Hiero Day shows the love for Oakland and hip-hop

Jason “J Razor” Jones (center), founder of the Western Barber Conference, cuts the hair of Ronald Gant in the Western Barber Conference booth at Hiero Day. Jason “J Razor” Jones (center), founder of the Western Barber Conference, cuts the hair of Ronald Gant in the Western Barber Conference booth at Hiero Day. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Hiero Day shows the love for Oakland and hip-hop 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

During the fifth annual Hiero Day on Monday, Sept. 5, the block party thumped to the beat of art, culture and hip-hop, with the omnipresence of the Hieroglyphics’ third-eye logo most powerful.

The Oakland hip-hop collective’s logo — in a circle, three dots hover over a dash — refers to a heightened consciousness, and it was printed on T-shirts, snap-back baseball caps and socks. It’s a symbol of unity and understanding. It was sometimes in black, but mostly it was in white; sometimes rendered in the royal blue and golden yellow of the Golden State Warriors. It was worn by adults and kids. Even the animated graffiti artist spray-painted on a wall had it stamped on his chest.

“Even if you don’t listen to hip-hop, their message has appeal,” Kelly Navarro of Oakland said of Hieroglyphics.

Navarro bought a hat at Monday’s outdoor music festival, but she didn’t have to put it on over her brown dreads with blond tips. She was already wearing a T-shirt, the logo in white.

“You gotta represent,” she said.

The enlightened don’t worry about committing the fashion faux pas of wearing a band’s T-shirt to the band’s concert. After entering the gates, the first stop Vanessa Ioannides made was at one of two Hieroglyphics merchandise booths.

“This is the first Hiero shirt I’ve gotten my hands on,” Ioannides, who traveled from Marin County, said of her white T-shirt with black logo.

Hiero Day is an homage to hip-hop that doubles as a celebration of Oakland — and the party is growing. There were three stages, and a superb lineup that featured marquee rappers who have grasped mainstream popularity without losing a grip on hip-hop’s most valuable asset: respect.

Too Short, Juvenile, Dilated Peoples and, of course, Hieroglyphics were the headliners, but the crowd received the other acts like locals Lyrics Born, Caleborate and Nef the Pharoah with head-nodding approval. Some early arrivals helped each other climb a brick wall for a perch that was the block party’s unrivaled view — at least until officers from the Oakland Police Department arrived and calmly waited for the revelers to climb down.

There were signs of growing pains, too. The mid-afternoon line to enter melted into a blob of confused ticket holders guiding the directionless ticket seekers. If Hiero Day continues to grow, as it hopefully will, another entrance will be necessary and appreciated.

At one of the Hiero merch booths, where shirts, tank tops and hats cost $30, Brandon Del Rosario explained the appeal of the third-eye logo.

“It’s basically using your intuition to get further in life,” said Del Rosario, an Alameda native who runs the Shop Hiero website. “We’re trying to show that everyone has it. You just have to tap into it.”

“It’s a lifestyle,” Oakland’s Lex Elliott said as he rushed to a stage.

Three eyes guided his path through a sea of people, many of whom looked as if they felt the same.

Otis R. Taylor Jr. is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist whose column appears Tuesday and Friday. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr