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Black History Fact: Exploring the Historic Links of Early Hip-Hop and Gang Culture

February 22, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Exploring the Historic Links of Early Hip-Hop and Gang Culture
by Davey D

According to the popular narrative, hip-hop grew out of gang culture in the South Bronx.

One of its pioneers – gang leader Afrika Bambaataa, who had turned his life around – used hip-hop to get people out of gangs and into something more positive.

Bambaataa had led a division of the Black Spades in the Bronx River Houses project before deciding to take his followers in a new direction, first by forming “the Organization“.

” Later, after learning about the Zulus of South Africa, who fought colonial rule, Bambaataa transformed the Organization into the Mighty Zulu Nation, now known as the Universal Zulu Nation.

It remains not only the oldest but the largest hip-hop organization, with chapters on every continent and tens of thousands of members.

Now on many levels that very familiar narrative is true. However, it’s so much more complicated. Most people when they hear this tend to gloss over the full significance of the gangs. Very few of us Hip Hop aficionados have rarely taken time to see how Bambaataa’s actions came about.

We don’t ask how gang culture played a role in birthing Hip Hop? Did Bambaataa bring about this turn around as a part of some government program or did he do this on his own? Was Bambaataa the only gang leader striving for positive change? Who were the other gangs and gang leaders alongside and before Bambaataa? Were the gangs in the 1970s the same as the gangs we read and hear about today in the news which are often depicted as violent prone and conduits for drugs, murder and mayhem?

Nobody will deny that much of what is reported is not true in particular instances but there is another side to the story.

Many of us caught a glimpse of that ‘other story’ when we read Bay Area author Jeff Chang‘s award winning book ‘Can’t Stop Won’t Stop A History of the Hip Hop Generation‘.

Here Chang loaned some keen insight into the Ghetto Brothers which was major Bronx gang that preceded the birth of Hip Hop.

Chang’s chronicling of the Ghetto Brothers brought to light some very important facts that are often overlooked including how highly organized the early Bronx gangs were and how they were highly influenced and politicized by the Black Panther Party and the Young Lords.

War councils, peace treaties and the forming alliances were highly structured with very few things done haphazardly. Many of the gangs were about protecting the community from the police, marauding racist white gangs that resented Blacks and Puerto Ricans moving into their rapidly integrating neighborhoods, drug addicts and drug dealers.

The most important facet Chang brought to life is the 1971 Gang Truce which was designed to unite all of the city’s gangs.

This historic gang truce was said to be loosely depicted in the opening scenes of the cult movie classic ‘Warriors‘ with the movie’s large dominant gang ‘The Rifts being a combination of the real life Ghetto Brothers and the Black Spades-New York’s largest gang.

This past month (June 28 2008) at the Mitchell Housing projects in New York’s infamous South Bronx, those of us who are dedicated to unearthing and preserving Hip Hop history and culture were treated to a landmark moment. Former gang members came from all over the city and throughout the country to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Black Spades. It was an incredible sight to behold and gave folks an opportunity to soak up history that has long been hidden.

To start, the Spades came together because over the past few years many of the former members either through Zulu Nation or within their own organizations have been working to bring about peace and provide guidance to young people who have become attracted to New York’s new gang problem which consist of many west coast and Chicago gangs like the Bloods, Crips, MS13, Latin Kings and others.

Hip Hop dance pioneer Popmaster Fabel and a member of the East Harlem street organization the Savage Samuri, pointed out the irony of how Hip Hop provided a cultural imperative through traditional dance, music and artistic traditions helped move people away from the destructive aspects of gang life. Today through corporate co-option of the culture which manifests itself in the continuous highlighting of death instead of life, so much of commercial Hip Hop has now become a draw for youngsters to get involved with gangs.

Fabel who is putting the finishing touches of his ground breaking film ‘Apache Line From Gangs to Hip Hop‘ took time to explain in great detail why it was important to understand the inner workings of the street organizations that gave birth to Hip Hop. Fabel doesn’t use the word gang because he sees it as a media driven term that was attached to young Black and Latino youths who saw the older leadership in their community came decimated in the 1970s through the FBI’s Cointel-pro program, the Vietnam War, and War on Youth which later morphed into the War on Drugs.

Fabel painstaking details in his film how in the backdrop of that cultural and social devastation young people at that time attempted to find their voice and identity and a sense of family within the early Bronx street organizations.

Fabel then introduced me to Karate Charlie the former president of the Ghetto Brothers and prominently featured in Fabel’s film. Charlie who looks like someone in his 60s talked about how he was a former marine who went AWOL when he saw how the government had destroyed the Black Panthers and Young Lords and other leaders in the community. He talked about how it was disturbing to him to be fighting a war overseas when there was a war at home being waged on Black and Brown communities.

“I took off my government uniform and put on the uniform of the Ghetto Brothers and went about protecting our community”, Karate Charlie said.

He then talked emphatically about how he and others would teach everyone martial arts and to speak Spanish. He talked about how they fought to make sure heroin which was flooding the community much like crack did in the 80s would be kept out along with the dealers and addicts.

He also talked about how the Ghetto Brothers would patrol the subways and protect people long before Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels came along.

Karate Charlie of the Ghetto Brothers has just written a book called ‘I Smile to Keep from Crying‘. He ended by talking about how it was important that they tell their own stories and not have outsiders come along and exploit them and their message. Many of the Spades were guarded and wanted to make sure that the message of the day was unity and changing lives, not glamorizing death and mayhem.

Charlie’s story were reiterated throughout the day by other gang members who talked about how they saw themselves as children to the Panthers and Young Lords who really wanted to make a change and found themselves dealing with overwhelming forces outside their control. On the stage alongside the Spade pictures and memorabilia were old flyers of the Black Panthers and Young Lords.

As I listened to these stories I couldn’t help but draw parallels to what was depicted in the film ‘Bastards of the Party‘ put out by Bone who is a member of the LA Bloods and traced the groups history. His story had some much similarity to what these old Bronx gang members were talking about.

Fabel pointed out how many of the early gangs had a cultural elements that they used to communicate and express themselves. The Ghetto Brothers had a band that actually put out records.

The Black Spades adapted James Brown and changed the lyrics to his song Soul Power to ‘Spade Power‘. We saw that actually demonstrated that afternoon with some of the Spades doing their original dances. As I watched it you could not help note that long before the infamous Crip walk and Blood dances that are ritualistically done by gangs today and glorified by rappers in their videos, the street tribes before them had their own dances. As Fabel pointed out it what we were seeing was an example of that cultural imperative. He too later joined the circle and danced and showed off the moves that he had picked up from the generation before him.

Perhaps the most incredible moment of the afternoon came when Karate Charlie came together and hooked up with Bam Bam who was an original leader of the Black Spades 1st division and the person who gave Afrika Bambaataa permission to use the name Bam. The pair had not seen each other in close to 40 years when they came together and attempted to put together the 1971 Gang Truce. Bam spoke passionately about what it meant when they all came together to unify. He talked about how the Spades protected the community. He then addressed the younger members and told them its easy to take a life, but if one is really tough try saving one. If you’re really tough try living instead of dying. Words cannot describe what was taking place.

Fabel reiterated that Hip Hop came out of the government’s attempt to crush leadership in our communities. What he talked about that afternoon clearly underscored what we heard from Spade members which is-Unity amongst disenfranchised and marginalized communities was and continues to be threatening to many who wish to keep the status quo.

But at long last many of these stories are finally coming to light in the movie Apache Line.

Fabel did his movie after coming face to face with a young Blood gang member in his class where he teaches. He saw this young man who was on a path to self destruction and wanted to help him and others like him out. Hence he spent the last few years meticulously documenting the culture and people who came before him who were in gangs. Fabel has been troubled by the Hollywoodizing of inner city gang culture which has stripped away the deeper meanings and messages. His film will force folks to go in a new direction.

Another highlight of the afternoon was talking with original Zulu King and B-Boy Charlie Rock who was once a member of Black Spades 22cd division. He talked about the early gangs like the Black Spades evolved into the Zulu Nation and later Hip Hop’s early crews. In our interview he identified many of the early Hip Hop Crews and talked about the gangs that they came from or were most likely affiliated with…

Charlie Rock

Rock also talked about how the Spades and other large gangs came under-fire from the police with some of the members assassinated. He talked about the police killings of members Wildman, Soulski and Meathead Ron.

Rock saw those murderers as part and parcel to the attacks and killings that were simultaneously happening to Panthers, Young Lords and other Black Liberation organizations. He talked about how the police hung him over a roof top and threatened to kill him. He attributed these attacks to the fact that the Black Spades were willing to confront the police and that the gang was so large and organized. They were a threat and he felt there was an attempt to cripple them by killing off members.

