Hip-Hop legend and Bay Area icon, Del The Funky Homosapien reminisced on his early days on the Hip-Hop scene in an exclusive interview for Rock The Bells Radio's All City Day: Bay Area, which dedicates an entire day to Hip-Hop from the Bay Area.

Specifically, the Oakland rapper/producer recalled his first performance back in the day in San Leandro at a skating rink.

"The first local venue I performed out here was a roller skating rink in San Leandro," he remembered. "That skating rink ain't there anymore, this was hella far back. Rodney O and Joe Cooley had a show there and I used to fool with this dude Pierre
The Beat Fixer — he used to make beats for Too Short. Somehow I got hooked up with him. And Spice-1 was running around with us at that time. That was the first venue I did."

As part of the pivotal Bay Area collective, the Hieroglyphics, Del further cemented his place as an eclectic artist who wasn't afraid to swerve left of center in pursuit of his art. He ultimately influenced a range of Hip-Hop acts in the process, and over the course of his career has worked with some of Hip-Hop's best, including his cousin Ice Cube, via his stint ghostwriting for the Da Lench Mob prior to the release of his 1991 acclaimed debut album, I Wish My Brother George Was Here. Del talked about growing up in the Bay, and finding solace at a couple of music stores in Berkley – Rasputin Music and Amoeba Music.

"Both of those places were like ground zero for me because I was a music lover," he recalled. "They had locations in Berkeley and I used to hang out in Berkeley quite a bit because it was a different vibe. It was more peaceful, at least by the college and all that. Berkeley always had that hippy-ish vibe and I was into that."

Rock The Bells Radio dedicates an entire day to Hip-Hop from the Bay Area, California. Tune into All City Day: Bay Area to hear music and commentary from Too $hort, E-40, Sway, Spice 1, Money B of Digital Underground, Del The Funky Homosapien, and more. Plus hear exclusive mixes from some of The Bay's best DJs including – DJ Fuze, DJ Apollo, and DJ D-Sharp. Premieres 10/28 at 8 am ET on Rock The Bells Radio, Sirius XM Ch. 43. Listen to Rock The Bells Radio on @SiriusXM free for 3 months. Learn more: http://www.siriusxm.com/RTB3.