Oliver Wang - Legions of Boom, Paperback

Oliver Wang - Legions of Boom - Filipino American Mobile DJ Crews in the San Francisco Bay Area

Armed with speakers, turntables, light systems, and records, Filipino American mobile DJ crews rocked dance floors throughout the San Francisco Bay Area from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s. Bearing such colorful names Ultimate Creations, Unlimited Sounds, Spintronix, and Sound Sequence, these crews became the mainstay for a vibrant youth-lead scene that stretched from San Francisco to San Jose, Daly City to Union City, Vallejo to Stockton.

In Legions of Boom, music and pop culture writer/scholar Oliver Wang chronicles this remarkable scene, using over 35 interviews from the likes of Q-Bert, Shortkut, MC Fly, Genie G, Jazzy Jim, Lani Luv, plus members of dozens of crews. Legions of Boom examines how the crews were instrumental in helping to create and unify the Bay Area’s Filipino American community through their countless parties and battles. As the book examines, the mobile crews gave young men (and a handful of women) a musical avenue in which to express their creativity, gain social status and travel to new neighborhoods.

Published by Duke University
240 pages, 6" x 9"
24 illustrations