Rock reminded us that the Black Spades and other groups were not alone in the Bronx. There was a litany of white gangs who had proceeded them and in fact used to start trouble with groups like the Spades until they began dominating. In our interview Charlie Rock talks about white gangs like the Golden Guineas, The Ministers, the White Angels and the White Assassins. He also talked about how the police would sometimes help these white gangs in attacking the Black Spades. Rock’s remarks were deep and reminded me of the stories we heard surrounding the origins of Black gangs in LA and in Chicago. At the center were white gangs and police reigning terror on the community. Rock speaks to this issue in our interview..

Below are some interviews we did during the 40th anniversary gathering of the Black Spades. We caught up with many of the members including original leader Bam Bam who gave Afrika Bambaataa his name. We spoke with Hip Hop legend Popmaster Fabel who is finishing up a documentary on early gang culture called ‘The Apache Line‘. We also hear from Karate Charlie who was the former President of the Ghetto Brothers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nwsdYU4yKM

We talk with Hip Hop legend Popmaster Fabel who talks to us about the important role early gang culture played in bringing Hip Hop to life. We also talk about how pop culture is exploiting gang life and leading people astray. Fabel explianed that early Hip Hop got people out of the gangs.. Today’s rap music gets people into them..We hear an impassioned Bam Bam, orginal leader of the Black Spades speaking to young gangbangers in New York, Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings etc and explaining the direction they should really be taking.. His words of warning are very powerful…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGYTeRUWK5k

At the 40th Anniversary of the Black Spades we see Bam Bam re-uniting and talking with Karate Charlie after 40 years. They talk about how the two gangs merged together to stop the Hells Angels from coming into the Bronx and stepping to another gang….We chop it up with Popmaster Fabel about his new documentary The Apache Line from gangs to Hip Hop.. We also talk to him about the current move to try and pit Black against Brown.. Fabel gives a history of why that happens and talks about how early Black and Brown gangs came together.We also speak with Karate Charlie who is featured in Fabel’s documentary about the legacy of the Ghetto Brothers. He talks about how the Black Spades the Ghetto Brothers united and became a family. He also talked about how they protected the community against the police..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ufPt8g617I

We caught up with original B-Boy and Zulu Charlie Rock who hails from the 22cd division of the Black Spades up on Gun Hill road in the Bronx.. He talks about how the Black Spades evolved and became the Zulu Nation..He talks about Disco King Mario and the founding Spade chapters at Bronxdale Housing project which was known as Chuck City…He also talks about a segregated New York, the white gangs and corrupt police that waged war on the Black Spades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycREFrL6-RA

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: A day in the Bronx-40th anniversary Black Spades, Afrika Bambaataa, Bam Bam, Black History Fact: Exploring Historic Links of Early Hip-Hop and Gang Culture, Black Panthers, Black spades, Bloods, Cant Stop Wont Stop, Charlie Rock, Cointel-pro, Crips, Gangs, Ghetto Brothers, Jeff Chang, Karate Charlie, Latin Kings, Ms13, Popmaster Fabel, Savage Samuri, The Apache Line, Young Lords, Zulu nation

Remembering How Hip Hop Took on and addressed the issue of Apartheid

February 8, 2010 By mrDaveyd

One of the most under appreciated and least talked about collaborative efforts that involved Hip Hop was the Artists United Against Apartheid and the The boycott of Sun City. For those who don’t recall Sun City was this ultra lavish resort in this ‘phony’ country set up by the South African government called Bophuthatswana. This was like a country inside a country kind of like an Indian Reservation of sorts. Sun City was basically South Africa’s version of Las Vegas and was set up to be this place where rich folks could go ‘play and get decadent and then return back to SA proper.

In South Africa under the Apartheid regime there were 4 or 5 of these fake/ reservation like countries called Homelands where Blacks were forced to live in overcrowded miserable conditions. They were moved off their traditional lands onto these ‘independent’ homelands while still being still forced to work amongst Afrikaners and subjected to her harsh Apartheid rules that called for strict racial separation. It was in South Africa that Blacks who were the 75% of the population and native to the land were subjected to all sorts of humiliations including not being allowed to live on any of the good land and having to show a special ID everytime they traveled from one place to another. These rules of racial separations were brutally enforced with the Afrikaner government going all out to crush any and all rebellions.

Many asked how was it that a country where Blacks were the overwhelming majority they could be under such harsh rule.. Sadly the South African Afrikaner government had two staunch prominent allies who stood in solid support. They were the US and Israel. Both these countries supplies weapons, resources and protection. Israel worked with the Afrikaner government to develop nuclear weapons and signed some sort of secret treaty to test them.

Worldwide condemnation picked up at the time President Ronald Regan was in office and he stood firm, vetoing any attempts to smash on Apartheid via the United Nations. He said the US had a constructive engagement policy..which basically meant business as usual..while they would say ‘Apartheid was the most desireable way to govern. At one point he even sent prominent minister Jerry Falwell over to South Africa to insure the Afrikaners the US was behind them. Both Israel and the US justified their stance because they didn’t want SA to get help from the Soviets.

South Africa’s Afrikaner government used Sun City as a way to give the country a nice look and by inviting A-list entertainers and showing them a good time, they would further highlight themselves via these defacto ambassadors. Since Regan wasn’t going to back any attempts to officially boycott South Africa, the music and entertainment industry’s launched their own boycott.. people like Steven Van Zandt of Bruce Sprinstein’s E- Street Band kicked things off and formed the group. He gathered up prominent rock musicians like; Bob Dylan, Bono, Peter Gabriel, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr Pat Benatar, and Joey Ramone to name a few.. Joining them were legends like Miles Davis, Eddie Kendricks, Bobby Womack, Nona Hendryx, Herbie Hancock, George Clinton, Jimmy Cliff, and David Ruffin.

Rounding out this all-star line up were prominent Hip Hop artists, including pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Africa Bambaataa, Mele-Mel, The Fat Boys, Run DMC, Kurtis Blow and Gil Scott Heron.. Arthur Baker who is best known for producing Planet Rock along with Afrika Bambaataa was also on board.

The overall gist was to shame any entertainer or athlete who defied the UN sanctioned boycott and played Sun City for the large sums of money they offered. For the most part it worked, but there were a few like Queen, golfer Lee Travino, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, the O’Jays, Ray Charles and Rod Stewart who had no qualms breaking the boycott and in doing so giving credibility to the South Africa regime.

Here are two land mark songs from the landmark Sun City album where Hip Hop left its footprints.. Props out to the pioneers who really put it down especially Mele-Mel and Kurtis Blow. What I like most about this joint is hearing Gil Scott Heron who was an obvious precursor to modern day rap doing his thing along side them. His commentary underscored everything that was happening. I was impressed with the way he paralled the struggle for equality here in the US along with what was going on in South Africa.

In order to fully appreciate this other cut Revolutionary Situation which is basically sound clips and samples over hard hitting beats is to hear it in full stereo. That wasn’t fully captured during this particular recording. Produced by drummer Keith Leblanc who did the song Malcom X on Tommy Boy record, this the entire songs has sounds coming out of left and right speakers. They range from Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindi , Bishop Desmond Tutu, Alan Boesak, and Steve Biko and Ronald Regan. You get this sense of urgency that at any minute South Africa is gonna explode if the walls of Apartheid don’t crumble. Hearing Ronald Regan inside this song makes you realize how utterly out of touch and mean-spirited we sounded as a country.. . Sadly it was because of this exposure of Regan’s insensitivity that ‘Sun City’ got limited airplay and PBS refused to air the documentary that went alongside making this album.

Afrika Bambaataa

Coming off the Sun City album which raised about a million dollars many in Hip Hop kept the message alive. there was the big divestment movement at UC Berkeley. myself and my crew did an anti-Apartheid song that was played during rallies. Others like Afrika Bambaataa who’s pioneering Zulu Nation organization was named after the South African tribe who fearlessly fought the British, took it a step further and started doing concerts overseas where he raised money for the African National Congress. Bam will be the first to tell you that he was inspired after seeing the movie Zulu to form his organization and later adapt certain things including battle strategies from them. Hip Hop had been acknowledging South Africa and her freedom struggle from day one..

Also in that vein was Arrested Development who also donated money to the ANC and if memory serves me correctly performed when Mandela came to Oakland at the conclusion of his Free South Africa tour

One of the most prominent groups to address the issue of Apartheid was Stetsasonic the original Hip Hop band. They did a song that sampled Jesse Jackson who had just come off making a historic run for President. The song was called Free South Africa and was not only a 12 inch single that was promoted and pushed, but had an accompanying video..

Y’all remember this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73HGCLeapBs

Chuck D & Paradise at the LQ

The Setsasonic single came out during the hey day of Hip Hop’s Golden Era’ which was ushered in because of a series of secret meetings held at the Latin Quarters, the biggest and most popular nightclub in New York during the mid 80s.. Top artist of the day from The Jungle Brothers to KRS-One to Bambaataa and many others came together and agreed to stop wearing the popular gold dookie chains which were made with gold from South Africa. A fast and hard rule was agreed upon which forbade anyone from performing on the stage wearing gold.. The chains were replaced with leather African medallions and essentially ushered in Hip Hop’s Golden Era..

