Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author,

streetball Streetball (or street basketball) is a variation of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules. As such, its format is more conducive to allowing players ...

player, streetball coach, and member of the

Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew is an American breaking and hip hop group which has become a franchise name for multiple groups in other locations. The group's 1983 international hit song " (Hey You) The Rock Steady Crew" (from the group's first studio album ...

. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show ''

The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos ...

'', alongside Adrian "Stretch Armstrong" Bartos, from 1990 until 1999. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he currently hosts a new podcast on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

called ''What's Good?'' alongside Bartos.

Early life

Garcia attended

Lower Merion High School Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, a community in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves both Lo ...

and

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

(class of 1988).

Music career

Bobbito initially started as an intern at

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. From 1990 to 1998, Garcia co-hosted ''

'' on

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

WKCR WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to New York, New York, United States. The station is owned by Columbia University and serves the New York metropolitan area. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the fir ...

. It featured exclusive demo tapes and in-studio freestyles from many then-unsigned hip hop artists such as

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the e ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with i ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record executive. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Coleman became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ...

and

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

who later found great success on major record labels. He set up the vinyl-only label

Fondle 'Em Records Fondle 'Em Records was a hip hop record label founded and owned by Robert "Bobbito" Garcia from 1995 to 2001, based in New York, New York. Bobbito formed the label after realizing that the many unsigned rappers making guest appearances on '' T ...

in 1995 as an outlet for other guests such as

MF DOOM Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...

MF Grimm Percy Carey (born June 11, 1970), also known by the stage names MF Grimm, Grimm Reaper, GM Grimm and originally Build and Destroy, is an American underground rapper, music producer, CEO, and Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer from New ...

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Koo ...

and Cage. In 1998, ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' named ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' as the "Best Hip Hop Radio Show of All Time". In 2003, García created ''Bounce: From the Playground'', a quarterly magazine devoted to

, especially the playground scene in New York City. He has been an editor, writer, and photographer for the magazine, and has also done work for and been featured in magazines including ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

'' and ''The Source''. He was featured in a 2002 article in

Vibe Magazine ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

Film career

Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia in 2011

In 2015, Showtime premiered a feature-length documentary on '' Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives'', directed and written by Garcia. The film includes interviews with

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

Rosie Perez Rosa Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, and activist. Her breakthrough came with her portrayal of Tina in the film ''Do the Right Thing'' (1989), followed by '' White Men Can't Jump'' (1992). Perez's per ...

and

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, among others. In 2018, Garcia released his third documentary, ''Rock Rubber 45s.'' It serves as his most personal film to date. In an interview with HipHopDX, he explained, "There’s a great O.C. lyric from the song ‘Time’s Up’ where he goes, ‘The more emotion I put into it, the harder I rock.' That’s the sort of approach that I have with this film — that the more emotion that I put in, the better the film will be. You know you get one chance to do an autobiography, so I’ve decided to just bare all."

Sneakers

Garcia hosted the

ESPN Films ESPN Films, formerly known as ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE), is an American production company which produces and distributes sports films and documentaries. It is owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (wh ...

It's the Shoes, interviewing celebrities about their sneaker collection. He was featured in the sneaker documentary '' Just for Kicks'' and performed the announcer's voice in ''

NBA Street Vol. 2 ''NBA Street Vol. 2'' is a basketball video game, published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label and developed by NuFX and EA Canada. It is the sequel to the original ''NBA Street'' and the second game in the ''NBA Street'' series. It w ...

'', ''

NBA Street V3 ''NBA Street V3'' is a basketball video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label. It is the third installment in the ''NBA Street'' series, Originally released in February 2005 for the GameCube, Pl ...

'' and ''

NBA Street Showdown ''NBA Street Showdown'' is a basketball game for the PlayStation Portable developed by Canadian studio Team Fusion. It was released in 2005, and is the fourth game in the NBA Street series and the first to be portable. It features the gameplay elem ...

''. He is emcee of the Sprite

Slam Dunk Contest The NBA Slam Dunk Contest (officially known as the AT&T Slam Dunk) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) competition held during the NBA All-Star Weekend. ''Sports Illustrated'' wrote "the dunk contest was the best halftime inventio ...

in the video game '' NBA 2K8'', ''2K9'' and '' 2K10''. He wrote '' Where'd You Get Those?: New York City's Sneaker Culture 1960–1987'' as well as ''Out of the Box'', about limited edition sneakers. In 2007, he worked with Nike on limited edition

Nike Air Force 1 The Air Force is a range of athletic shoes made by Nike that began with the Air Force 1 and went on to include the Air Force 2, Air Force 3, Air Force STS, Air Force 5, Air Force XXV and Air Force 09. The Air Force 1 was created by designer ...

and Air Force 25 models, selecting the colors, fabrics and logo used, and designed the "Project Playground" limited edition of the

Adidas Superstar The Superstar is a style of a low-top athletic shoe which has been manufactured by the German multinational company Adidas since 1969. The low-top shoe was originally released as a low-top version of the Pro Model basketball shoe. The design is n ...

. In 2016, he collaborated with Puma for a brand of sneakers.

Basketball

In 2006, Madison Square Garden Network hired García to do the "Hot Minute at the Half" reports with celebrities in the crowd during Knicks home games. In 2009, he worked on Blokhedz animated web series on Missiong.com. Garcia is the annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 HS All-American Game play-by-play announcer for ESPNU, owner of the vinyl-only label/imprint Álala Records, and co-directing a documentary, ''Doin' It in the Park: Pick-up Basketball, New York City'', produced by 360 Creative Films, which premiered in New York theaters in June 2013. Bobbito has his own basketball tournament called Bob's Full Court 21, which he holds around the nation.

References

External links

CNN Headline News Feature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Bobbito American magazine founders American music journalists American breakdancers American hip hop DJs Street basketball players ESPN people American sports journalists American sports radio personalities Puerto Rican men's basketball players Wesleyan University alumni Writers from New York City 1966 births Living people Sportswriters from New York (state) American men's basketball players Lower Merion High School alumni