As I wake up early Saturday morning and take the eye boogers out my eyes I look into the mirror and think to myself, “Damn I need a haircut.”
Every two weeks like a religion I find myself in a barber chair. Not just because my hair has grown out like a chia pet, but also to find what’s going on in the community. In my eyes, barber shops are a central hub of the hip hop community. Whether you need to get up to date analysis on sports, find the hottest trends on the streets, or ponder questions like what is wrong with Michael Jackson? Like a ghetto news show, barber shops update you on information you want to know and things you don’t want to know but you are going to have to hear anyway. Barber shops: First Amendment at its finest.
Sometimes you get a nice cut, sometimes you don’t. We have all experienced a bad haircut. To avoid the latter of the two, I will give locals a heads up on what Barber Shops to visit. As you may know there are many places to get a haircut in Tucson, but if you’re looking for a cookie cutter clip look into Cost Cutters. I went on location to two of the finer Barbershops in Tucson, Arizona. Here is a brief look into my visit to Al’s and DC’s Barbershops.
Al’s Barber Shop
861 E Grant Rd
Tucson, AZ 85719
(520) 622-2276
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-What made you start a barbershop?
Al- Just the need for it. I saw a need for it. I needed to get out there and get one started. At the time I was moving from downtown because they were tearing all the buildings down so I saw this area out here (Grant and Euclid) and just moved out. And it wasn’t that hard getting it started, ya know, getting the equipment and getting the building. I already had the clientele from working downtown because everything was in that area. At that time, umm, at Grant Road was considered far Eastside.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-How long have you been in business?
Al- 19 years. But I worked at another barbershop before I started my own. I worked at JT’s barbershop for about 6 and half years. Then I moved over here on Grant road and opened my own shop. That was 1965.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Knowing that music and style go hand-in-hand, how do you feel hip hop and barbershops relate?
Al- Umm Well, music has always been apart of my shop, whether I wasn’t watching the sports or something like that I used to have music on and it’s just always been apart of my shop. I guess you might say R&B; and hip hop, you know. It goes fine in my shop.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Where you do see hip hop going in the future?
Al- Oh I see it going as big as any other thing, blues, jazz; you know hip hop follows in that category as far as I’m concerned.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Do you consider your barbershop to be effected by hip hop?
Al-Oh ya. Ya I consider it. You know a lot goes on in the shop concerning hip hop.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-When you think about how hip hop is evolving, do you think it’s making progress or not?
Al- Ah it’s making progress. I see it making progress. You got your negative stuff out there with everything going on and you have kids fall into that category you know and I guess it depends on what the kids are looking for.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-How does your shop compare to other urban barbershops in Town?
Al- How’s it compare? Well my shop is sort of the old grandfather of the barbershops. I know 5 right off the top of my head that started shops that just branched off of my shop that started off with me. So I guess I’m the old stump (laughs) that shoots his roots out.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-What makes this shop a focal point of hip hop in our community?
Al- Well while I’ve been here so long it’ substantially been a focal point of the community. Just being a place to come and get taken care off and can always stop in and see what’s going on. A lot of people do business here and do a lot of networking here ya know.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat- How would you consider the change in hip hop in the last 19 years you have had this shop?
Al- Well it’s uh, everybody advertises in this shop, it adds a big part of promoting everything around with communication. I sell tickets for some people you know. It’s just one of the spots that connect with everything going on, whether it’s hip hop or other entertainment.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Knowing yourself how to start a business from scratch, what advice would you give to young artists trying to pursue a career in the music industry?
Al- Most people got their own talents and if they are good at it, and I would just tell them to pursue it and be the best they can be.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Being a barber, have you ever had a bad haircut? Explain.
Al- You mean give a bad haircut (laughs)? I can’t imagine having a bad haircut myself, but I assume I have given one in the past. Over the years I probably have given one or two. But I’m still here, so obviously I don’t give too many (laughs). I read in the Tucson Weekly that my barbershop and some black churches in Tucson are two of the black landmarks of Tucson. You know I’ve been here, so I hope it is.
