Shamako Noble: A Call For a Bay Area and Other Cities to Unite

This is an article penned by Shamako Noble of Hip Hop Congress several years ago-back in October 2005 to be exact. With the current state of affairs bringing forth everything from increased poverty to gentrification and  dwindling opportunities impacting not just the Bay Area but all our respective cities, what he penned has just as much relevance today as it did when he first wrote it.. Its a Call for A Bay Area United that applies to many of our cities..

As you read this column and soak up some of the info.. folks may want to click the link below check out this recent article penned by Shamako, The Rise of Silicon Valley Bay http://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/articles/2014/03/14/rise-silicon-valley-bay

A Call For A Bay Area United (Oct 2005)

Shamako Noble wallInspired by so many things like the recent Zion-I,Team, Mr. Fab, Crown City Rockers show, the growth of Distortion to Static, Katrina, and Millions More Movements, I recognize that it may truly be time for a Bay Area Movement.

This article is not about Democrat or Republican, although it will address some issues brought up by both parties as well as some of the movements they are committed to. This series is not about Bloods or Crips, Nortenos or Surenos, Guns, Rap, Graff, etc. It is about our communities, our cultures, our children and our elders. These are simply suggestions or thoughts for what I believe may already be occurring on many levels. In the coming weeks, I will continue this series getting into more depth on each topic.

Please excuse the length of the first, as the
remaining will be more consolidated in dealing with each topic specifically with more supporting evidence, facts, statistics and the like. The final piece will be the one that ties the vision together for a more community connected Bay Area. To anyone already doing the things I’m talking about, good looking out and keep it moving. We support you.

The areas I will focus on will be: Youth Services, Hip Hop and Media, Philanthropy, and Political Activism

Youth Services:
1. Defining the problem(s): Youth Violence, Gangs, Health Care, Drugs, Education, etc. Although many of our community’s problems are unique, many of them are shared. Also, see number 3 in political activism.

2. Identifying potential solutions, resources and establishing those willing to put in the work. We have much more in our favor than we currently recognize. Right now, we are working on a master list of Bay Area Youth Organizations for all of us to share collectively. I believe that many of us are already doing considerable networking. Let us continue to do so.

3. Drawing the bridge between regions so that although localized areas are focused on localized problems, the Bay Area as a whole is focused on networking and utilizing youth resources and information.

4. If we make the world bigger than our regions and ourselves, it will be easier for us to transition that understanding to the youth. Too many of our youth don’t know enough about what is beyond their borders. How can we honestly tell them that the world is bigger than what they see, and we don’t even show them what is across a bridge?

5. Take the idea of Hip Hop and Education, but more importantly the spirit of ‘by any means necessary’ in education seriously. The Bay Area is one of the country’s most active groups in that respect with groups like 5th Element, Sisters of the Underground, The Academy of Hip Hop, Trinity Wolf Productions, Unity Care and many more leading the helm. Even in this ‘liberal’ area, there is still too much of a divide and hesitation on the part of many educators and administrators to recognize the importance or relating to, challenging and embracing the experience of the student. This is risky and fearful at best and dangerous and negligent at its worst.

Hip Hop and Media

Hip Hop mean To You sign1. Hip Hop must stop dividing itself. Leaders, activists, artists of all elements must come together as a unified social, economic and political force organizing under a collective banner of the empowerment of the poor, marginalized and disenfranchised of the Bay Area. New or Old, Graff Writer or DJ we are much more useful to each other collectively than we are separately.

2. De-regionalize our mentalities, our markets and musical movements. The Bay Area boasts one of the highest numbers of independent artists in the Unites States of America and the truth is that a lot of those artists just don’t know each other or know of each other. This undermines our collective strength and our ability to truly stimulate the culture of our region. So to some extent, let’s stop being San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, East Palo Alto and
Richmond. Let’s just be the Bay.

3. Prejudice directly connected to labeling must end and we must begin to view titles such as ‘conscious’ or ‘gangsta’ as almost, if not completely, counter-productive. Granted, they may refer to some degree of a musical style, but Hip Hop is Hip Hop and even before that (and perhaps more importantly), human expression is human expression. If there are specific issues that we wish to engage in the music of individuals or a certain ‘market’
then let us do so as a community with shared interests and common goals.

