Bop City’s mission is to capture life, politics, passion, angst, joy, pain, love and family witin the lyrics we write, the songs we produce and the performances we present.

What is Bop City?

Bop City, where we dwell: It’s a place where the neo-funk smellz. A place I can shout out loud while not offending the crowd. Bop City is not physical. It’s a meta-phyzical, spiritual, where artists get lifted, everyday folk come to kick it and get twisted. Bop City is a state of mental, where booty, beauty, politics and passion, a dash of joy, a pinch of pain, a lot a’ love and la raza are intertwined into the delicious…bopalicious.

Who We Are...

Bop City is a team of Berkeley/Oakland bred performers and producers whose individual expertise and life experiences has brought them together to form a unit devoted to music, entertainment, enterprise and education.

Individually and collectively, we have traveled the globe. We’ve found that the soul of our music is in the soul of many countries and cultures. The music and its message embodies a phrase often associated with the Bay Area: Think globally, Act locally. We believe it’s possible to change the world through music, one person at a time.

Martin G. Reynolds ("HoFlow") : Vocals, Music Production

This Berkeley, California native has been involved with music from a young age. HoFlow's first instrument was the trumpet, which he played throughout high school. He set down his horn to pick up a microphone, and has since emerged as one of the Bay Area's premier lyricists. HoFlow is a Chips Quinn Scholar and earned his degree in journalism from San Francisco State University, while balancing a full-time position in the young powerhouse group Jungle Biskit. HoFlow employs his literary skills as a city editor with The Oakland Tribune. "Being a journalist has helped me become a better songwriter, and being a lyricist has helped me become a better journalist," he said in an interview with L.A. Times.

He is an original member of Mingus Amungus and appears on both the group's CDs, "Live in Cuba" and "Isms". With Mingus, Jungle Biskit and Bop City, he has toured Cuba, Europe extensively, including shows in Istanbul, Turkey, Berlin, and Frankfurt, Germany, Brussels, and Gent, Belgium, Milan, and Bergamo, Italy, Rotterdam, Holland, Lustinaeu, Austria, Athens, Greece, Washington, D.C., New York City and St. Petersburg, Florida, to name a few cities. He has also performed alongside such artists as Joshua Redman, Wu Tang Klan, shared the stage with Carlos Santana, Christian McBride, Pete Escovedo, John Santos, The Coup, The Mingus Big Band and a host of other notable performers.

In 1997, HoFlow and Mic Blake came together when Mic joined Jungle Biskit. In 2002, they teamed up to create Bop City. Their contrasting vocal tones and styles give Bop City the distinctive sound that is their trademark.

Caitlin T. Cornwell : Vocals, Arrangements

Caitlin Cornwell was born in Berkeley and raised in Oakland, Ca. Her singing career began at 4-years-old when she took the stage for the first time at the high school where her father taught. As a child, she performed at the Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley and with the Oakland Children's Chorus. She later joined with the Interfaith Gospel Choir, which enabled her to sing along side artists including Tramaine Hawkins, Linda Rondstat, Bobby McFerrin, The Neville Brothers, MC Hammer and others. With Interfaith for four years, Caitlin was then a member of the Bay Area funk sensation the Mo'Fessionals for three years, selling out every club across San Francisco.

Afterward, she landed a record deal with Interscope/Bel Air Records. When that deal was complete, she departed the label and went on to sign with Atlantic/Big Beat Records along side long-time singing partner Zoe Ellis, and formed The Braids. The Braids released the album "Here We Come", which featured the hit Queen remake "Bohemian Rhapsody". The song hit No. 44 on the Billboard charts, was an even bigger hit overseas and was featured on the High School High movie soundtrack that went gold, selling more than 500,000 copies.

Caitlin also joined with Grateful Dead guitarist Phil Lesh and was featured on his album "Phil Lesh and Friends Live at the Warfield" which was recorded and released in 1999. After a hiatus following the birth of her son, she joined the accapella sensation SoVoSo in 2003 to-2004. She left the group to devote more time to Bop City. Caitlin is a polished pro and icon of the Bay Area music scene. She has performed at every major night club and performance venue in San Francisco and Oakland, including Slim's, Yoshi's, the Warfield, Great American Musical Hall, the Paramount Theater and many others.

Michael “mic” Blake : Vocals, Music Production

Michael Blake started out his professional music career in high school when he hooked up with Michael Marshall, who later formed the group Timex Social Club, known for their international hit “Rumors”. With Timex, Mic toured with RunDMC and other prominent artists. His experience on the road inspired him.

