Davey D Interviews Jabali Smith about Human Trafficking

Jabali Smith was a 6-yr-old in Berkeley, California when he was trafficked along with his sister over the border into Mexico and held captive by a messianic doomsday sex cult. SLAVE courageously and boldly chronicles his journey as a child slave; the escape and the eventual rise from the ashes of tragedy.

Jabali spent years being beaten, tortured, starved, sexualized, brainwashed, and confined to a dark closet in both Mexico and the United States. His disappearance and re-emergence years later with no alarms set off within our societal system represents the current fracture of communication allowing human trafficking to flourish into the fastest growing business & commodity in the World…. SLAVE exposes not only the suffering of human trafficking victims but the indomitable spirit of survivors and all that is possible when faith survives the ultimate challenge.

Below is our Hard Knock Radio Interview which originally aired: 04-30-2018

Davey D: Some Thoughts on Lebron James Opening Up His School

It’s great hearing the news about NBA star Lebron James opening a school and doing some great things, giving back to the community with his millions.. There is nothing to fault him on.. He should be applauded along with numerous other athletes and entertainers who have stepped up and used their platform and money to try and make a difference in our communities..We should honor these folks, uplift them and encourage more to follow suit..

With that being said, we should never lose sight, that what Lebron and others are doing is filling a big economic void in our community that has been intentionally created by the rich and powerful. There is an economic injustice that exists that needs to be corrected..

We should never lose sight of the fact that the owners of these sports teams and other power brokers make BILLIONS to the millions Lebron and other athletes are laying out.. One NBA owner, Steve Ballmer of the LA Clippers is worth 34 BILLION dollars.. How has he helped the LA community? Who is he sending to college for free?

We should raise similar questions about Lebron’s former team owner Dan Gilbert who is worth close 6 billion. We know he’s making a killing ‘redeveloping’ (gentrifying Detroit and Cleveland..) How has his billions helped our communities? How is he matching Lebron’s efforts? Did he put some money toward this school or the scholarships?

Richard DeVos owner of the Orlando Magic who is husband to Education secretary Betsy Devos is worth about 5-6 billion What are they doing to help the community other than shutting down and privatizing public education? How are they helping us and should we expect them to step up to the plate the way we insisted that Michael Jordan and others should?

In short, we should be asking who are these Billionaires Helping especially when many are getting incredible tax breaks and other economic perks to build new arenas and keep an NBA team around? We should not only ask ‘Who are these guys helping, but we should also ask what policies are these NBA owners pushing that result in dire economic situations that require a guy like Lebron to step in..

While we applaud Lebron and other athletes for doing this heavy lifting to send kids to school or other charitable works, we should be asking why aren’t our tax dollars doing that? We pay good money in taxes that should be opening schools and providing opportunities for those in need..

We should be asking why aren’t our tax dollars being used to make college free for everyone? The UC (University California) system and Cal State college system used to be free here in California..With companies like Apple and Google worth trillions sitting in our backyard, why are students facing a lifetime worth of debt just to go to school?

The sad reality is Lebron is making millions to spend millions to send kids to schools that charge more than most will make and save in a lifetime…

Banks make trillions in student loans..Colleges make hundreds of millions in fees.. The average graduate after taxes and loan repayment is lucky if he/she brings home enough to pay rent much less raise a family..

Yes Lebron has stepped up, but lets not lose sight that with the passage of this recent tax bill it will be extremely difficult for ordinary folks to write off charitable donations to education and other organizations and activities that are surely needed in our community. I think one would have to itemize and donate something like 12k to start writing things off..

While Lebron gives his hard earned millions to the community, we should not lose sight that some of those BILLIONAIRE owner fought for and lobbied for the tax bill that will decimate so many of our communities..

So again lets applaud Lebron and instead of comparing him to Michael Jordan or some other athlete and debating who gave back the most to the community, lets compare Lebron to some of these NBA owners and raise critical questions of how they are using the money they make off us..

Davey D Mix: The Beat Goes On…Till the Break of Dawn

Breakdown-FM-Davey-65-BrownLet’s not get it twisted, many of us are big fans of James Brown inspired breaks and the boom bap sound which was once a dominant hallmark within Hip Hop. This past week on my mixshow (Breakdown FM heard on All Day Play FM), I dug in the crates a little and reminded folks that the culture and music we know and love has many leaves and branches. It’s up to us to explore and engage all of them.