4. We must take collective ownership for our economics, cultural conditions and media savvy. The Bay Area has one of the most ripe Independent and College Radio Markets in the world today. We need radio DJs like T-Cash and others who are willing to embrace not only the universal struggle of independent artistry in the Bay Area, but that are willing to recognize their importance and responsibility as community beacons of information and good music. When the commercial radio stations are not willing to do it, we need college/independent radio stations that are. Also, please refer to the previous point.

DJ Luicidal and D'Labrie & Sellasie

DJ Luicidal and D’Labrie & Sellasie

5. We must take the collective initiative to stay informed and to keep others informed. The Bay Area, with folks like Adisa Banjoko, Davey D, Jeff Chang, Vanessa Nisperos, Kenny May, Boots, Emcee Lynx, Balance, Ren the Vinyl Archeologist, E-40, Shock G, DLabrie, Rahman Jamaal and many more, clearly has one of the most fertile grounds of Hip Hop and social thinking that this country has to offer. However, all anyone can do is make this information as readily available as possible. It is our collective responsibility to keep others and ourselves as informed as we can in our busy schedules.

6. Let’s begin seriously drawing bridges between, African-American, Latino American, Native American, LGBT, Women, Pacific Islander, and poor and working-class white communities. Realistically, most of these groups have Hip Hop music distinct to their communities, and although we cannot simply expect to make fans out of thin air, perhaps the more we can make people aware of the music, the more we can make them aware of the issues.

7. See above: #5 under Youth Services.

Philanthropy and Social Venture Capitalism:

money_stack1. There are dozens of organizations and activists out there right now doing amazing things that are scrambling desperately for money. The structure in which philanthropy is designed currently forces the activist, organizer, non-profit etc., to find the money, apply for the money, and then compete for and with the money. That’s fine when it comes to certain services that are not of an urgent nature. However, our children are dying, being mis-educated, undereducated misled and cornered into situations that are not healthy for themselves, their families and their communities.

There are organizations that are on the front lines of poverty, of culture, and of youth advocacy and activism and they need your help. They can prove they’re effective, and they can give you good documentation for your tax purposes. However, if you have it in your foundation budget, start hiring community activists already on the
frontlines of these communities to help guide you. Don’t build a stadium or center in the community, find out what the community is doing, if they need your help and then offer. Stop starting new programs and start supporting the ones that already exist without a bunch of hoops and strings.

2. Take aggressive, proactive collaboration and outreach seriously. When I say that, I don’t simply mean reach out to those with whom you are comfortable. I mean reach out even to those with whom you are not comfortable and know nothing about. If you find you don’t understand something about a community, be proactive in learning more. Do not be satisfied until a true state of equity in opportunity and standard of living is in place. Recognize that there is no one individual, group, foundation or organization that is
going to solve the entirety of this collective problem.

In other words: stop competing with each other and stop making good organizations and good people compete for small dollars that only make small dents. Work collaboratively with other foundations, and other foundation collectives to begin to target issues with the right amount of dollars, and take seriously the search for organizations to funnel those dollars through. Groups like the PCF in the peninsula and RFC in the South Bay are models for that kind of work.

Political Activism:

Protests Edinburgh Photos 0091. Let’s continue to build on the momentum established in 2004 during the election. However, let’s do so with a more determined and defined strategy. If there is still a Bay Area LOC, and a South Bay LOC, let’s recharge them and get them involved in state and local issues. Let’s connect with the labor unions, the teacher unions, the independents, and the greens. Let’s begin to take each other’s lives more seriously than we take each
other’s politics.

2. To representatives, tell us, as a community, what you need from us to make happen what you want to make
happen. If we recognize our collective power, and even further if we recognize that working together, you (the rep) can leverage our collective power to make a difference, what specifically would you need us to do? Organize, vote, protest and rally, e-mail or phone calls? Let us form a true leadership with grassroots, universal concepts that seeks to empower and galvanize the whole in an inclusive but uncompromising manner and utilize that to make use of or expose the highest value of political process.