He returned with a vision to mix sampling and turntables with live instrumentation. Mic took this vision and applied it to the local hip-hop scene, throwing parties that included dancing, but with spoken word and live music, this at a time when few were combing all three genres. After high school he joined groups the Broun Fellinis and Daddy Goddus, later becoming a member of Alphabet Soup. With “Soup” Mic helped produce two albums “Layin Low in the Cut” and “Strivin.” The album featured the single, and video “Take a Ride,” which aired regularly on BET. While with Alphabet Soup, Mic had the opportunity to cross paths with artist who cross genre and generation and include: Angel, Guru, Brooklyn Funk Essential, Mingus Amungus, The Mo’ Fessionals, Groove Collective, The Roots, Queen Latifa, Jru the Damaga, War, Primus, and Charlie Hunter, among others. Mic has a unique deep, rich vocal tone. It could best be compared to that of the great singer and composers, Barry White and Isaac Hayes. He brings a fire to the studio and stage that ignites a track and enflames a show.

In 1997, Blake joined Jungle Biskit and helped create the Bop City Project. As Bop City, the group had two European tours and released a six song self-titled EP. In 2002, Blake and HoFlow moved to take the music further. Working together, and with their extended music family, they set out to put the Bay sound back on the map.

Ronnie “Groove” Smith : Drums

It might be said that drummer Ronnie Smith’s percussive passion came long before his mentors taught him to shuffle a beat or set a good groove in the pocket. In fact, his desire may be more innate than learned since the girth of his family tree has guttural roots in gospel and Motown. Though he was recognized early on as a talented vocalist, it was the splash and thump of his grandfather’s drum kit that kept Ronnie spellbound. By the time he was wearing down the skins of his first drum set in the pulpit of West Oakland’s Greater Mingleton Temple, Ronnie was well on his way to leaving his mark as one of the great left-handed drummers of the East Bay.

Born, raised and still based in the East Bay, Ronnie has completed several national and international tours and continues to gig regularly on all circuits—from Jazz to Blues to Rock & Roll and everything in between. Each experience lends brogue and texture to the skills he’d already honed under the mentorship of greats like Billy “Shoes” Johnson (Maze), Larry Braggs (Tower of Power), Barry Finnerty (Miles Davis, Crusaders, Brecker Brothers) and Tony Lindsay (Santana).

Ronnie’s musical flavor further gained it’s exquisite seasoning in the company of The Braxton Brothers, Ledisi, Goapele, Gospel Hummingbirds, Sista Monica, Jon Hammond and Late Rent, Ron Hacker and the Hacksaws, Annie Sampson, Samba Ngo & the Ngoma Players and many notable others.

Currently, Ronnie came together with long-time friends and musical brethren John “Jubu” Smith (Maze), Eric Smith (Lalah Hathaway), Errol Cooney (Fantasia) and Carl Wheeler (Maze) to form the band Legally Blynd. The band is working on a release of their first CD. Other projects on his current roster include appearances with Mike Marshall (Timex Social Club) and Bob City - a live hip hop/jazz amalgam of members from renowned Bay Area bands, Alphabet Soup and Jungle Biskit; and recordings for the John Hammon Group and up-and-coming Blues artist Leah Tysse.

Jacob Elijah Aginsky : Keyboards

Jacob Elijah Aginsky started playing the piano at five years old. By the time he was eleven, he showed enough talent to be admitted into the San Francisco Conservatory. Within a few years, however, he had quit in search of a good jazz teacher. Since then he has studied with notables Randy Craig, Mark Levine, Herbie Hancock and Eddie Marshall, as well as going through the University of California at Santa Cruz and San Francisco State's Music Performance program.

Based primarily in the Bay Area, Jacob first toured Europe in the summer of 1995 with his Pacific Blue Jazz Quintet to promote sales for the independently produced album, "Schmoozin'" (APCD001). In the fall of the same year, he was invited to tour solo through Japan as a harlem-stride style pianist. Since his return in 1996, Jacob Elijah has produced two new jazz recordings entitled ". . . And Some" (NR0029) and "Travelogue" (NR0030) distributed under the Noir Records label, and most recently "Live, in solo concert" (APCD006) recorded in 2001.

In recent years, Jacob has become more involved with the DJ community, exploring the boundaries between the contemporary rhythms of trip-hop, jungle and drum-and-bass and the spontaneity and improvisation of jazz. He has recorded with some of the finest turntablists, including DJ Quest and Cut Chemist. Jacob Elijah has also been working alongside drummer Eric Garland on their new project Subnautic, the wonderfully talented vocalist Gretchen Lieberum on several albums, and DJAiko in BeatDestruct.

David Ewell : Electric Bass

Coming Soon!