Mistah F.A.B. walks the walk

Mistah F.A.B. represents hope for Bay Area hip-hop.

The Oakland rapper is a beacon to many music fans: reflecting the streets in his raps, speaking out at city council meetings and visiting his fans in their classrooms.

“I just want to be the nationwide spokesperson for the Bay Area,” says the 25-year-old, who takes the interview call from his alma mater Oakland Technical High School, asking the students to scream out, “Hi.”

And, while many are complaining about the stagnation of hyphy, the Bay Area’s brand of hip-hop, and the few Bay Area artists who get signed to major labels, F.A.B. is taking things into his own hands.

His major debut on Atlantic Records may be held until fall or winter, but his independent album “Da Baydestrian” comes out today, kicking off a slew of summer releases by other Bay Area artists. The hyphy scene was nearly static until this release, and many are looking to this album to gauge the fruitfulness of Bay Area hip-hop.

“People out here want to see if he has what it takes. We have a lot to prove,” says Will Bronson, co-founder of San Francisco independent label SMC Recordings, the label that is putting out F.A.B.’s independent release.

If anybody is up to that challenge, it would be F.A.B.

“He’s holding up the Bay,” says rapper Too Short, considered by the genre’s fans as “the Godfather of the Bay.” F.A.B. is “bringing it to the next level.”

Growing up in Oakland, F.A.B. had a lot to rail against: a brother who was in prison for 11 years, a mother who was a drug addict, a father who was a pimp and whose heroin addiction and needle use led to his death from an AIDS-related disease.

“I had three significant reasons why not to go down that road,” says F.A.B., born Stanley P. Cox. “Adversity is something that shows character of a person. We can’t complain about things we have no control over. … What I can change is make a negative into a positive.”

When he was 8, F.A.B. received a letter from his father, who in prison at the time. It said: “No matter what you do in life, just stay positive, because out of all my kids, and everything, I think you’re the chosen one.”

F.A.B. was 12 when his father died. He still has that letter.

These days, you may just spot Desire Jeffrey, F.A.B.’s mother, at his shows and events. In October, she was collecting money for tickets at his major-label signing party in Sunnyvale – whose guests included Bay Area rappers Too Short and Turf Talk, plus national artists like Snoop Dogg and Young Jeezy.

“I was the victim of a drug war, but I was able to overcome that, and not lose interest in my son,” Jeffrey says.

“I made sure he was my priority, and once you steer kids in the right direction and give them nothing but love and attention, you guide them in the right way.”

Now a regular on KYLD-FM (94.9) with his own show Friday nights, F.A.B. has grown far from what he calls the “popular broke dude.”

He started writing raps in notebooks when he was 8. He recorded his own music in high school using a boom box. Then, his mother gave him the choice between financial support through four years of college or through four years of music. F.A.B. chose music.

Later, F.A.B. competed in a Black Entertainment Television freestyle competition with Jin Tha Emcee. The results still are disputed, but the competition is in the DVD “The Freestyle King.”

F.A.B’s new album comes with that DVD and a free download of “Son of a Pimp,” his breakthrough album.

The package tracks F.A.B.’s growth from freestyle rapper spitting lines off the top of his head to party rapper with rhymes fit for hyphy, to songwriter with a national debut.

F.A.B.’s latest battle was his single “Ghost Ride It.” Drawing from Bay Area hyphy culture, F.A.B. rapped about “ghost riding the whip,” a popular and dangerous sport that has drivers and passengers dancing next to and on top of moving cars while the vehicles are in neutral.

When the video came out some months ago, F.A.B. was blamed for deaths caused by the pastime. MTV asked for edit after edit on the video, and eventually banned it. Columbia Pictures, which owns the “Ghostbusters” franchise, demanded the video be pulled because it still owned the rights to the likeness of the “Ghostbusters” car and logo, which were altered but used in the video.

“I ain’t going to lie and be like, `I ain’t ghost ride. I mean, I do. But that’s not what I do every day, nor do I say you should ghost ride like this. What I tell people – it’s something dangerous,” F.A.B. says. “So just be responsible for what you’re doing.”

But whatever F.A.B. does, his fans support him.

“He has a fan base that I’m convinced loves him,” his mother says.

This is a fan base that not only listens to his music, but admires him. At shows, these fans hug him and ask him for advice.

On his days off from recording and touring, F.A.B. is a regular at Oakland Tech, giving students impromptu lessons on life. And he’s a constant in Oakland, often speaking at events about the need for more youth centers.

“He’s a real important role model for youth in Oakland,” says Jacky Johnson, who worked for the Youth UpRising Center, a youth leadership development center in Oakland. “He’s real tangible … He understands the city. … Their frustrations and reality are his reality.”

This reality is reflected in his work.

“If you want something to change in your community, be a part of that change,” F.A.B. says. “I’m living proof that things and change can come.”