Superheroes often have fucked up origin stories. There’s chaos, suffering, feeling left out and too much too young. A normal person gets dragged under by the weight of it all. And yet, the superhero triumphs to lead the way.
So it goes with Bay Area counterculture keeper and San Rafael resident El Rock, one of the region’s own prototypes, hot in dispensaries, on the mic and in the streets in 2026.
Elric Henry, named after a fantasy novel character known as the “Bringer of Chaos,” was born to a Grateful Dead runaway-turned-staffer mom and a “world-renowned” hustler-smuggler dad (who made acid and was at times abusive). Little Elric often “just wanted to be ‘Rick’” around all the Bobs, Susans, Larrys and Daves. Instead, he was a latchkey kid working a Fairfax, California, diner at age 8, a “baby wook” (babysat by Wavy Gravy) at psychedelic shows at The Warfield and a middle school dope dealer. Later, Elric was a sponsored skater and a runaway with a dead father, mixing with gangs in the Bay Area’s rough and tumble ’80s and ’90s.
Growing up in hip-hop, he took the name “El Rock” as a character “like Busta Rhymes,” he said.
“It’s almost like a shield to protect yourself from the rest of the world. You have this cartoon character, this superhero. That’s who protects you,” he said.
Skypack Farms
El Rock’s main lane these days is as the face and sales arm of his brand Skypack, with a 1,000-LED grow in Sacramento, where they produce flowers for themselves and other brands. In the past, that’s included Cookies, Sherbinskis and Grandiflora. Skypack still “bulks out” about half its crop, and the other half goes into affordable products like a new full-flower multipack preroll line and live resin-infused joints.
His adopted dad, Grateful Dead sound engineer Dan Healy, brought El Rock into the Humboldt world during his youth.
Expect eight new Skypack strains this year, with the first one this quarter, while the rest of the industry consolidates.
“I’m trying to not only survive this mass die-off, but thrive, providing the best products for the lowest price possible,” El Rock said.
Murals and slaps
A hip-hop kid from the city and North Bay, El Rock’s been a muralist since the ’80s. His latest mural — for his late, much-loved mom — is up at 25th and Cypress St.
He’s an avid sticker and magnet maker from his skater culture youth, remixing Marvel Comics characters from his big childhood collections, including Thor or Wolverine sporting a boom box.
Master of Ceremonies
El Rock blooms in the spotlight emceeing for a crowd, whether it’s the Emerald Cup, Ridge Sesh or Cured Cup.
He doesn’t rap as much anymore, despite a string of past releases on vinyl and CD. In the ’90s and early 2000s, he opened up for Wu-Tang Clan, Mos Def and Talib Kweli at venues as big as the Shoreline Amphitheater. Nowadays, he’s interested in DJing more as the final pillar of a hip-hop life.
Future Projects
After a childhood in the front row of the psychedelic and weed culture — kicking it with NBA star Bill Walton, Santana and The Neville Brothers — El Rock said he wants to keep “doing dope shit with dope people” in the Cannabis, art and hosting lanes.
He’s also a “ghetto gourmet” with a huge edible home garden and a dream of “yard-to-table” infused dinners. He grows limes, avocados, blueberries, strawberries, plums and weed in outdoor living soil, using the dope-growing lessons from his mom.
After growing up poor in the roughest neighborhood of the city — the Tenderloin — “I always said when I got money, I would make it like an edible garden,” he said.
I asked him why he has such a good attitude when he could be jaded from such a divergent life.
“All the pain and suffering I went through at a younger age allowed me to appreciate everything. It’s fucking great to have a roof over your head. When you can turn your pain into power, it’s special. I feel like every day is a blessing. I already won because I woke up,” El Rock said. “I would have done it all the same way — except I would have went harder.”
