The Best San José Anthems, as Chosen by DJ Cutso

From East San José, Paolo “Cutso” Bello has been a producer and DJ in the music scene for over 30 years. While he’s performed all across the Bay Area, without a doubt, San José is his home. From house parties, bar mitzvahs and weddings to festivals, clubs, and competitions, Cutso has not only contributed to the city’s arts and culture landscape, he’s watched it evolve.

On Wednesday, Cutso helps kick off a week of festivities for San José Day, DJing at an exhibit with work from more than 100 artists at the Noble Workshop and Gallery from 5–9 p.m. Other events during the week include a photo walk, flash tattoo special, bike night and fashion showcase, leading up to Saturday’s big celebration with vendors, live music and performances at Creekside in San José.

Since the week celebrates all things San José, KQED Arts asked Cutso for his Top 5 San José anthems — songs that never fail to get the city energized. In no particular order, here are his picks.

MC Twist, ‘I Like it Loud’

With his LL Cool J-esque style, local rapper MC Twist’s “I Like it Loud” wastes little time before shouting out East San José in its introduction. It’s a record many San José DJs use in their own intros: “This is the house I rock today, and I chill in the East Side of San José.”

“That’s our flagship song, yo,” Cutso says. “MC Twist ‘I Like it Loud’ – that’s a big one for San José.”

Stevie B, ‘Spring Love’

Lisa Lisa from Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, one of New York City’s first Latin freestyle stars, once told Cutso that San José had always been a hotbed for freestyle. Having grown up with freestyle music, that conversation only reaffirmed what he already knew – freestyle music is rooted deep in San José culture.

“That is the anthem that really speaks to generations born and raised in San José,” Custo says. “You ask anybody from San José what’s the first freestyle song that pops in their head, it’s ‘Spring Love.’”

Rey Resurreccion, ‘The Hometown’

Produced by Cutso during what he refers to as his city’s “streetwear and art renaissance,” “The Hometown” captures the nostalgia of growing up surrounded by San José culture.

“We didn’t even set out to make that song an anthem,” he tells KQED. “We were just like, ‘Let’s just make a song about San José.’ I sampled a banda record and made that as a joke, and Rey was like, ‘Yo, let me try messing with that one.’ So, he ended up writing a song about growing up in San José, and it spoke to a lot of people who grew up in San José.”

Traxamillion ft. Too Short and Mistah F.A.B, ‘Sideshow’

While “Sideshow” pays homage to Oakland street culture, the track’s roots can be traced back to San José’s Traxamillion, who helped solidify San José as an anchor of the Bay Area hip-hop scene.

“He was heavily involved in the hyphy scene, and that was a big thing in San José. I saw a lot of my underground rap friends from San José turn into hyphy rappers overnight,” Cutso says. “Traxamillion was part of that scene. He was really driving the San José sect of the hyphy scene, producing for a lot of big cats out in Oakland and San Francisco, and really helping drive the movement.”

Brenton Wood, ‘Gimmie Little Sign’

San José is synonymous with lowrider culture, so it only makes sense that one of Cutso’s picks is a staple of lowrider cruises.

“Oldies culture and lowrider culture was such a big thing,” Cutso says. “There’s so many artists I could have picked from that whole pool, but Brenton Wood was the first one to come to mind, just because I’d seen him live numerous times in San José.”

San José Day events run April 8–12 at various locations, with San José Day itself taking place on Saturday, April 11, at Creekside (52 Barack Obama Blvd., San José). More information can be found here.