Every year on Thanksgiving, a turkey is pardoned by the President and not killed for dinner. They then perform lewd acts with that turkey before they eat one of its relatives.In all seriousness, this photo makes me wonder if President Elect Obama will be participating in such DUMB ASS traditions as this... or will he make a real power move and actually pardon a prisoner... I nominate Leonard Peltier. I've never been given cause to put my faith in any US president, but a pardon of an INNOCENT political prisioner might make a Native think twice.
In the grand tradition of Presidents getting head, I offer you this... Substitute the right bird and Voila'!
Goin' out to all my Natives, those Indigenous to Turtle Island... and all our friends, allies, and loved ones however the fuck yall ended up on this continent. While you are enjoying food and family, take a second and think about your ancestors, and give thanks. But FUCK THANKSGIVING. Things are the way they are because of lies, murder, slavery, and genocide committed(and being committed) by our "founding fathers" (White Americans.) So go find your elementrary school teacher and slap the shit out of them for teaching lies, making you make a construction paper headband with feathers, or god forbid "reinacting" the first thanksgiving with the "pilgrims." Ok, so it's 2008, lets get it straight... shit is still fucked up and the same thangs continue under the guise of free markets and corporations. Genocide is still alive and driven by companies we all probably support unknowingly. If you are with me in flippin the bird to Thanks-taking, try not to live off the backs of others, and to those who are lived on, lets shake these fucks!
I hope you're living it up with fam and friends. Here are some bangin' Rez jams I got from my dude Nick from Thunder Valley... he's making the worlds first green corridor on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota... show the world how to live Nick!
Northern Wind- Sneak Up I like this song because it sounds gunshots going off and sneaking up on your enemies. Northern Wind is no joke, these fools kick ass!
Northern Wind- Crow Hop A Crow Hop is a pow wow dance where dancers flex their skills at a different tempo. It's all about fools swagger and style. If you ain't seen, get your ass to a pow wow... shit is dope!
Original style innovators, Mark Bode character, Stan 153
Young buck Daz flexes on the Meeting of Styles section of the wall.
Tall homies are the last to Rock, we gotta sew the backgrounds together and it's a wrap! Apologies to those not featured, promise I'll get you up, the shadows were too much for my sidekick... booooo.
More from Oakland's Wall of Fame. Stay tuned for a massive post once it's all said and done... Shit is lookin DOPE. The wall is almost a QUARTER MILE long with many of the Nation's freshest writers rocking styles in memory of Mike "Dream" Francisco, Oakland's favorite son and style master who was tragically murdered in February of 2000. The wall is a tribute by his comrades that helped Mike put Oakland/Bay Area Graffiti on the map. Keep an eye out for the opening party throwdown coming soon!
Ps... the banner image for this blog is a pic of one of my old pieces the day before painting began on this huge project. The wall was so caked with hundreds of burners that it was falling off in huge beautiful chips that had to be pressure washed off and primed. Big up to young Kufu 2! -wm.
You gotta love the interweb. A big part of my evolution is tryna stay up on shit round the globe as much as possible. Although there's HELLA bullshit out there, there's a whole lotta dope shit too, you gotta find good filters... Discobelle is one of my favorites. I came across this track from Bounce camp 'round Ju-ly and I wanna play it more, sooo I'm innoculating your asses with the expectation that you'll come out and listen. This track is dope cuz 1. It's Town related (Saadiq vocals!). 2. proper freakage of the best samples of the original song. 3. progression is clever and not hella repetitive. 4. the Champ!
Bounce Camp is from Berlin. This is how he describes his sound...
"10% rap, 24% house, 10% cheese, 12% hand claps, 2% cheap perfume, 8% golden oldies, 8% Miami, 0% minimal, 6% sexy midget playing a keyboard, 12% stolen property, 100% Bounce Camp!!!!!!!"