Below is a link so you can hear this Davey D Mix show along with a playlist of some of the songs I rocked.. Please enjoy, there’s more to come.

Turntable and mixer01-Motion Man – ‘Blah Blah Blah’
02-Scarface – ‘I’m A…’
03-Low_Profile – ‘Thats’ Why They Do It’
04-Eric B. & Rakim – ‘Eric B is President’ (remix)
05-The Trammps – ‘Rubber Band’ (remix)
06-Al Green w/Akshin Alizadeh – ‘Walkin’ 2gether’ (remix)
07-Eric B & Rakim – ‘I Ain’t No Joke’
08-DJ Nu-Mark – ‘Our Generation’ (Re-Edit) w/Ernie Hines]
09-Lord Finesse – ‘Return of the Funky Man’
10-Jean Grae w/ Jazzy Jeff – ‘Supa Jean’
11-Divine Styler – ‘Make It Plain’
12-Underground Mafia – Caught Up In The System
13-Gang Starr- w/Big Shug & Freddie Foxx – ‘The Militia’
14-Queen Latifah – ‘Evil That Men Do’
15-Mykill Miers – ‘Do the Math’ [Featuring Iriscience]

http://www.mixcrate.com/daveyd/the-beat-goes-on-to-the-break-of-dawn-10060936

NWA- Art or Irresponsibility an Intv w/ Eazy E & Ice Cube

These LA Rappers Never Asked to be seen as role models. But with their debut album ‘Straight Outta Compton’ headed toward platinum, they may not have a choice….

NWA colorNote: Out of all the interviews I’ve done.. this had to be the most intense… Both NWA and myself were very passionate about our positions at the time and both parties came away with a lot to think about.. At the time this interview took place.. there was a raging debate among the Bay Area’s main hip hop shows on KZSU, KALX and KPOO as to whether or not NWA should be played…

It was quite ironic considering KPOO and KALX were among the first stations in the country to not only play..but also grant NWA interviews… In fact NWA performed at a function for KPOO. The end result after a month of intense on air debates which resulted in all three stations droppin NWA for about two years because of lyrical content and the influence their music was having over impressionable listeners.]  The boycott was eventually broken when a couple of  deejays Billy Jam and G-Spot who were also fans of the group saw this boycott as a free speech issue and pushed back once they got shows of their own..

Below is the article that ran in BAM Magazine April 1989

The following conference call interview was conducted April 5, with KALX DJ Davey D in San Francisco, BAM editor Keith Moerer in Oakland, and NWA rappers Eazy E and Ice Cube in a Torrance studio. NWA’s first album, Straight Outta Compton, has sold 700,000 copies and generated almost as much controversy as public support.  In songs like the title track and ‘Gangsta Gangsta‘ NWA portray – some say glorify-gang violence, So far music critics have been kind, with NWA winning raves from Robert Hilburn and Dennis Hunt of the Los Angeles Times. But some college radio programmers, including BAM columnist Davey D, think the group – whose name stands for ‘:Niggers With Attitudes‘ – encourage a negative stereotype of blacks as gun-toting criminals…

Ice cube amerikka MostDavey D: You say that you’re underground reporters, telling it like it is, But do you perceive people, especially younger kids, understanding that you’re just underground reporters?

Ice Cube: OK, it’s like this. If you see a movie like Psycho III, the person in the movie might be psycho, But kids know what’s real and what’s not. Just because there’s a monster person in a movie who’s psycho and killing people, that don’t mean they gonna go psycho and kill people… Just because they hear something on record, we don’t expect kids to go out and kill people or whatever. Kids know what’s right and what’s wrong, regardless what our record says.

Davey D: But there’s a difference between Psycho III and Boys In The Hood and Straight Outta Compton. With Psycho III, that’s not a reality that a lot of people come across. But with “Boys In The Hood” and the whole album, people can look at that and say, “Hey, I can be just like this.”… It’s something they can gravitate toward, or see themselves getting into.

Ice Cube: Nobody talks about Colors, Nobody says, “Why y’all put a movie out like this?” There wasn’t no real message in Colors except that there’s gangs out the and there’s no way to stop them, We’re saying the same thing, but we saying it on wax. But everybody wants to come down on us, “You got a responsibility to the kids.” .. We got a responsibility to the kids to tell the truth. We don’t have to take a side, you know what I’m saying?… That wasn’t our tip in the beginning, and its not going to be our tip in the future. We just tell it like it is, and people swallow it if they can, and if they can’t, they can’t.

