All Out War

"The first emcee battle I saw was in elementary school, probably 1986 or so. But you could imagine how wack it was seeing two fourth graders go at it," said Josh Rowlett (formerly known as Glide and now known as Coda) in a recent interview about an upcoming event, called All Out War (more on that later), that he's planning. "As far as favorite emcee battles go," he continues, "I'm gonna speak only about what I've seen in person, which was Juice versus Eminem at Scribble Jam in 1997. Oh, and Scandal the Ruckus Man versus Watts in Louisville 1999." 

Coda knows an awful lot about hip-hop. Not just  the music or people most of us see on television and hear on the radio, but the whole culture. In the same interview Coda hipped me to the specifics of the Universal Zulu Nation, which, until now, I only knew of as something that A Tribe Called Quest spoke of in song. To Coda, the UZN is more. It's a way of life that he can talk about at length, the way some people talk about religion or Farmville. Makes sense, considering he's not only a member but the official leader of the Indiana Chapter, The Tomahawk Zulus.

"I was in the process of becoming an official Zulu member when I was granted a Chapter through Lord Cashus D and Afrika Bambaataa. I never knew I would receive chapter leader status let alone a Zulu Chapter in itself," Coda said, going on to explain how a still recent change in the UZN led to his joining.

"The UZN had a specific belief system dating back before 2000. I agreed with 90 percent of their beliefs, but that other 10 percent was holding me back. It wasn't until the year 2000 that the Universal Zulu Nation did away with their belief system. Now everything is based on facts and I'm with that 100 percent. You can have whatever belief you want and still be part of this organization - it's made up of all religions, nationalities, races, ages and walks of life."

To Coda (and anyone who is aware of hip-hop history), the UZN is responsible for much of hip-hop's history, dating back to 1973. Bambaataa (the UZN founder) is Zulu. Ice T is Zulu. Chuck D is Zulu. Almost every hip-hop pioneer is, as Coda would say, "a real Z."

"The concept of the five elements comes from the UZN. The elements, as known in their original terms, are DJing, breaking, emceeing, writing and knowledge," Coda explained. "A lot of the gang violence stopped in New York City due to the birth of the UZN and the vision of Bambaataa using hip-hop as a way to unite and overcome negative with positive.

"The principles of hip-hop - peace, love, unity and having fun - come from the UZN and are co-signed by Kool Herc and countless other pioneers as the core principles of this culture."

From here, Coda continues on about how the UZN was the first to take hip-hop overseas; get hip-hop on MTV; combine rap and rock; and so on. He knows as much about hip-hop and the Zulus as anyone I've met, and I'm sure he'll tell you more than you could ever imagine if you ask. (As much as Coda is known for his breaking and leadership, he's also known for his gift of infinite gab.)

But, getting back on track, we have a UZN function to talk about called All Out War, set to take place at CS3 in downtown Fort Wayne at 10 p.m. on August 7. The main event of the night will be an emcee battle with a grand prize of $300. But, as with any proper hip-hop event, all of the elements will be represented, including performances by deejay's Illiana Jonze and Epitaph and emcees Sankofa, Coalzone and Merc Versus, all of whom Coda talks about with much excitement.

"This event doesn't have anything to do with me," Coda, exaggerating a bit, said. "It's a Zulu event and Zulu is for the people. We felt that it was necessary to put together a jam that once again has the DJ, the b-boy and the rapper together.

"We as Zulus wanted to put this together to give back to the tribe that this land originally belonged to, the Miami Indians," Coda said when asked about the planning of the event. "Secondly, we wanted to continue to build the food drive we have been doing since early this year by offering cheaper admission to those who brought a canned good - which goes directly to the Community Harvest Food Bank.

"And lastly, we want people to gain more knowledge about the Universal Zulu Nation and what we are about. But as I said before, we also really felt that it was necessary to get all the elements under one roof again. Locally, its been too long. There's too many rap shows here and not enough hip-hop shows."

Year ago, after moving back to his hometown of Fort Wayne after five years of active duty, Coda had an idea. Unity.

"When I returned to the Fort the hip-hop scene was most definitely in effect. But as for the organization of the culture, it was completely out of whack. The b-boys were not affiliated with the writers and the rappers weren't connected to the b-boys. I felt there needed to be some sort of unification of the elements, even if it was for one night in one place," Coda explained when asked about his past events. "Thats when I came up with the concept of the 32 Deadly Masters. At that time emcee battles were popping up all over the country, so I knew I could draw people in."

The event, much like All Out War, had an emcee battle situated at its center. Attendance was so strong that the next year saw a follow-up event called Return of the 32 Deadly Masters.

"To this day I've probably heard more positive feedback about that particular event than any other I've thrown," Coda explained. "The next event I put together was a two-on-two emcee battle called Partners in Rhyme. The turnout wasn't as good, but it was still a different twist to what was taking place around here locally. After that, all of my other events took place at Fort Wayne Hip-Hop Dance."

When asked about Fort Wayne Hip-Hop Dance, a studio owned by Coda and his wife, Amber ("Pringlz"), the mood turns from excited to serious. "Sadly, Fort Wayne Hip-Hop Dance closed its doors this past February due to the economic downfall of the U.S. and the toll it took on the businesses within the arts," he said. "That place was my heart and I miss it to this day. A lot of memories came from that place and I learned a lot from the kids. The dance studio was never a dance studio to us, it was a community center."

Despite the tough luck Coda had with his FWHHD, he continues to support hip-hop culture in Fort Wayne, doing so with as much sincere thought as ever, hip-hop and dancing always on his mind.

"We won't have any planned dancing performances at All Out War, but dancers of all styles will be getting down most definitely! We wanted this to feel like a jam with an emcee battle added to it," Coda said in closing. "I mean think about it, heads go to clubs all the time just to drink, flirt, dance and listen to music without a performance. At this joint they'll be able to do all of that plus check out an emcee battle and dancers (i.e. b-boys) they wouldn't normally see in a club - and all for a good cause!"

Written by G. William Locke