Last week my birthday exploded all over the city. In the age of gentrification, aka hipster-invasion, it's rare that anyone is from the Town these days, and today I wanna express my love for my fair city. I live within eyeshot of where I was born and love what I am because of it. As a dude who loves music, by my count you gotta love history too. Music is always be shaped by hella factors, and in this city the good, bad, and ugly always makes for good music. If you love your city and rep that shit you know what the fuck I mean... I got love for all yall, but Oakland's home.
I could go on... I'm sure I'll revisit this topic often... this time round, here's what comes up when search OAK.
Keak Da Sneak feat. Mistah FAB- Oakland Man, this song really puts it down... Nostalgia and hella shit no hipster could ever reference (hipsterproof). This shit reminds me of writing E.S.O. on the bathroom wall of my elementary school in pencil next to "ELF" which was my first tag. hahaha. Love that FAB is on it too E.S.O. and N.S.O. love! Big up to my patna Matthew Africa(KALX 3p-6p Wed.)for puttin me up on this'n!
Jawbreaker- Condition Oakland This track makes the cut even though Jawbreaker ain't from the Town, cause it reminds me of drinking with punks on rooftops and shit (and the title). This track's huge sound is hella beautiful and reps a feeling I know to be Oakland. Peep the Kerouac samples... dude knows the town too.
Rodger Collins- Foxy Girls in Oakland Listen. This song is self explanitory and not a whole lot has changed except E.14th is called International by newcomers (See Keak's track). This song is a whole lot of awesome and there's a bit of shit talkin' bout Frisco dudes in it, and although I don't share the opinion, it's reassuring that the friendly rivalry goes back to Rodger's day. This track reminds me of DJ Kitty who held down the Town's longest running Soul nite at the Ruby Room on East 14th. She usta rock this bout every Wednesday and even though fools at that spot looked like they were fighting when they danced, she kept it poppin.' She owns a bar now. I rock Saturdays with Matthew Africa at KITTY'S you should come thru!
Casual feat. E Mac, Too $hort, G Stack & Richie Rich- Oaktown Off the Smash Rockwell album this came out when hyphy was big and its genius is that this track takes it back to the slump Too$hort made famous. Love that the chorus is kids yelling "Oaktown" while fools are spittin' bout all that town life includes. It reminds me of catching the 82 to go play ball at Greenman next to the 69 Village. Ask somebody.
Ya boy Willie Maze has been working with Native Tribes on the Klamath River in Northern California to remove 4 dams. The story made the FRONT PAGE of the SF Chronicle today when the company announced an agreement in principle to remove the dams. It's a huge step forward in removing the dams, which has huge spiritual, environmental and economic impact for the all people on the Klamath, which is one of this country's last great salmon rivers. In addition to being a DJ, I've been the director of the Indigenous People's Power Project that works with Indigenous communites across the U.S. and Canada to use direct action strategy and tactics to stick it to The Man (in this case, Warren Buffett). I been collaborating on creative nonviolent direct action with them since early this year in a campaign that goes back hella far. Looking forward to turning up the heat and pushing those shits over! This is one hell of a birthday surprise!
The fam Chook Chook (KARUK) is a young and powerful leader in this fight. He called the "richest" man in the world a S.O.B. in his native language in front of 30,000 + shareholders in Omaha this year at Berkshire Hathaway's AGM. I asked him for a musical selection for this post he offered "Solid As A Rock" by Sizzla.
As a DJ, one sees HELLA funny/sad shit. Less than one of every 100 requests is worthy of consideration... every now and then something keeper happens. Matthew Africa (and I) has collected hella "request napkins" or "napquests" as I've been calling them. Here's one of Matthew's funniest... Hit up his myspace for a whole gallery of these rare treasures and check back er'y now and again for more... Love the use of punctuation and "near Timberlake" request that turned Furgielicious in no time.
Funny how the napquests come earlier in the night, and later its aggrobreezies and dudes with 3 dollars... for best results ask for something that doesn't suck ass!
