Jonah Deocampo, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Bambu, is a

Filipino-American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New S ...

community activist and rapper from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He has been called "one of the most well-respected

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

musicians in the US". The son of a Filipino emigrant mother, Bambu was raised in a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood which was characterized by a "wartime mentality." At the age of 15, he became involved with street gangs. At 16, he was arrested for armed robbery and spent time in Los Angeles'

Central Juvenile Hall Central Juvenile Hall (also known as Eastlake Juvenile Hall or Central) is a youth detention center in Los Angeles County. Central houses both boys and girls. The Central Juvenile Hall complex was originally established in 1912 as the first juv ...

. Released at 18, Bambu was advised by a judge to join the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, which he did. He served as a special operations training group instructor (SARC) and spent time in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, the Middle East, and

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan. Bambu's ''Exrcising a Demon'' is a 5-part series that weaves voices from Filipino-American gang members as a means of documenting early 1980s and 1990s Los Angeles. ''Article I: A Few Left'' was released in September 2018, and ''Article II: Brother Hoods'' was released in June 2019. Bambu's music deals with themes of

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

racial prejudice Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

and

economic inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of we ...

. His music often alludes to

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

figures, including

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, and

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. For example, his 2007 album ''...i scream bars for the children...'' features a song entitled "Chairman Mao." Bambu was the Secretary General of

Kabataang Makabayan Kabataang Makabayan ("Patriotic Youth"), also known by the acronym KM, is an underground communist youth organization in the Philippines which was active from 1964 to 1975. It was banned by the Philippine government in 1972 when then-President ...

USA (KM, also known as Patriotic Youth) in Los Angeles. He is a resident of

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He also has a deal with

FlipTop Battle League FlipTop Rap Battle League (Fliptop for short) is the first and largest running professional rap battle conference in the Philippines founded by Alaric Riam Yuson (known as Anygma) in 2010. The league promotes Pinoy hip hop. FlipTop is heavily i ...

, showing in their live events, recently at the FlipTop Festival. During the height of the 2020

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Bambu released a 7-song album "Sharpest Tool In The Shed." The album finds Bambu continuing his staunch critique of the ''status quo'', as well as giving words of support to his listeners as they work through the pandemic.

Discography

* ''self untitled...'' (2002), self-released * ''.38 Revolver Mixtape'' (2005), self-released * ''...i scream bars for the children...'' (2007), self-released * ''...exact change...'' (2009), Beatrock Music * ''...A Peaceful Riot...'' - Fatgums X Bambu (2009), Beatrock Music * ''...paper cuts...'' (2010), Beatrock Music * ''Los Angeles, Philippines'' - DJ Muggs & Bambu (2010), Soul Assassins Records * ''...spare change...'' (2011), Beatrock Music * ''Prometheus Brown and Bambu Walk into a Bar'' - The Bar (2011), Beatrock Music x In4mation * ''Diamond Supply Co. Presents: Bambu FreEP'' (2011), Diamond Supply Co. * ''...one rifle per family.'' (2012), Beatrock Music * ''The Lean Sessions EP'' (2013), Beatrock Music * ''Sun of a Gun Mixtape'' (2013), Beatrock Music * ''Barkada EP - The Bar'' (2014), Beatrock Music * ''5AM in Manila EP'' (2014), Beatrock Music x Uprising Records * ''Party Worker'' (2014), Beatrock Music x Bambu De Pistola * ''Son of Barkada'' - The Bar (2015), Beatrock Music * ''The Comrades Sessions EP'' (2015), Beatrock Music * ''Prey for the Devil'' (2016), Beatrock Music * ''Exrcising a Demon - Article I - A Few Left'' (2018), Beatrock Music * ''Exrcising a Demon - Article II - Brother Hoods'' (2019), Beatrock Music * ''Sharpest Tool In The Shed'' (2020), Beatrock Music * ''Unreleased: October 2019 By OJ the Producer'' (2021), Beatrock Music

References

External links

Bambu Beatrock Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bambu Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male rappers American rappers of Filipino descent American rappers of Asian descent California socialists Rappers from Los Angeles Rappers from Oakland, California United States Marines Underground rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians Activists from Oakland, California Activists from Los Angeles American Maoists