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Oakland Music Festival was Bangin’ Here are some photos I took

September 27, 2015 By

The City of Oakland was on tilt yesterday with two major music festivals.. The first was OMF.. Oakland Music Festival which had more than 30 acts did not disappoint.  From Anderson Paak to Afrolicious to Caleborate to Los Rakas to J Boogie Dubtronics to name a few, each one after the next was hittin’ and not quittin’.  The vibe was nice… The people mad cool…The energy was infectious.

For those unfamiliar here’s what oakland native Alfonso Dominquez  who founded OMF noted about the Festival;

Oakland’s story has remained largely untold, with the city’s rich culture of music and arts historically being overshadowed by the negative perceptions associated with “The Town”. However, with the rising national attention being directed towards Oakland, there has never been a better time to highlight the people that make the City such an exciting and world-class destination. The Oakland Music Festival (OMF) is an effort to support this endeavor. Honoring Oakland’s diverse history, while promoting its culture of innovation and continued evolution, the Festival seeks to provide not only a stage, but a tangible economic and social impact to help drive and sustain this positive momentum.

Launched in 2013 as a celebration of all things Oakland, OMF is an independent showcase featuring local and international musical talent as well as local eateries, breweries and small craft distillers. Founded by a group of friends and Oakland locals, the Festival aims to foster and support both the local music, art community and the diverse food & spirit craftsmen that collectively give Oakland its distinct flavor.

Like I said it was too much to take in.. There were two main stages outside and two stages inside… It’s something to look forward to next year..Below are some of the photos I was able to take while there before heading off to Oakland other big music festival called Bay Area Vibez where they had Stephan and Damian Marley to name a few. enjoy

written by Davey D

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Commentary Tagged With: ,

Oakland’s Blackalicious is What Hip Hop Has Been Missing

September 26, 2015 By

Chief Xcel and Gab leftIt’s been a long time, they shouldn’t have left you, with a strong rhyme to step to…It was 10 years ago that Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel aka Blackalicious put out their last album, The Craft. It was a dope album and left many of their fans wanting more.  That ‘more’ never came.

The group did a lot of shows and would occasionally tour, producer Chief Xcel was doing a lot of work with Grammy nominee Ledisi  while Gab dropped a couple of solo albums….but no new music was coming from them as a duo.  This year all that changed when they got back in the studio,  creative juices on fire and dropped ‘Imani Vol 1’. It will be the first in a trilogy of albums.

Imani album coverIn a recent interview done at the group’s West Oakland studio, they noted that its important to take time off, grow and then put out something that reflects their collective growth, creative inspirations and overall freshness. Imani Vol 1 does not disappoint. Some may say it’s the return of the boom bap sound. Others may say its the return of Hip Hop music with substance.. I say its the return of a damn good group who have 20 years under the belt, have gotten better with age and gave us what most will deem straight rewind material.  Imani is not an album filled with filler.  Each song resonates. Each beat leaves its mark.

Below is our recent Hard Knock Radio interview

Download_Blackalicious interview 09-09-2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpa-czMLAWQ

Earlier this month Blackalicious and their extended crew Lateef the Truthspeaker, Myron, Verse, Win Strong, Jumbo of the Lifesavas and special guests Fantastic Negrito and Kelly Finnigan of the Monophonics came together and did an incredible show at the historic Filmore. I got to deejay for the opening acts and take some cool photos in between. Here are some of the flicks.. enjoy

written by Davey D

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Straight Outta Mexico- Oakland’s Raw G Catches Wreck

September 24, 2015 By

Raw G close upGina Madrid aka Raw G is a fixture in the Bay Area’s current Hip Hop scene who earned her stripes and position by doing what so many successful Bay artist have done before her, by grinding. In addition to being a dope emcee who has opened for everyone from KRS-One to Blackalicious to Ana Tijoux to Mobb Deep to name a few, Raw G also has her own promotion company called Steelo Entertainment. She learned early on, that opportunities arise when you create them and not sit back and wait.

Coming from Guadalajara, Mexico, Raw G is part of the first wave of pioneering emale emcees who laid down crucial ground work and opened doors for what has emerged to be a vibrant scene, south of the US border. There are scores of female emcees in Mexico who bring serious heat to the game. Artists like Jezzy P,  Leazzy, Vicky C,  Ximbo, Rabia Rivera Dayra Fyah and Nina Dioz  to name a few.

Mujeres TrabajandoMany of these women including Raw G and fellow local/ Oakland emcee Aima the Dreamer are featured on a landmark compilation called Mujeres Trabajando which has morphed into a collective of the same name which translates to ‘Working Women’.

Raw G noted that Mujeres Trabajando has made major headway and as a promoter she has brought a number of the women from Mexico to the Bay Area to perform at jam packed shows.

