The Neighborhood Kids bring revolutionary messages back to hip-hop

In early April, thousands of protestors in Los Angeles took to the streets to take part in the nationwide "Hands Off!" rallies organized in protest of the Trump administration, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As the march drew to a close, concluding at the steps of the L.A. City Hall, headlining the rally’s concluding event, were hip-hop artists Amon the MC, Verde, and DJ JG, who are members of the bilingual hip-hop fusion group The Neighborhood Kids (TNK).

Draped in keffiyehs, the trio donned matching camo-style vests adorned with inscriptions reading “ACAB” and “No borders stolen land” amongst others. Halfway through the group’s set, vocalist Amon takes the moment to address the crowd: “If you’re mad about the kids in the cages, this next time it comes around, you need to scream it! Unless you’re complicit with it!!” He then dove into one of their most popular songs, ‘Kids in the Cages’, a rallying call to action demanding an end to child incarceration, family separation at the border, and the abolishment of ICE.

Hailing from San Diego, California, few voices are as unique and bold in the region’s often overlooked underground hip-hop scene as TNK. Over the past several years, the eccentric crew of emcees, DJs, and live musicians has not only blended genres, they have also deliberately pushed the boundaries of conventional hip-hop and actively sought to challenge the status quo through their music and activism. Pulling influences from artists such as Immortal Technique, Atmosphere and Rage Against the Machine, TNK stands apart from many of their peers in San Diego’s tight-knit music scene, regularly incorporating politics into their music and breaching a myriad of topics such as police brutality, immigration, child abuse, racism, economic inequality and even issues taking place abroad, like the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Humble beginnings 

Before the group’s inception, lead vocalists and founding members Ruben Moreno and Vernice Lopez, aka Amon the MC and Verde, both made music individually in San Diego’s local hip-hop scene before they started dating. Before long, the pair began floating the idea of starting a rap group, an increasingly rare sight as more hip-hop artists have opted for solo careers. The group’s name and humble origins date back to 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic at the height of quarantine and social distancing measures. Amon cited a particular instance that inspired the group’s namesake, which occurred during an interaction both he and Verde had with neighborhood youth on the block of their North Park community in San Diego.

“During the lockdown, Verde and I were still just writing all of our music together, and we really wanted a name that encompasses what we had,” Amon recalled. “Everybody was on lockdown, and the kids across the street from us were always playing basketball because you couldn't leave or do anything at the time. We were just messing around, playing ball with them, and one of our other neighbors said to us, ‘We saw you guys hanging out with the neighborhood kids,’ and it just clicked.” Soon afterwards, Amon and Verde enlisted longtime friend and collaborator DJ JG to serve as the group’s DJ, as well drummer Gatoz Locos, bassist Emerson, guitarist/engineer Jon the Funkymonk and Niko Rosy as the group’s in-house producer shortly thereafter.

“We're silly and weird. We'll make jokes every day and just shoot the shit”, Verde said, recalling the light-hearted origins of the group’s namesake. “I think it resonates so well, the message of keeping that inner kid. A lot of people have this ego, but we're all just kids. We gotta keep that energy.”

Since then, TNK has pushed the creative envelope with their music. Drawing inspiration from hip-hop, Latin, and rock influences, the group’s sonic collage of organized chaos has given TNK its own unique and dynamic sound. Mixing old school boom bap hip-hop production, punk aesthetics, and jazzy instrumental sections that invoke an almost timeless touch to much of their music. Historically, the group’s hometown of San Diego has not been known as a powerhouse in hip-hop, with the region best known for producing alternative rock acts such as Stone Temple Pilots or, perhaps most notably, Blink-182. 

Short of artists like Chicano rapper Lil’ Rob or Jayo Felony in the mid-90s, the region has produced only a handful of rappers who have garnered widespread mass appeal outside the area or beyond the obscure confines of the underground hip-hop scene. However, in a post-streaming age, where the lines between genres are continually blurred, TNK is one such group that not only defies categorization but is also pushing the boundaries of what kind of content artists in the region typically incorporate into their music. “Things musically are fusing so much now”, Amon said, in regards to the group’s eclectic sound.  “Now, we don't even know what the genre is. You can hear tones of hip-hop, there's tones of punk, or there's tones of whatever it is. And now it's getting out to the ears of millions of people.”

