In Oakland, Audiopharmacy’s BAMBU Sessions Offer a Party for a Purpose

Bay Area artists have long mastered the art of partying for a purpose. On Saturday, the hip-hop ensemble Audiopharmacy will throw an event that’s a celebration — as well as a call to action.

For the second installment of group’s quarterly BAMBU Sessions series, sliding-scale admission will give attendees an evening of live music, an open mic and a Lunar New Year celebration to raise funds for a musician currently in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Audiopharmacy founder Teao Sense adds that the evening comes with an underlying theme of using old-fashioned human creativity to combat the prevalence of artificial intelligence.

“The issue that I want to address, first and foremost,” Sense tells me during a recent call, “is that we don’t know what’s AI and what’s not AI.” In turn, Sense is turning to what he calls “HI” — human intelligence. A turntablist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Sense adds that the music recorded during these live BAMBU Sessions events is mixed, mastered and shared with the world for free on their website.

For more than two decades, Audiopharmacy has recorded and performed around the Bay Area and across the globe. This past December, with financial support from Zoo Labs and Intersection for the Arts, the group opened a new recording studio, arts incubator, performance and wellness space in West Oakland.

To christen their new space, known as BAMBU Pharm, they held a series of activations, including their inaugural BAMBU Sessions event.

The first jam session was organized and hosted by Teao Sense, jo love/speak cruz, Nikila Badua aka “MamaWisdom1,” as well as Gina Madrid, Sami See, Gema Cantu, Persia Blackwell, Seiji Oda, Aya Eid, Santos S.O.U.L., Marcos Odara, Rasul Grayson, Brass Medik, Amre Leon, Keith Ebbs., poko d., and JT Teodoro.

The event also featured talented artists Ian Santillano, Jumakae, Emcee Soulati, Obrayan Calderon, Yrak Saenz, ELENAH, Dani Cornejo, Smiley C, MC Persia, TSAVO, T, Razteria, and Khalil Fantauzzi.

Recalling the night with its live percussion, multiple string instruments and jazzy saxophone, San Jose’s veteran lyricist MC Persia says the vibe was so good, she was compelled to spit a few bars.

A rapper since her early teenage years, MC Persia began to experience “brain fog” in her late 30s, causing her to work more behind the scenes. Audiopharmacy’s events have aided her ambition to continue performing.

“For the past decade, every time I’ve stepped back on a stage it’s been because of Audiopharmacy,” she tells me. “What they are building isn’t just an event. It’s medicine. Every time I stand in it, I’m reminded why I started in the first place.”

That medicine extends beyond the music. “We’re generally raising funds for all the different things that we do,” says Sense, adding that the group regularly hosts workshops, ranging from art and music to Qigong and boxing.

This weekend, the group will raise funds for their friend, a Bay Area-based percussionist from Brazil named Leandro “Leo” Oliveira.

On Dec. 4, 2025, Oliveira, while seeking asylum in the U.S., was leaving a scheduled immigration appointment in San Francisco when he was detained by ICE agents and subsequently incarcerated.

Oliveira, who plays percussion with Audiopharmacy, as well as the Bay Area Brazilian bands Batuki and Namorados Da Lua (NDL), has reportedly been offered documents to self-deport, but isn’t signing. Now, Audiopharmacy is raising funds for their colleague’s legal representation through what cofounder jo love/speak cruz calls “radical joy” while doing “substantive work that supports our people.”

The jam session and open mic will also honor the start of the Lunar New Year. jo love/speak cruz says they’ll celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse by gifting traditional red envelopes to attendees — as well as offering free boxing lessons from Jean “Jxtheo” Teodoro, owner of Bayanihan Boxing to ensure the community is artistically, politically and physically empowered.

The Year of the Fire Horse brings a “really bold, passionate, and purposeful energy,” jo love/speak cruz attests, adding that it’s important to harness this energy in a benevolent manner. “Beyond the individual,” she says, “it’s meant to really move the collective.”

With that in mind, Audiopharmacy will combine music and fresh Nepali cuisine with collective meditation and the intentional usage of certain colors. As they make art and party for a purpose, while kicking off a fresh Lunar New Year, jo love/speak cruz offers a reminder: “Fire is good,” she says. “We’ve got to melt the ice.”

Audiopharmacy’s second installment of the BAMBU Sessions takes place Saturday, Feb. 21, in West Oakland. For tickets and specific event location, RSVP here.