“This is the home base,” CJ the Profit tells me, gesturing to Hot For Pizza’s open front door.
We’re seated in the parklet in front of the unassuming Carver corner bar on a hot, late June evening, watching as well-dressed people amble up to the sidewalk patio, greet each other with daps and hugs, and slide inside to grab a drink. Muffled reggae drifts from the bar’s system into the street, mixing with the traffic noise and excited chatter of the growing crowd.
CJ, a rapper, producer, and jazz drummer from Richmond, is here as part of the 80404 Club, a small collective of River City beatmakers and artists whose primary instrument is the Roland SP-404 sampler. Twice a month, the 80404 Club hosts a free beat showcase, and these gigs have been packing out the small drinkery. Tonight is no different. “We picked Hot For Pizza because we’re already here like every day hanging out,” CJ chuckles. “We call it the office. We get off work and put in hours here.”
The Club’s seven members, King Kaiju, Glop, Hernbean5150, Tortilla Katour, Swellthy, High Club, and CJ himself, were friends kicking around the same music scenes, converging in various permutations at Hot For Pizza to sip drinks and talk shop. Eventually, they all realized they used the SP-404 in their practice, forming a loose consortium to bounce techniques and new music off of each other.
The first iteration of the 80404 Club night was, as CJ puts it, “an unofficial hangout session,” a casual takeover of the bar’s PA during a slow shift. But one of the bartenders sensed potential and suggested a recurring weeknight spot. Hip Hop Henry, one of the city’s foremost DJs, has a regular party each Thursday at the restaurant, and it didn’t seem far-fetched that something like that could work for the 80404 crew.
“The first official joint we threw back in April was slam-packed,” CJ says, still a little mystified. “We were like, ‘Ok, this is an event.’” The crowd came back for the next one, and Hot For Pizza slotted the 80404 Club in its calendar every other Tuesday.
The format is simple: one member (usually CJ) DJs before and between the sets, building energy and momentum, and then performers rock for about 15 to 20 minutes. No rappers, just beats. In its early days, the collective would drum up interest by inviting Richmond beat scene veterans like Nickelus F and Ant the Symbol to jam. But as it’s settled into itself, the Club bills have become mostly in-house configurations with the occasional guest here and there.
“We have a group chat to talk lineup,” CJ says, “but Tortilla started using this automated randomizer, so we’ll pop the names in and whatever comes out, we’ll go that way.”
The most attentive and curious members of the crowd gather around the tiny DJ booth at the bar’s northwest corner, studiously watching the producers’ 404 trickery. The sampler has a built-in effects bank, so each musician — including the designated DJ — affects the tunes with sudden blasts of reverb, filter sweeps, and glitching noise. When someone drops a particularly impressive flip or deploys speaker-crushing bass, faces contort, and shouts of “Oooh!” ripple throughout the room.
Most people drift around the bar, saying hello to friends, downing shots of tequila and nursing cans of Tecate, eventually dipping outside to add to the cloud of smoke and vapor wafting towards the roof. All in all, it’s a low stakes good time — the vibe is convivial, celebratory, and incredibly welcoming.
“This is a place to express yourself,” CJ says, “a safe space for all of us to just hang out.”
As the biweekly event has rolled on, it’s become a bit of a hub for the young, hip-hop adjacent crowd in Richmond. Not every performer fits the genre — founding member Glop plays sampledelic pop songs from his two-404 setup — but the culture’s communal sense runs deep.
The first 80404 Tuesday I caught happened to be Glop’s birthday, and his partner appeared with a giant sheet cake, passing out slices to every grinning guest. On two occasions, I’ve shown up early to attend pre-show listening parties when an artist in the scene wants to promo a new record for a friendly crowd.
Rappers Harsh World and Keith Blvck debuted their collaborative EP, “ALWAYS US, NEVER THEM,” to a packed, attentive room, and King Kaiju, Ty Sorrell and frequent reveler MP previewed their album, “Joints in 4th Gear,” four days before it popped up on DSPs.
And the Club has embedded itself in the culture of Hot For Pizza, recently breaking out of its usual slot to provide the Sunday night soundtrack to the bar’s fifth anniversary. Each function is a genuinely joyful experience, a beacon of community in a city that thrives on it.