Keith Moerer: A lot of rappers feel there is a way of doing something to curb gang violence, and have gotten involved with the Stop The Violence movement. You could involved…

Eazy-E: If we wanted to..

Ice Cube: You can have a little influence, but rappers do not have that much influence, like everybody thinks…KRS-One can do, they can all do, a “Stop The Violence” record, they could have did it for twelve minutes straight. People gonna listen to the record, and they gonna like the record, but they’ll do a drive-by shooting listening to the record.

Davey D: Is there a solution to stopping it at all?

EazyEComptonEazy E: [When] the mother______’ police can’t do shit?…If you could just put out a record and it could stop violence you [wouldn’t] need police, we’d just need to do records. ‘Stop robbin’ banks, stop snatching purses..

Ice Cube: “Stop using drugs.” People been doing stop using drug rap songs every since the drug thing has exploded and it has not done a dent of good, not a dent of good.

Eazy E: Yo, I got something to add to that Check this out: Would you ask a news reporter if he’s promoting gang violence because he’s doing the news?

Davey D: Actually, yes, I would. What happens is, its a matter of perspective of what they choose to show right? When the only image people see is a negative one, gang killings and all that, people are gonna gravitate to that because that’s the only image they have of themselves…

Ice Cube: That means that you can’t deal with reality because…

Davey D: But that’s not the only reality, though, that’s the thing… That’s just one part of reality. That sort of stuff doesn’t go on every single day everywhere, but if you were just to look at the news you might get the impression that it does.

Ice Cube: Not everywhere. But it happens every day.

Eazy E: Every minute.

Ice Cube: It ain’t like we’re out here yin’, you know what I’m saying? Everything is true. If you can tell me I’m yin’ on the record, I’ll stop.

Davey D: It comes down to what you want to focus in on…I mean, there are people who go to school, there are people who do drug dealing, there are a lot of people doing a lot of different things…

Screen Shot 2015-08-18 at 10.17.36 AMIce Cube: We deal with reality, plus we say what kids want to hear… We talk about things that the news don’t go real deep into. Such as, they never ask a gangbanger how he really feels and get a true answer, Some of my friends are gangbangers, so I pretty much know how they feel, I know why they do the things they do, I just put in on wax… We’re gearing ourselves to kids who already know this stuff. The people who are scared are people who don’t know.

Davey D: But it is frightening, what you’re saying. The people who are getting scared, they don’t know about it, but should they not be scared or what? How should people who don’t know about it respond to your records?

Ice Cube: I don’t tell people how to react to our songs… I can’t rap about nothing I don’t know about, We can tell you what goes on in Compton. That’s why we get a lot of kids from the suburbs, they don’t know what’s going on, but they look and go, “Damn, its like that?”

Keith Moerer: “Gangsta Gangsta” begins with a drive -by shooting scenario [in which a innocent bystander gets shot]. You’ve got friends who are gangbangers who nay have been involved in drive-by shootings…So sure, they happen all the tine, but you don’t think they’re a good thing, do you?

Ice Cube carIce Cube: No. The beginning of “Gangsta Gangsta”, its’ just telling people, “Yo, if you hear shooting, don’t try to be nosy,” you know what I’m saying? Cause this guy comes out, “Oh, I wonder who these gangsters got today?” trying to be all nosy, and he gets shot…If you hear shooting, run. Don’t run toward the shooting.

Keith Moerer: So what’s your message, that people should hide out in their houses if they’re not gangbangers?

Ice Cube: No. I’m encouraging people to be aware of what’s gong on. How do you think NWA out to come off to the public.

Davey D: At this point in time? Well, your music is definitely some of the best that’s out there, For whatever reason, a lot of people are attracted to your group right now, I think that NWA needs to move forward, and needs to drop some serious science, just from the mere fact that you like it or not. It’s a responsibility that you have, even though you might not want it..

[If] NWA comes out and says “Stop the violence“, a lot of people are going to listen to it as opposed to Thurgood Marshall or Benjamin Hooks..’cause NWA is perceived by a lot of people as being down with the program- “These brothers are cool, they know what’s happening”-you’re real to the people…[In the past] past most rap groups thought that they were going to stay at the top for a longer period of time, and they were going to stay at the top for a longer period of time, and they changed a little too late, they changed as they were going on the downhill. I say that you guys are on the way up right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u31FO_4d9TY

Ice Cube: We do drop science. Like “Express Yourself“. Songs like that are telling kids to be themselves no matter what. No matte what you say, or anybody else says, we gonna be ourselves no matter what.

