Souls of Mischief has been one of the major architects of the Bay Area sound in rap music since the early ‘90s. “93 til Infinity” off of their debut album shot the group to meteoric success on the national radio charts and got them booked all over the world for concerts. Let’s hear what Tajai has to say about their newest release, “Montezuma’s Revenge,” and Hiero business in general.
Tags:
A-Plus,
Baby Jaymes,
backpack rap,
Beeda Weeda,
Casual,
Chris Marsol,
Clear Label Records,
D-Lo,
De La Soul,
Deep Rooted,
Del the Funky Homo Sapien,
DJ Fresh,
Domino,
East Oakland,
Famsyrk,
G-Wett,
Gravediggaz,
Handsome Boy Modeling School,
Hiero Imperium,
Hieroglyphics,
Hip Hop,
Ice Cube,
independent artists,
JC,
League510,
Minister of Information JR,
Opio,
Pep Love,
Phesto,
Prince Paul,
rap music,
rapping,
Shady Nate,
Sleepy D,
Souls of Mischief,
Stetsasonic,
Tajai,
“backpacker” hip hop
Happy New Year, Blessed Eid Al Adha and Happy Kwanzaa. I’ll be back in February 2009. Check the radio show and my blog for updates. I’ll be traveling. Tune in to Wanda’s Picks Radio at www.wandaspicks.com over the next month, when I will be broadcasting from Senegal, Mali and The Gambia.
Tags:
African Beats,
African Roots of Jazz,
Afro-Brazilian,
Afrobeat,
Afrobeat ConneXion,
Afrofunk,
Aguas Da Bahia and Tania Santiago,
Akinyele D.L. Sadiq,
Al Young,
Allison Kenny,
Amara Tabor-Smith,
Amy Seiwert,
Andre Custodio,
Andrea Lewis,
Andrew Currier,
Annual African American Celebration through Poetry,
Arabic Ensemble,
Armand Volkas,
Baba Ken Okulolo,
Beat Generation,
Black Consciousness Movement,
Bob Kaufman,
Body Music,
Braulio Barrera,
Breema,
Cheryl Schwartz,
Chick Webb,
Christine Kalb,
Congo Square,
Dan Wolf,
De Rompe y Raja,
devorah major,
Dr. Clarence Jordan,
E.W. Wainwright,
East Oakland,
Eddie Gale,
Edward Hightower,
Eid,
Ella Fitzgerald,
Ellen Sebastian Chang,
Erika Richardson,
Fela Anikulapo Kuti,
Frankie Manning,
Gebrueder Wolf,
Gina McKuen,
Harry Chapin,
hip hop culture,
Imam Warith Deen Muhammad,
International Human Rights Day,
James Reid,
Jimi Evins,
John Kadyk,
Jonathan Staggers,
Jorge Perez Molina,
Justin Desmangles,
Kamau Seitu,
Katie Kimball,
Keith Terry,
Kenny Muhammad,
Kent Bryson,
Kevin Munroe,
Kim Nalley,
King Sunny Ade,
Kotoja,
Kwanzaa,
Las Flamencas,
Lauren Whitehead,
LeeLa Petronio,
Lewis Jordan,
Maafa San Francisco Bay Area,
Manuia Polynesian Revue,
Marc Bamuthi Joseph,
Maria Medina Serafin,
Marilyn Langbehn,
Mario Ellis Hill,
Marshall Trammell,
Mary Saudargas,
Masjid Warith Deen,
Melba Moore,
Merry Ross,
Michael Zisman,
Özgü Bulut,
Queen Makedah,
Rae Ann Goldber,
Ramon Ramos Alayo,
Rasheed Wedlow,
Rebecca’s Books,
Robert Henry Johnson,
Robin Nzingah Smith,
Rodney King,
Rona Siddiqqui,
Roni Alperin,
Ronnie Prosser,
Roscoe Mitchell,
Russel Treyz,
Ruth Jovel,
Sandy Poindexter,
Santiago de Cuba Sister City project,
Scott Skinner,
Sherwood Chen,
Sister Clara Muhammad School,
Soji Odukogbe,
Step Afrika!,
Tammy L. Hall,
Timuçin Gürer,
Tom Key,
Tommy Sheppard,
Troublemakers Union,
Valerie Mih,
Velma’s Blues and Jazz Club,
Veronica Lee,
Vicki Dello Joio,
Wanda Sabir,
West African Highlife Band,
Woody Johnson,
World AIDS Day,
Zaccho Youth Company,
Zeus Leonardo,
“Cotton Patch Gospel”,
“Les Miserables”,
“Lift Every Voice and Sing”,
“Purlie”
The thing that most threw me off about this East Oakland native is that she loves opera. She has been singing longer in her life than she hasn’t been, and seems to be able to hit notes that makes glass break. She has recently been cast in a Black opera called “Dark River,” which tells the story of legendary Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. It opens at the Oakland Metro Opera House on Nov. 12 and runs until the 22nd.
