Deep Dickollective
| Company type | Collective |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music, hip hop |
| Founded | 2000 in Oakland, California, United States |
| Founder | Juba Kalamka, Tim'm T. West, Phillip Atiba Goff |
| Defunct | April 2008 |
| Headquarters | Oakland , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Music albums, EPs, singles |
| Owner | Sugartruck Recordings |
| Website | www |
Deep Dickollective (commonly abbreviated as D/DC) was a pioneering LGBT hip hop collective originating from Oakland, California, active throughout the 2000s within the homo hop movement. The group frequently appeared at the PeaceOUT World Homo Hop Festival, an event co-curated by member Juba Kalamka.
History
The inception of Deep Dickollective dates back to early 2000, when Juba Kalamka, Tim'm T. West, and Phillip Atiba Goff came together. Kalamka and West first crossed paths following a 1999 screening of Marlon Riggs' documentary Tongues Untied, subsequently linking up with Goff at Stanford University, where both West and Goff were pursuing doctoral studies. Their debut performance as Deep Dickollective took place on May 12, 2000, at Oakland's Black Dot Cafe.
Before joining forces with Goff, Kalamka and West encountered limited chances to openly express their queer identities through performance. Kalamka was engaged in avant-garde spoken word collaborations and queer hip hop projects but aimed to confront established ideas regarding race, queerness, and masculinity within hip hop culture. Encountering obstacles within the spoken word community led the trio to compose approximately twenty tracks on Stanford’s campus; thirteen of these were compiled into their initial album, BourgieBohoPostPomoAfroHomo. The provocative name of the group was chosen to reflect their mission to critically dismantle conventional hip hop narratives.
To facilitate promotion and oversee management duties, Kalamka established Sugartruck Recordings, which not only released D/DC’s material but also supported artists such as rapper Katastrophe (Rocco Kayiatos). Sugartruck specialized in micro-distribution, handling nearly twenty titles within the queer hip hop niche.
After releasing BourgieBoho, Deep Dickollective followed up with the EP Them Niggas Done Went and Said... in 2003, along with a 7" vinyl single issued via Boston’s punk distribution label Agitprop! Records. The group was noted for reinterpreting homophobic lyrics found in mainstream hip hop, using these reimaginings to challenge prevailing stereotypes.
In 2003, D/DC earned the title "Best Hip Hop Group" in the reader’s poll conducted by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Their third release, The Famous Outlaw League of Proto-Negroes (2004), received two nominations from the Outmusic Awards and was recognized by Out magazine as one of the Top Ten Gay Albums of that year. The 2005 EP Live at Wildseed and Mo coincided with an uptick in touring activity, which was further amplified by the documentary film Pick Up the Mic, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival.
As visibility for queer hip hop artists increased alongside platforms like MySpace, Sugartruck concentrated its marketing efforts on releases by Kalamka, Deep Dickollective, and Katastrophe. Their fifth album, titled On Some Other, was released on June 22, 2007. Due to diverging creative directions and involvement in other endeavors, Kalamka officially dissolved Deep Dickollective in April 2008; their concluding live performance occurred at Albuquerque Pride on June 13, 2008.
Lyrics from "For Colored Boys," featured on On Some Other, were included in Yale University Press's publication The Anthology of Rap (2010). The members have since continued pursuing individual artistic careers and academic roles across various locations in the United States.
Discography
- 2001 BourgieBohoPostPomoAfroHomo (sugartruck recordings)
- 2001 Independent Sounds: Amoeba Music Compilation Vol. III (Hip Hop Slam)
- 2002 Phat Family Compilation Volume One: Tha Dozens (Phat Family Records)
- 2003 Them Niggas Done Went And Said... EP (sugartruck recordings)
- 2003 Movin' b/w Straightrippin' (C-Phlavormix) (7" single) (Agitprop! Records/sugartruck recordings)
- 2004 Azadi!: A Benefit CD For RAWA (Fire Museum/ElectroMotive Records)
- 2004 The Famous Outlaw League of Proto-Negroes (sugartruck recordings)
- 2004 Phat Family Compilation Volume Two: Down 4 Tha Swerve (Phat Family Records)
- 2005 Live at Wildseed and Mo EP (sugartruck recordings)
- 2007 On Some Other (sugartruck recordings)
- 2012 With The Key (Sissies): The Very Best of Deep Dickollective (sugartruck recordings)