3. We pretty much know our issues; let’s get married to them. I don’t think that there is too much confusion here. We know that education, health care, poverty, violence in the home and the hood, prison/industrial complex, housing, the environment and other violations of basic rights to life are at the core of this discussion and that although that may take different forms in different regions, it’s essentially going to come down to similar things.
Let’s find our common bonds, and apply collective leverage. If we can’t figure it out in a week, then let’s take a month. If we can’t figure it out in a month, then let’s take a year. Let’s work on it until we get it right and recognize that any time invested in this endeavor is time well spent.

Like I said, this is the beginning but if there is anybody out there feeling this, please don’t hesitate to hit me up and let’s get this moving. My thinking on this matter has evolved over the course of years, and I’m sure it will continue to do so. However, there can be few things more important right now than productive, honest dialogue and quick, effective short, medium and long-term action.

Shamako Noble is a co-founder and current President of Hip Hop Congress and Co-Executive Director of
R.E.F.U.G.E. (Real Education for Urban Growth Enterprises). He can be reached at shamako@hiphopcongress.com

500 Female Emcees: Narubi Selah Raising the Bars -GodHop Affiliated

Narubi SelahThe quote below is some of the wisdom coming from Narubi Selah in a recent interview she did for Womanizing.com.

“I think the largest thing missing today in the rap/hip hop game today is the ability to just be creative and be YOU! Everything sounds the same and everyone is rapping about the same thing. There used to be stories and tales told of love, pain, etc. Now it’s just a cookie cut formula; girls, cars, liquor (fancy kinds of course) cars again, clothes…you get the drift.

I also do not think it is that much of a stretch from what’s missing in female mcs. First of all, there aren’t too many female mcs that are main stream today. The game is pretty much dominated by Nikki Minaj, and that alone speaks for itself. It’s a shame that you have to go under-underground to find really good mcs, whether male or female. Artists such as Sa-Roc, Stahrr, Curly Castro, Omni Blaze etc, will never get spins on major radio or their videos to get 9 trillion hits on YouTube because their music goes in contrast to the cookie cut blueprint.

For those who don’t know Narubi is a spoken word artist, vocalist, actress, and middle school math teacher who is not playing around when she gets on the mic.  This one woman show swept through most of the east coast between 2000-and 2008 with her lyrical ability, claiming the much deserved title “Slam Queen”.

Prior to her 2008 debut on Russell Simmon’s Peabody Award Winning HBO Def Poetry Jam,  she has performed with such notable artists as Mos Def (Yassin Bey), KRS One, Lauryn Hill, Wise Intelligent of Poor Righteous Teachers, and Styles P, just to name a few.

Narubi released her debut album “IAM LivingMath in 2010, and her sophomore album The Architect in 2012.

Check for her on twitter @NarubiSelah

Narubi Selah Hookless2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxUGjuPQ4A8

Narubi Selah  U Already Know

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xpkfBc70PA

Narubi Selah Gun Law

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0-vlGy_sz4

Narubi Selah Live on WBAI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqvdFiuAqN0

500 Female Emcees: Meet Maria Isa Reppin’ the Twin Cities aka ‘Soto Rico’

Maria IsaBorn in Minnesota aka Sotorico to NuyoRican parents (New York-Puerto Ricans), Maria Isa began her arts education at El Arco Iris Center for the Arts in 1992, and quickly progressed from the role of student to the role of singer, songwriter, emcee, instructor and performing artist.

Her 2007 M.I. Split Personalities and 2009 release of Street Politics, has received much critical acclaim using her talent to create social change and labeling her as a woman proud of her heritage. In 2002 she co-founded the dance group, Raices, whose mission is to conserve ancestral Puerto Rican heritage through folkloric music and dance.

In addition, Maria organizes various social events – walkathons, fundraisers and more to raise money and public awareness for juvenile diabetes. She has been nominated for a Minnesota Music “Best Hip-Hop Artist” Award, and was recognized as a 2010 Rising Star by the National Hispaña Leadership Institute for her outstanding work with Youthrive on behalf of working and educating incarcerated youth throughout the Twin Cities.

She has also been honored for her involvement with Peace Jam on behalf of hosting several Nobel Peace Prize laureates. She recently received the Best Urban Artist award from Univision 13, a Certificate of Appreciation from the Governor of Minnesota for her outstanding songwriting and contributions to the Latino Community, and a David Laffyette Award for her dedication towards the peace movement through the arts.