The primary architect behind that was Paradise Gray of the legendary group X-Clan who ran the nightclub. He is finishing up a book and documentary along with writer/activist Giuseppe Pipitone about that special period..

Also coming out of that Afrocentric/ Golden Era in Hip Hop was Queen Latifah and her song ‘Ladie’s First‘.. many may have forgotten the video that she did which was directed by Fab 5 Freddy who was also hosting Yo MTV Rap.. The imagery used in the video shows the resistance to Apartheid..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLB5bUNAesc

Here’s an incredible posse cut featuring Afrika Bambaataa, Brother J, Professor X, Lakim Shabazz, Jungle Brothers, UTFO, Master Rob of Ultimate Force, Grand Puba of Brand Nubian, Kings Of Swing, Queen Latifah, Solo, Revolucien, Lin Que, Arthur X called Free South Africa from the group Hip Hop Against Apartheid

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

Hip Hop/ New Wave icon Malcolm McClaren best know for the landmark song Buffalo Gals which came out in 83, had on the flipside this song about Soweto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tij6wdlniHQ

Here’s another video which I forgot.. Straight outta of the UK is Brotherhood in the form of the Black Rhyme Organisation To Help Equal Rights (B.R.O.T.H.E.R ) was a collection of some of the most talented UK Hip Hop artists around in 1989. Instigated by the political ragga-rap group Gatecrash, the main purpose of their debut record, “Beyond the 16th Parallel” was to raise awareness of the racial inequalities of the South African apartheid regime. Assembling an all-star line up, including the late Bernie Grant MP, each of the separate groups had the task of tackling the specifics of the Botha government.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T0JARInwz8

Another group out of the UK that strong addressed Apartheid was the Cookie Crew with one of my all-time favorite songs ‘How Long Has this Been Going On’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-IW9zo4Sbk

In South Africa, there were scores of rappers, but the most potent and most political was Prophets of Da City (POC) who wound up being banned by the government because of their lyrics.. They wound up performing at Mandela’s inauguration, but remained critical of the government which they felt had been too forgiving to the Afrikaners.. They remained banned and were recently the subject of a documentary put together by South African film maker Dylan Valley talking about their plight .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhG0IDrKiaI

We will leave out with a new song from Jasiri X and his new song about Mandela called Listen to what the Drums Say

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

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: afriaca national congress, Afrika Bambaataa, anc, Artist United Against Apartheid, Artist United QAgainst Apartheid, Black History Fact: Remembering How Hip Hop Took on Apartheid, Black History: Hip Hop Takes on Apartheid..., Nelson mandela, Zulu nation

BlackHistoryFacts: Every Place Has a Story to Tell-Early LA Hip Hop

February 5, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Rich Cason & Formula V

When it comes to Hip Hop every city has its own pioneers and their own unique special history.. Some of it was influenced by what was going on in New York, a lot of it was homegrown and came to light once things started to bubble up from NY in the early 80s.. In other words, in places like LA and the Bay Area there was already a thriving street dance scene where people were tutting, popping and roboting which had nothing to do with New York.. Funk and later Uptempo dance records were the gems that galvanized people..

Below are some of the first records I recall hearing out of LA back in the early days of LA rap, which I should add was different from the Bay which has its own unique history.. What I liked about LA’s history was many of the artists started off as DJs.. People like Arabian Prince, DJ Unknown, Egyptian Lover, Chris The Glove Taylor, Tony G, Joe Cooley , Julio G, Uncle Jamms Army etc..

In the video below you see Chris the Glove who produced the cut Wreckless and featured Ice T is shown in this 1983 video along with Egyptian Lover demonstrating deejaying..

A lot of the music in LA’s early Hip Hop days was classified as electrofunk and is often associated with the sound Afrika Bambaataa established with his song Planet Rock. However, when speaking with the eraly DJs from LA, they say they were already into that sound way before hearing Planet Rock. Egyptian Lover explained that he was influenced by early Prince and Kraftwerk.. and that he had been deejaying in a crew since the mid 70s.. Folks in LA will recall how Egypt who was part of Uncle Jamms Army used to do huge parties at the LA Coliseum where they would work 4 turn tables at a time which was pretty major back at that time..

Here’s an interview we did with Egypt where he breaks all this down

http://odeo.com/episodes/25600751-An-Interview-w-West-Coast-Pioneer-Egyptian-Lover

Uncle Jamms Army ‘Naughty Boy’

Other pioneering figures had already been playing in bands and were producers.. Rich Cason is a one such pioneer. You can’t talk about LA Hip Hop without proppin him up.. He’s a key foundation… The first records I heard from LA that I associated with Hip Hop was Killer Groove by Formula V, Gigiolo Rapp and Bad Times by Captain Rapp were all produced by Cason. His legacy goes way back to the 60s. In fact his group Formula V had been putting out records since 1973.

Killer Groove by Formula V w/ producer Rich Cason

Captain Rapp Bad Times..

Captain Rapp Gigolo Rapp

Arabian Prince

Arabian Prince who was an original member of NWA is another pioneering figure in LA Hip Hop who was deejaying in a crew since the 70s. He started out as a DJ and later went on to produce. He’s unique in the sense that he was a pioneering figure in Hip Hop’s electro-funk movement as well as pioneering figure in Hip Hop’s gangsta rap movement. A quick look at his track record will show you that he produced landmark tracks for everyone ranging from JJ Fad to Bobby Jimmy and the Critters as well as NWA. Here’s an interview he did with him. http://odeo.com/episodes/25600777-Interview-w-Original-NWA-Arabian-Prince

Tons of things have been written about the World Class Wrecking Crew which was home to Dr Dre… They had a bunch of hit songs and Dre helped elevate the deejay game before he went on to start producing..

Wrecking Crew w/ Dr Dre Surgery

Here are some other early cuts I recall from back in the days..Now please keep in mind this is just a taste of a city that is steeped with stories.. No, we haven’t touched on the dance scene and influence. We haven’t talked about KDAY and the Mixmasters which go back to ’83 and 84.. We haven’t touched on the Good Life or any of that.. This is just a sample.. A great place to go to get some good info on early west coast is my folks from germany who run www.westcoastpioneers.com

LA Dream Team ‘Rockberry’

Ice T 6 in the Morning..

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Essential videos to peep Tagged With: Arabian Prince, BlackHistoryFacts: Every Place Has a Story to Tell-Early LA Hip Hop, Captain Rapp, Egyptian Lover, Ice T, LA Dream Team, Old school Hip Hop, Rich Cason, Uncle Jamms Army

An Interview w/ SXSW Hip Hop Director Matt Sonzala

February 5, 2010 By mrDaveyd

Matt Sonzala

Matt Sonzala is a long time fixture in the Texas, Hip Hop scene. he started off doing a popular radio show in Houston on our sister station KPFT called Damage Control. Him and co-host Zin who now does SOS Radio we key in granting many of Houston’s now big time stars from Paul Wall to Bun B to Chamillionaire crucial exposure when many were content in overlooking music coming from Texas…

Over the years Matt expanded his range and began penning articles for various magazines including the Bay Area’s Murder Dog. He then decided it was time to start highlighting many of the artist he was exposing via his radio show, by becoming the Hip Hop director for South By Southwest (SXSW) music convention.

We sat down and spoke with Matt about a variety of topics most notably all the artists that he’s managed to swing through SXSW. When he first started several years ago, Matt did a couple of showcases in what was overwhelmingly an indie rock showcase. He brought artist like Dizzie Rascal from the UK and gave love to some of the local Texas acts. Years later he had more than a dozen Hip Hop showcases and several panels with an impressive line up of artists ranging from members of Wu-Tang to Kanye West to Public Enemy to numerous artists from overseas. In this interview, Matt lays out the dense line up for this years gathering thus reminding us just why SXSW is an important destination place if for any reason just to network…

In his recent blog found at Matt laid out this line up for South By South West on his popular blog http://austinsurreal.blogspot.com

Wednesday March 17, 2010
La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX
SXSW Night 1
SXSW & OGPR Presents The Best in Texas
Chamillionaire & Paul Wall Reunion Show (Houston)
Trae tha Truth (Houston)
Chalie Boy (Hearne/Calvert)
Dorrough (Dallas)
J. Kapone (Austin)
Fat Pimp (Dallas)
Big Sid (San Angelo)
Kyle Lee (San Antonio)
Question? (San Antonio)
League of Extraordinary G’z (Austin)

International Hip-Hop at SXSW

La Melodia (The Netherlands)
The Arab Summit (Palestine/Lebanon)
Invincible Voice (Palestine/Lebanon)
David Dallas (New Zealand)
Young Sidd (New Zealand)
Mr. Sicc (New Zealand)
Bliss N Eso (Australia)
Anita Tijoux (Chile)
ChocQuibTown (Colombia)
Sweatshop Union (Canada)
Binary Audio Misfits (France/Texas)

Coolooloosh (Israel)
Adam Tensta (Sweden)
Looptroop Rockers (Sweden)
Timbuktu (Sweden)
LidoLido (Norway)
4th Pyramid (Canada)
K-Os (Canada)
Young Fathers (Scotland)
Nach (Spain)
At Versaris (Spain)
Bubbz (UK)

Friday March 19th
Scoot Inn
Duck Down 15th Anniversary Show

Buckshot
Smif-N-Wessun
Sean Price
B-Real of Cypress Hill
Kids in the Hall
Blue Scholars
9th Wonder
Promise
Ruste Juxx

Bun B

We talk to Matt about the history of Houston ‘s rap scene and how he’s seen it evolve over the years. He tal;ks about the key roles that artists like K-Rino, The Geto Boys, South park Coalition, Trae, Chingo Bling and many more have played. He touched upon the innovative tech savy nature of artists like Chamillionaire who recently headlined a Silicon valley tech gathering. he also talked about the nurturing role icons like Bun B has played toward younger artists.. We also talked about the hustling independent aspect of Houston artists and compared the way the Bay Area has approached the game in similar fashion.