Tags:
BBD,
Black people,
Bobby Brown,
Boyz II Men,
Brown Sugar N Spice,
East Oakland,
Emmett Till,
En Vogue,
Fannie Lou Hamer,
Frederick Douglass,
Kirk Franklin,
Madame Marie Selika,
Mississippi,
opera,
President Rutherford B. Hayes,
Salt N Pepa,
Taiwo Kujichagulia Seitu,
The Boys,
the Oakland Metro Opera House,
the Young Musicians’ Program,
Toni Morrison,
UC Berkeley,
“Dark River”
The first stop on the Ghetto to Gaza Speaking Tour was in Sacramento with the Hip Hop Congress at Capital Garage. The usual Wednesday event is their weekly open mic, but it was altered to feature M1’s experience in Cairo and Gaza. Then we went to East Oakland, San Francisco, Berkeley, West Oakland, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Sonoma.
Tags:
Africa and the World,
Akua Njeri,
Barrios Unidos,
Bay View arts editor Wanda Sabir,
Berkeley,
Boots of the Coup and the Street Sweepers Social Club,
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.,
Charles Barron,
Cynthia McKinney,
D Labrie,
East Oakland,
George Galloway,
Hamas,
Jack Bryson,
M1,
Marcel Diallo,
POOR Magazine,
Project Censored,
Richard Brown of the San Francisco 8,
Sacramento,
San Francisco,
San Jose,
Santa Cruz,
Sonoma,
the Brown Berets,
the Burning Spear newspaper,
the Ghetto to Gaza Speaking Tour,
the Hip Hop Congress,
the Po’ Poets,
the Village Bottoms crew,
U.S. government’s policies,
West Oakland
Sister Linda Johnson has been a legendary educator in East Oakland since the ‘80s. At her school which is known as Umoja House, she has taught generations of students who have grown up to be productive members of their communities. As a community, we must make it a high priority to give our children the best education possible so that they can come back and help solve some of the problems that we have as a people.
Tags:
arts schools,
college,
cooking classes,
dance,
drumming,
East Oakland,
education,
English,
fashion design,
fish,
garden,
graduate schools,
handwriting,
history,
intelligence,
legendary educator,
math,
Minister of Information JR,
piano,
POCC Minister of Information JR,
rabbits,
reading,
science,
Sister Linda,
Sister Linda Johnson,
trade school,
Umoja House
Next month the most important item on my agenda is Maafa Commemoration Month to reflect on the legacy of slavery and how everyone benefited from this human rights travesty except those who did the work. We began Aug. 30 with a successful Maafa 2009: Hurricane Katrina Fundraiser and Reportback, thanks to all the poets and the visual artists who donated art for the silent auction and of course to Tess and Yeme, the proprietors of Shashamane Bar and Grill.