A while ago I nominated my homegirl Nancy for an Agape Foundation Peacemaker prize, which they won for their life-changing (and saving) work in the Mission (SF) with Latino/a youth, taking their love for their set/block/hood and turning it into love for the people, our struggle and freedom. When nominating her, I asked Nancy, "you wanna be nominated? Or the organization?" she snapped "You ain't shit wit'out your Homies!" H.O.M.E.Y. stands for Homeys Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth. They were a part of a recent shutdown of the I.C.E. (Immigration Control [ha] and Enforcement) who has been unjustly deporting and detaining mission residents who are the life blood of the city on some homeland paranoia/prison industry bullshit. Here are some photos.
These are a few of my Homies that I ain't shit without...
MATTHEW AFRICA is my ace. He busts the dope moves on mix tapes and up in the club. He and DJ Eleven collaborated the definitive "DIRTY RAPS... the Best of Too $hort" mix last year, and he is still driving the ladies (of age of course) wild with the double disc "Dirty R&B... the Best of R. Kelly." He and I make party every Saturday up at Kitty's in Emeryville at a night called Crazy From The Heat! Matthew is like my personal library of dope music. He's always hella generous and willing to talk music over some dranks. His latest and greatest is "HARD AS FUCK VOL. 4" on Beer and Rap which will have you stompin' the shit out of somebody in no time!
DJ ELEVEN of (((LOCAL1200))) fame is the tallest DJ on record and we go back so far I hooked him with his name. He laces the ladies, gents, boys and girls with the get sweaty heavy heavy monster sound at The Rub in Brooklyn every first Saturday with the dudes Cosmo and Ayers. Like B-Legit said the dude is "so international" and i would agree. He rep'd the Town on the Best of Too $hort with Matthew Africa and has made like A BIZILLION other DOPE mix projects that stay in rotation round the world. He and The Rub homies kicked the shit out of a huge undertaking unlike any other in their take on the "HISTORY OF HIP HOP" series that plays all the platters that matter from 1979 to today! Hot damn!
SAKE ONE my (((LOCAL1200))) crewfam makes sure the Bay's soundtrack to the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality always has its proper dose of dynomite soul! My man is the Bay's foremost record slayer and holds down the best weekly nights in Fog Town. PACIFIC STANDARD TIME (tuesday) and COLORS (thursdays). Sake stands tall amongst us freedom fighting party mongers who put it where our hearts are and still makes the ladies say "Owwwwwww." For real doe, my man is a Legacy in this line of work and makes good like the champ he is! Here is a live mix he rocked at Colors (early set), at the behest of his moms I think.
I could go on and on! Fuck it, think I'll go weekly with it... HOMIE LOVE. Word!
I found music stashed away in a the rat infested storage room in my families crib in Jingle Town USA. Cardboard treasure chests made sure this kid was reared on the blues, soul music, jazz, moms rock records on uncle bob's realistic stereo... apparently my family liked to throw down. My first gig was playing records at a house party for sips of beer and drags of tobacco... sometimes pocket change... hell yeah!
The kid really hit his stride when he got passed a "rap" tape from his patna Theo at school. It was a radio program of an early hip hop show his pops recorded in new york. It was black with a piece of masking tape on it that said RAP in all caps. I wore that shit out. On my way home I always stopped to throw rocks at bottles and shit. After hearing that tape all shit looked different. The paintings on the wall was now graffiti, there really was broken glass everywhere, and someone talked about my life in song... IT WAS ON! Baseball was my first love, hip hop would be my life...
... BUT Mo Money Mo Problems the man said. The billion dollar industry it has become, the internet taking it global, leaders, biters, and saviors coming and going and the ever present tyranny of popular taste has mutated and at the same time changed pop culture forever. My mode is the same, my thirst for the freshness is stronger than ever, but i can't seem to satisfy myself with the shit that's out now. Evolve or die.
In all seriousness, this photo makes me wonder if President Elect Obama will be participating in such DUMB ASS traditions as this... or will he make a real power move and actually pardon a prisoner... I nominate Leonard Peltier. I've never been given cause to put my faith in any US president, but a pardon of an INNOCENT political prisioner might make a Native think twice.
MATTHEW AFRICA
Posts