Below are the links to the podcast Interview w/ Matt Sonzala

Interview w/ Matt Sonzala pt1

Interview w/ Matt Sonzala pt2

———————————————————————————

here’s an interview from a couple of years back…

http://24hrgrind.com/matt.htm

We get to square off with Matt Sonzala. One of Houston Texas finest pioneers in bringing the underground to the surface in all types of formats ranging from his radio show on KPFT every Wednesday at midnight to amazing interviews in Murder dog magazine among other things..

OTG – Let’s start this off right. What’s your name? What’s your hood? And what do you claim?

Matt Sonzala. I live just outside the Heights, two blocks exactly from the car lot where Rap-A-Lot Records first started. The Heights is like just below the north side, kind of north edge of the center of the city. I claim the whole world because I want it all. I get real restless and want to live everywhere sometimes to be real with you man.

OTG – How does it feel to be a pioneer in covering the sound that has been coming out of the state of Texas these past years? You have the Damage Control radio, the publishing’s and the infamous HoustonSoReal blog. Let’s not forget the photography. That sure is a lot of media and format to cover?

Man like I said, I get restless. I can’t handle having a real job. I don’t like doing the same shit day after day, so I just tackle whatever comes at me. I started writing in 1989 or so, and really began writing about Houston, and Rap-A-Lot in particular for magazines out here like Texas Beat in 1991, so I been on it for quite a while. It feels good to be me right now though because seriously I’m starting to get some recognition and some real money. Before I didn’t want to be recognized, and I’m still not the type who just goes way out there, but I really like that my work is being recognized and respected right now.

I’m completely obsessed with radio and wish that more of it was better. I used to sit up at night and like, turn the dial on the radio so slowly, trying to find the faintest trace of a station and check what they were playing. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, so when I was real young I’d hear stations in Canada, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, cuz I lived close to Lake Erie so there was not much in between me and those places, I could hear all kinds of shit.

And in high school I started writing for the school paper, publishing my own little Xeroxed fanzines and taking pictures with the schools camera. It was like my hall pass, I’d grab the camera and tell teachers I was on my way to take a photo for the school paper. I was just always way into radio, reading/writing and taking photos. Now I make money doing the writing and photography and have a lot of fun doing the radio. I need to turn that shit into a paid gig, but I’d have to have full control like on Damage Control.

OTG – How did you get your spot on Damage Control radio?

Man I did my first radio show in like 1989, a reggae show in Pennsylvania. Then in like 1991 I had been in Houston for two years and my man Richard Hanna asked me if I wanted to try and do a show on KPFT. I said yes and like 6 months later they put us on and we played hip hop from 3 a.m. – 5 a.m. Monday mornings. That later became Strictly Hip-Hop Sundays when they gave us the midnight till 5:30 a.m. slot. Then I moved to New York in 1994, and moved around a lot throughout the 90’s. New York, Austin, Amsterdam, Austin again, Chicago and then back to Houston in 2001. When I got back KPFT was going through some changes so I just got with a bunch of the people there, got them on my side and bugged the Program Director till I got a show. That was like 6 months after moving back here. I just stayed on them like crazy till I got it.

OTG – How did that start and how do you feel about what it has grown into?

Really it started as an idea to give independent artists from Houston and the south some real airtime. Some time to expose their music and talk about things outside the typical box of the typical rap interview. I feel like we’ve definitely achieved that. The show is sometimes half talk, half music because we really want to introduce these artists to the public. Most hip hop shows on college or community radio only play the hot 12”s from the indy hip hop cats from New York, LA, or whatever, the shit they report to in CMJ and whatever the indy college promoters send out. They really think they are breaking things when they play B Sides from major label records and shit like that. I don’t give a fuck about that. I want to hear what is going on here and now. I don’t really even talk to any record promoters at all, ever. This dude out here Lump is my man, I talk to him, but he knows we play local music and respects that. I talk to my girl Jessica at Spectre, but she knows we don’t play half that shit cuz we just don’t have time. We only have a couple hours a week and man, we have like 100-200 people pass through the studio literally every week. Most wanting something played or a chance to talk. We try to accommodate them all. We don’t need promo people to tell us things, the artists walk right up to us. I prefer it that way.

OTG – Last but not least did Bizzy Bone scare you?

Naw I had fun that night man. It was crazy all around yeah, but it was fun to me. I mean shit we have like 100 people in the studio at any one time. Nothings gonna jump off cuz we all respect what the station and the show represents so it’s all good. And he was real cool actually, fairly cordial, just a little strange. I wasn’t trippin’. I was glad he was there. You heard it.

OTG – How do you feel about watching underground artists from Houston climb into the spotlight of main stream America? It must be weird seeing Paul Wall on MTV talking about sittin sideways!

Man I’m happy about it. Real happy about it. I want these guys and girls to gain fame and make money. I wish more of them could, but it’s a testament to the grind. Swishahouse hustled hard. Most of the folks with deals came from Swishahouse in some capacity. Not all of them, but a lot of them, so what can you say? They been at this shit for years and deserve it. There’s a lot more talent down here though and there’s a lot of people eating off the music so we really don’t need MTV and BET. And to be honest I only saw Paul Wall on MTV talking about that once cuz I never turn that shit on. I liked My Block: Houston, but aside from that I don’t think I have even seen 10 other minutes of MTV or BET this year. I fucking hate music videos. They destroyed popular music a long time ago. Especially rap.

OTG – Now do you think Austin TX rappers like Bavu Blakes who are a bit more socially conscious in there records will ever get mainstream coverage now that the door has been cracked for Texas?

Man I mean, I don’t think that all of these artists really have to rely on the current trends or whatever. They just need to keep plugging away, make appealing songs and just do it for themselves. I personally think that Bavu Blakes is one of the best MC’s in the world and he is hands down the best live performer in hip hop. New York folks a lot of the time get scared when they see him cuz he’s not the typical Texas rapper and they don’t know what to make of him. He shows people how this shit is supposed to be done. I think he needs to get on the road and grind it out in front of a wider, more open mided audience than the Texas audience and he’ll do fine. Seriously that dude needs to tour. Now socially conscious artists in general? Shit, Scarface is the most socially conscious rapper of all time to me. Bun B is way up there. People seem to accept their messages. I wish they did more message oriented stuff.

OTG – I noticed while living many places in the south and interacting with rappers from Houston that the hustle mentality of people from H-Town touches no other. How do you think this mentality was built and framed into the minds of this generation?

Man the shit comes from way back in the blues days. No one ever reaches out and helps Texas man, these folks had to do it themselves from Day 1 man. And always have. Plus there’s a lot of money down here. Even the broke people have money cuz the cost of living is low and man, people just generally support people out here. Its southern hospitality at its finest. We’re not just rats in some race.

OTG – What artists do you think are next to come out of Texas that people should look out and have an ear for?

Definitely Bavu Blakes, this kid KB has a hot single, Cl’che is kilin’ em. SLAB is amazing, Rapid Ric is the best young DJ in the game, DJ Chill and DJ Ryno have some dope mixtapes in the works, there’s lots man.

OTG – What is next for Matt Sonzala? What new venteures do you having coming out that you are able to speak about?

I got the HoustonSoReal compilation and DVD project coming possibly on a major label, more shows in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Amsterdam, London and wherever they’ll have us. I’m working on setting up an international booking agency,writing a book and just staying busy raising kids and being a family man.

OTG – Last but not least. Who are your top 5 artists out of Houston of all time?

Man! I don’t want to hurt anybody but Scarface, Devin, Willie D, Fat Pat, K-Otix.

OTG – Thank you so much Matt for letting us pick your brain. Any last words? Shout outs? Plugs?