Davey D: The problem with that though is that a lot of people don’t have an array of choices to choose from. You’re saying “Be yourself,” but if all I know is gang banging, I’m gonna continue to be myself cause all I know is gang banging.

Ice Cube: So you’re saying we should stop reporting it, and start trying to stop it…

Davey D: There’s nothing wrong with reporting it, but there needs to be a balance in such a sense that people aren’t going to misinterpret it… Right now people are looking up to NWA as role models, people listen to the music and get juiced by it – and some of them take it to heart…And rap is really the only music that gets the kids, that’s what people are listening to.

IceTcop-225Eazy E: But still [Ice T] has a video, how I want you to live, peace and all this. People don’t pay attention to nothing like that…

Davey D: The thing I will say about Ice T is that he’s made himself very clear about where he’s coming from, And I haven’t seen that necessarily with NWA.

Ice Cube: A lot of gang bangers think KRS One is cool. That don’t mean they’re influenced by his music, He say stop the violence all day.

Davey D: We’re not talking about people who are already into it. We’re talking about people who are coming up and don’t know. They’re gonna gravitate toward the people that they think are coolest, for whatever reason, OK? And you already have a situation where drug dealers and hoodlums, they’re already looked up to because they seem to have the most money, seem to be making it the most, etc. etc. And you’re targeting that audience, that’s what you’re telling me.

What I’m saying is that if NWA was to say “Stop the Violence,” I say 800,000 people would listen – a lot quicker, than Run-DMC that have played themselves out – because you guys are the ones who are in the spotlight. But that goes for anybody who’s in the spotlight, You might not be in the spotlight next year, it might another group.

Ice Cube: We’re not telling nobody on the record to go out and be a Crip…We’re not saying to do that and we’re not saying not to….[We’re popular because] we’re so real, we ain’t intimidated or afraid of anything that’s trying to get in our way…We like the confusion. We like the controversy.Cause that’s what helps our group.

Keith Moerer: Helps it in some ways, but could end up hurting you. [KZSU‘s hip-hop show] won’t play NWA cause they think the lyrics are too negative. And the hosts of the hip-hop show on KALX are now considering not playing NWA because they think you’re negative.

Eazy E: You’re talking about the whole album?

Davey D: With Stanford University [KZSU], they won’t play [NWA at all] because they think the whole concept, starting with the name on down, is just a bad attitude, and it sends out a bad message to their listeners.

Eazy E: We need to get [up] there and let people know that we’re not all that they think we are.

Davey D: That’s kind of contradictory, right? Cause just a second ago you said you didn’t care what they thought-to each their own.

Ice Cube: We don’t ask everybody to like us… We don’t expect everybody to like us .. We shouldn’t have the burden put on us just ’cause we’re the top group, we shouldn’t have no pressure put on us to change the way we do records.

Davey D: People think the music is dope .. the music speaks for itself . I could play an instrumental of one of your tracks and get the same response.

Ice Cube: I can’t believe that…

Davey D: Well believe it because that’s what people tell me..

Eazy E: OK we gonna send you a bunch of instrumentals [ Eazy hangs up the phone]

Davey D: Don’t take what I’m saying lightly.. We had a poll on my show asking people if they thought we should play you. We had some people.. they sounded young on the phone, and we had other people who were adults. We had some adults who thought we should play you. They gave the same reasons that you were saying.. And we had younger people calling up and saying, “Hey, we live in San Francisco and there are Crips up here now” and they don’t like it..

Ice Cube: They say its our fault that there are Crips up there now?

Davey D: Well, they’re blaming you..

Ice Cube: There’s been violence since the beginning of time. There ain’t no such word as peace, There ain’t never gonna be peace.

Davey D: Do you perpetuate that, or do you try and stop it?

Ice Cube: What do you want me to do? Tell it like it is or tell people what to do? That’s where we’re at. Since we’re in the middle, they want us to side… Six months ago, they didn’t care, cause we wasn’t getting the attention like we are now.

Davey D: Six months ago or a year ago, Run-DMC was catching the same flak that you are. Whoever is on top is gonna catch flak, and whoever is on the top is gonna be the role model. It’s just like when Run DMC and Eric B came out with gold chains, people weren’t wearing them before they came out with them. When Public Enemy came out with the conscious beads, nobody was wearing em until they came out with em, So people do look up to you when you’re in the limelight.

