Glad to see Rebel Diaz and the RDACBX Collective are standing strong and pushing back hard in spite of the set backs imposed on them by the greedy developers in the Bronx, NYC and its gentrification projects and the FEDs.. After the group painted a mural on the walls of their community center, bringing attention to political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal, there was a chilling response from those in power.. The building owner refused to sell the space to the group and he refused to take their rent or negotiate for new terms… He also never expressed concern about the mural..but nevertheless the group came to learn it was a trigger..
As they noted in a recent press conference, RDACBX is not limited to a building, it’s the spirit of the community and that community is everywhere and expanding..Their latest project is a song and dope video that pays tribute to the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who was a big supported of the South Bronx community center the group and the neighborhood built.
Here’s what they penned about the video..
Peace Familia!
The direct connection we have with the The Bolivarian Revolution is
that our community space The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective -BX (RDACBX)
was directly funded by Venezuelan owned oil company- Citgo. For 4 1/2
years we received direct assistance from Comandante Hugo Chavez and
the people of Venezuela.This song is our tribute to him as we consider him to be a champion of poor people around the world. Hugo
Chavez supported Hip Hop in The South Bronx. Hugo Chavez is Hip Hop.
Our community space was violently shut down on Feb. 28th by The NYPD and federal
marshalls. We know what it is. We were a threat because we were
teaching the youth, speaking out against Stop and Frisk, doing
political graffiti, doing open mics, etc.We are living historic moments of oppression to which we can only respond
with historic moments of resistance!! It is time to Work Like
Chavez!!!
Upon hearing about the Feds and NYPD coming down and violently evicting Rebel Diaz and the Artist Collective from an abandoned space in the South Bronx, that they painfully transformed into a first class community center is beyond angering. It’s beyond frustrating..These folks did everything we say we want the ‘youth’ in our community to do.. They did everything we say Hip Hop is supposed to represent.. They didn’t wait around for a savior, Rebel Diaz saved themselves.. They brought the community in who also saved themselves.
Instead of waiting around to be invited to yet another showcase or music convention that left them dissatisfied, RDACBX put on their own landmark convention South By South Bronx and invited the pioneers of Hip Hop to speak. The RDACBX is where they had former members of the Young Lords, Black Liberation Army and political prisoners speak to standing room only audiences about Black Brown unity… This space was home to countless book readings, movie screenings and epic showcases.
However this time is different..a building is not the movement.. A building is not community.. It never was.. It’s the people and the love and respect they have for one another that makes this space so special.. Rebel Diaz will not go out or be shut down.. you best believe that.. We should all be aware of whats going on, support them in the best ways we can.. and continue to build and re-strengthen our respective local communities.
Karen Louviere, 19, a past participant in RDACBX youth programs, expressed her disappointment at the violent shutdown of the space. “They came in with armed officers into what is supposed to be a safe space for the community. A space that has served as an alternative for young people in the area, helping develop their talents in a positive way.”
The marked end of The Mayan Calendar on December 21st, 2012 as noted in the KRS-One song Aztechnical does not mean that life on planet Earth itself is going to end any time soon due to cataclysmic events. But rather, just as many 
It is because of Unconditional Love for the people, that one of the most influential Founding Fathers of Hip Hop culture, Afrika Bambaataa, was able to end gang violence in The South Bronx in the early 1970s. It was gang violence that was leading to heightened levels of death among the youth. In a gradual process, after entering into Divine Knowledge that he had learned from different communities at the time, including The Nation of Islam, The Nation of Gods and Earth and The Moorish Science Temple. He utilized that knowledge to separate the darkness (or condition of gross ignorance) that lurked in his own mind and discovered the Divine Light that was buried within him the whole time of his own existence. From there, he summoned the Divine Forces within himself and all of the Forces outside of himself. They manifested themselves in the form of the gang members in the community, which he considered to be his family. He called for peace, and established it under the banner of the first Hip Hop activist organization called Universal Zulu Nation.
“It is Afrika Bambaataa to whom named and called each entity of BBoys/BGirls/DJaying/MCs/Aerosol Writing and adding The Most important Knowledge as the main Element of Hip Hop Culture and Brother KRS One helped to add more, with a few other as Plus Elements to the main Key elements of Hip Hop Culture. No one else never used or thought of naming each entity of the Culture an Element or to say that this Movement that we all are doing is called Hip Hop Culture or to recognize it as a World Movement. The Birth of this movement is The Bronx, New York City, New York Republic, but Rap is as Ancient as The creation of Humans itself.”
At the end of each year all of us have things we can and should reflect upon. We assess all that has happened and make promises to build upon successes, shed bad habits and bad energy and create better tomorrows..
It showed in the form of Serena Williams and Gabby Douglass taking Gold Medals in the London Olympics and dealing with horrific negative feedback because of how they danced or wore their hair..The disrespect that gymnastic champ Gabby Douglass endured over her hair was outlandish, but she handled it with class and dignity and kept it moving. Her 90 million dollar endorsement deal from Wheaties was also nice..
Album of the Year… It was a toss up between Nas‘ ‘Life is Good‘, Kendrick Lamar ‘Good Kid Maad City‘ Killer Mike ‘RAP Music‘ Public Enemy ‘Most of My Heroes Don’t Appear on No Stamps‘ and Brother Ali ‘Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color‘
The Death of Soul Train Host and Founder Don Cornelius
Comedians Dick Gregory and Paul Mooney Link Up
Bay Area rapper Too Short got into some hot water in 2012 when he was complimented by rap star 2 Chainz who called him a father figure.. Short took that compliment to another level at the urging of XXL editor Vanessa Satten by penning what was supposed to be a satirical advice column for kids. His advice included telling little boys how to take it to the hole and force sex upon ‘little girls’.. needless to say this caused a lot of outrage..
“Woke up this morning and got hit w/ this foolishness from the bottle thrower named Drake.. He’s just told the Jewish press he’s the ‘first person to successfully rap and sing’ I was ike WTF? This is why Hip Hop history should be required b4 putting out a record.. Can we start with Angie Stone of Sequence.. she raps and sings better.. Maybe Drake forgot 8x Grammy winner Lauryn Hill? Cee-Lo, Mos Def, hell Black Thought kills it in both genres? Did dude forget Queen Latifah, Force MDs, Devin the Dude? Hell, Teena Marie, Blondie and Tom Tom Club blow Drake out the water doing both.. First time I heard singing and rapping was in 78-79 when GMF and the Furious 4 came to Bx Science and harmonized routines.. Later I heard Crash Crew and of course we had Cold Crush who killed it everytime on the singing/ rap tip y’all remember this from back in the days?? 
I’m so proud of Hip Hop right now…