Man I just want to shout out everyone who has love for music and art in general. Holler at me for anything Houston. I got dat. matt@damagecontrolradio.org http://houstonsoreal.blogspot.com and listen to Damage Control every Wednesday night from midnight till 2 am central time on www.kpft.org 90.1 FM in Houston 89.5 in Galveston. THANKS MAYNE!

Return to Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: An Interview w/ SXSW Hip Hop Director Matt Sonzala, Damage Control, Dizzie Rascal, Houston Hip Hop, Houston rap, KPFT, south by southwest

When Hip Hop Came Together to Close the Crack House w/ X-Clan-(It Was One of Many Battles Against Chemical Warfare)

February 3, 2010 By mrDaveyd

People have often talked about fighting wars using biological and chemical weapons. We came after Hitler for using them. We came after Saddam Hussein for using them. Sadly no one ever came after those who flooded urban communities during the 1980s and into the 90s with Crack. If this wasn’t a weapon of mass destruction, I don’t know what was.. One thing I can say about Hip Hop is that early on it confronted the problem.. Kool Moe Dee dropped a dope song called ‘Monster Crack’ in 1986..

Before him, we heard Cracked Out by Masters of Ceremony featuring a young Grand Puba who later went on to be a part of Brand Nubian.. Of course we all know the joint from Public Enemy ‘Night of the Living Bassheads which featured the debut of a young actor named Samuel Jackson.

Another landmark song ‘Batterram‘ came from West Coast Legend Toddy Tee.. who responded to the hateful orders of LA Police Chief Darryl Gates to use an armored tank with battering ram to break into fortified crack houses in hood. On more than one occasions, police got the wrong address and broke down the wrong house..

We also cannot forget Donald D who was one of the first rap artists to come out and blame the FBI for crack in the Hood. This Rhyme Syndicate member had a song called F.B.I. which stood for Free Base Institute. Before people got into crack, they free based cocaine..

A west coast anthem addressing this scourge was Dope Man by NWA..which gave keen insight into what was going on at the time.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqECIKQaPBk Bay Area pioneer Too Short’s ‘Girl’ was another early joint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImviIbqI-8Q

In the same vein an anthem song that addressed cocaine and not crack was White Lines by Grandmaster Flash and Furuious Five. It was supposed to be an anti-drug song, but unfortunately many took it to be an endorsement of the popular drug.

Sadly one of the first crack songs I ever heard was one that actually came across as one that advocated smoking crack at least in the hook..It was called Crack it Up by Funkmaster Wiz. In the song Wiz says warns we better not crack it up, and in hindsight 20 years later we clearly hear it.. At the time..this song was an all out anthem that suggested we go for it.. For many its hard to believe Hip Hop went there, but let’s be honest, back in the early pioneering days it wasn’t unusual to hear popular artist of the day shout to high school folks, ‘If you snort cocaine- say yeah”

The song that really stood out for me but was definitely underplayed was this posse cut, done in the same spirit of ‘Stop the Violence’ and ‘We’re All in the Same Gang’. This was done by X-Clan leader Professor X. It was a 1993 joint called ‘Close the Crackhouse’ and featured an Allstar line up of Professor X, BrotherJ, Wise Intelligent, Big Daddy Kane, Digital Underground, Ex-Girlfriend, Chuck D, Sister Souljah, Mickey Jarret, Freedom Williams from C&C Music Factory and 2 Kings and a Cypher.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfWmc79iIHk

Kool Moe Dee ‘Monster Crack’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6ek6UXQWWU

Public Enemy ‘Night of the Living Bassheads’.. This video is deep on so many levels..especially how they showed just how widespread the problem was.. from Wall Street to the Hood. I also like how they did this video as a news report..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR09SP9qdA

Donald D ‘FBI’

Toddy Tee ‘Batterram’

Funkmaster Wiz ‘Crack It Up’… Can you believe there was a song that actually advocated for crack? When this song first came out the chorus was an affirmative ‘Crack It Up’.. Funkmaster Wiz claimed it was anti-crack song, but the hook left everyone believing it was a pro crack song.. People complained and Funkmaster Wiz went back in the studio and tried to clean up the song by putting the phrase ‘Ya better Not’.. Over the past year or so, the original version has been scrubbed from Youtube and whats left is the anti-crack version..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBD6hRepIw

Here is a excerpt of the original version.. You can see how folks concluded it was a pro-crack song..

Mele-Mel– doing a live performance of White Lines..

Masters of Ceremony ‘Cracked Out’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62T0Njv-xjM

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Black History Fact: Hip Hop Came Together to Close the Crack House w/ X-Clan-It Was of Many Battles Against Chemical Warfare, Black History Fact:Hip Hop Came Together to Close the Crack House w/ X-Clan-(It Was One of Many Battles Against Chemical Warfare, Close the Crack House, Crackhouse, Donald D, Funkmaster Wiz, Grandmaster Flash, Professor X, Toddy tee

Today is World AIDs Day-Remembering Eazy E & Hip Hop’s Stance Against a Dreaded Disease

December 1, 2009 By mrDaveyd

“I may not seem like a guy you would pick to preach a sermon. But I feel it is now time to testify because I do have folks who care about me hearing all kinds of stuff about what’s up.”

“Yeah, I was a brother on the streets of Compton doing a lot of things most people look down on — but it did pay off. Then we started rapping about real stuff that shook up the LAPD and the FBI. But we got our message across big time, and everyone in America started paying attention to the boys in the ‘hood.”

“Soon our anger and hope got everyone riled up. There were great rewards for me personally, like fancy cars, gorgeous women and good living. Like real non-stop excitement. I’m not religious, but wrong or right, that’s me.”

“I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading, I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS. Like the others before me, I would like to turn my own problem into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys and their kin. Because I want to save their asses before it’s too late.”

“I’m not looking to blame anyone except myself. I have learned in the last week that this thing is real, and it doesn’t discriminate. It affects everyone. My girl Tomika and I have been together for four years and we recently got married. She’s good, she’s kind and a wonderful mother. We have a little boy who’s a year old. Before Tomika I had other women. I have seven children by six different mothers. Maybe success was too good to me. I love all my kids and always took care of them.”

“Now I’m in the biggest fight of my life, and it ain’t easy. But I want to say much love to those who have been down to me. And thanks for your support.”

Just remember: it’s YOUR real time and YOUR real life.

Eazy E
Many of us have forgotten these haunting words from the late Eazy E who died from AIDs back in 1995. His death sent shock waves within the Hip Hop community and helped open people’s eyes. His death also helped shatter the myth of that HIV and AIDS was solely a gay white man’s disease.

Today as we acknowledge the 22cd World AIDs Day where the theme is Universal Access and Human Rights, most of us are far more educated and understand that AIDs is a worldwide situation that has impacted all communities. Sadly in spite of the urgency, many of us have reverted back to what is deemed as irresponsible behavior. Many of us have looked at the success of people like basketball player Magic Johnson who was diagnosed with HIV and come to believe that this disease will not touch us…
Shortly after Eazy E’s death many people began to pay closer attention to a flurry of Hip Hop themed projects that had launched a year prior to his death. Most notable was the Stolen Moments project which was an album and documentary that featured groups like ‘The Pharcyde‘ who performed their dope song ‘Rubbers‘.. Below is the original track. The other video is the live performance that aired in the documentary.

A year prior to Eazy’s death artist like Michael Franti did an incredible song and video called ‘Positive’ which caught our attention..I recall around World AID Day after Eazy E’s death, AIDs activists placed calls to urban radio stations all over the country to see if they could play the song. Sadly many didn’t, claiming it ‘didn’t fit the format’ (Does that sound like a familiar excuse?) . nevertheless the word got out thanks to the accompanying video.

After Eazy E’s death there was another far-reaching project called America is Dying Slowly (AIDS) It featured everyone from Wu-Tang Clan to Organized Konfusion to 8 Ball and MJG to the Goodie Mob. This was by far one of the best socially conscious albums to ever come out. many of the artists covered a variety of themes associated with AIDs thus forever smashing any myths and misconceptions. The subject matter ranged from unprotected sex, to tainted blood transfusions to the fast life of players and the consequences they might suffer. Many people got with the flavor of that album, even though many our urban stations ignored it even with such high profile groups.

Today as we acknowledge World AIDs Day its important to take along hard look at ourselves, our community and our culture. At a date and time where there are so many videos oozing with scantily clad women oozing with sex, we have to be cognizant of the type of message we convey to younger cats as well as ourselves. Many of us portray an air that suggests it’s ok for us to creep around and keep one, two or three females on the side while we have our ‘main honey at the crib. We mess around and slip up just once and boom-HIV and then AIDS.

The other sad secret we never want to talk about is what happens to so many us behind the walls inside prison. There’s some ill things like rapes taking place and when cats get out they inadvertently spread the disease not realizing they have been infected. Many of us act like there is no longer a risk in having sex. Many of us have been so into getting our groove on that we have all but forgotten Eazy E’s final words. At the time of his death he was the ultimate mack.. How soon we forget our history.

