Mos Def

There was the Chess Kings Invitational Tournament on Oct. 13 at the San Francisco Design Center, which involved stars such as RZA and GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Then there was the Youth Speaks Living Word Festival Oct. 6 - Nov. 3 at several area venues. One of its accomplishments was bringing hip-hop pioneers here to take part in panels and workshops, sharing their wisdom and offering their perspectives to up-and-coming artists. The veterans included Pop Master Fable of the Rock Steady Crew, Grandmaster Caz, who wrote many of the lyrics for the landmark record "Rapper's Delight," and hip-hop's first Grammy winner, Grandmixer DST, the pioneering DJ who helped put together the song "Rock It" with jazz great Herbie Hancock.

Kool Herc, known as the "Father of Hip-Hop," attended the opening-night performance Oct. 25 of the incredible hip-hop play "Scourge," starring the Bay Area's own Marc Bamuthi Joseph. This multimedia production had been selling out all around the country, and its homecoming performances took place at ODC Theater in San Francisco through Nov. 3.

Joseph, an accomplished dancer and spoken-word artist originally from Haiti, used hip-hop and new-media technology to present the history of his island nation and the ongoing challenges it faces. At the show's conclusion, the packed opening-night house gave a standing ovation. Most compelling perhaps was the dance depicting the Haitians' defeat of French slavemasters to win the island's independence.

Herc also proudly displayed a recent proclamation from the U.S. House of Representatives paying tribute to him and the site of the first hip-hop party, 1520 Sedgwick Ave. in the West Bronx. Herc's older sister, the mother of Hip Hop Cindy Campbell, who also appeared at ODC, is leading a campaign to get that building designated as a historic landmark.

Mos Def appeared Sunday before a standing-room-only crowd at the African American Art & Culture Complex in the Fillmore district of San Francisco. He led an impassioned discussion of the political turmoil surrounding the recent arrest of former Black Panther members, now known as the San Francisco 8. Accompanying him were three SF8 members, Harold Taylor, Richard Brown and Richard O'Neal, who broke down the history of the Panthers, the importance of serving the community and the sordid legacy of Cointelpro, a series of FBI counter-intelligence programs started by longtime director J. Edgar Hoover in the 1950s and designed to disrupt and destroy the Black Panthers and other organizations. The SF8 say they are facing new charges relating to crimes for which they were acquitted more than 30 years ago, noting that Patriot Act legislation and funding opened the door.

Mos Def reminded hip-hop artists they must be worthy role models and must understand that when one person is hurting, we are all hurting. His remarks were met with thunderous applause, and I left thinking it's too bad he isn't running for president.

Email Davey D at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and visit daveyd.com. Listen to Davey on Hard Knock Radio Monday-Friday at 4 p.m. on KPFA 94.1 FM or kpfa.org.

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