Raw G never falls back and is forever hustling. The hard work has paid off.
Her new album Esperanza which means Hope is a masterpiece that reflects her evolution and love for Hip Hop culture. It also reflects her activism, as it speaks to important issues of social justice. All proceeds from her album are being donated to  International High School which services the immigrant community in Oakland. The first single off the album Sangre which means blood sets the tone for the album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UO_4VGRMz34

Recently Raw G kicked things off for the Blackalicious Show held at the Filmore in San Francisco. She came with a full band a incredible back up singers like; Naima Grace Shalhoub, Lila Rose and Emily Afton Moldenhauer all have their own solo careers. But that’s typical of Raw G, she’s all about trying to bring folks together to help get them exposure and additional shine.

Below are some of the photos I took of Raw G and her crew during their performance at the Blackalicious show. Enjoy

written by Davey D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIBtz4CuNjo

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Oakland’s Boogaloo Reunion BBQ : A History Lesson in West Coast Street Dance

September 22, 2015 By

 

Red gents raiseThe 5th annual Oakland Boogaloo Reunion BBQ  which took place in West Oakland’s Shoreline Park was an incredible and inspiring intergenerational gathering that provided much needed living history. There’s a popper’s picnic that takes place annually in Los Angeles at Griffith’s Park where they get lose and celebrate history.. This month the Bay Area let their story be told.

When most people talk about Hip Hop Dance, they think of what is known as B-Boying but commonly known as break dancing in the mainstream.  They think of people of doing elaborate spins on their backs or highly choreographed, robotic, strutting, clay-mation type movements that defy what many have imagined our bodies could do.

Most people think that  because the term Hip Hop is attached to these various dance styles that they’ve originated from New York City. In reality the dances known as Boogalooing, Roboting and Strutting  have their roots three thousand miles away in the Bay Area going back to the 1960s.  Their origins predate the birth of Hip Hop in New York in the 1970s.

Instead of bongo heavy break-beats that became a signature sound for early Hip Hop, the choice of music for many of the Bay Area’s pioneering street dancers was bass laden funk music.

If there was one thing that unbeknownst to folks from either coast that tied them together, it was James Brown. Early B-Boys in the Bronx were inspired by the moves he executed when performing songs like Get on the Good Foot. Songs like Give it Up or Turn It Lose and Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved were staple songs heard at early park jams. In the Bay Area the song of choice for early Bay Area funk and street dancers was Superbad.

There were no massive block parties in Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond which were the three main cities that were central to these dances during that time period.  Instead many Bay Area youth who embraced these dances showcased their skills at talent shows which were just as numerous in the late 60s, early 70s as block parties were in New York during the summer.

Deejays were few in number while hundreds of 3-4 member funk bands made up the musical landscape of the Bay Area. As  Will Randolph of the pioneering dance group the Black Resurgents noted, you might find 3 or 4 bands on every block. Some dance crews including the Black Resurgents even had their own bands.

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

Over the years thanks to popular TV shows like Soul Train and the later the Gong Show or key individuals moving from one place to another, the dances of the West Coast eventually became known to pioneering dancers in New York who incorporated them in their routines and by default became umbrellaed as Hip Hop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beVuW0H_S6g

Here in Oakland the 5th annual Boogaloo Reunion BBQ was held as folks from all over come out, and literally strut their stuff.  They showcase and celebrate the evolution of some of those original dances that were prominent in the Bay and Northern Cali as many like to note; the Day before Hip Hop. Today at the Boogaloo Reunion BBQ you will see early Funk style dancers, traditional Bboys and Bgirls and now turf dancers..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxnNn099hMQ

This year I arrived at the Poppers Picnic and BBQ (September 6) at West Oakland’s Shoreline Park, just as things were winding down, but managed to catch up with lot of folks and shoot some cool pictures that caught the good vibe and overall spirit of the day..Enjoy

written by Davey D

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Oakland’s Zion I Crew Shows No Signs of Slowing Down

September 20, 2015 By

Zumbi sideDuring the recent Blackalicious show at the historic Fillmore Auditorium, the capacity crowd was treated to a stellar show from Zion I which has expanded its members to include founding member Zumbi Zoom, legendary Triple Threat deejay Vinroc long time South African emcee Dusk and emcee Deuce Eclipse who fronts the group Bang Dada…

As the group hit the stage and dropped song after song, it struck many of us just how deep Zion I’s catalogue is and just how long they been around. The Oakland based group formed in 1996 with Zumbi and producer Amp Live. They released their first album Mind Over Matter in 2000.

