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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927959\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-800x601.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman in a top ponytail holds a white blanket containing a baby\" width=\"800\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-1020x767.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-768x577.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1.jpg 1410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love, at age 17, as Brenda in Tupac Shakur’s music video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ Love says the role came naturally, ‘because it was similar to my life already.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s an alley in downtown Oakland that connects Webster Street and Harrison Street, between 12th Street and 13th Street. Situated on the border of downtown and Chinatown, gated on both ends and naturally lit from above, the block-long walkway has been the site of day parties, shady doings, and a runway for rats in the middle of the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d often walk past this alley when I lived on 13th and Webster, thinking nothing of it. That is, until one day when I was watching the 1992 music video for Tupac’s classic song, “Brenda’s Got A Baby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It suddenly hit me: \u003cem>That’s the spot where Brenda’s body was found\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927967\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927967\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720-160x116.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the video, an OPD cruiser idles in the alley as Brenda’s body is covered by a bloody white sheet — not far from where, earlier in the video, she’d dropped her newborn in a dumpster. As Tupac narrates the story, Brenda’s death is shown reported on the front page of the Oakland Tribune.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brenda’s death may have been fictitious, but as the video notes, it was based on a true story. Tupac had been inspired by one particularly heinous account of a 12 year-old girl in New York who was molested and impregnated by a family member — a story that symbolizes the unfortunate reality too many young people face, then and now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the video begins, the character of Brenda walks down the street holding a baby wrapped in a white cloth. Her image then cross-dissolves, revealing Tupac surrounded by a crew of teenagers and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B, rapper of Digital Underground fame and friend of Tupac, is among the people in the posse. Money B says everyone in that shot, aside from him and Pac’s childhood friend Mouse Man, were artists Pac was working to develop at the time. “Pac was very strategic in all of that,” Money B says, on a group call. “He understood product placement and branding from the very beginning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927969\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927969\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720-160x118.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There’s some other Easter eggs in the video too, says Money B, including Digital Underground’s DJ Fuze portraying a cop, a street pole adorned with an Oakland logo, and a cardboard sign reading “Bush Sucks,” a shot at George H.W. Bush, the United States’ sitting president at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to appearing in the video, Money B is featured on the song through a brief back and forth with Pac:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hear Brenda’s got a baby / But Brenda’s barely got a brain / A damn shame, the girl can hardly spell her name,” says Tupac.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family,” says Money B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To which Pac responds, “Well, let me show ya how it affects the whole community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discussing the music video now, Money B laughs and says, “When I say that line, I’m leaning down, and I try to get up and I stumble, and I fall, and I do a smirk, like, ‘Oh shit, I scrubbed.’ But they kept it in there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_11696060']Tupac wrote the whole song, including that line for Money B, before Deon “Big D the Impossible” Evans produced the track. The day they recorded it, Money B happened to be hanging out with Chicago singer Dave Hollister (formerly of Blackstreet) and Roniece Levias (who has also worked with Too Short, E-40 and Digital Underground). When they heard the beat in Starlight studio, the two vocalists, both steeped in the church, began to sing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were going back and forth,” Money B says of Levias and Hollister. “They caught a groove and Pac was like, ‘Go in there and do that.’ That was on the spot, spur of the moment, lightning in a bottle.” Atron Gregory, Tupac’s former manager, chimes in on the call: “That was the first time on a hip-hop record that singing was done all the way through the record. There was singing on hip-hop records, but not all the way through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B points out another distinguishing feature of the song: “Brenda’s Got a Baby is just one verse,” he says. “It’s not like: song, hook, song, hook. All (Tupac) wanted to do is tell a story, and everything else just happened on the spot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927973\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720-160x112.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love, who played Brenda in Tupac Shakur’s ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby Video,’ pictured in a recent photo. