Exec Profile: Dregs One On History Of The Bay Fest Celebrating S.F. Hip-Hop With Too $hort, Lyrics Born, Marshawn Lynch, Way More

As a rapper, recording artist, graffiti practitioner and popular weekly podcaster, Dregs One (Reza Harris) is a Bay Area hip-hop renaissance man by definition. He’s internationally known for all of these elements as well as being a live promoter in San Francisco, which has been an aspect of his self-made career since he was a teenager.

His third annual History of the Bay Day festival takes place at Public Works in San Francisco on Sunday, Nov. 9. The event, which still has tickets available for a reasonable $39.99 for GA/$75.00 VIP, is known for bringing together the full spectrum of Bay Area rap, and this year’s edition is set to feature live performances from Lyrics Born, Spice 1, Zaybang and Iamsu!, plus a live podcast episode with NFL legend and Bay Area hip-hop ambassador Marshawn Lynch, a panel hosted by Too $hort, a museum exhibit and block party. We asked the law school grad about how he built his own career in live music in a quintessentially Bay way: by doing it himself.

Pollstar: How did you start throwing live events as an artist yourself, and what is it like being an independent promoter in a market that’s mostly controlled by a few entities like Another Planet and Goldenvoice?
Dregs One: When I first started, I was 19-years-old. I wasn’t even old enough to get into the clubs. The local artists like Jacka and San Quinn were performing every night in the Bay Area. I literally did stuff like go into the club and talk to the bartender and be like, ‘Who do I talk to about a show?’ And I would get a show — I would get a Tuesday night, Wednesday night. Young artists today do not have that. I think it speaks to the gentrification that’s been going on here. I think this corporatization of where it’s just about maximizing profits, obviously we’re all in favor of that, but we’ve got to balance the culture as well. Because if no younger musicians are getting live performing experience, then what happens to the music?

I thought the first two History of the Bay Day events really stood out for having more than just live music and DJs. You showcase graffiti art, dancing, a museum, panel discussions about Bay Area hip-hop culture and a live recording of your podcast. Can you talk about some of these different elements that you’re doing this year? You’re interviewing (football great) Marshawn Lynch for your podcast?
Yep, we’re going to have the live pod with Marshawn to start off the day. Then Too $hort is going to do a Bay originators discussion. It was his idea and there’s going to be special guests that are going to come and chime in; it’s basically going to be an oral history of this whole thing in order.

And then the museum this year — before we just had displays. This year we have a whole room that’s dedicated to memorabilia. This year we’re also having more of a block party element, so there’s going to be food trucks, vinyl records and art for sale — I didn’t want it to just be shirts and hoodies. My goal has been to create Disneyland for adults, but with hip-hop. That’s really what I wanna get to at some point. 

How do you promote HIstory of the Bay Day?
I didn’t go to school to study social media ad targeting. I’m even managing my email list. I’m getting all these bounced emails. I don’t know how to deal with that. Sometimes I have a budget to hire a marketing person. This year I didn’t. I still print flyers. I still print posters. I post every day in multiple ways, creative ways. I run ads on my podcast. I do everything. I have a small team.

Financially, I’m doing all the fundraising. I’m coming out of pocket a lot. Fortunately, I never lost money doing this, which is big. But in a sense, I am the little guy. I am the underdog, and I’m hoping to grow. I would rather partner with some of these corporate marketing people or venue owners. And that’s the value I have. I want to bring them into this community. And as I’m getting older, I want to see it as a way for other emerging talents to be able to get the experience of, I can grow up here, I can be part of this thriving scene and grow here and then take it further.

Do you think San Francisco and the Bay Area are increasingly becoming part of festival fans’ tourism schedules? Are we gaining prominence in the international live music scene?
We’ve always had these massive events out here. I mean, when I was a kid, it was the Free Tibet concert. And then, obviously, you have Outside Lands, right? This is a prominent national festival. We have Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. No disrespect to any other regions, but there are some events people may want to go to and then what else are you going to do when you’re there? You get to come here and experience a world class city and a world class region. And I think with my event, it’s drawing people that know the Bay has all this cool stuff, they just don’t necessarily have the access to it. So they’re, like, okay — now I can not only go travel,

I can do all that Golden Gate Bridge stuff and downtown and shopping and all that, cool. But now I’m really going to be able to see some of these people I’ve always wanted to see. I’m really going to be able to see some of these dances that I’ve always heard about. I’m going to see the fashion. I’m going to be hanging out with the people that are from these neighborhoods and from these cultures that I’ve only heard about. So, yeah, I think it’s always been a world-class destination.

Have you had any interaction with City Hall and Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has been such a vocal champion of music and the arts bringing San Francisco back since he took office? Do you feel supported?
It’s funny you ask that, because tomorrow [Friday] I’m going to meet him for the first time and he’s going to do a promo for History of the Bay Day. The light bulb in my head is turning on right now of what this property I have could be and all my other projects that I work on locally. I’m not with the celebritizing of public servants or certain things just across the board with our political system, not even specific to this mayor. I’m not here to help you get more votes or change your public image or any of that. However, it’s very refreshing to have a mayor that actually does stuff and actually goes places and actually tries. He’s trying, and he has a vision. I’ve seen him at so many events already, and I do feel like he’s committed to helping San Francisco revitalize. I think he sees the arts and the events as a great opportunity to help do that.

With the Super Bowl coming to Santa Clara, which our readers may not know is about 50 miles from San Francisco, are you excited about the potential of what you could create all around the Bay Area for that weekend?
I feel like [hosting the 2025 NBA] All-Star Weekend was kind of like a practice run for us, and now we know what it’s going to look like when every hotel is booked out, when there’s 20 events a day and they’re all successful. And when all the tastemakers from around the world are coming here — not just San Francisco, but San Jose, Santa Clara, Oakland. I definitely have some really cool, fun, creative ideas. Literally as soon as this event is over, I’m turning my focus to that. 

This interview was edited for length and clarity.