Ozay Moore and his boombox

Lansing resident Ozay Moore lives and breathes hip-hop. As executive director for All of the Above Hip Hop Academy, a nonprofit, the lyricist also spreads that love and artistic culture to local youths. But that’s not all Moore is up to these days. 

“I’m raising my two boys, loving my wife and building into the arts infrastructure of Lansing through hip-hop and advocacy work,” the Seattle native said. “I’m learning, sharpening my skills and being the change I want to see.”

As for his favorite thing, it’s of course tied to the vibrant genre that shaped his life. Here’s what Moore, 38, had to say:

My favorite thing is my Sanyo M9975 boombox. It was manufactured in 1976. I found it and decorated it in 2004. The boombox was sitting in a closet at my parent’s house.

I acquired it while on a visit home to Seattle while living in Portland, Oregon. I thought it was fresh, so I took it back with me just as a decoration in my apartment. Next thing you know, I was using it and taking it on tour with my crew, Lightheaded. It sat on our merch table every night. We’d play fellow crew member Ohmega Watts’ beat tapes on it after the show while folks shopped at our table. If a fellow emcee stepped up to our table, and the invitation was made to cypher, the Sanyo served as our backdrop to impromptu freestyles.

I became forever attached to it after a graffiti writer, Teck 1, in Denver Colorado, asked if he could customize it for us. We had two shows in town, so he took it home with him the first night and returned it at the second show covered with our names on it, slogans and phrases. It was all done in paint markers and aerosol! It was the dopest gift we’d ever received.

Today, I still see it every day. The tape deck no longer works, but the radio does. For the most part, it just sits at All of the Above Hip Hop Academy as a piece of hip-hop history. The box has seen a lot, so sometimes it inspires a story or two while in its presence.

It’ll always be special to me because it serves as a reminder of my path here. It reminds me of the people along the way—my evolution and growth as an individual and legacy I’m working on leaving. I have a deep connection to the stories, processes and history of hip hop. It’s the stories, processes and histories of people’s lives and it is beautiful.

(This interview was edited and condensed by Rich Tupica. If you have a suggestion for Favorite Things, email rich@lansingcitypulse.com.)