In anycase its up to us brothas to do the right thing. lets keep ourselves informed.. Lets help with the fight to find a cure. Lets get tested and be honest with ourselves. Finally lets set an example for our seeds as well as ourselves and behave responsibly. The rapid spread of this disease in our community is inexcusable and well within our reach and preventing. Hopefully brothas will take this to heart and step up their game. and hold it down.. Keep HIV and AIDS at bay and don’t let Eazy E’s death be something that happen in vain..

Below are some crucial facts that we should all know about HIV and AIDs.. This comes from the site Beyond the Odds which is spearheaded by my Hard Knock Radio co-host Anita Johnson.

Facts About HIV and AIDs Every One Hip Hop Head Should Know

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the virus that causes AIDS. This virus may be passed from one person to another when infected blood, semen, or vaginal secretions come in contact with an uninfected person’s broken skin or mucous membranes*. In addition, infected pregnant women can pass HIV to their baby during pregnancy or delivery, as well as through breast-feeding. People with HIV have what is called HIV infection. Some of these people will develop AIDS as a result of their HIV infection.

http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/qa/qa1.htm

What is AIDS?

AIDS stands for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome:

Immune Deficiency means a weakness in the body’s system that fights diseases.

Syndrome means a group of health problems that make up a disease.

AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. If you get infected with HIV, your body will try to fight the infection. It will make “antibodies,” – (chemicals that are part of the immune system that recognize invaders like bacteria and viruses and mobilize the body’s attempt to fight infection special molecules to fight HIV.

A blood test for HIV looks for these antibodies. If you have them in your blood, it means that you have HIV infection. People who have the HIV antibodies are called “HIV-Positive.”

Being HIV-positive, or having HIV disease, is not the same as having AIDS. Many people are HIV-positive but don’t get sick for many years. As HIV disease continues, it slowly wears down the immune system. Viruses, parasites, fungi and bacteria that usually don’t cause any problems can make you very sick if your immune system is damaged. These are called “opportunistic infections.”

http://www.aids.org/factSheets/101-what-is-aids.html

How is HIV transmitted?

HIV transmission can occur when blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluid or breastmilk from an HIV-positive person enters the body of an HIV-negative person. HIV can enter the body through a vein, the lining of the anus or rectum, the lining of the vagina and/or cervix, the opening to the penis, the mouth, other mucous membranes — such as the eyes or inside of the nose — or cuts and sores. Intact, healthy skin is an excellent barrier against HIV and other viruses and bacteria.

Worldwide, the most common way that HIV is transmitted is through sexual transmission, including anal, vaginal or oral sex with an HIV-positive person. HIV also can be transmitted by sharing needles or injection equipment with an injection drug user who is HIV-positive, or from an HIV-positive woman to her infant before or during birth or through breastfeeding after birth. HIV also can be transmitted through receipt of infected blood or blood clotting factors.

http://www.globalhealthreporting.org/diseaseinfo.asp?id=277

Does having HIV mean you’ll die?

Testing positive for HIV means that you now carry the virus that causes AIDS. It does not mean that you have AIDS, nor does it mean that you will die. Although there is no cure for AIDS, many opportunistic infections that make people sick can be controlled, prevented or eliminated. This has substantially increased the longevity and quality of life for people living with AIDS. Bottom line, HIV/AIDS is not the same death sentence it was say 25 years ago. People are living long healthy lives with HIV and AIDS. The sooner you start to become aware and the more you know about the “virus” the better your chances are delaying the effects of the disease.

http://www.aids.org/info/aids-hiv-positive-will-i-die.html

Do I have to tell everyone that I’m HIV positive?

No. Who you tell your status is your own business. They only people that need to tell are anyone you are going to have unprotected sex with. Not disclosing your status is punishable by law. Any person who exposes another to HIV by engaging in unprotected sexual activity is guilty of a felony, when the infected person: 1) knows he/she is infected; 2) has not disclosed his/her HIV-positive status; and 3) acts with the intent to infect the other person with HIV. The felony charge is punishable in the state prison for three, five, or eight years.

http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/AIDS/Documents/RPT2002AIDSLaws.pdf

How do I protect myself and my partner from contracting HIV?

Getting tested, knowing your status and limiting risk-factors for contracting the virus like sharing needles or having unprotected sex with other people, is the best way to protect yourself and your partner. Many health advocates suggest getting tested at least 3 to 4 times a year and more depending on the person’s sexual behaviors.

Can you tell someone is HIV positive just by looking at them?

No. A person living with HIV may look healthy and feel good just like you. A blood test is the only way a person can find out if he or she is infected with HIV.

http://data.unaids.org/pub/BrochurePamphlet/2009/20090401_prevention_fast_facts_en.pdf

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Political articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: Beyond the Odds, Facts About HIV and AIDs Every One Hip Hop Head Should Know, Michael Franti-Positive, Stolen Moments, The Pharcyde-Rubbers, Today is World AIDs Day-Remembering Eazy E & Hip Hop's Stance Against a Dreaded Disease, Word AIDs Day 2009, World AIDs Day-niversal Access and Human Rights

The good, the bad and the ugly of celebrity worship

November 2, 2009 By mrDaveyd

The good, the bad and the ugly of celebrity worship

By Charlene Muhammad -Western Region Correspondent- |

Stardom is costly in a society where the well-known are worshipped

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_6537.shtml

LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) – American society is obsessed with celebrities, whether it is Jay-Z and Beyonce, Ludacris, Chris Brown or Rhianna, rapper Kanye West and tennis star Serena Williams, or talk show host David Letterman.

Some popular culture analysts say the celebrity influence is strong because people get to relax, escape pressure and avoid the stresses of their everyday lives—at least for a moment.

But there is also an unhealthy pursuit of celebrity status and success that can take a huge toll on families, individuals, society and the stars themselves, say experts. Hip hop superstar West is not dead, despite a RIP (rest in peace) Internet hoax that began spreading on Oct. 20.

According to a post on billboard.com, the hoax was a set up as part of a Fox News web page that said the entertainer died in a bizarre crash in Los Angeles.

Celebrity obsession may have surfaced in a bizarre episode and wall to wall television coverage of reports about 11-year-old Falcon Heene of Colorado. CNN and others provided live coverage when it was said the boy may have been trapped in a moving flying saucer-shaped hot air balloon. Authorities accuse his parents of engaging in a hoax. Authorities say their hope was to gain status that might lead to a reality TV show. Parents Richard and Mayumi Heene, face possible criminal charges and may have to pay thousands in restitution for the cost of search and rescue operations to locate their son, who says he hid in a garage the whole time. According to news reports, Mrs. Heene told police the incident was a hoax.

Richard and Mayumi Heene, with their children, are accused of engaging in the Balloon Boy hoax. A police affidavit says Mrs. Henne confessed to false report. Photo: MGN Online/telegraph.co.uk

“This is really society’s fault because we have placed so much importance on people who have fame and fortune until it’s given people a false sense of joy when they can even pretend to meet somebody, know somebody, talk to somebody, and it is really quite amazing,” said Dr. Gloria Morrow, a California-based psychologist.

People are living vicariously through celebrities and have linked celebrity to fortune, she said. Children think they can do very little to gain a lot, but they only see the limelight, and not the discipline, fortitude and hard work that celebrities put in to become famous singers or athletes, she said.

“Then the saddest part of this is a lot of young people, and old ones, aspire to become famous because they don’t really feel important in who they are. When you have a healthy self-esteem, and you work hard and you happen to become famous, that’s a great thing. And you still have a sense of balance, but I think people who are not feeling good about themselves, or their financial situations are sometimes ashamed about not having enough money and believe that the way out is to become famous,” Dr. Morrow said.

Celebrity interest becomes troublesome when people give too much of their attention to music, sports and other forms of popular entertainment, said Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, an associate professor at Columbia University.

“We lose sight of some of the biggest struggles and some of the most pressing issues of the moment and that becomes immature, irresponsible, and ultimately, for oppressed people, it can become deadly,” Dr. Hill said.

By deadly, the educator means either promoting a false reality, which drives people to do, say or buy things outside of their means to get what celebrity idols have. Or it can divert oppressed people’s attention away from forces impacting their lives on a daily basis that produce the same pressures they are trying to escape.

“At the moment where we’re more concerned with David Letterman than ramping up troops in Afghanistan, we are actually buying into a false reality that actually has a material impact on people around the globe. More people watch American Idol than the evening news. More people read gossip blogs than scripture, so when you live in a moment where those are the realities, you’re really seeing something that’s very, very dangerous,” Dr. Hill told The Final Call.

Kanye West Photo: MGN Online

He was referring to the NBC late night talk show host, who admitted to having affairs with several staff members after a producer allegedly threatened to extort money from him.

Gossip TV and the 24-hour news cycle

Celebrity worship, coupled with the Internet and cable TV, have interfered with news cycles and have forced news media to vigorously compete for ratings, Dr. Hill continued. The news has always been slanted, but at least it was news, said Dr. Hill, who was a consultant on the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News Channel.