Ice Cube: What happened to Run DMC? You think they went down cause they started sidin’, they started doing what the majority of people wanted them to do?

Davey D: No, what happened with them is that they played themselves out.

Ice Cube: Here’s what happened to Run-DMC They got a record that crossed over, and the hip-hop audience said, “_______you”. So the hip-hop audience kicked ’em out and said “Who’s next?”

Keith Moerer: Since you’ve already told kids what the reality is on the streets right now, do you really need to tell them the same thing again on the next record?

Ice Cube: Maybe.

Keith Moerer: Eazy-E, is it true that you used to be a drug dealer?

EAZY-E: I stopped.

Keith Moerer: How long were you a drug dealer?

Eazy E: Years.

Keith Moerer: Why’d you stop?

EAZY E: Because I seen that it wasn’t really worth it, It wasn’t worth my life. My cousins got killed, It really wasn’t worth it so I got out of it, I figured I could do something right for a change instead of something wrong.

Keith Moerer: Why not put that on record?

Ice Cube: We did, that’s the song called “Dopeman” It tells what happens when you sell dope. You’ll beat up your friends, you’ll be on your hands and knees looking for dope…

EAZY E: And at the end you could get killed. In the radio version, the dope dealer ends up in prison.

Ice Cube: But see people don’t hear that, they hear what they want to hear.

Keith Moerer: But they hear a lot of different things, That’s one message that you send out, but “Gangsta Gangsta” sends out another…

Ice Cube: Just cause we don’t come out and say “don’t” That’s the word they want us to say. Don’t. It explains itself…. It’s like with the name. We wanted some people to get offended. We wanted people to say “Yeah, that’s cool” We wanted some people to laugh. We like mystery. We like controversy, We even like interviews like this..As long as what we say is true and what we say is real, then we don’t feel bad if somebody looks at it differently.

Davey D: In the Bay Area, if it wasn’t for KPOO, KALX and KZSU playing you initially, NWA wouldn’t be known – and that’s just the basic fact. And [at] two of the three stations, there’s movement to reverse that. One has already taken a stand and said, “We’re not going to do it,'” and the other one is debating it still, Is it a concern, is it something that you’re gonna think about, the same way that I would have to think about you telling me not to wear red when I come down to LA?

Ice Cube: It’s a concern, but will it change me?…No.

Davey D: Because the consequences aren’t as significant?

Ice Cube: It’s significant, but… I don’t really see all ourselves coming from radio, as would a ….

Davey D: But we’re not talking about commercial radio. I personally say that people are drawn to you guys, a lot of it has to do with your lyrics, but even more so your music.. I’m saying that if Eazy-A and NWA were to come out on a political tip..

Ice Cube: I got a song called ‘Murder, He Wrote‘ It’s’ telling about 400 people getting killing through gang activity in Los Angeles, but when five kids get killed up north, five Korean kids, now they want to ban AK-47s, But what about those 400 people..?

Davey D: Now that’s important stuff, to me at least. When you guys came up here last time, we gave away tickets [to your show, on the air]. We played a speech with Malcolm X, and asked “Who’s this guy talking in the background?” And it took about seventeen calls before somebody guessed it right. That’s a sad indication. People know your name, your lyrics, before they know now [though] is that there’s a lot of misconceptions…

Ice Cube: On the next record, there will not be no misconceptions, everybody will know which way NWA is going.

 

 

Hard Knock Radio: History of Black August | Why All the Turmoil in Egypt?

HKR: August 21 2013: Today on Black August_Oakland_2009 Hard Knock Radio co-host Anita Johnson sits down with long time community activist and former Black Panther Mama Ayanna to discuss the meaning of Black August. They focus on the life and political philosophy of prison movement founder George Jackson who was assassinated this day (Aug 21st ) back in 1971.

They also talk about the Haitian Revolution which was revolt led by enslaved Africans which kicked off in August of 1791

They also discusses the slave revolt led by Nat Turner in Virginia in 1831. 55 whites were killed as whites retaliated and killed 200 Blacks hanging 56 who they believed involved with the resurrection.

Later in the show Davey D sits down and talks with award-winning journalist Mona Eltahawy who is based in Cairo about the ongoing conflict and the roots to it.. They discuss the conditions that led up to what is called the ‘Arab Spring‘ and why Eltahawy saw it as a Revolution. We also talk to her about the Muslim brotherhood and the Military and what those two organizations/ institutions mean to the country. This pt 1 of a two-part interview

Click the link below to download or Listen

Click the link below to download or Listen to the HKR Intv

Hard Knock Radio podcast:_Aug 21 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqtL5iCi3WE

Breakdown FM: MC Hammer-The Vindication Interview

Many of us within Hip Hop have severely underestimated MC Hammer and now we’re coming to see that he was light years ahead of the curve in terms of how one should approach business and even approach music.