Tags:
actor Danny Glover,
Aguas da Bahia,
Al Green,
Alanis Morissette,
Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet,
Alvon Johnson,
ancestor remembrance,
Anna’s Jazz Island,
Art Hazelwood,
ASA Academy,
Baba Ken and the West African Highlife Band,
Barbara Attie,
BART police oversight,
Beres Hammond,
Black August 2009,
Blind Boys of Alabama,
Bradley C. Walters,
Bro. Malique Amenhotep,
budget cuts,
Casper Banjo,
Chick Corea,
Chitresh Das Dance Company,
College of Alameda Small Ensemble,
Common Ground Health Clinic,
Cuban saxophonist Yosvany Terry,
Dawn Logsdon,
Dr. Al Green,
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima,
Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio,
East Oakland,
Eric Benet,
Erykah Badu,
Esperanza Spalding,
Evan Ziporyn,
Francisco Aguabella,
Friends of the Oakland Public Library,
Gary Graves,
George Clinton,
Hank Jones,
Hiroshima,
Hurricane Katrina,
Hurricane Katrina Memorials,
illiteracy rate,
India Irie,
Islamic jurisprudence,
James P. Anderson,
Jan Zvaifler,
Janet Goldwater,
Jason Moran,
Jay Electronica,
jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders,
John Legend,
Juan R. Fuentes,
Judy Juanita,
Julie Bridgham,
Kim Longinotto,
Leela James,
Lenny White,
Library Director Carmen Martinez,
LIFE of Mississippi,
Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir,
Litquick,
Liz Wright,
Lolis Eric Elie,
Lucie Faulknor,
Luis Arias Vera,
Maafa Commemoration Month,
Machiavelli’s “The Prince”,
Mark Morris Dance Group,
MC Hammer,
Michael Eugene Sullivan,
Michael Franti and Spearhead,
Michael Jackson,
Michael Navarra,
Mike Clark’s Blueprints of Jazz,
MMDG Music Ensemble,
Monaco’s Ballet Russe,
Monterey Jazz Festival,
Mos Def,
Ná Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu,
Nahid Persson,
Nubian oud master Hamza El Din,
Oakland Public Library Bookmobile,
Oscar Grant strategy organizing,
Pete Seeger,
police chases in Black neighborhoods,
police killings,
Power to the Peaceful,
Professor Herbert Mims Jr.,
Raja Rahim,
Regina Carter,
Richard Frederick,
San Francisco Fringe Festival,
San Francisco Mime Troupe,
San Francisco Presidio,
San Francisco Reads,
Sari Soldiers,
Sausalito Art Festival,
Sellasie,
Shakespeare in the Park,
Shashamane Bar and Grill,
Sixth Annual Dance-a-thon,
Sly and Robbie,
social genocide,
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend,
Soulive with Fred Wesle,
Stanley Jordan,
tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain,
Tambores Julio Remelexo Drum and Dance Ensemble,
TaSin Yasmin Sabir,
Ted Pontiflet’s James Baldwin,
the BaAka Pygmies of the Central African Republic,
The Neville Brothers and Dr. John,
the Shaolin Monks of China,
Truth Universal,
UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition,
Vieux Farka Touré,
Vijay Iyer Trio,
Wanda Sabir,
West Oakland,
Winton Marsalis,
Winton Marsalis' Lincoln Center Orchestra,
Ziba Mir-Hosseini,
Zulu Spear,
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”,
“The Bottoms”
“We want Oakland our way! We demand the right to stay!” Community voices in resistance to the predatory lending, eviction and foreclosure of poor folks of color rolled down 94th Street in East Oakland this week past boarded up houses – remnants of lost families, lost communities and lost cultures.
The female BART officer that was on that platform even stated in her testimony that she supposedly feared for her life, and she just knew that she was going to have to shoot somebody or kill somebody that night. Those were her words in court. The judge said: “Hold up. Wait a minute, who were you going to shoot first?”
Tags:
"Uncle Bobby",
African American males,
BART,
Cephus Johnson,
courtroom,
David Stein,
East Oakland,
Fruitvale BART Station,
Johannes Mehserle,
New Year's night 2009,
Oscar Grant III,
POCC Minister of Information JR,
San Francisco,
Superior Courthouse,
taser,
Tony Pirone,
www.blockreportradio.com
Ever since the police murder of Lovelle Mixon, after he allegedly murdered four Oakland police officers in East Oakland on March 21, the SF Bay View newspaper website, sfbayview.com, hundreds of messages have been written in the comment sections at the end of the articles by people who are undercover cyber police and people with strong pro-police sentiments, with some coming right out and saying they are members of police departments.
