Oct 16, 2021
This English teacher’s sandwiches became a favorite among rappers
So back in 2018, I joined a cult. “SOSA”, which is short for the Society of Spoken Art, is a guild for rappers founded by Grammy Award-winning artist Lupe Fiasco and a few other elites I’m not allowed to name. Secrets aside, the guild’s main focus is to “…expand the rapper’s mind and skillset”. As an apprentice at the guild, I came to know of Bea Shepard, also known as “ Shep the Hip-Hop mom” — someone who helped build the core curriculum that would become foundational for SOSA members. But even outside of the guild, Shep has earned a cult-like following, as rappers who’d come to Colorado for a show would anxiously look for her famous sandwiches (and quiche) to be smuggled through the back door of whatever venue they were playing.
Shep spent decades teaching English in the Denver school system and was the kind of teacher who’d bring food to class for her students to nurture their minds, and ensure they had enough protein to get through the school day. This impulse to nourish would eventually allow her to make these same connections with rappers after a chance encounter landed her and her quiche at the back door of the venue where Michael Franti of Spearhead had been playing in the 90's.
Since then, Shep has cooked for rappers like Macklemore who she’d been feeding at a time where he was battling an illness and wasn’t the well known artist he is today. She remembers times when he’d drive from Seattle to “pay to play” at venues, usually as an opening act, to make a name for himself. “He even had to bring his own boombox,” she recalls. Macklemore felt lucky if Shep was at one of those events with food for him. Although they are no longer in touch, there are other rappers who she speaks to often and considers family, including Lupe Fiasco, Juju and Psycho Les of the Beatnuts, and MURS, -who still visits her to this day when in town.
Shep also became particularly close to the late Shock G, producer and lead vocalist of the digital underground, but also known as the man who helped catapult the career of the late Tupac. Many of these men came to love Shep so much for her candor and way of picking their brains; something only a skilled teacher like herself could do. Shep didn’t just reserve her sandwiches and veggie quiches for male rappers however. She recalls cooking for Rapsody, Mystic of digital underground, and Lauryn Hill — who may have gotten a special asparagus risotto once that Shep handed to her personal chef. Even singers like Les Nubians of France, and Erykah Badu have gotten to taste Shep’s meals made right in her home kitchen with love. Yes, they too, have been initiated.
When I asked Shep why Hip-Hop in particular appealed to her so much, especially as someone who spent most of her life correcting English papers, she agreed on how “incongruous” it seemed that she would enjoy a genre of music that rebelled against the use of standard grammatical English. “ I got over it, ‘’ she said, “ — thinking music would conform to rules. I even discovered that before Hip-Hop. I still help people improve but I don’t go after song lyrics because they’ll never conform.” Putting those feelings aside has allowed Shep to make connections with many Hip-Hop artists from different backgrounds and has given her decades worth of stories to tell. She joked about the time she helped rapper Shock G get backstage at a Lupe Fiasco show in Tampa, FL where he shocked Lupe by rapping some of his own lyrics after they’d performed a rendition of “I get around” together on stage. Lupe Fiasco was pleasantly surprised.
Shep also remembered a time when MURS and his crew pulled up to her home with a tour bus full of “baby rappers” (as she called them), and she let them crash at her place — which included showering, laundry and a nice home-cooked breakfast. Even the hundreds of times Shep would bring her famous sandwiches through the back door to various shows, she did so all without asking for a dime. When asked why, she simply said, “I knew a pocket full of money couldn’t guarantee that they could find something they’d want to eat in a strange city.” It’s no secret that life on the road for musicians often means an abundance of unhealthy food.
It was also pretty economical for her, as she was able to turn an almost 3 foot long Greek style baguette from Pete’s Fruits & Vegetables in Colorado, into about 15 sandwiches. She had a very particular way of cutting the loaf to increase the yield, something others wouldn’t have been able to figure out. She would also prepare some of the ingredients ahead of time and store them in her chest freezer until ready to use. After making them, wrapping them up, and color-coding them so people knew which ‘wich was which, she’d place them in her trunk and the cold Denver temps would keep them safe to eat right up until she delivered them to the rappers. (Trying to get hot food to these artists would have been a different story.)
Shep attributes her kindness, her way of connecting so easily with musicians, and even her desire to cook for them to her parents, who in the 40’s were Jazz enthusiasts and adoring fans of Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horn, and even Sara Vaughan -who they’d become personable with at a concert. Her father, too, was a great cook who used many herbs and taught Shep much of what would go into making her famous foods.
As someone who also loves food and Hip-Hop and has even cooked for rappers like Joey Bada$$, Lil Skies, and Ralo with his 20 plus Famgoon Atlanta crew, I didn’t enjoy those experiences nearly as much as Shep has enjoyed cooking for rappers throughout her life. When asked if she thought food and Hip-Hop had anything in common, she said with certainty, “Absolutely. They are both forms of nourishment and both can be viewed as diet. The question then becomes, what is your diet? Gangsta rap? Trip-Hop? A variety?” She then compared cheap commercial Hip-Hop to a bowl of corn flakes and skim milk, and rappers like Mickey Factz, Myka 9, Lupe Fiasco, MURS and the Hieroglyphics crew to, “…getting your proper protein and veggies, because to listen to them you need to be sober and have brain energy.”
These days, Shep is home and although COVID has affected her ability to get out and to even have visitors, once in a while a rapper friend will stop by and even bring her meals, maybe as their way of repaying her for so many years of kindness. Shep and I frequently talk on the phone about food, and as her personal health has become a priority at this stage in her life, she is often commenting on my Instagram posts about ingredients to avoid as well as giving suggestions on healthier alternatives.
After making the avocado sandwich myself with Shep’s instructions, I laughed, — almost uncontrollably. I think it was because it only took me about 5 mins or so to assemble and didn’t consist of many ingredients, but the taste was so much more complex than expected. What I was feeling in that moment was so good that I had to call Shep. She explained that the generous use of fresh basil is what delighted me in more ways than one. Turns out, basil has been scientifically proven to induce happiness. She was kind enough to share her famous avocado sandwich recipe with me, and gave permission to share with you all. I do so in an attempt to preserve the legacy of an unlikely hero, the Hip-Hop mom who probably fed one of your favorite rappers when they came to town hungry.
Avocado Sandwich Recipe
You’ll need: The best European crusty baguette you can find, 4 oz fresh basil, 2–3 buttery ripe avocados, a good tangy balsamic vinegar spray, the juice of one fragrant lime, high quality olive oil, salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste, a jar of pickled red and yellow Italian peppers, or substitute with roma tomatoes.
Directions:
Prepare your avocados by slicing them and placing them in a bowl. Squeeze lime juice on them immediately, so they don’t turn brown. If using Italian peppers, grab a handful and chop them in slivers, — just enough to scatter across the length of the sandwich to add a kick of flavor. If using tomatoes instead, slice them, sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside. Remove the basil from the stems and chop enough to cover both halves of the sandwich.
Slice your baguette in half lengthwise, and lightly mist the insides of the sandwich with the balsamic, generously enough to cover but not so much as to make the sandwich soggy. Cover lavishly with basil, the more the merrier. Drizzle with olive oil and top with slivered peppers or tomatoes if using. Add your avocado with more salt and pepper before closing the sandwich.
Yes, it’s that simple to grab your Balsamic Vinegar and join the Avocado, Sweet Pepper and Basil Cult.
