonder how Drew is picking the artist for the series. As much as Drew desires to be able to work with everybody, it’s just not possible. So when asked what it took for the artist involved to make it past that initial vetting process he responded “It’s hard to filter it, there are 1,000 artists and only one of me... but I tried to mix it up. I was looking at the artist that I knew was doing something, really have been grinding for years. Joe Maynor has been doing his thang, Jaye has been doing his thing for the last year and a half. Stephanie Soul is always booking shows, going from city to city state to state.” Most of these artists are veterans when it comes to their craft. They have put in their 10,000 hours already. Drew has stated before that he is not looking to be the “platform” he is using his already established means of creativity to assist others. Drew has developed this ability to push these artists that appear on OutTheField to their best. Almost every artist I spoke with has told me that the beat Drew gave them was not something they usually would rap/sing over. This has proven to bring out the best in these artists.

means of creativity to assist others. Drew has developed this ability to push these artists that appear on OutTheField to their best. Almost every artist I spoke with has told me that the beat Drew gave them was not something they usually would rap/sing over. This has proven to bring out the best in these artists. At the end of what Drew is now calling OutTheField Volume 1 a total of 15 artists have all collaborated with Drew. Although part two was coming, Drew was not quite finished with the artist from the first volume. Partnering with the team that supplied the beats for the freestyles, Wavemakers, it was decided that the freestyle would create OutTheField Tape Vol. 1. OTF Tape Vol. 1 is the collection of all original music performed by the artist featured in the series. What’s crazy about this is that, as far as the city goes, this has never been done. Producer and videographer coming together to create a mixtape, talk about setting the bar high. Without missing a step, without relishing in the success of the first volume Drew started filming (might have even finished by the time you see this) the freestyles for Volume 2. I am very excited to see how far DrewShotYa can take OTF. He has mentioned taking it to other cities. OTF is something that the city sorely needed and I am glad that someone built it! For as long as the city is standing and KILJOY Magazine means something DrewShotYa has solidified his name in the history books.

Artist: BassLord Dev

OTF VOL. 2

BAKERSFIELD

STREET LIFE

STREET LIFE

BY: EMILIO PASAMANTE

SIDESHOWS STREET TERM:

Story & Photography by Mohammed "Con" Cook

Car enthusiast Jay Leno once said that “The car was the iPhone of the 20th century. Kids these days don’t have to drive anymore. They just go there, virtually.” But what if Jay Leno was wrong? What if the kids are using their phones as a tool to enhance their driving experience? Before 2012, auto motives were separated into three categories. Traditional travel (point-a to point-b), competition (such as drag racing, drifting, and time attack), and as a measurement of success. Is it possible that the automotive subculture that started in Oakland California known as “The Side Show” was created as a result of incomplete resources from all three categories?

Anyone paying attention to the current culture of rap can easily identify the migration of Oakland’s street pastime of “swanging”. Larger cities like Los Angles and Detroit have adopted and assimilated the activity and made it their own, even smaller cities like the ones you live in participate in these activities. The reason these cities, large or small, can successfully incorporate what once was known as a strictly Oakland thing is because it’s not just people who consider themselves amateur drivers that are being attracted to the life, “swanging” or “sliding” has amassed an army of curious spectators. . This year, a content creator by the name of @SOLO released “Street Ambitionz,” a YouTube docu-se ries about a group of young adult drivers in Bakersfield who speak on

what it’s like being a part of this DIY driving community and how its relationship with local law enforcement is quickly deteriorating

What separates the three main categories of automotives from this DIY driving experience is that it’s generally done outside the constructs of the law. “Swanging has always been something that only works if it doesn’t work. What is attracting these drivers and onlookers is the resourcefulness of converting a traditional 4way intersection into a platform that showcases a person’s driving skills in front of a crowd of spectators yelling out things like “GET BACK OR GET SMACKED!”, “FUCK THAT CURB!” , “OH THAT NIGGA GOT BARS!” and people angrily waiting in traffic who can be heard yelling similar obscenities. For a while it seemed that “The Side Shows” of Bakersfield would remain untouched by local law enforcement, it seems that there was this unspoken rule of “you stay on your side of the road and we will stay on ours.

But as the swinging community increases and the intensity of the shows becomes more demanding and inclusive local law enforcement has started to reevaluate their stance continuing the long-standing culture of rebellion and resourcefulness that “The Side Shows grew from.

‘KILL TIRES NOT

The KILJOY Gallery’s current collections includes an assortment of trucker hats, KILJOYS first ever collaboration attempt with local brand The Stick Ups with what we are calling The UpsideDown Tee. You can also find the first three Volumes of KILJOY Magazine in The Gallery