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Ethel Love)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>thel Love, the woman who portrayed Brenda in the music video, is watching her grandchildren when she joins the call. Bright-spirited and full of energy, she talks to us from a car in Georgia, preparing to celebrate her 49th birthday, remembering the video shoot vividly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t hear the story for the first time until after I did the video,” says Love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just 17 years old at the time, Love was tapped by her brother Deandre (a.k.a. Papa Doc), a friend of Tupac’s, to be the lead actress. Love says the video’s directors, Allen and Albert Hughes, let the song’s lyrics inform their direction, and simply told Love what they wanted her to do in each scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love, who was raised between North and Central Richmond and grew up in the church, was involved in the arts through the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. But she’d never done anything of this magnitude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRWUs0KtB-I\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B interjects, “Do you remember my momma being your momma?” His question about his real mother portraying Love’s mother in the video is met with a round of laughs. “Yes,” says Love, before explaining that arguing with her fictional mother on the set wasn’t a far stretch from her real life. “I’d just not too long ago went off on my momma … because I wanted to hang out, and my momma attacked me, and I was talking to her just like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love was a mother of one at the time, and says she drew from her own experience in portraying the role of Brenda. “It was easy because it was similar to my life already,” she says. Aside from Brenda becoming a prostitute, the girls’ stories had eerie parallels. “All that was so real,” she says, “because I was living that life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weight of the moment is broken by the laughter of one of Love’s four grandchildren in the background of the call. “Brenda’s still got a lot of babies,” Love jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13927968\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720-160x96.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early ’90s, after the video dropped, life changed for Love. “It was hard walking down the hallway at school, because everyone thought I was different now, because I was on a popular video with this popular young man,” says Love. People questioned why she didn’t tell them what she was doing; all the while Love just wanted to remain low-key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was always secretive anyway,” says Love, anecdotally sharing that she had quietly been driving to school since the age of 13, parking around the corner and not telling anyone. But now she was on TV, and friends she grew up with were changing on her. People she didn’t know treated her equally as weird. “I couldn’t go outside like I used to for a while, especially with my daughter. It used to scare her,” says Love. “People used to come up to her and say, ‘Oh my god, you that girl from the video?!’ Screaming and trying to touch me and grab her. It was really weird.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love soon had two more daughters, and as her children matured, she shared with them the story of the music video, the song and the golden plaque she received from her role in it all. She also warned her children not to tell anyone about her role in Tupac’s video, because she didn’t want them to be treated differently in school. But as the girls grew older, they kept seeing images of their mother on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927976\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1-160x151.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love as a teenager. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Ethel Love)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Only reason I’m \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ethelloveeddy/\">on Facebook\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealbrenda2/?hl=en\">Instagram\u003c/a> is because my kids,” says Love. She imitates her children as she says, “Mom look, you in the feed again. They’re saying you’re LisaRaye.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atron and Money B laugh, they’ve heard that rumor too. (LisaRaye appeared in a different Tupac video, “Toss It Up.”) Love sees no shade in being mixed up with another successful beautiful Black woman. But Love is not LisaRaye, nor is she “Brenda.” Instead, Love is quite clear on who she is and how, as a child, she portrayed an image that spoke to some of the largest issues facing society.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like the bathroom scene,” Love tells me, referring to the moment in the video when Brenda is physically delivering the baby. “Because that is so real to people that have kids, but don’t know how to tell their parents they’re having a child. (They) end up having a child in the bathtub or in a bathroom,” says Love. One of her own family members, she adds, experienced this firsthand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Ethel’s grand-babies enters the screen as I ask about last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights and how hip-hop has addressed this issue—or added to the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love says she didn’t understand at the time, but being a grandmother now, she sees the significance of her role. Not just as a character in a popular music video from four decades ago, but as a volunteer babysitter, reproductive health advocate and firm believer in the concept of a village raising a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927970\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720-160x117.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen she looks back at the music video, and considers how far she’s come, she realizes that, in many ways, she’s still that person — the one Tupac saw when he suggested her for the role. “It’s like he marked me,” says Love. “He knew that I was going to be that person. I’ve always been that person. I had other people’s kids before I had kids. I’m a nurturer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the note of reproductive health and healthy methods of community support, I ask Money B again about that line of his: “That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='pop_23762']Money B refers to he and Tupac’s shared Black Panther lineage. Pac’s mother, the late Afeni Shakur, was a New York Black Panther Party member and a part of the Panther 21. As a child in the Bay Area, Money B attended the Black Panther Party’s Freedom School in Oakland. With that community-oriented foundation, Money B and Tupac share the same mindset as Ethel Love: it takes a village.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the mentality that a lot of us have, or have had, when it comes to raising the youth,” says Money B. When done right, he says, it’s amazing the difference that we can collectively make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the call ends, Mon, as friends call him, tells Love how happy he is to see her, and how proud he is of the woman she’s become; he brags that he’s going to tell his mother about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love responds, “Give her a hug and a kiss for me.