In pt1 we go over several key facets about Hammer’s career that he should be vindicated for including him being among the first rapper’s to spark endorsement deals. He gives a serious breakdown about how folks made fun of him and wanted to ban him from Hip Hop only to turn around years later and seek these revenue streams now that they realize the music business can be extremely shady when it comes to getting paid. Hammer takes us deep by talking about how major record labels are now hijacking artists and attaching themselves to some of the lucrative endorsement deals that are being offered today.

We also talk about Hammer and his brother Louis being years ahead of artists in terms of getting clothing lines. Many did not know that the pair had a substantial stake in Troop Outfits. He and his brother were smart and actually opened up 30-40 Troop stores around the country and had the foresight to get them placed in popular locations and key malls. Just as the business was starting to really take off, Hammer and his brother found themselves the victims of what many consider corporate sabotage.

Nasty rumors circulated around the country that Troop was owned by the Ku Klux Klan, when in fact Hammer, LL Cool J and Fat Joe were all owners. Outlets like MTV and urban radio did nothing to dispel those rumors and within a year of these nasty rumors Troop folded. Many speculate that it was rival clothing company like Addidas that was behind the rumors, but of course that was never proven. Many just speculated since they were the dominant urban clothing outfit at that time.

In this interview we spoke to Hammer about him being the first to put out Gospel Hip Hop on vinyl. Today we all praise Kanye West for the hit song ‘Jesus Walks’, but many overlook the fact that Hammer came on the scene using the moniker Holy Ghost Boy. His first song which was actually a demo cut passed around via cassette tape was a cut called ‘The Word’.

MC Hammer Feel My Power

MC Hammer Feel My Power

On his first LP ‘Feel My Power’ which was released independently in 1987-88, he had a dope hip hop gospel song called ‘Son of a King’. In our interview Hammer talks about his connection to the church and how he has struggled over the years with his own contradictions and spiritual beliefs. Also in this portion of our interview with MC Hammer, he gets deep about the connection between Hip Hop and spirituality.

We also have a lengthy discussion about the connection between Hip Hop and Funk. For those who don’t know, Hammer used to tour with a huge band that included the original horn section from Earth Wind & Fire.

He goes into great detail about the history of west coast Hip Hop and how it emerged from the funk era. Hammer talks about how the Bay Area was the home of the Live Band and how every Black kid in the hood had a funk band. These bands were the equivalent to the early Hip Hop crews back East in terms of being the major platform for cultural expression by folks in the hood. Hammer talks at length about the early dance scene and the significant role it played in the development of west coast Hip Hop.

MC Hammer and Michael jacksonHe talks about some of the early dance crews and dance styles. He also talks about how Michael Jackson used to come up to the Bay Area and get hipped to dance styles he would later incorporate in his shows. The most famous dance that Jackson got from the Bay Area was the robot.

Hammer also talks at length about New York City and why he did a song like ‘Turn this Mutha Out’. He talks about the irresponsibility of the Hip Hop press and how they tried to twist things for the general public. He talks about his friendship with Hip Hop pioneer Mele-Mel’. He also talks about the time he went up to the Latin Quarters by himself and got busy on stage right before Ultramagnetic performed. He noted that DJ Red Alert gave him a messed up introduction.

Listen to pt 1 of this MC Hammer Interview on Breakdown FM

Download BreakdownFM-MCHammer pt1 Intv

MC Hammer-The Vindication Interview pt2
East Oakland Street Life, Prisons, Police Helicopters, Cointelpro & Eazy E

MC Hammer Bay AreaIn pt2 of our one on one with MC Hammer, he let’s us know about his connection to the streets. Folks outside the Bay Area saw the genie pants and the typewriter walk dance and figured Hammer was some sort of softy who could and should be dismissed. Folks in Oakland knew otherwise. Hammer was and is no joke. His old crew, the High Street Bank Boys were more than notorious. Hammer talks at length about the types of steps he took to pull his home boys away from street life and the challenges it presented. His actions by default became a full scale prison to work program. He explained how it was this sort of activity that eventually led to him going bankrupt.