Blurring the lines 

Needless to say, both TNK’s music and appeal defy not only the confines of genre limitations but regionality as well. The crew has established a strong local following not only in their hometown of San Diego, but has also built a rapidly growing profile outside of the Southern California region as well. The contrast of TNK’s sound, in addition to the subject matter discussed in their music, gives the group broad appeal beyond just listeners of underground hip-hop, much of which can also be attributed to the extremely social media-savvy nature of the group, which has transformed the way emerging artists make music and which the group has expertly utilized to build a large following online.

In 2023, the group released their debut project, a five-track EP entitled “Every Child Left Behind”, followed by a string of popular singles. The group’s most popular single,“Biddi Bomb,” has accumulated over 300,000 spins on Spotify alone. Despite only releasing one EP and a handful of singles, the group’s popularity and profile have seen a significant upswing, amassing an ever-growing fanbase with over 250,000 followers on TikTok alone and another 60,000 on Instagram. “TikTok is one thing that's really changing our lives right now, and getting our message across and really putting our music onto other people,” Amon explained. “The world is very much changing, television doesn't really exist anymore, and the Internet is now the dominant form of entertainment. The same way that you can slip these messages into your music, if you slip that into your content on the internet, you're going to get that message across to a lot of people.”

Without question, platforms such as TikTok have not only rewritten the rules of music exposure and promotion, but it has also allowed the group to get their message across online and transform their viral popularity into real-world momentum. Last summer, the group performed at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival in Seattle, Washington, performing alongside several other high-profile hip-hop artists such as Macklemore and Bambu. Though their music frequently touches on a variety of political and social issues that even many independent hip-hop artists are leery to address, the group fully embraces the socially conscious label being applied to their music.

TNK’s challenges to the status quo are not just regulated to issues within the U.S. either. In addition to speaking out against domestic issues such as police brutality and white supremacy, the group has also been an ardent supporter of the Palestinian liberation movement. The group regularly makes reference to the displacement of Palestinians from their homeland in their music. 

“For us, the struggle of the Palestinian people is not separate from our own, it’s intertwined. As a group grounded in hip-hop, born from resistance, we recognize settler colonialism, state violence, surveillance, and militarization as global tools of oppression,” Amon said. “What’s happening in Gaza is part of the same system that funds police brutality, ICE raids, and mass incarceration in our own neighborhoods. When we speak out for Palestinian liberation, we’re speaking out for all people fighting to breathe under the boot of the empire. Hip-hop has always been a weapon of the oppressed and about telling truths that were being silenced. That’s why we use our music to speak out. Because silence is complicity, and we refuse to be silent.”

Speaking truth to power

Going forward, TNK shows no signs of slowing down. Last week, the group took home awards at the 25th Annual San Diego Music Awardsfor both Best Hip-Hop/Rap Artist and Best New Artist. Likewise, the group plans on releasing a proper full-length project late this year or early 2026, while dropping singles and visuals for their tracks along the way. “Being able to motivate people and inspire others through music is awesome to see,” said DJ JG in regards to the group’s message resonating across a wide spectrum of listeners. “You can really change somebody's life through music, even by just scratching and manipulating sounds.”

As the country increasingly becomes more volatile under a wildly unpredictable administration, Amon stressed that regardless of which political party occupies the Oval Office, artists have an obligation to use their platforms to speak out. “Artists have a duty to respond to the world they exist in,” Amon said. “When leaders are openly promoting hate and division, we can’t afford to hide behind neutrality.”

Verde also stressed that artists must continue to act boldly, especially in the months and years ahead. “The industry often rewards silence and punishes resistance. But that’s all the more reason to speak louder,” Verde said. “We respect the ones who risk their platforms, their deals, even their safety to say what needs to be said. Too many artists trade truth for comfort or speak in code when they should be speaking plainly. We need more voices willing to disrupt and call out the structures that feed off our communities. If your art doesn’t challenge or question power, then maybe you're just echoing it.”