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927959\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-800x601.jpg\" alt=\"A young woman in a top ponytail holds a white blanket containing a baby\" width=\"800\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-800x601.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-1020x767.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1-768x577.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Brenda.MAIN_-1.jpg 1410w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love, at age 17, as Brenda in Tupac Shakur’s music video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ Love says the role came naturally, ‘because it was similar to my life already.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s an alley in downtown Oakland that connects Webster Street and Harrison Street, between 12th Street and 13th Street. Situated on the border of downtown and Chinatown, gated on both ends and naturally lit from above, the block-long walkway has been the site of day parties, shady doings, and a runway for rats in the middle of the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d often walk past this alley when I lived on 13th and Webster, thinking nothing of it. That is, until one day when I was watching the 1992 music video for Tupac’s classic song, “Brenda’s Got A Baby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It suddenly hit me: \u003cem>That’s the spot where Brenda’s body was found\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927967\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927967\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"520\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.49_am_720-160x116.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the video, an OPD cruiser idles in the alley as Brenda’s body is covered by a bloody white sheet — not far from where, earlier in the video, she’d dropped her newborn in a dumpster. As Tupac narrates the story, Brenda’s death is shown reported on the front page of the Oakland Tribune.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brenda’s death may have been fictitious, but as the video notes, it was based on a true story. Tupac had been inspired by one particularly heinous account of a 12 year-old girl in New York who was molested and impregnated by a family member — a story that symbolizes the unfortunate reality too many young people face, then and now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the video begins, the character of Brenda walks down the street holding a baby wrapped in a white cloth. Her image then cross-dissolves, revealing Tupac surrounded by a crew of teenagers and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B, rapper of Digital Underground fame and friend of Tupac, is among the people in the posse. Money B says everyone in that shot, aside from him and Pac’s childhood friend Mouse Man, were artists Pac was working to develop at the time. “Pac was very strategic in all of that,” Money B says, on a group call. “He understood product placement and branding from the very beginning.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927969\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927969\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.46.18_am_720-160x118.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There’s some other Easter eggs in the video too, says Money B, including Digital Underground’s DJ Fuze portraying a cop, a street pole adorned with an Oakland logo, and a cardboard sign reading “Bush Sucks,” a shot at George H.W. Bush, the United States’ sitting president at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to appearing in the video, Money B is featured on the song through a brief back and forth with Pac:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hear Brenda’s got a baby / But Brenda’s barely got a brain / A damn shame, the girl can hardly spell her name,” says Tupac.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family,” says Money B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To which Pac responds, “Well, let me show ya how it affects the whole community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discussing the music video now, Money B laughs and says, “When I say that line, I’m leaning down, and I try to get up and I stumble, and I fall, and I do a smirk, like, ‘Oh shit, I scrubbed.’ But they kept it in there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Tupac wrote the whole song, including that line for Money B, before Deon “Big D the Impossible” Evans produced the track. The day they recorded it, Money B happened to be hanging out with Chicago singer Dave Hollister (formerly of Blackstreet) and Roniece Levias (who has also worked with Too Short, E-40 and Digital Underground). When they heard the beat in Starlight studio, the two vocalists, both steeped in the church, began to sing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were going back and forth,” Money B says of Levias and Hollister. “They caught a groove and Pac was like, ‘Go in there and do that.’ That was on the spot, spur of the moment, lightning in a bottle.” Atron Gregory, Tupac’s former manager, chimes in on the call: “That was the first time on a hip-hop record that singing was done all the way through the record. There was singing on hip-hop records, but not all the way through.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B points out another distinguishing feature of the song: “Brenda’s Got a Baby is just one verse,” he says. “It’s not like: song, hook, song, hook. All (Tupac) wanted to do is tell a story, and everything else just happened on the spot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927973\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.20.26_am_720-160x112.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love, who played Brenda in Tupac Shakur’s ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby Video,’ pictured in a recent photo. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Ethel Love)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>thel Love, the woman who portrayed Brenda in the music video, is watching her grandchildren when she joins the call. Bright-spirited and full of energy, she talks to us from a car in Georgia, preparing to celebrate her 49th birthday, remembering the video shoot vividly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t hear the story for the first time until after I did the video,” says Love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just 17 years old at the time, Love was tapped by her brother Deandre (a.k.a. Papa Doc), a friend of Tupac’s, to be the lead actress. Love says the video’s directors, Allen and Albert Hughes, let the song’s lyrics inform their direction, and simply told Love what they wanted her to do in each scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love, who was raised between North and Central Richmond and grew up in the church, was involved in the arts through the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. But she’d never done anything of this magnitude.