Daniel Mondragón is a local photographer who grew up in the Mission. We asked him to select and photograph his 10 favorite Mission artists. In this installment of our series Young Mission Talent, Mondragón talks with Francis “Billy Lo” Sudaria, a rapper and skateboarder.
Francis “Billy Lo” Sudaria, 23, poet, skateboarder and rapper, has been been back and forth between the 24th street area and the outer Mission most of his life. He lived in the Excelsior for more than six years and began skateboarding and writing poetry at 15. His style – “Pure Hip Hop” with lyrics coming “straight from the heart.”
What inspires you about the Mission District?
Billy Lo: Coming from the Excelsior I wasn’t sure whether I’d be accepted, but I felt embraced by the locals in the Mission so that inspired and motivated me to continue to come out everyday. Being Filipino-American in the Mission meant I was very captivated by the Latino culture. Art is self-expression that is an extension of the mind. Skateboarding allows you to say what you can’t with words by creating and using energy. For example the movement of skateboarding is similar to dance and creating a vision through sounds and lyrics.
Photo by Daniel Mondragón
His favorite places: Mission Skateboard on 24th at Treat and Potrero del Sol a.k.a. La Raza’s Skatepark.
Why?
Billy Lo: You can create art and self-expression through skate tricks and various sorts of body movement. My main focus today is imagery through lyrics. I love to move and skate and dance but my favorite thing about art is when I paint pictures or tell stories through an open-mic poem or a rap over a beat.”
Billy Lo on the Microphone Photo by Daniel Mondragón
Recent Work?
Billy Lo: There’s a new music video out on YouTube. I Dropped my first mixtape “Dirty Kicks & Fat Pockets” last November 13th. I am dropping my first single off my EP “Devils Market” on December 26th with my very own single “Tryna Make it Happen.”
If Billy is not skateboarding or writing lyrics for his next song, you can find him at open mics in places like Mamá Art Cafe.
Francis Billy Lo can be found and listened to via the links below.
Instagram @billylomusic
www.soundcloud.com User BILLYLO1
www.BandCamp.com User BillyLo1