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DC’s Barber Shop
1123 N Jefferson Ave
Tucson, AZ 85712
(520) 296-8411
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-What made you start a barbershop?
DC: I don’t know man, my grandfather was a barber, and my father was a barber.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-How long have you been in business?
DC: 14 years. I have had my own barbershop, DC’s, going on 4 years coming up in November.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Knowing that music and style go hand-in-hand, how do you feel hip hop and barbershops relate?
DC: Umm, I don’t know, they kind of go hand and hand because we watch videos and listen to music in here and we can relate to that. We have to give people what they want and do what’s hot.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Where you do see hip hop going in the future?
DC: That’s a good question man, cuz 30 years ago they said hip hoop wouldn’t last so we’re still here. There’s nothing to do but to get more positive and move forward ya know.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Do you consider your barbershop to be effected by hip hop?
DC: Somewhat. We always have the younger generation that come through and listen to hip hop. People come in here and play videos and watch the top ten (music videos on television) and come by and watch freestyle Friday shows of that nature. Sometimes we can have a rap up in here sometimes, it all depends on how we feel.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-When you think about how hip hop is evolving, do you think it’s making progress or not?
DC: Oh no, for show. It’s definitely making progress, 30 years and runnin’.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-How does your shop compare to other urban barbershops in Town?
DC: It’s a little different man because we have a sports theme and hip hop thing going on. People just come here to hang out and get loose and it’s not all stuffy. It’s a business but it has a more relaxed atmosphere you know.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-What makes this shop a focal point of hip hop in our community?
DC: Man, that’s a good question. I don’t know, a lot of people come here to get their stuff off though. A lot of rappers and producers, people of that nature, come to pass out fliers. It’s a cornerstone for that kind of stuff.
Andrew Bess-The Green Beat-Being a barber, have you ever had a bad haircut? Explain.
DC: Ya, I think everybody has had a bad haircut once in their life. Once a long time ago, it’s no big deal, I had a barber mess my up my edge up. But it’s nothing I couldn’t fix being a pro (laughs).
Here are some other Barbershops in Tucson, Arizona.
Eastside Barber Shop
8501 E 22nd St, Tucson, AZ
(520) 886-6696
Fresh Cutz
5176 E 22nd St, Tucson, AZ 85711
(520) 514-2917
Tio’s MasterCutz
3100 N. Stone Avenue #A126
Tucson, AZ
(520) 624-6119
Have you ever had a bad haircut and had a story to tell?
Here’s mine.
I took a trip to Los Angeles last summer and I knew I didn’t want to have to drive to my usual barber shop before I left town. This is due to my chronic disorder which doctors have diagnosed as laziness. So this put me in a bind. I needed a cut to look fresh and I have no idea which barbershop to go to. This is where the story starts to goes bad. For some reason my job booked me in a hotel in eastside Inglewood. Not that there is anything wrong with their barbers, just read on.
I find myself walking in Inglewood when I come across three barber shops on the same block. Wow, I thought to myself this is easier than I thought it would be. I thought I would be stuck without being able to make a choice. As I approach the first shop I see a young cat sweeping the pavement. I quickly observe his fade and make a decision to step inside. As I take a seat there is an older, but vibrant gentleman who quickly asks if I need a haircut. Apparently, he thought I was there to read the JETT magazines on the coffee table. As he asks, I nonchalantly look at the other barbers who all have customers in their chairs. Each barber looks to know what they are doing so I assumed I would be in good hands.
Mistake number 1- Don’t assume that the barber who has nobody waiting for him just finishes quickly. He probably has no customers for a reason.
Mistake number 2- Once in the chair, try to look back before he makes the first cut that he actually has a barber’s license.
I could go on with the story, but to save some embarrassment I will just skip to the end. This was the cats second day and he hadn’t even gone to barber school. Let’s just say I visited one more barbershop that day.
