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 Dabri has been involved in Hip-Hop for over 25 years. Since a child growing up in New Jersey, Hip-Hop was a huge part of his childhood experience. Even at an early age Dabri started a Breakin' Crew, and even had his own Hip-Hop group. By the time Dabri was a teen, he had relocated to Los Angeles, California in the mid 80's due to his mother's health (she was in treatment for cancer at a Los Angeles hospital). Dabri's mother died of cancer when he was 13.
After his mother's death, Dabri spent much of his teen years living on the streets, staying with friends, and struggling to beat the determinism of poverty. As a full-fledged Run DMC hat sportin' Hip-Hop freak and his Jersey accent and old school dress code (not to mention poverty influenced), he began walking the streets of California to begin his life in the west coast.
He spent much of his years as a teen DJ'ing at different venues, battling at open-mic nights at clubs and parties, and dealing with tremendous diversity. He finished high school on his own and eventually enrolled in college. At the same time, he continued to embrace the culture, which he knew so well.
After years of battling at freestyle venues, working with Zulu Nation, and doing other Hip-Hop related activities, Dabri decided to start ICU, The first Hip-Hop organization to address the emergence of the Internet. ICU was also the first Hip-Hop organization to strictly focus on the elements of Hip-Hop and was also the largest Hip-Hop organization in the world, with over 50,000 members worldwide.
While running ICU, Dabri also spent his time as a studio engineer, a co-host to a bay area radio show with Davey D, a web designer, and many other projects that he did to keep himself going. Dabri earned his Bachelors degree in Psychology and is almost finished earning his Masters degree. He has aspirations to move on to his doctorate as well. He has worked in several fields over the years. This past few years he has worked as a teacher, an adolescent counselor, and he currently works in marketing for a technology company. Dabri was featured on the front page of a newspaper in 2001 for his accomplishments, detailing his rise from poverty to a college graduate. He currently lives in San Diego, California, has 2 children, and is still down for the cause. |