Now what passes for news can seem like a never ending deluge of gossip, paparazzi pics, rumors, sexual titillation and petty beefs overblown into major conflicts.

Over recent years, Dr. Hill continued, society has seen a 24-hour expansion of news, which sustains the public’s attention with arguing, fluff segments, sex and music—rather than intelligent, honest debate.

Instead of spending more time consuming news, information, and assessing the terrain that they are facing on every day, Black people spend more time engaged in that which is foolish and against nurturing their better selves, he said.

In order for the situation to reverse, Dr. Hill argued, people must own their own communications outlets, images, names and means of production. “That’s what makes Min. (Louis) Farrakhan so different. No one can tell him not to be Min. Farrakhan. No one can take away his platform, and I’m not critiquing other leaders because I’m in the same position. Fox News can pull the plug on me in five minutes. But you can’t take The Final Call, so it’s a whole different ball game when you own your own stuff and you manage your own platform, and there’s no intermediary between you and the people. That’s how you recover an image and maintain your legacy,” Dr. Hill asserted.

Fame as a force for good

Celebrity can also be a good thing. Entertainment and sports figures’ names and images have been used to encourage voting, raise funds for natural disaster victims, call for intervention in political and social conflicts, create and fund charities, youth programs, music and arts education, anti-violence campaigns and anti-AIDS efforts.

Rapper Ludacris, who supported Barack Obama for president and gave away cars through his foundation at an Atlanta-area dealership in September, appeared at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 23 to promote community work.

Everyone can give back to communities, whether they are rich or poor, famous or not so famous, said Ludacris, whose foundation was having a dinner that night with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) as an honoree.

Ludacris gave away 20 cars and greeted fans at an Atlanta area dealership, Sept. 5. The Ludacris Foundation is dedicated to helping youth and families in need. Photo: Ludacris Foundation

“I like to help kids who want to help themselves,” said Ludacris in an interview with CBS News. His foundation, which is headed by his mother, offers arts opportunities to middle and high school students.

His foundation spent $100,000 helping people displaced by Hurricane Katrina who landed in Atlanta. His song “Runaway Love,” from his 2006 album Release Therapy, helped the National Runaway Switchboard through a partnership. The song was about the perils of a young girl on the streets after leaving home. “Any song I put out, I want to make it a movement, not just a single,” he said of the hit tune.

Celebrity and the cost of human failure

Still, since celebrities provide an escape from reality, their failures, changes or conflicts can seem devastating and are fodder for major media coverage—as well as ratings or page views which translate into increased ad income and more magazine or newspaper sales.

When singer Chris Brown assaulted his girlfriend and singer Rhianna before the Grammy Awards show in February, he faced more than legal ramifications. He was sentenced to five years probation, but he also lost endorsement contracts, including celebrity clothing lines, Wrigley’s Doublemint gum, and Got Milk? ads.

When tennis great Serena Williams had an angry outburst against a line judge at the U.S. Open in September, she was fined $10,500 and threatened with suspension.

When British Sugababes singer Keisha was replaced by Jade Ewen, the replacement shutdown her Twitter page after she was deluged with nasty comments about taking over for the last original member of the popular group. Likewise group member Amelle Berrabah reportedly received death threats and “thousands of abusive letters and whilst her Twitter page has been overrun with them,” according to a report in The Sun.

Fan anger exploded with accusations that Keisha, who started the group when she was 13-years-old, had been forced out by her jealous band mates.

Accountability or idol worship?

The lives of celebrities, their successes and failures can engender strong reactions from fans and the same society that raised them to god-like status. Calls for crucifixion can quickly follow a fall from grace. Some argue as role models for youth and public representatives of their communities, the stars must be held accountable.

Others say too much status, influence and responsibility are placed on people who achieved fame and may be unaware of their potential to do good or bad on a large scale.

Few sign-up to become a standard bearer for their generation or industry—which is often demanded of them.

Richard “Professor Griff” Griffin, an activist and member of the revolutionary rap group Public Enemy, said people first have to define what society means in order to determine the real impact of celebrity worship.

“There are different aspects of different societies. For example, if you’re talking about the demographic of young Black males from the age of, I can honestly say, three-years-old up until the time they’re 16, 17, then … it probably hits them a lot harder simply because to us, as Black people, we only have three, four ways out of the ‘hood,” Professor Griff told The Final Call.

Citing now-deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G. to make it out of the hood, you have to either sell crack rock or have a wicked jump shot, he said.

“We dream of actually becoming that person. We actually buy into the whole idea of the fan-tasy. It’s put to us as a fantasy and it’s used, especially when the star football player comes to the youth camp, or comes to your home town and you get the t-shirt, autograph and get to take the picture. You buy into the whole fantasy, not that we can even afford it,” Professor Griff added.

According to Dave “Davey D” Cook, a California-based hip hop journalist, another reason people worship entertainers and athletes is forceful marketing, like any other business or product. People can no more separate their admiration for a singer or rapper than they can for a car or tennis shoe, he said. The zeal in product marketing, consumerism and desire are the same for goods and celebrities, Davey D maintained.

“You have folks who won’t go to school, who’ll get up at six in the morning on a Saturday, where no commercials are playing, to get the newest Nikes. You have folks that will live in the hood, and can barely pay their electricity that will find money and resources and find a way to get a loan to get a Beemer (BMW),” Davey D noted.

He is optimistic that confronting these realities and contradictions can produce a more honest discussion about how to make mothers, fathers, pastors, preachers and teachers more admirable and highly sought out in communities.

But for now, weighing rapper 50 Cent against a teacher is like weighing a Mercedes Benz against a teacher and people are going to want what they want, he said.

Professor Griff believes mainstream society never uses worship of celebrities for anything positive. But, on the flip side, he believes Black people in the music and film industry—with their financial means—can write scripts and cast roles that use the talents of Black actors and actresses in more uplifting ways.

Return to the Final Call

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: Balloon Boy, Charlene Muhammad, Davey D-celebrity worship, Dr Marc Lamont Hill, Final Call Newspaper, Jay-Z, kanye West, Keisha & jade Ewen, Ludacris, the bad and the ugly of celebrity worship, The good

Cleveland Hip Hop Artists Set to Do Harvard

October 6, 2009 By mrDaveyd

PAA All-Stars to Perform At Harvard University, Other Boston Sites
Student Group to Demonstrate the Positive Nature of Hip-Hop Culture

Jahi credit (BFresh Photography)

(Cleveland, Ohio) Progressive Arts Alliance (PAA) is pleased to announce that the PAA All-Stars student
group will perform and present at Harvard University in October. The PAA All-Stars consists of students
from the annual RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp, which was recently highlighted in the World
Almanac for Kids as a featured “fun camp.” All youth in the group are from the Greater Cleveland area.

The PAA All-Stars, a group of emerging, young professional artists from PAA’s annual camp, opened
for legendary hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash at the 2007 Ingenuity Festival of Art and Technology in
Cleveland. The group has also performed at the 2007 Annual Meeting of The Cleveland Foundation and has
also made appearances at Cleveland City Hall, the Ohio Independent Film Festival, and the Diversity Center of
Northeast Ohio as well as performing at the Cleveland State University Wolstein Center with the Contemporary
Youth Orchestra. Members of the group include Robert Crump, Shutha Dejarnette, Tyler Drummer, Connnor
Musarra, Rolanda Carter, Demetrius Camp, Ray Smith, and Tristen Hall.

Students will perform at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Continuing the
Conversation: Building Community conference that will convene an international audience of Arts In
Education Harvard alumni. PAA Executive Director and Founder Santina Protopapa is among the Harvard
alumni who will be at the event. Students will also perform at other sites in Boston and will visit other youth
arts education programs. Sites include the Berklee School of Music, The Flagship Intel Clubhouse at The
Museum of Science, Boston, and the worldwide headquarters of undergroundhiphop.com.

Students will share the stage with Jahi, an international hip-hop emcee originally from Cleveland, who
is among the professional artist-educators at PAA. For over ten years, Jahi has worked with youth using hip-
hop in education in addition to touring nationally and internationally with groups such as Public Enemy,
Blackalicious, and Nobody Beats the Beats, among others. His lyrics are best described as socially conscious.

PAA’s annual Hip-Hop Summer Arts Camp is an installment of the RHAPSODY Hip-Hop Education
Program: Recognizing Hip-Hop as a Powerful Source of Development for Youth. RHAPSODY is a
program of Progressive Arts Alliance, a Cleveland-based non-profit arts-in-education organization. The mission
of PAA is to provide experiences in the contemporary arts that stimulate critical thinking and promote
progressive thought. Much of PAA’s educational mission centers around the utilization of the contemporary
arts as a compelling educational tool. For more information, visit http://www.paalive.org, e-mail
paainfo@paalive.org or call (216) 772-4PAA (4722).

