Percival Dela Cruz made a serendipitous discovery while researching his undergraduate thesis in Asian American Studies in May of this year.

The emphasis of his degree was in hip-hop, and how “emceeing” is a form of liberation for Filipino-Americans.

In his makeshift basement studio, he gathered as many MCs from the community as possible. The makeshift freestyle session would eventually create a supergroup of like-minded individuals who became the living demonstration of his thesis.

On that fateful night, Praxis Roks was born.

The seven members - Anthony Beierly, 25, Raul Menchavez, 23, Joal Vargas, 23, Alan David, 25, Mark Bautista, 26, Jeffrey Ponferrada, 25, Frederick David, 25 and Dela Cruz - decided the name derived from a punch-line that Frederick remembered.

The term “praxis,” meaning “the practical application of theory,” came to the SF State students mostly through one class, Survey of Philippine Literature taught by Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, which all have taken while attending San Francisco State.

All of the members of Praxis Roks admit to drawing their inspiration from different influences -varying from what they've learned to what they observe going on in the world today.

“Attending a school with the only College of Ethnic Studies, which gave way to all these ethnic studies classes, helped us recognize our history and what we've been through,” said Alan, an MC who was originally in the group Variable Narratives with Vargas. “Joal's talking about the situation in the Philippines, while Percy's talking about what it's like out here in San Francisco.

“Originally, we hooked up because ain't nobody there to pump your stuff. It became a community thing.”

Dela Cruz said he felt a personal obligation to spread the message of solidarity and empowerment through hip-hop, since revolutionary messages could be obscured by dense intellectual discourse.

“Usually discussions about politics, society and the government require one to know the language of scholars,” he said. “It informs the people, such as low-income folks, on issues about poverty and poor educational systems.

“If a young black kid who is the victim of these issues can't even comprehend the information which is tryin' to educate him or her, than the info is useless. When you've got emcees like Dead Prez … who speak on issues on injustice with a language that the 'people' themselves can understand, the message is no longer lost.”

Most of their recent performances have gone towards raising awareness in the Asian Pacific Islander Community.

“At Flip Da Skript, we performed in support of Jose Maria Sison, a Philippine nationalist who was labeled by the U.S. government as a terrorist and exiled to the Netherlands,” said Vargas. “We wanted people to understand him as a person, and persuade people to take a stance.”

Praxis Roks members use hip-hop as medium to exchange dialogue about political issues plaguing the community. “We love hip-hop, but we live from a Pinoy and Pinay perspective,” says Menchavez, emphasizing hip hop's ideal ability to empower the unique voices of young Filipino-Americans. “We can talk about what's going on in the world, and know that folks have your back.”

At noon on Oct. 19, Praxis Roks will come together with other Filipino organizations (Kappa Psi Epsilon, XPO, Pilipino American Collegiate Endeavor, and League of Filipino Students) in the Malcolm X Plaza to celebrate Pilipino American History Month, and prove that, like their name, words are useless without inspiring action.