Two years ago, a group of friends listened to rap and all agreed it was honest about the problems in the world.

Among these friends was junior Anthony Zhao, who said he wanted to do something different.

He decided to start a club where students got together and recited rap poems to each other. Hence, Cal High’s Rap Club was born.

“The most important part about rap, it’s the expression of friendship and a reflection of the world,” said Zhao, who has been the president of the club for the last three years.

The club usually meets on Fridays after school in Room 306, but Zhao said the meetings are inconsistent, which helps keep the club “mysterious.”

He said this is intentional because it helps make people curious about the club, adding some allure, as opposed to being very public like other clubs.

“During the club meetings, members usually sit around writing raps, collaborating with other members, and getting feedback about their raps,” said  sophomore Vincent Sparvoli, a member of the club.

“I like the artistic qualities of the genre and the words can be expressed so easily,” Sparvoli said. “I wanted to be a part of that.”

Members come up with raps by rapping to a beat, freestyle rapping and then writing it down. It depends on the rapper.

Sparvoli said the club has  about 10 members, which is less than last year.

Members usually find out about the meetings through text messages the club president Zhao sends and Obaiza’s tweets.

Sparvoli said members of the club are also given a handful of tickets to hand out to their friends and get the word out as well.

Sparvoli said that people will line up outside the classroom in the hallway to see shows.

He also said that writing your own raps beforehand is considered cheating and it is recommended to use a freestyle method.

The club usually has rap shows that allow students to perform in front of an audience of sometimes more than 100 people, according to English teacher and Rap Club advisor Eghosa Obaiza, known as “Ms. E” to her students.

Obaiza is the founder of the event known as “Freestyle Fridays,” where two members of the club face off in an improvised rap battle.

Obaiza acts as somewhat of a referee, and declares the winner based on what the audience has to say.

She said students perform all different styles of raps in these battles.

“Some like one-liners,” said Obaiza. “Good, witty one-liners that they think are funny. Good back-to-back Drake kind of lyrics.”

When asked if she performs in the battles herself, Obaiza simply laughed.

There have only been two known teachers to battle in a rap competition against a student, but never against each other.

Those teachers were Lenard Matthews, who teaches P.E., and Anatoly Alexeeff, who teaches English.

Alexeeff won against sophomore Mike Saatchi in the first rap competition of the year.

“It’s good to be king,” Alexeeff said on the spot when asked about his victory.

Alexeeff said he and his opponent critiqued each other’s rapping style in the battle.

Alexeeff admitted  that Saatchi was a fierce competitor and always challenged him to do his best.

Last year, Matthews particiated in a battle rap against a student, which was recorded and posted to YouTube. It went viral on social media.

“Rap has changed a lot in the past ten years,” said Matthews.