Tags:
"The ambivalent silence of the left: Lovelle Mixon,
Al Jazeera,
Black community,
Black labor,
Blacks,
East Oakland,
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
four Oakland police officers,
independent media,
J. Edgar Hoover,
Lovelle Mixon,
March 21,
Minister of Information JR,
Oakland police,
Oakland residents 4",
Police 2,
police and the politics of race and rape",
sfbayview.com,
terror,
The OPD,
The police in America,
the SF Bay View newspaper
The United States is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history. We see this in schools, health care, prisons and certainly with the U.S. military/ national security/ intelligence apparatus.
Tags:
"Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army",
Baghdad,
Blackwater operatives,
brutality,
California,
DynCorp,
East Oakland,
extrajudicial killings,
Freedom of Information Act,
Hurricane Katrina,
Ignacio De La Fuente,
Intercon,
International Services Inc.,
Jeremy Scahill,
John Macdonald,
law enforcement,
Louisiana,
Miranda Rights,
New Orleans,
Oakland,
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums,
Oakland's police department,
Oscar Grant,
police,
private security guards,
privatization,
Wackenhut
Many TV channels broadcast live the entire funeral for four Oakland police officers killed March 21, news anchors calling them “heroes” and “angels.” Police funerals are intended to legitimize past and future police violence and tell the public to shut up. The spineless left complies – no mention of Oscar Grant … or Lovelle Mixon.
Tags:
Angela Davis,
armed resistance,
Attorney General Jerry Brown,
BART Officer Johannes Mehserle,
BART police,
Bill O'Reilly,
Black and Brown community,
Black Panthers,
cop killer,
DNA evidence,
East Oakland,
Enjoli Mixon,
extermination campaign,
Gary King,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jan. 7 rebellion,
liberal hypocrisy,
Lovelle Mixon,
lynching,
male supremacy,
myth of the Black rapist,
Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums,
Oakland police officers' funeral,
Oakland's Citizens' Police Review Board,
occupying army,
Officer Daniel Sakai,
Officer Ervin Romans,
Officer John Hege,
Officer Mark Dunakin,
Officer Patrick Gonzalez,
Oscar Grant,
pacifism,
parole officer,
police sympathizers,
police violence,
prison industry businessmen,
racial profiling,
rape accusations,
Reynete Mixon,
routine stops,
Sen. Barbara Boxer,
Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
surgical termination,
Three Strikes,
Uhuru House
On March 21, Lovelle Mixon, 26, was murdered by Oakland police after allegedly killing four of them on MacArthur Blvd off of 73rd Avenue in East Oakland. Listen to JR’s Block Report interview with his family – his mother, Athena, his wife, Amara, and her sister, Alicia – broadcast March 30 on KPFA’s Flashpoints at http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/49609.
Tags:
Aaron Harrison,
Adolph Grimes,
Amadou Diallo,
Anita Gaye,
Annette Garcia,
BART,
Black Panther Party,
Casper Banjo,
Donte Story,
East Oakland,
Gary King,
Gaza Strip,
Johannes Mehserle,
John Burris,
Kathryn Johnston,
Lovelle Mixon,
Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton,
Oscar Grant III,
POCC Minister of Information JR,
Sean Bell,
Sgt. Mark Dunakin,
suicide sniper,
Terrance Mearis,
Three Strikes
When the full story is finally told and, though not likely freely admitted by many, deep within the spiritual thinking of numerous African Americans, an emotional candle will be lit in memory of Lovelle Mixon.
The Bay View newspaper’s big back page full of exciting photos in vibrant color has long been one of its most popular features. It has made newspaper readers out of countless youth as young as grade school age who are drawn to the Bay View by the photos and then proceed to read the stories. [...]
Tags:
African Fest in Chicago,
Alexis,
Art and Soul Festival,
Black Panther Party,
Black Thought,
Chairman Fred Hampton,
Chairman Fred Hampton Jr.,
Chairman Fred Hampton Streetz Party,
Chris Da Vth,
Chui Clark,
Davey D,
East Oakland,
Erykah Badu,
G-Wet,
Gambia,
Jahi,
Kaira Band,
Kamau Amen-Ra,
kora player,
Minister of Info JR,
Mistah F.A.B.,
Pa Bobo Jobarteh,
Rashad,
Rhymefest,
Roots,
Under Survalance,
West Africa
English