She has headlined the International Bazaar stage at the Minnesota State Fair, received grand reviews for her role as Mimi in the Jonathan Larsen musical “Rent” at the Guthrie Lab Theatre and dominated the BMI Publishing Latin Alternative Music Conference showcase.

Her music has been featured on ABC’s The B in APT 23, MTV’s Punk’d and The Paulie D Project. Maria’s songs have reached audiences around the world, including Asia, the United Kingdom, Latin America, the United States and Puerto Rico.

In 2011 Isa introduced herself as the other half of the political satire hip-hop duo group Villa Rosa with Muja Messiah, whom have been praised by 2Dope Boys.com and World Latin Hip Hop for their critically acclaimed album Blue Diamond Island. Villa Rosa has recently released a 2012 EP titled Exotic Paraphernalia.

Maria Isa has shared stages and performed alongside Slick Rick, Plena Libre, The Roots, Atmosphere, Dead Prez, Los Pleneros de La 21, Digable Planets, Julio Voltio, Tego Calderon, Magos Herrera, La India, Wu-tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah, Tiempo Libre, La Bruja, Habana Harlem, Miguel Alegrin, Alice Russel, Bomba Esterio, Brother Ali, Semisonic and Paracumbe, to name a few.

Isa is currently shooting and producing music for the indie film Strike One in Hollywood with Danny Treo; as well as shooting the documentary We Rock Long Distance with film maker Justin Schell in Puerto Rico.

Maria Isa Lowrider Mamis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnNaXjDM7aE

Maria Isa Basilando

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdvcMnHQ794

Maria Isa Street Luv w/Muja Messiah (Villa Rosa)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga4bbjZNjUY

Maria IsaPassion Fantasy (live on The Local Show)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfiXIsyoO3c

 

500 Female Emcees: Meet Kellee Maize Reppin’ ‘the Age of Feminism’

Kellee Maize Kellee Maize hails from Pittsburgh, PA.. She’s an incredible singer, songwriter and a dope emcee who can seriously flow.  Her music which includes 5 albums Age of Feminine (2007), Aligned Archetype (2010), Integration (2011), Owl Time (2012) and The 5th Element (2014) reflects her activism. She is a strong advocate for women’s rights, environmentalism, and issues relating to poverty, and racism.

Her music also reflects her spiritual side which includes the power of intention, meditation, quantum physics, astrology, Tarot and indigenous wisdom. Maize feels her purpose in life is to make music that sends out good energy/good vibes and music that make people think.

In 2013 Kelle performed at Zeitgeist Media festivals in LA and NYC supporting The Zeitgeist Movement, the worlds largest peaceful social movement that advocates the replacement of the current global system with a highly technical sustainable society called a “Resource Based Economy.” Kellee also appeared in TZM founder Peter Josephs short documentary “Culture in Decline 6: Take of Two Worlds.” Her involvement in this is also reflected in her music.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania and adopted by a family that lived in New Berlin, a small town in Central Pennsylvania, at the age of nine she started her first rap group, Thunder and Lightning.

In her teens she moved to Pittsburgh and in the year 2000 she began rapping and singing on stage.  While cutting her teeth on the local scene, Maize worked at the Pittsburgh City Paper company and began promoting various events around the city. During her time there, she helped launch multiple programs supporting and promoting local musicians and spoken word artists, as well as a local fashion show.She was soon promoted to the position of Events and Promotions Director. In 2006 Maize founded Näkturnal, which is a woman’s collective and a guerrilla marketing firm, that’s a mainstay in the Burgh.

Kellee Maize Freakuency

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTSYmNs8ruk

Kellee Maize Revival of the 5th Sun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcMVio4O9-Y

Kellee MaizeL’outro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRFqs8g46ps

Kellee MaizePeaceburgh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nlvmXg2RUY

Kellee Maize Get Lucky remix & cover w/ Draft Punk

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

500 Female Emcees: Meet Yugen Blakrok-Reppin’ the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Yugen BlakrokI got hip to this sista Yugen Blakrok the other day and was told she is on a ‘next level‘ vibe. The assertion is true. Yugen who hails from a small farm in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, comes to the Hip Hop table seriously pushing the envelope.

