My original plan was to name this chapter Fairfax High. Since fellow Fairfax alumni, Anthony Kiedis (of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers) beat me to the punch, I find it fitting to set this segment off by paraphrasing a quote from Anthony`s book "Scar Tissue" as a scene-setting backdrop.

"Fairfax high, a sprawling school, on the corner of  Fairfax and Melrose. Fairfax was a true melting pot. There were Chinese immigrants, Korean immigrants, Russian immigrants, Jewish kids, and tons of black kids along with the white kids."

Add Mexican kids (along with a handful of Armenian kids) to the fray, and that pretty much sums up what the atmosphere was like at Fairfax high by the time I set foot on campus ten years after Kiedis, Flea, and the rest of the RHCP. I sometimes trip when looking back because "Fax City" was not my first or second choice of schools I wanted to attend. In fact, it was my third choice and tied with Uni at that. Thinking about it now though, it is clear to see that my path was being chosen for me as I found myself sitting in my 4th-period math class, hating being a new kid, hoping time would go by as fast as possible. About 15 to 20 minutes in, I heard what sounded like cutting and scratching in the distance. Confirmed by James Brown sayin` "Ain`t it funky?", then more scratching. Curiosity was getting the best of me, I couldn`t contain myself. I made eye contact with a friendly-looking dude who I would later come to know as EMZ, I chimed in "Yo, what`s going on out there?". Emz informed me that on Friday`s we have our pep rallies at the amphitheater in the quad area. Another guy with a heavy New York accent named Kwesi (who would become a fellow Skwod Brotha of mine years down the line) added that Ralph M the dude on the wheels is in our class as well. I thought to myself, "Wait, D.J. Ralph M of the KDAY Mixmasters?". It had to be, he was rippin` "Funky Drummer" to shreds on the ones and twos. At this point, I had no doubt in my mind that Fairfax was the place to be. Now, I really couldn`t wait for the bell to ring. When it did, I gathered my belongings with urgency and made my way to where I thought the music was coming from. I kind of shadowed Emz since I figured he was heading to the same place as I. Once we were amongst the crowd, we went our separate ways. I just remember being mesmerized by Ralph`s skill level and the joints he chose to spin and cut up. I envisioned myself up there with him (since I didn`t have a DJ at the time) rocking the mic and movin` the crowd. Who knew 8 years from that moment I`d be a featured artist on Ralph`s group Funkdoobiest third album titled "The Troubleshooters"?...