I discovered virtual reality in November of 2020, introduced to it by my friend and hip-hop legend, Doitall from the group Lords Of The Underground. He was casually telling me how he hosted an emcee battle in VR and got paid for it. I was intrigued, not only because he got paid, but because he hosted an event in VR. “Hosted an event in VR? What does he mean?” I asked myself. I pulled my phone out and ordered an Oculus Quest 2, right on the spot. I received it a few days later, and from the moment I put on that headset, it completely changed my life. I was blown away; I couldn’t believe how real it felt to be immersed in virtual reality. I hopped in and out of different apps, trying to get a feel for how this social VR thing worked. I remember being greeted by a giant-sized Ronald McDonald in VRChat, a bunch of kids yelling at me in Rec Room, and stepping into Venues, chatting with strangers from all over the globe.
One of those strangers recommended I check out an app called AltSpaceVR. I downloaded the app and entered my very first world, a beach that resembled a little island off the coast of Jamaica. It was beautiful, peaceful, and tranquil, plus I didn’t have to take a flight to get there. I wandered around as it seemed I was alone on this island, and then I met Afrikan Princess and King, two people who met in VR, fell in love, and eventually got married. Crazy, right? but it’s true. They showed me around and took me to all the places where the “Cool People” hang out in Altspace. We went to an event hosted by Metaculture and yeah, I felt right at home. Even though we were all avatars, I could tell I was among my people. People who listen to the same music I listen to, laugh at the same kinda jokes, and probably have the same skin tone. Metaculture was a collective of VR enthusiasts, mostly of African descent, who were pushing VR forward.
Artsy, who was one of the founders and main world builders for Metaculture, was incredible; she could literally build anything. I met with her at her office in VR, and she gave me a tour of some of her builds, I was in awe. I couldn’t wait to share my ideas and concepts, as I was looking to commission her for some of my worlds. With VR, I saw an opportunity and what I had my eyes on was setting up a live performance in VR. I quickly figured out how to get a live audio and video feed into one of the generic spaces and then set up my first live show in AltspaceVR. It was an amazing, experience, the space filled up to capacity (about 75-80 people) in less than 10 minutes. That experience showed me what was possible and what I felt was inevitable. VR is the future and what I wanted to do.
I’ve DJ’d in VR, wrote graffiti in VR, played live shows for people from all over the globe, organized ticketed events right from my basement, and was able to monetize various Virtual Reality experiences. I’ve met so many amazing people in the VR space… yes it can get toxic and even territorial but hey, this is new territory and everyone is trying to claim their stake. Some were referring to me as a pioneer, and they even wrote an article about me in VRScout, a popular VR blog. “Wow, me a pioneer?” I was only doing what I loved and what felt natural.
I am passionate about Virtual Reality and want to share my passion with those who may not be aware of this technology. I realized there weren’t any publications that were talking to me, nothing in the space covering hip-hop and immersive tech. So I came up with the idea of HiphopinVR, a website focused on representing the elements of Hip-Hop in VR while introducing VR and immersive technology to the culture of Hip-Hop. My goal was to create a publication that would be relatable to not only my audience. but also a wider demographic of people who love Hip-Hop, graffiti, live events, and meaningful content, that can help bring awareness to Virtual Reality. This is our platform, our voice, our space to share content including games, and upcoming events, and highlight those doing amazing things in the VR Space. This platform is all about being inclusive; if you or someone you know is doing something in the space, let us know and we will do our best to get it out there. VR is the future and the future is now! Welcome to HiphopinVR!