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/NRWUs0KtB-I'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/NRWUs0KtB-I'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Money B interjects, “Do you remember my momma being your momma?” His question about his real mother portraying Love’s mother in the video is met with a round of laughs. “Yes,” says Love, before explaining that arguing with her fictional mother on the set wasn’t a far stretch from her real life. “I’d just not too long ago went off on my momma … because I wanted to hang out, and my momma attacked me, and I was talking to her just like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love was a mother of one at the time, and says she drew from her own experience in portraying the role of Brenda. “It was easy because it was similar to my life already,” she says. Aside from Brenda becoming a prostitute, the girls’ stories had eerie parallels. “All that was so real,” she says, “because I was living that life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weight of the moment is broken by the laughter of one of Love’s four grandchildren in the background of the call. “Brenda’s still got a lot of babies,” Love jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13927968\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.44.28_am_720-160x96.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early ’90s, after the video dropped, life changed for Love. “It was hard walking down the hallway at school, because everyone thought I was different now, because I was on a popular video with this popular young man,” says Love. People questioned why she didn’t tell them what she was doing; all the while Love just wanted to remain low-key.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was always secretive anyway,” says Love, anecdotally sharing that she had quietly been driving to school since the age of 13, parking around the corner and not telling anyone. But now she was on TV, and friends she grew up with were changing on her. People she didn’t know treated her equally as weird. “I couldn’t go outside like I used to for a while, especially with my daughter. It used to scare her,” says Love. “People used to come up to her and say, ‘Oh my god, you that girl from the video?!’ Screaming and trying to touch me and grab her. It was really weird.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love soon had two more daughters, and as her children matured, she shared with them the story of the music video, the song and the golden plaque she received from her role in it all. She also warned her children not to tell anyone about her role in Tupac’s video, because she didn’t want them to be treated differently in school. But as the girls grew older, they kept seeing images of their mother on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927976\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"678\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_8.22.01_am_720-1-160x151.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ethel Love as a teenager. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Ethel Love)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Only reason I’m \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ethelloveeddy/\">on Facebook\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealbrenda2/?hl=en\">Instagram\u003c/a> is because my kids,” says Love. She imitates her children as she says, “Mom look, you in the feed again. They’re saying you’re LisaRaye.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Atron and Money B laugh, they’ve heard that rumor too. (LisaRaye appeared in a different Tupac video, “Toss It Up.”) Love sees no shade in being mixed up with another successful beautiful Black woman. But Love is not LisaRaye, nor is she “Brenda.” Instead, Love is quite clear on who she is and how, as a child, she portrayed an image that spoke to some of the largest issues facing society.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I like the bathroom scene,” Love tells me, referring to the moment in the video when Brenda is physically delivering the baby. “Because that is so real to people that have kids, but don’t know how to tell their parents they’re having a child. (They) end up having a child in the bathtub or in a bathroom,” says Love. One of her own family members, she adds, experienced this firsthand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of Ethel’s grand-babies enters the screen as I ask about last year’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights and how hip-hop has addressed this issue—or added to the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love says she didn’t understand at the time, but being a grandmother now, she sees the significance of her role. Not just as a character in a popular music video from four decades ago, but as a volunteer babysitter, reproductive health advocate and firm believer in the concept of a village raising a child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927970\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927970\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720.png 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/screenshot_2023-04-17_at_10.41.12_am_720-160x117.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from Tupac Shakur’s video for ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby.’ \u003ccite>(YouTube/Interscope Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen she looks back at the music video, and considers how far she’s come, she realizes that, in many ways, she’s still that person — the one Tupac saw when he suggested her for the role. “It’s like he marked me,” says Love. “He knew that I was going to be that person. I’ve always been that person. I had other people’s kids before I had kids. I’m a nurturer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the note of reproductive health and healthy methods of community support, I ask Money B again about that line of his: “That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Money B refers to he and Tupac’s shared Black Panther lineage. Pac’s mother, the late Afeni Shakur, was a New York Black Panther Party member and a part of the Panther 21. As a child in the Bay Area, Money B attended the Black Panther Party’s Freedom School in Oakland. With that community-oriented foundation, Money B and Tupac share the same mindset as Ethel Love: it takes a village.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s the mentality that a lot of us have, or have had, when it comes to raising the youth,” says Money B. When done right, he says, it’s amazing the difference that we can collectively make.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the call ends, Mon, as friends call him, tells Love how happy he is to see her, and how proud he is of the woman she’s become; he brags that he’s going to tell his mother about her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Love responds, “Give her a hug and a kiss for me.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Crate Digging With Bay Area Jazz Saxophonist Howard Wiley",