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: Cleveland Hip Hop Artists Set to Do Harvard, Progressive Arts Alliance

Remembering Mr Magic (RIP)-Hip Hop Loses It’s Frankie Crocker

October 2, 2009 By mrDaveyd

Remembering Mr Magic-Hip Hop Loses It’s Frankie Crocker

by Davey D and Mark Skillz

mr-magic-225 Today just getting word that one of our Hip Hop pioneers has passed. As I started writing this we’re still trying to officially confirm, but according to what DJ Premier twitted earlier Mr Magic who was best known as being among the first to have a Hip Hop show on a major radio station has passed. Still trying to process all this, because we’ve lost so many people this year. It was just a week or so ago we were mourning the passing of DJ Roc Raida. For us in the Bay Area we lost a longtime KPFA radio colleague and well known activist Gina Hotta. She passed of a heart attack. What we’re hearing w/ Mr Magic he too passed of a heart attack. He was 55 years old.

If you were around in the late 70s/early 80s then you will clearly understand what Magic meant to Hip Hop. For years he was the pinnacle. When he started out on WHBI, just hearing his show was major. It was a really big deal, because what we were doing in the parks, at rec centers and in our living rooms was insulated. No one else in the world knew what was bubbling up in the Bronx. When Magic got picked up and was added to the line up of commercial station WBLS.. It was major. One of our own had graduated and was on the big stage. Saturday night was what so many of us eagerly looked foward to…Mr Magic with his booming voice gave Hip Hop that importance. He had what they call gravitas. He made you and Hip Hop official. He was a radio announcer not a kid doing college radio. He wasn’t someone shouting into a microphone. He was our Frankie Crocker, who was the legendary DJ and at the time program director for WBLS.

Was just talking to Hip Hop historian and writer Mark Skillz who also grew up on Magic and he noted that Magic laid the ground work for every on air personality that came from the streets and made it to radio. He was always classy even when he was arrogant and he could sure be arrogant at times. He was older than the average listener and fan of rap at that time and could’ve easily been associated with disco or soul music. But he put everything on the line because he really believed in the music. On a couple of occasions he was fired. The most infamous occasion was when he stood up to Frankie Crockerwho as mentioned was a legend in his on right. Crocker wanted to change formats and take rap off the air. Magic stood up to him and refused to change his show and was fired resulting in him returning to his first station WHBI. Skillz added that its important to understand that back then and even recently, people paid to have a show on WHBI. You had to raise money to have a slot on the air.

Magic was important to two different eras of Hip Hop. He was the connection to the pioneering day also known as True School. He was the one that brought us Flash, Mele-Mel, Crash Crew, Sugar Hill, Busy Bee etc. he later became the important gateway to the what we now know as the Golden Era. He was once dubbed Sir Juice as he was the big connection and champion for the Juice Crew. Skill z was sharing memories with Sweet Gee this morning upon hearing the news and was reminded by G that the original Juice Crew was Sal Abbatiello, Sweet Gee, DJ June Bug, Kurtis Blow and Mr Magic aka Sir Juice.Sal who owned the Fever night club brought them all diamond rings. In many ways for long before Diddy, Jay-Z or the Jiggy era came along, Magic and his people personified flashiness within Hip Hop. They were smooth and represented the style of the day.

Skillz was recounting seeing Magic wearing rings on every finger and having gold rope chains. He used to sport a shark skin suit. He was a Hip Hop version of Mr Tee. Back then that was Hip Hop at its finest for better or for worse.

When he got his Rap Attack show on WBLS he was the man. Folks old enough will recall what it meant to record a Mr Magic show. Those cassette tapes got passed all around the world. He was that dude. Interestingly enough Magic followed the important tradition long established by Black radio DJs of being our mouthpiece and Griot of sorts. In many ways he was the face of Hip Hop and our ambassador. He was our connection to the outside world, the corporate world etc. When his show came on, all of New York stopped what they were doing and tuned in. Words are simply inadequate so others reading this will have to add in.

We also recall the role that Magic played in sparking the infamous bridge wars between the Bronx via KRS and BDP and Queens via the Juice Crew. Magic was so important that if he didn’t play your record or publicly rejected you as he did BDP, it wasn’t a thing to easily shake off. I won’t get into along recounting of that tale, but lets just say a lot of careers were born through the BDP vs Juice Crew saga. The attention he garnered help heighten the position of than rival DJ Red Alert who was holding it down and backing BDP on Kiss FM while Magic backed Marley Marlwho was his official deejay along with the Juice Crew as we know them today on WBLS…Also on a side note lets stress the fact that the battle was more like a battle of the bands and not the type of vicious beefs where folks get shot or beaten up. It was competitive, theatrical and capitivating

We also need to remember as Paradise of X-Clan pointed out Mr Magic also gave Whodini their first break .Jalil used to answer the phones to his show. Hence the group’s first song ‘Mr Magic’s Magic Wand.

So many memories its hard to really do justice. .. For those who remember Mr Magic please share.

In closing I’d be wrong not to point out the 800 pound gorilla in the room. I’m talking healthcare. I’m not sure what Magic’s finances or personal situation was, but dying of a heart attack while in your 50s is not a good look and should be a wake up call for us all on a number of levels. One one level is for us to seriously look at how we’re living. Stress and strife are taking its toll. Stress from finances, stress from work, stress from living in dangerous situations silently and suddenly do us in. On another level, many of us have not taken care of ourselves with routine check ups and visits to the doctor to help us avoid such tragedies. We shouldn’t forget as Skillz points out that it was only a few years ago that Magic’s DJ Marley Marl had a heart attack. We also lost Professor Xwho was also around the same age through meningitis. Was it lack of health insurance or bad and fast living? I can’t call it, but all of us need to sit back and ask why we have lost so many people at young ages this year. It hasn’t been shootings its been failing health..

Hip Hop pioneer Kurtis Blow reminded us that Mr Magic put a record Its a rare gem and it has him rapping. Its called “Its a Better Way’

RIP Mr Magic

Something to Ponder

-Davey D-

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Life style articles, Southern Shift Tagged With: A Better way by Mr magic, Davey D, Hip Hop Radio, Jalil, Jalilil, Juice Crew, Mark Sklillz, Marley Marl, Remembering Mr Magic (RIP)-Hip Hop Loses It's Frankie Crocker, Sir Juice aka Mr magic, WBLS, WBLS-Mr Magic, WHBI- Mr magic, Whodini

Has Change Come?: Art, Hip-Hop, Sports, and Culture in the Age of Obama

July 2, 2009 By mrDaveyd

daveydbanner

Author Jeff Chang will moderate a panel this Friday July 3rd about change in arts, sports & Hip Hop in the age of Obama

July 3 :: 9:30am
PANEL :: Socialism 2009: w/Dave Zirin, Favianna Rodriguez & Davey D (San Francisco) NEW TIME!

Has Change Come?: Art, Hip-Hop, Sports, and Culture in the Age of Obama

Featuring:
Dave Zirin
Davey D
Favianna Rodriguez

The Women’s Building
3543 18th St.
San Francisco
9:30am-11am

Go here for more info.

July 7 :: 7:00pm
PANEL :: A New Deal For Arts (San Francisco)

In the 1930s, the “New Deal” Works Progress Administration created jobs for tens of thousands of artists and writers, including authors such as John Cheever, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, radio journalist Studs Terkel, and painters like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Rockwell Kent. In the 1970s, the CETA program funded artist-organizers who helped create the Cultural Centers that now exist in San Francisco’s neighborhoods. Today a new movement is emerging to promote a 21st century New Deal for the arts.

Jobs for Artists! will feature a panel discussion on the rich legacy of federal jobs programs for artists and writers, and build support for a larger effort timed with the 75th anniversary of the WPA in 2010. Featuring New Deal historian Gray Brechin, cultural journalist Jeff Chang, and Arlene Goldbard, organizer of a May 2009 White House briefing on federal arts funding. With short readings and original performances by local poets honoring the great work of WPA-sponsored artists and writers.

This event is part of LaborFest, a month-long series of cultural events commemorating the 1934 San Francisco general strike.

Audre Lorde Room
Women’s Building
3543 18th Street, San Francisco.
Near 16th Street BART, MUNI lines 33, 26, 14, 49
Doors open 6:30 pm, program at 7 pm.
$5-10 donation requested, no one turned away.
Wheelchair accessible.
Call 415-710-0187 for more information.

Cosponsored by the CCSF Department of Labor and Community Studies Program and the Center for Political Education.

Gray Brechin is a Research Fellow for the Living New Deal Project of the Department of Geography at UC Berkeley, and the author of Imperial San Francisco: Urban Power, Earthly Ruin.

Arlene Goldbard is a writer, speaker and consultant currently based in Berkeley. Information about her latest book, New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development and other writings is available at www.arlenegoldbard.com.

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: and Culture in the Age of Obama, Has Change Come?: Art, Hip Hop, Sports

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The good, the bad and the ugly of celebrity worship

By Charlene Muhammad -Western Region Correspondent- |