Growing up in Watts wasn’t always easy for Brandon Salaam-Bailey, better known as Stix.
“It was really tough,” he says. “It’s a two-square mile radius and there’s a gang on every corner.”
As he grew into a rapper, producer, songwriter and entrepreneur, he realized he wanted his music to stand for something. He listened to gangster rap and East Coast hip-hop, but he knew his music could have a deeper meaning to help his community and those around him.
He knew more than anyone that his city and its residents needed assistance. So, he stepped up and did what needed to be done. He merged his love for hip-hop and his community, and created his non-profit organization, Think Watts Foundation.
“Growing up in Watts was challenging. It’s an undeserving community and there’s not a lot of opportunities there.”
— Stix
According to The Demographic Statistical Atlas of the United States, Watts has become a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood with a significant African American population, and remains one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles despite falling crime rates since the 1990s.
“So it's really sink or swim,” Stix says. “You have to figure out how to be proactive.”
Despite his obstacles, Stix knew he was destined to make a difference.
Falling in Love with Hip-Hop
Stix performing on stage. (Photo Courtesy of Stix)
In mid-2006, he developed a worldwide rap battle league called “The Pit,” home of battle rap pioneers Dizaster and Daylyt. The Pit later became home to some of West Coast’s most notable hip-hop artists.
“Everybody's been through the pit from Kendrick Lamar to Glasses to Problem to YG to SchoolBoy to J Rock to 500 or Nothin',” he says.
Performaing during the Los Angeles Clippers halftime show. (Photo Courtesy of Stix)
Stix credits his best friend and fellow Watts rapper, BadLucc for inspiring him in his career.
“It was an inspiration, an influence,” he says. “It was special to see the homies that grew up with me and see true success at an early age, and it inspired me to rap.”
For Stix, West Coast hip-hop is one of the most influential cultures in hip-hop history.
He says Compton and Watts are heavily influential when it comes to West Coast hip-hop.
“Watts has been in the forefront of it all,” he adds.
Out of the five hip-hop elements: emceeing, deejaying, breakdancing, graffiti and beatboxing, Stix says emceeing is his favorite. He loves how it gives him the ability to think outside the box.
“I just love to rap man," he says. "I love to speak my mind. I love to be honest. I love to teach. Rhyming is a tool that I use to teach and a tool I use to exercise my creative ability.”
Hip-Hop with a Social Impact
With a mission to help his community, Stix’s music follows with a positive message.
He credits West Coast hip-hop veterans Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre as his main influences but he also says that his music represents the oppressed; the struggle of coming from an area like Watts.
Stix's most recent album, MegaWatts: Born in the Riots is an example of that. In the project, he shares a true, transparent representation of the Black community and what they’ve endured over the years.
“It's so true to the time today,” he says. “It’s probably one of my most honest albums.”
Continuing his way of giving, Stix previously created the first anthem for the Los Angeles Football Club. For him, creating the anthem for the LAFC was entirely new yet, he discovered the unique collaboration between soccer and hip-hop.
Nationally syndicated radio personality and founder of Home Grown Radio, Chuck Dizzle says Stix has opened his eyes to the real issues in Watts.
"For me being from Carson, he’s given me a frontrow seat as to what’s happening in Watts right now,” says Dizzle. “A geographical breakdown and not only that but some historical elements as well. From the importance of the Watts Towers and the Watts riots.”
Dizzle says that hip-hop has always been powerful.
“Hip-hop just existing has always been fighting against something,” he says. “Hip-hop is based on counterculture and has been going against the grain. Even hip and hop, the word and its root is based on common culture by making a stand.”
Fellow Los Angeles female rapper iLL Camile says she’s been inspired by the authenticity of Stix’s work. Camile appreciates artists who add value to their music, especially when they shed light on important issues.
“Stix reflects on issues that affect our community, '' she says. “Whatever is happening in life, the music should reflect that and he does just that. We all need to hear different perspectives. The challenges and hardships, so we can create some sort of communality between us.”
The Think Watts Foundation feeding the residents of Watts. (Photo Courtesy of Stix).
Building a Community Through the Think Watts Foundation
Stix involvement with music was just the tip of the iceberg. In 2018, Stix founded his non-profit organization, the Think Watts Foundation.
Think Watts focuses on economic development, homeless housing solutions, and financial assistance to underserved and underprivileged communities. The foundation places a major emphasis on community mobility and building bridges between the residents of these low-income neighborhoods and professionals in the corporate world.
“Seeing that the community is heavily underserved. It makes you do two things: it makes you either say aye, you either complain about it or you do something about it,” Stix says. “I chose to be one of the ones who did something about it.”
The non-profit organization provides financial literacy courses, entrepreneurship training, essential goods, and clean water to the Watts community.
They have also fed 16,000+ people and provided more than 1,000 people with internet devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The foundation focuses on getting people access to resources and creating sustainability," he says. “That’s the foundation that Think Watts is built on.”
From Watts to the World
Stix hopes to continue inspiring Watts and those around the world. He finds it important to give back to the community that saw him grow up in hope of a brighter future.
“If you think Watts, you think of electricity,'' he says. “If you think of electricity that means you have a light bulb. If you have a light bulb then you have an idea and if you have an idea, you can change the world.”
His goal is to alleviate the stress and pain of others and continue providing resources and opportunities for those in need.
“I want generational wealth. I want to keep doing more and leave a legacy,” he says. “I want people to know damn, that m*ther f**ker cared right there and not just in Watts but everywhere else too.”
If you'd like to listen to Stix’s music, click here and for more on the Think Watts Foundation, visit here.