Hammer spoke at length how the police along with some outside enemies tried to undermine his efforts and spread a nasty rumor about him buying OPD a police helicopter. He emphatically refutes the claim and talked about the type of corruptions that had gone on within the police department and how many officers were upset because he was providing opportunities for guys they wanted to see locked up.

We spoke at length about Cointelpro and how many of the other independent movements including Luke in Miami, James Prince in Houston and Eazy E in LA all saw themselves under fire at the same time. He spoke about the early attempts these young black entrepreneurs made to consolidate their resources and create a major distribution channel. It was at that point that the helicopter rumors surfaced and Luke came under fire for obscene material. James Prince and Rap-A-Lot records became the object of a federal investigation. Hammer gets deep with this aspect.. Lastly he talks about his close friendship with Eazy E and how the two had a lot in common because of their street background..

Listen to pt 2 of this MC Hammer Interview on Breakdown FM

Download BreakdownFM-MCHammer pt2 Intv

MC Hammer-The Vindication Interview pt3
The Hustle-The Music Biz-The Hyphy Movement and 2Pac

MC Hammer leather5In our final installment, we talk with MC Hammer about the city he reps and loves Oakland. He talks about the vibe of the city and the type of independent hustle-do for self mentality embraced by its residents Hammer also gives us a lot of insight about the music biz. Anybody trying to make it in the industry needs to hear what Hammer is saying with regards to this..

We also talk about the then current Hyphy Movement. Hammer gives a breakdown on this as well as updating us on his own new projects. We conclude our conversation with Hammer telling us about his friendship with 2Pac and they types of political ambitions the pair had planned out.

Listen to pt 3 of this MC Hammer Interview on Breakdown FM

Download BreakdownFM-MCHammer pt3 Intv

Breakdown FM on ADP: Do U Wanna Soul Clap?

Breakdown-FM-Neo-82-500

Yesterday on Breakdown FM heard weekly on All Day Play (ADP), we took it there with a nice soul mix.. Many of y’all like to call the music we rocked, Neo-soul, but I’m gonna honor the wishes of artists like Erykah Badu who insists that we not separate what she and others do from the cannon of soul..

So what was rocked yesterday was a retro mix with everyone  from Rapahel Saadiq to Q-Tip and Janet Jackson to Mary J Blige w/ Smif & Wessun.. all coming across my turntables.

Do U Wanna Soul-Clap?.. That’s the theme of the mix.. How can you not when what we drop is so funky.. Enjoy

Download or stream Breakdown FM Mix HERE

http://www.alldayplay.fm/episodes/episode-87-12

01-Rakim ‘Remember That’

02-Alicia Keyes ‘ If I Was Your Woman’

03-Malcolm X America Doesn’t Love Us’

04-Janet Jackson w/ Q-Tip Till Its Gone”

05-Davina ‘You and Me’

06-Sunshine Anderson ‘Lunch and Dinner’

07-Mary J Blige ‘I Love You w/ Smif and Wesson’

08- Akrobatik ‘Remind My Soul ‘ Jesse Jackson remix

09-Erykah Badu ‘Otherside of the Game’

10-Eric B & Rakim I Got Soul ‘Neo soul remix’

11-Rashann Patterson ‘I’m Trying to Get Into You’

12-Mantronix ‘Gotta Lotta Love’

13-Rebirth The Movement’

14-Blackalicious First in Flight’ Eldrigfe Clever Mix)

15- Rapahel Saadiq ‘Never felt this Way’

16-Joi I’m Not Gonna Be Weak’

01-Raphael Saadiq ‘Tic Toc

02- If I let You take Me Home

03-Sunshine Anderson ‘I Heard It all Before’

04-Clipse ‘Everyday Made It’

05-Raphael Saadiq w/ Q-Tip

Free Speech TV… Davey D Interview w/ Blackalicious (OLM News)

Chief XL of BlackaliciousThis is a our recent Free Speech TV show  OLM News w/ Davey D where we sat down and chopped it up with Oakland based rappers Blackalicious. It’s always a pleasure to build with Gift of Gab who is by far one of Hip Hop’s most underrated emcees and Chief XL who is a producer’s producer..

During our convo we covered a variety of topics like them working with the late Gil Scott Heron, the current state of Hip Hop and them rocking mics internationally… They note one of their favorite places to get down is in various countries throughout Africa. We also focused on their longevity in the game which now spans over 20 years..

