On a hot summer evening in Inglewood, the Beatrock Music crew gathered at a cozy home recording studio. Fresh off eight-hour workdays and traffic-packed commutes with children in tow, they were ready to get to work on Bambu DePistola’s album and upcoming event at The Ford on October 10, both titled Bass Building.

The team trickled in as Bambu and his creative partner, DJ Phatrick, sat in the studio playing tracks, critiquing, planning what’s next to add and more. The team floated between producing, talking deadlines, catching up, checking on the kids and grandkids, and talking shit in the backyard—the way you’d expect a crew of friends, family, and creative partners of 20 plus years to do.

In those two decades, Bambu has released 17 projects with Beatrock Music. His latest album—Bass Building—dropped on October 1. Its title is a clever play on words reflecting both his base-building career as an organizer, engaging and building up the power of everyday people in his local community, and his desire to produce a bass-heavy record.

Bambu’s bass-making and base-building history date back to his upbringing in LA in the ’90s as a fan of N.W.A., Ice Cube’s Death Certificate album, and LA underground rappers. Hip-hop was a way to connect, and its unapologetic storytelling and critique stuck with Bambu. Organizing made its way into his life after serving in the Marines and bled into his music after he was challenged by a comrade to go further. “They told me, ‘Hey you make some pretty good music, but the substance is kind of weak, ’cause you’re not really out in the street doing the organizing work.’” Since taking up that challenge, he’s worked in anti-war spaces, grassroots youth organizations, and in-prison programs providing ethnic studies curriculums to incarcerated individuals.

With this theme and history, his upcoming show is perhaps decades in the making, blending hip-hop and organizing in a way that invites audience members to “join shit,” too. Pivoting from a traditional standing-room show and making the most of the seated theater venue, Bass Building, the live show, invites audience members to experience a community organizing meeting.

Imagine that hot summer evening in Inglewood again. But instead of a music production crew discussing deadlines and working on a record, it’s neighbors, organizers, and leaders enjoying food, connecting with one another, and exchanging stories and lessons on stage at The Ford.

Bambu wants to dispel the myths about organizing meetings: “Youth can be scared of what these meetings could be like, you know? They think it’s like the French 75, where it’s this underground movement, but it’s actually really fun—it’s a lot of fun. There’s icebreakers, you get to know everybody, there’s free food, you meet all these new like-minded folks and folks from different backgrounds. I wanted to find a way to replicate that.”

Whether you’re here to experience this blend of community building, hip-hop, and spoken word live or simply listen to Bambu’s awakening and energizing rhymes on Bass Building, get ready to join some shit.