Yugen began listening to Hip Hop during the late 90s. It was the last dying days of the ‘Golden Era‘ when substance far outweighed swag and the youth of America were still being conscious-ised by artists like; Public Enemy, Organized Konfusion, the Zulu Nation as well as the more spiritually infused sounds of Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. Words of Black Consciousness and Self-Emancipation made up Yugen Blakrok’s journey into Hip Hop.

Listening to her music over a decade later one often catches strong glimpses of these foundations, her lyrics are mosaics of social commentary infused with layers of mysticism and consciousness, layered over beautifully dark and lush boom bap backdrops.

In 2009, while trying to get get her ‘Recess Poetry‘ ep stocked in Grayscale Stores, Yugen met Gradmaster Shorty Skillz of Iapetus Records who suggested she hook up with Splif-Obliterating Super producer and Sampletologist Kanif the Jhatmaster. They strike a chord and she signs to the label.

Since then she has been touring with fellow stablemates hymphatic thabs, Gin Grimes, Witchcraft, Fifi, Zetina Mosia. As Well as with the late Robo the technician. As a solo artist she has shared the stage with some of the dopest artists in the country as well as international acts like; Public Enemy, Copywrite, Soweto Kinch and Jonzi D to name a few.

Her debut album ‘Return of the Astro-Goth‘, independently released through Iapetus in October 2013 has already been hailed a classic in several international reviews and is available now on all major online stores.

source: Iapetus Records

Yugen BlakrokChatterboxin’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCShsFW3Hw

Yugen BlakrokDarkstar Animatron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raLuKP8UE5c

Yugen BlakrokHouse of Ravens

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

 

500 Female Emcees: Meet Shadia Mansour-First Lady of Arabic Hip Hop

Shadia MonsourKnown as the First Lady of Arabic Hip Hop, British born, Palestinian, Shadia Monsour has been kicking up dust and making moves for a minute. Her politically charged songs in which she both sings and raps have been a source of pride for many who are in the liberation struggle for Palestine…

Shadia began rapping in 2003 and has gained recognition in the Middle East, Europe and the United States for her own songs and collaborations with other artists. She performs wearing a traditional Palestinian thawb and has said that she considers herself to be part of a “musical intifada” against the occupation of Palestine, conservatism and oppression of women.

Mansour’s first single, “Al Kufiya Arabiya” (The Kufiya is Arab), featured rapper M-1 of dead prez and lyrics emphasizing the kufiya’s role as a symbol of Arab nationalism. The song was written when Mansour discovered an American made blue-and-white colored Arab scarf with Stars of David on it. Mansour introduced her song on stage in New York: “You can take my falafel and hummus, but don’t fucking touch my keffiyeh”.

Mansour has recorded music with producer Johnny “Juice” Rosado of Public Enemy and was featured on Chuck D‘s website shemovement.com.She has also collaborated with artists like Iraqi rappers Lowkey and The Narcicyst, and Palestinian hip-hop group DAM. Mansour has toured with Existence is Resistance, an organization supporting hip-hop shows in Palestine, and is part of the “Arab League” of Hip Hop, a collection of performers who share views on the Middle East.

source: wikipedia

Shadia Mansour w/ M1 of dead prez Al Kufiya Arabiya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21OXQ4m1-Bo

Shadia Mansour w/ Omar Offendum We Have to Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcLqP-GOj0

Shadia Mansour Sho Eli Saar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA6weVw5c3A

Ana Tijoux w/ Shadia Mansour Live Performance in Chile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8hXbCP1vBs

 

500 Female Emcees: Meet Ana Tijoux-Comin’ Straight Outta Chile

Ana TijouxAnita Tijoux also known as Ana Tijoux is what many would consider an emcee’s emcee. Born in France to two exiled Chilean parents who later returned after the US backed dictator General Augusto Pinochet was disposed, her nice, intense, laid back flows are precise, mesmerizing and often laced with social and political commentary..Ana’s  popularity is understated..

At almost every show I’ve seen her perform from Austin, Texas to the Bay Area gets sold out, attracting crowds that know every word to her songs, even as she raps in Spanish and French.