You can catch our weekly TV show on Free Speech television on Sunday nights..and the repeats which air 3 times each week.. Check local listings

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFD-NooIo9M

Blackalicious Set To Touch Down This Friday

Blackalicious Flyer

This Friday.. Blackalicious will grace the stage at New Parrish and bring some serious heat. It’s been a while since we got to see this Oakland based duo catch wreck in tha Town and everyone is looking forward to it backing Blackalicious will be ‘Jazz Mafia’. Also on the bill will be Kev Choice and Raw G and your truly (Davey D) on the turntables….In the meantime here’s a couple of interviews we did with group members Chief XL and Gift of Gab..

We caught up w/ Chief XL at Kevvy Kev’s Bang the Drum celebration at Golden Gate park.. We talked to him about his work, parenting, Hip Hop from overseas and being the Chief.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgDMVwxx4pk

We caught up w/ Gift of Gab at Kevvy Kev’s Bang the Drum celebration at Golden Gate Pk.. We asked if emceeing was gift or skill obtained through practice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7knci6Q4xUI

 

OLM News w/ Davey D… Intv w/ Sgt Ron Stallworth on Infiltrating the KKK

One of the most intriguing and insightful individuals we ever sat down with is former Gang Intelligence Coordinator for the Utah police department, Sgt Ron Stallworth. Currently teaching, he is considered in law enforcement circles to be the foremost expert on what many have dubbed gangsta rap.

Yes, we know over the years there’s been a lot of attention given to ‘Hip Hop cops’ like Derrick Parker and the huge dossiers he and others had amassed on rappers, but Stallworth is the original. He’s penned several books on the gangsta rap, which up until recently were only available for law enforcement. Each one of the 4 books I have easily surpass the information and scholarship that we would see with current Hip Hop books on the market.

Stallworth explained that as a peace officer, writing and paying attention to detail is an important part of the job. Overlooking details and cutting corners could be the difference between life and death in the field, hence, his writings and books were and do reflect that..

Stallworth in his writings  attacked the subject of gangsta rap and Hip Hop  with a couple of thoughts in mind. First, he felt it was crucial to connect the historical dots. He was well aware that Hip Hop and Gangsta Rap did not occur in a political or social vacuum. He’s quite clear in noting that Black music expression is connected to struggle and key movements. he details these movements in his writings and explains how and why they are connected  Hip Hop.

Sgt Ron Stalworth

Stallworth covers everything from the Black Panthers to the Black Liberation Army, to the Nation of Islam to the Five Percenters to the Black Arts Movement and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These details aren’t so much a rap sheet where he starts identifying particular folks. Instead he details such facets like the way the oral traditions are similar and contrasted with key orators in the Panthers vs popular gangsta rappers of the early 90s.  He in great detail, explains how the agendas and ideology of past  political and social movements manifest themselves in so-called gangsta rap.

Stallworth wanted to make sure those reading his work would have a better understanding who were was saying what and how it really matched up in real life. Stallworth would spend hours listening to artists, transcribing their lyrics and cross referencing their words with real life.  He noted that surprisingly lots of artists would literally brag about their exploits, gang affiliations etc.. he noted that many more were telling tall tales or being mouth pieces for neighborhood shot callers. Over the years Stallworth got good at knowing who was real and who was fake. He also got good at breaking down the lingo, double speak and street codes which unearth lots of information and insight.

Sgt Ron Stallworth holding KKK Membership card

In our round table interview we cover a lot of this.. But that’s only the beginning of Stallworth’s claim to fame. prior to getting into studying gangsta rap, Stallworth had infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.It wasn’t just any KKK chapter. It was one that was stationed in the military bases in Colorado where they were actively recruiting. Stallworth as a brown skin Black man managed to not only infiltrate the chapter, but was offered an opportunity to be chapter leader. Yes, you read that right, its something out of a Dave Chappelle skit, 20 years before Chappelle showed up on the scene..  Stallworth carries a signed membership card from Klan leader David Duke who had no idea that he had been infiltrated..

We start off our round table discussion by talking about Stallworth investigation of the KKK and talk about the current rise of hate groups. During our discussion, he explained that he was going back to Colorado to speak to officers and fill in some key gaps of what he calls the ‘Lost Chapters‘. Stallworth explains that his boss at the time wanted the files on that case to be destroyed. Stallworth kept them and has no regrets considering the significance.

Enjoy this interview w/ Ron that recently aired on Free Speech Tv.. He gives us a lot of game to soak up..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGvcl7nTscE