Their sophomore album Deep Water Slang was released in 2003 on Raptivism Records. Their third album, 2005’s True & Livin’ is one of my favorites. It featured  guest appearances by Talib Kweli, Aesop Rock, Gift of Gab, Del tha Funkee Homosapien and activist/ freedom fighter Fred Hampton jr.  It also contains one of their most popular songs ‘The Bay’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt7wJnQxWwg

The group’s fourth album, Break a Dawn, was initially only released in Japan in 2006, but was subsequently released internationally. Also in 2006, Zion I recorded Heroes in the City of Dope, a collaborative album with the Grouch, which Om Records released toward the end of the year.  They followed that up with the Takeover in 2009 and Atomic Clock in 2010, both were critically acclaimed.

Since 2010, Zion has released a a few more, albums, a number of mixtapes, live eps and scores of singles.. Their musi library is deep and that was apparent during their set at the Blackalicious Show.

A challenge facing many long time groups is they lose a few steps and struggle to stay relevant. Such is not the case with Zion I. They are as hungry as ever and have honed their skilled to near perfection.

Below are some photos we took from their excellent set at the Fillmore .

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , ,

Don’t Sleep on Martin Luther- A Musician’s Musician

September 19, 2015 By

Martin Luther FilmoreOne of the most talented Bay Area artists around, who many like to consider a musician’s musician,  is Martin Luther. The San Francisco native plays a variety of instruments but the guitar is his main tool. His voice is part Sam Cooke, part Marvin Gaye as he is intense and deeply convicted with each note sung. His swagger is Jimi Hendrix and then some.

According to his bio, Martin Luther developed his musical chops as a child raised on choir hymns.  At the same time, he learned how to play piano and was exposed to the sounds of Parliament Funkadelic. These eclectic tastes redirected Martin Luther’s interests as he experimented with the sounds of funk. He later taught himself how to play the drums which allowed him to incorporate a wider range of instruments into his music.

Martin Luther over the years has worked closely with The Roots and Cody Chestnutt. He as several albums out including ‘The Calling’, ‘Rebel Soul Music’ and ‘Love is the Hero’ which were released independently.  Martin Luther is a Morehouse graduate with an emphasis on business and entertainment law.

Martin is also an actor who has appeared in several projects including; 2007 Beatles musical Across the Universe in the role of “Jo-Jo”, who reflects Jimi Hendrix. In the film, McCoy performs the song “While My Guitar Gently Weeps“,

We took some great shots of Martin Luther the other night during his stellar performance with Blackalicious  at the Filmore. Enjoy the photos and don’t sleep on Martin Luther.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_gifhe1Fdc

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , , ,

Kendrick Lamar Proves There’s More to Hip Hop than Sex and Drugs

September 18, 2015 By

Kendrick Lamar Proves There’s More to Hip Hop than Sex and Drugs

Kendrick lamarHip hop traces back to the 1970s when DJ Kool Herc pioneered the breakbeat revolution. The music genre has since evolved immensely and has a number of factors that gave rise to its current popularity, albeit not all positive. According to Storify.com, hip hop ignited as teens and young adults led the Universal Zulu Nation peace movement to reduce gang violence in NYC, but today it’s slated as a method to promote controversial issues such as sexism, violence, and drug use.

For those that aren’t versed in hip hop or rap, it’s possible they perceive the culture in a negative light, though it’s important to know that there’s much more to the world of hip hop than weed, gangs, and intercourse. Sex and drugs often find themselves intertwined as revealed by a survey conducted by Adam & Eve, in which 79 percent of participants who drink alcohol or take drugs before copulation responded positively to the experience. With an audience heavily influenced by alcohol, drugs and sex, rappers are giving them exactly want they want as they produce songs about weed culture and curvaceous women. Notably, there are a myriad of artists out there that remind us that there’s a greater depth to rap than what you’d normally hear on the radio or watch on YouTube, one in particular being Kendrick Lamar.

While Snoop Dogg and Redman are recording tracks based on their adventures with marijuana, the young Compton rapper strives to be a role model of sorts by sharing with listeners that anything is possible, despite whatever socioeconomic woes they’ve been dealt with. Even though he has a history of smoking weed, he shared in an interview with Hip Hop DX in 2012 that it was never about dependency and that it’s all the past, as he wanted to make sure he wouldn’t use it as a crutch in his career like some others are.

His latest album To Pimp a Butterfly is a politically charged modern masterpiece, a thorough lyrical compilation of his transition from hardship to fame critically acclaimed across various media outlets, with a near perfect score on MetaCritic. Before the album release in March, Lamar had already been publicizing that his new songs which he describes as “honest, fearful and unapologetic” would be “taught in college courses someday.”