She had been grinding away for a minute. Initially it was with the group Makiza who many compared to NY’s famed Native Tongues because of their sound and style.. They made some noise with a couple of underground bangers in the late 90s that made the charts in Chile..The group put out a couple of albums including; ‘Vida Salvaje‘ and ‘Casino Royal‘ which was released in 2005 to rave reviews..

The following year Makiza broke up and Tijoux went solo. In 2009 she became a break star internationally with the release of her album 1977 which proclaims the year of her birth and is mostly autobiographical. Many in the US got their first peak at her when she touched down at SXSW in 2010 and blew up the spot doing songs off that album including the popular jam Sube which was done with Detroit emcee Invincible. The SXSW stop led to her launching a successful US tour..

Since then she’s released two other projects including; Elefant Mixtape and the album La Bala which was nominated for a Grammy. Her music has been featured in the video game FIFA 11 and on the hit TV show Breaking Bad. She was also voted as Best Female Emcee Dominating Mics Everywhere on MTV Iggy…Lastly she’s been part of a campaign for women’s empowerment called Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

If you don’t know Anita Tijoux, you been missing out.. Check out some her joints below

————————————-

Ana Tijoux w/ Quantic Doo Whop That Thing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDjbvIU1zU

This is a recent song from Anita Tijoux where she hooked up with Colombia-based, British-born producer and musician Quantic. Here the two do a dope cover of Lauryn Hill‘s classic hit “Doo Wop (That Thing)” The lyrics are flipped into Spanish by Tijoux, whose understated yet charismatic flow makes her a beguiling vocal presence, along with a Cumbia beat giving an alternative, tropical slant to this landmark jam.

Ana Tijoux Elephant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDO-_HW5DdA

This is from the mixtape Ana dropped about a year and half ago.. Its a fun video and a warm up to what she had in store on the album LA Bala which would be nominated for a Grammy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAayt5BsEWg

Anita Tijoux Sacar La Voz ft (Jorge Drexler)

This is vintage Ana Tijoux…low key, but powerful and captivating ..It’s an inspiring song about walking proud, being fearless, even if you have ‘nothing in your pockets’ and standing up in the face of oppression.. One of my favorite cuts from her featured on the La Bala album..

Anita Tijoux Shocked

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=177-s44MSVQ

This is one of Ana Tijoux‘s most popular songs to date which she did a couple of years ago to bring attention and support to the massive student strikes that were going on in Chile, which brought millions of people out to the streets but was ignored here in the US..She later re-did an acoustic version of this song in Tuscon, Arizona to bring attention to the plight of undocumented folks and the harsh anti-immigrant SB 1070 laws.. You can peep that video
below..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkvgAXkd7yM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5Ky836XM-s

 

500 Female Emcees: Meet Lah Tere-Chicago Born, Soulful, Mic Wrecker

Lah TereOne of the fiercest to bless a mic is Lah Tere. She’s a humanitarian, organizer, activist, femcee, songstress, proud BBW, and a visionary speaker for the 21st Century. ​​​​​The Afro-Antillian/Puerto Rican/Boricua sister grew up in Chicago’s historic Puerto Rican community of Humboldt Park near the famed Paseo Boricua. She is first generation born on the mainland, and the daughter of ​revolutionary ​​​educators and survivors of Chicago’s notorious ghettos.​​​​

Lah was a member of Rebel Diaz, an internationally known rap group that took a critical and political stance on many social issues from police brutality on the streets of New York to violence against women globally. Her dedication and hard work granted her the opportunity to travel to Spain, Germany, Guatemala, Chile and Venezuela. She is also a founding member of the Rebel Diaz Arts Collective (RDAC), a multimedia arts and music community center in the South Bronx.

Lah writes and performs about domestic violence issues and links popular media examples of violence against women to secrets and silences in communities of color around molestation, rape, and other forms of violence against women’s bodies that is too often normalized and naturalized in popular culture. She is a proud BBW ( Big, Beautiful Woman).

Through her political and global activism, Lah Tere has worked to carve her own niche outside of the commercial hip-hop industry, and focused on building communities from within. As an emcee, she uses hip-hop as a didactic tool as well as an emotional release technique for individual and communal healing.

