The planet is controlled by mega-corporations. They leach the Earth of its natural resources, turning swaths of once-fertile land into uninhabitable desert. They control the news and manipulate public opinion. A repressive government tamps down on dissent and wields advanced technologies to punish the underclass.
We’re talking, of course, about the far future. To be precise, the year 3030, as conjured up by the rap group Deltron 3030. (Certainly couldn’t be the present.) In 2000, the hip-hop supergroup dropped one of the millennium’s most imaginative musical projects, the self-titled “Deltron 3030,” a science-fiction rap opera — yes, science-fiction rap opera — chronicling the adventures of Deltron Zero, a rebel rapper who thumbs his nose at a high-tech oligarchy, vowing to “never let a computer tell me s—t.”
They don’t make records like this anymore. Listening to “Deltron 3030” feels like reading a comic book, one where action sequences are coupled with orchestral swells and record scratches. Over the turntable wizardry of Kid Koala and Dan the Automator’s cinematic beats, emcee Del the Funky Homosapien lays verbose bars, spinning vignettes of intergalactic travel, computer viruses and a far-future version of Oakland that’s frozen over with ice. Deltron Zero, his character, hijacks government mechs, absorbs the power of entire stars and raps his way to the finals of the Intergalactic Rap Battle, where he defeats a quadruped named Quzar.
Twenty-five years later, that record is just as prescient, politically sharp and, well, good as when it was released. Just ask the crowd at the Regency Ballroom, where Deltron 3030 played the first of two sold-out San Francisco shows on Wednesday night. (To accommodate demand, bookers added a third show, scheduled for Aug. 1.) The group celebrated the birthday of “Deltron 3030” by playing the album in full. Del the Funky Homosapien, now 52, is lyrically limber as ever and held the room rapt at moments when he rapped a capella. Members of the audience rapped along to Del’s sharpest bars.
The San Francisco show was something of a homecoming for the group. Dan the Automator, aka Dan Nakamura, the group’s beatmaker, grew up in San Francisco and recorded his early records in his parents’ Sunset District basement. Del the Funky Homosapien, aka Teren Delvon Jones, is from Oakland and founded the Hieroglyphics rap collective. (Kid Koala, aka Eric San, is from Vancouver, British Columbia.)
After the performance, which ended with a brief teaser of some new music, SFGATE sat down with Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien and Kid Koala to chat about influences on “Deltron 3030,” the album’s predictions of the future and the group’s upcoming third album.
SFGATE: Relistening to the album, it’s hard not to be hit by how prophetic it feels for the current year. Do you feel like it’s more relevant now than it was in 2000?
Del the Funky Homosapien: I definitely feel that way, but I don’t feel like s—t changed ever. Motherf—kers always trying to do hella dumb s—t. I mean, that’s just the nature of human beings. So like, this is our way to be able to put it in a form where some people might be able to digest it and not trip like, “Man, don’t be preaching to me.”
I’m watching s—t now. I’m always on the news watching what this boob be doing, you know what I’m saying? I’ll be getting hella upset, but I gotta figure out a way to be able to express it and people won’t just feel like I’m beating on their head with s—t. So I see that science-fiction is a way that you can do that.
Dan the Automator: The future is a way to comment on the present without actually taking a specific issue at a specific time, which I think limits the scope of what you can talk about.
SFGATE: Del and Dan, you two are both from the Bay Area. The album came out at the peak of the dot-com bubble. Do you think the time and place informed the album’s outlook on technology?
Del the Funky Homosapien: I was born in ’72. I always had a computer at the house. I was fortunate enough where my pops was kind of up on s—t. I had a computer class in elementary school. So I’ve just always been into tech, video games, really, but through that to technology, hacking, all that s—t.
Dan the Automator: I think that time in the Bay Area, it was more Wild West than the second iteration of it. So I think being around that, we got to see people trying to invent a path, you know? I don’t think that’s necessarily the influence on the record, but I think just being around that energy is in general.
Del the Funky Homosapien: We out here in the center of where the s—t is. See, that’s what I was trying to tell to the crowd tonight. Like, we out in the Bay, man. You don’t know the history we got out here in the Bay. We really be doing big s—t.
SFGATE: Del, I’ve read that you wrote all the lyrics to the album in just two weeks.
Del the Funky Homosapien: For this album? Probably. I had “Virus” already planned. But the concept of what I wanted to do, I had already done it on a few songs before then. So I kind of knew the formula already, as how it was going to come. It wasn’t like I’m just pulling it out of my ass. I already had proof of concept.
SFGATE: Are there any facets to the album — lyrics, samples — that stick out to you upon revisiting it?
Dan the Automator: I think we’ve just been living with it the whole time in various forms.
Del the Funky Homosapien: “My orbital oratory always going for the glory.” I’m starting to like that one.
Dan the Automator: I don’t think we ever put it away. I don’t listen to my own music, really. I think it’s like snapshots of the time.
Del the Funky Homosapien: Right, because I’ll be on the new s—t so quick. Like once I do something, I’m already trying to make some new s—t.
Kid Koala: As you were mentioning earlier, I do think it’s interesting that a lot of what Del’s talking about has literally come to pass since the 25 years.
Del the Funky Homosapien: “No president, we have a ruler!” But see, that s—t was starting to happen back then. I just care about s—t, you know what I’m saying?
Dan the Automator: Del cares a lot.
SFGATE: What can you tell me about the new album? How far along is it?
Dan the Automator and Del the Funky Homosapien: It’s done.
Del the Funky Homosapien: I think you gon’ like it. I thought about y’all — I thought about me, too, but I thought about y’all. I was like, you know what? I’m going to try to make something that y’all can enjoy.
SFGATE: Last question: What have you been listening to on repeat nowadays?
Del the Funky Homosapien: Clipse is what I’ve been listening to. Today I peeped Tyler’s new s—t that’s based on some ’80s s—t. I hella liked that. But I ain’t peeped the whole album yet, just that single. Freddie Gibbs had a new one. Evidence had a new one he did with Alchemist that I hella liked. It was a few of them that were popping up on my YouTube like, OK, I like these. I’m just trying to keep my ear open.
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/bay-area-rap-crew-deltron-3030-interview-20784453.php
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