This weekend—truly a last hurrah before the seasons change—San Jose’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez will be the site of the last two concerts for Metro’s Music in the Park concert series. In between there is Kids Day in the Park, presented by Bay Area Parent.
The headliners for the Sept. 20 and Sept. 22 shows—Cuco and J Boog, respectively—have been set for weeks. Yet it’s only been a few days since another act on the Sept 22 bill was revealed. And the name should be familiar to local music fans.
On Sept. 17, rapper/producer Rey Resurreccion—a San Jose native who relocated to Brooklyn—put out the following announcement: “I’m coming home to San Jose, baby. I’m gonna be rocking Music in the Park with the big homie J Boog, Man, my first show back in a long time. I haven’t performed in San Jose in a minute.”
Known for his original compositions, nostalgic samples and heavy synths, Resurreccion is the embodiment of South Bay rap—yet he relocated to Brooklyn considerably longer ago than a minute. On the other coast he has continued to hone his craft not only as an songwriter but also as a producer, engineer and musician.
Rey Res, as he’s also known, fell hard for rap in his sophomore year at Oak Grove High School. Rey’s dad bought him a Boss DR-5, his first drum machine. “I was obsessed with rapping and making beats,” he told Metro writer Brandon E. Roos back in 2014, recalling how he joined up with a group of friends to form the rap clique Solar Powered.
Since 2009, Resurreccion has dropped various full-length albums, EPs, mixtapes and collaborations, working with the most talented producers and emcees in the region, including Bangerz, Chexmex, Goldenchyld, Dirtbag Dan and Andrew Bigs.
Of all these many tracks, the one that’s most on point in light of this weekend’s show is “The Hometown,” Resurreccion’s signature song. A tribute to San Jose, it features Rey reminiscing about his city of origin over a sample of banda music provided by Bangerz member Cutso.
In the summer of 2011, when the Bangerz opened for the reggae group Natural Vibrations at Music in the Park, the group decided to close their set by inviting Rey to perform “The Hometown.”
It was a moment of triumph for Resurreccion, who used to take light rail to hang out in Plaza de Cesar Chavez. “It’s definitely one of the highlights of my career, to be from San Jose performing on that stage,” he told Roos.
Resurreccion also tweeted on Sept. 17, “Music In the Park is legendary. If you’re from San Jose, you know. So I’m gonna need all my people to come out. Come out and rock with me.”
As Resurreccion sings in “The Hometown”:
And I remember all the Saturdays like they were yesterday
Day pass, flea market, movies and arcades
Barbecues, fairgrounds, go-karts, taquerias, pho noodle
Music in the Park and fly señoritas.