Lah is a co-founder of Momma’s Hip Hop Kitchen: The Soup Kitchen for the Hip Hop Soul (MHHK), a multifaceted hip hop event designed to showcase intergenerational women artists, especially women of color. MHHK serves as a social justice community-organizing platform that educates and empowers women of color on issues that impact their lives, including Health, HIV/AIDS and reproductive justice.

Lah is also the founder of InnerCityQueens, an organization who is set out to provide a mobile safe healing space for children, women and men in war torn/third world countries through events, workshops, and meditation using the arts. In recent years Lah Tere’s vision of teaching women and children about the healing power of Hip Hop truly manifested itself.

She taught and performed in some of the poorest communities in Palestine (West Bank), Guatemala City (Comunidad Incencio),  Ireland’s Ballymun (like the BX) and most recently Azua, Dominican Republic.  These experiences have equipped her with a wealth of knowledge and have expanded her career. She is currently being booked internationally as a motivational speaker and lecturer on women’s rights and Hip Hop Healing.

Lah is globally sharing her message that “Self-Love dissolves Self-Hate” and is conjointly working on her own personal healing. Be on the look out for her debut solo album which is armed with piercing lyrics and a message that could change the world for better. Lah Tere plans on bringing everything to the party, and leaving no life untouched.

source: http://www.lahtere.com

Lah Tere Terra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEzbhG9OF0I

Lah Tere You Are

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnsVgDCRWB0

Lah Tere  Live at 7efa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCkRpnAA3Y

Lah Tere Crush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Cp7yVg9tA

500 Female Emcees: Meet Keny Arkana-She Brings Rage to Her Music

Keny ArkanaKeny Arkana  is an Argentine-French rapper/ activist who is deeply involved in the anti-globalization and civil disobedience movements. Fuled by the fact that she was placed in a foster home at a young age, her tormented childhood led to her being anti-judges, anti-police and anti-system. She was one who definitely uses Hip Hop as a tool for liberation.

In 2004 she founded a music collective called La Rage du peuple, in the neighborhood of Noailles in Marseille, where she began to make noise.

Prior to that she  founded a hip hop group called Mars Patrie, followed by another called Etat-Major. Her status in the French hip hop circles took off with the release of La rage which chronicled the Civil Unrest that engulfed France..

Keny Arkana also launched a series of local social fora through the association Appel aux sans voix (“Call to the voiceless”).

Her later studio albums include L’Esquisse 2 (May 2011) and Tout tourne autour du soleil (December 2012).

Keny Arkana La Rage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Co1mfz23U

Keny ArkanaVie d’artiste

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFb6T6mmh6M

Keny ArkanaVictoria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERYbBKffvz0

Keny ArkanaGens Presses

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

500 Female Emcees: Meet Ruby Ibarra-Bay Area Icon

Ruby IbarraRuby Ibarra is a Cali-bred spoken word artist/rapper/lyricist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the Bay area; she has been writing and rapping for several years. Recently she decided to take her art to another level and to pursue it professionally.

Penning her lyrical style as 90’s hip- hop sound with elements of raw poetry, Ruby describes her style as “a variety of topics — boastful raps, about my culture, society, politics, my experiences, and stories of others that I feel haven’t been told too often.”

Pursuing more success as a talented a rapper and lyricist, Ruby recently caught the attention of XXL Magazine by being featured on their site column ‘The Break,’ and MYX TV cable channel. With the ups and downs that come with being in the industry, Ruby has a strong foundation to stand on from her family, despite the shadiness the business can be at times. “I try not to be intimidated by the fear of rejection or failure in the music industry because at the end of the day, I’m doing this because I love it, enjoy it, and it’s one of things I feel natural in and know that I’m good at.”

Ruby continues to hone her skills, while currently working on a mixed tape. She is focused on reaching her the long-term goals of having multi-platinum selling albums, touring the world, and most of all, maintaining control over her art and image.

Ruby recently released a mixtape called Lost in Translation… check for it HERE

Ruby Ibarra  – Nonconceptual

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0-gCaGLO18

Ruby Ibarra  – Game Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K-hAty8kek

Ruby Ibarra  w/Kris Payne – Where They Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4wvexC3U2s

Ruby Ibarra  – Guess Who?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pTBGRueleA