It might be hard to believe that an album can teach us so much about race relations, provoke thought and activism in racial equality, but Lamar makes it possible by using it as a platform to divulge his academically and historically informed opinions on culturalism and structuralism within his society and black culture as a whole. Though some have criticized his latest work as he suggests that racial inequality is also perpetuated by African American society as well. Whether you agree with this assertion or not, every single one of his tracks play in integral role in explaining that race relations are far more complex than the culturalist/structuralist argument, and that hip hop is more profound than what first meets the eye.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-48u_uWMHY

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News Tagged With:

Some Thoughts on the 4th Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street

September 17, 2015 By

occupy Wall street4 years ago the Occupy Wall Street Movement kicked off… Seeing and hearing about commemorative marches and gatherings.. Hearing conversations about whether or not its tactics were effective or not and how and why OWS failed .. What I’m not hearing is how OWS was the unwanted beneficiary of the insidious tactics and full weight of the police/ surveillance state…

I’m not hearing about how we saw corporate terrorism in full bloom Wall street outfits were able to privatize NYPD and have them work and report directly to them under a then little known program called Paid Detail.. During the height of Occupy wall Street, Chase Manhattan had forked over 4.6 million to make sure NYPD followed their directives..

I’m not hearing any follow up stories to how the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund got hold of the FBI and Homeland Security documents that revealed how those agencies along with campus police where Occupy sites were set up and bank security coordinated efforts to infiltrate and violently take down OWS. DHS considered the Occupy Movement a domestic terrorist and criminal threat..

Funny how very few people link this gross intrusion and trampling of our privacy to President Obama and his administration. In fact a number of people cheered him on once it was revealed that the FBI had started monitoring OWS almost a month before it started.. One has to wonder how much of the disruptive, off putting elements many encountered and found within OWS were brought and paid for by DHS and the FBI?

Even more importantly, we should all be asking how was this massive sp[ying operation and trampling of our privacy and right to assemble and protest ever addressed and solved. What lawmakers stepped up to the plate and put forth legislation to prevent that from happening again? Today we know that the FBI bolstered by what they were able to get away with during the Occupy Movement is actively monitoring and trying to disrupt, discredit and ultimately derail the Black Lives Matter Movement..There’s been very little outcry about that on going surveillance..

Its also noteworthy that many do not connect the brutality of police directed at Occupy Movement with the current wave of terror we are experiencing with police.. Once we understand that the police were working and their brutality greenlit by the Federal government, during OWS, then it should be clear as day that there will probably be little movement or resolution from the Feds now..

It’s a shame that our local news stations which remarking about this 4 year anniversary and talking about a gathering in SF at noon are not speaking on domestic surveillance.. How come the silence NBC Bay Area?? How come the silence KTVU Channel 2?? How come the silence KRON 4 News..

For folks who think this is all an exaggeration you can see those documents yourself.. http://bit.ly/1OyMOfl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxv9kIFJh5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QQbRXaGsjM

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News

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

August 18, 2015 By

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.

 

 

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Talib Kweli and Zakiya Harris w/ Elephantine Rip Stern Grove

August 17, 2015 By
Artist talk w/ Talib Kweli at Stern Grove

Artist talk w/ Talib Kweli at Stern Grove

San Francisco 08-16-15 In the words of Ice Cube.. ‘Today was a good day’ Two steller acts took to the stage and seriously rocked it at Stern Grove Festival. Oakland’s own Zakiya Harris and Elephantine along with Talib Kweli set a new bar for throwing down and leaving the stage hot… They did not disappoint.

It was an incredible show that started off with Talib Kweli doing an artist talk to a packed house. Yours truly moderated as we covered all sorts  of topics ranging from the recent passing of NAACP chair and SNCC co-founder Julian Bond on down to the passing of his good friend Sean Price of the group Heltah Skeltah.

During our conversation, Talib talked about the competitive spirit of Sean Price. He said every time they crossed paths Price would jokingly remind Talib, that he was the better emcee.

We talked about Talib’s recent trips to Ferguson and how and why he got involved. He noted that it was fellow artist J Cole who got him to come down. Once there, Talib was stunned by what he saw and has stayed involved and raised thousands of dollars for the family of Mike Brown and a number of organizations who are trying to bring an end to police terrorism.

Talib talked about the police killing of Sam DuBose in Cincinnati. He noted that Sam was good friends with members of his crew Hi Tek and Mood.  He noted that any one of his people’s could’ve been in the car with Dubose that day when police shot him in the head..

We also spoke at length about his creative process, ghost writing, regional flavor in Hip Hop and the importance of the Bay Area. Talib also announced the release of his new album which is available for free download called  F– The Money.

After the artist talk, we watched Zakiya Harris,  Tossie Long, Sólás Burke-Lalgee, and Elephantine rock the house in a major way. Zakiya has been working her craft for a minute, but over the past year she has taken things to new heights. Her singing is on point. Her emceeing is not to be toyed with. You will get your feelings hurt if you follow her band.

When Talib took the stage after a brief intermission he had the crowd standing the entire time as he went from one hit song after another. He too had a band that was pretty tight.

Was blessed to hang with these folks this afternoon..Below are some photos from the event

Filed Under: 2015 Daily News, Davey D Photos Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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