CK Smart (Chris Kelly)

I started working as a bar back at Mr Fives in Aug of 1991, having just graduated college a couple months prior. I lived around the corner, so the thought of working at a cool new night club and getting tips was kinda beyond my imagination. Low End Theory came out a few weeks later, then Brand Nubian, Gangstarr, Black Sheep, Cypress Hill, new Sade, Pal Joey and every week was like a new revolution in music. Mr Fives was a beautiful mixture of dancehall, hip hop, spoken word, deep house, soul, funk and early breaks/samples. Many nights you could hear all these styles flow fluidly within the span on an hour. Pharoahe Monch freestyled there; Q-Tip and Premier came by to check us out. One night Roger Sanchez DJed on 3 turntables, for like 5 hours. It was a Mecca for creatives in SF, new clothing companies, new musical artists, skaters, artists, poets, the whole gamut. I sold 2 bottles of Champaign to Mario Ellie on NYE Dec 31, 1991, swing guard and tenacious defender for the GS Warriors at the time. Another night all the members of BOOYA Tribe were there, just posted up at the bar in XXXL Pendletons. Those years massively inspired me and frankly sent me on the 🎶 course I’m still on. Thankfully. I’m DJing at @stillog.bar this Thurs 10/22 8-12midnight. All vinyl, with some classics from the epic Mr Fives era. Each one teach one. ❤️🎶🙏