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"content": "\u003cp>Howard Wiley is a record fanatic. Or, as Wiley puts it, “a bona fide jazz fanatic junkie.” He’s also an accomplished jazz musician who’s played tenor saxophone with a who’s-who of greats, including trumpeter Clark Terry, pianist Jason Moran and hip-hop icon Lauryn Hill, in addition to his \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/howard-wiley-2023/\">regular gigs around the Bay\u003c/a>. He’s released several albums since 1995, including the acclaimed \u003ca href=\"https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-angola-project/267828625\">\u003ci>The Angola Project\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, and he’s got new music on the way this year (plus a soon-to-be-announced role as a resident artistic director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>, starting in 2024).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDYTyPEUMFc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spoke to Wiley earlier this year for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924375/ambrose-akinmusire-jazz-trumpet-grammys-oakland-music\">a story about his pal and fellow jazz musician Ambrose Akinmusire\u003c/a>. Over the course of the conversation, I learned about Wiley’s massive record collection and his passion for crate digging. So as \u003ca href=\"https://recordstoreday.com/\">Record Store Day\u003c/a> approaches — an annual day designated to celebrate independent record stores, landing this year on April 22 — I asked Wiley to take me to some of his favorite local record shops and share his tips for finding classic records to start, or grow, one’s collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED Arts: Before we dig into the crates, tell us about your record collection.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Howard Wiley:\u003c/strong> I have about 10,000 records — about 7,000 collected on my own and 3,000 inherited from my mentor. Serious focus on the straight-ahead jazz. So I got all your favorite artists: all the Erroll Garner, all the Sarah Vaughan, all the Duke Ellington, all the Count Basie, all the Dexter Gordon, all the Charlie Parker, all the Miles Davis stuff. I have that and the artists who perform with them. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbpou3NLawM\">Johnny Hodges\u003c/a> played with Duke Ellington, so I got all the Johnny Hodges records. And all of the offshoots, the big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I try to do regional stuff, [and] I like tenor [saxophone] players because I play tenor. I just love the music. I also have an incredibly large classical music collection. So all your major composers, all the major periods — not too much 20th century, though. Also got a lot of gospel. I’m working on gospel from the golden era [from the 1940s to 1950s], and, say, 1960 to 1990.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you approach digging for records? Do you have advice about what’s worth spending money on?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Streaming has a lot of the popular stuff. They got a lot of the hits and the top artists: Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if you see an original copy of Miles Davis’ \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kind of Blue\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or of Dave Brubeck’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Time Out\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…they printed millions of those. Getting a reissue on one of those throughout the years is just as good. \u003c/span>I’m looking for off-the-beaten-path type stuff. Those seminal jazz artists that we don’t tend to talk about. So, I’ll look for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgusuGsEtRQ\">Wynton Kelly\u003c/a> album. I’m gonna look for some \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAZTYX_zsQ8\">Red Garland\u003c/a> on Prestige [Records]. I’ll look for some \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqJ_ho8hvLE\">Shirley Scott\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927954\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927954\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a bin of records with a record by jazz artist J.J. Johnson called 'First Place' on top\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The kind of record Wiley geeks out on — a Columbia Records “six-eye” original of ‘First Place’ by J.J. Johnson, seen at Noise Records in San Francisco on April 7. ‘J.J. was one of the foremost innovators of jazz trombone coming out of the bebop era,’ says Wiley. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you scope a quality record?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can always tell by the thickness of the record. Once the ’80s hit, the vinyl got thinner. And just got thinner and thinner each decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also tell when you don’t have the big parent companies listed. If you’re looking for a good album – and it’s an old album – you won’t see any mention of parent companies. For example, if it’s a Verve album and it says Polygram on it, or Universal, you know that’s a reissue. If you see a Blue Note record and it says EMI on it, that’s a reissue. You want to look for the records where it’s just that [original] company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, with Columbia Records — especially during their heyday in the Miles Davis \u003ci>Kind of Blue\u003c/i> period — you look at the record and you’ll see the Columbia logo, which is like an eye, and you’ll see three on each side of the hole. That means it’s an original. Then in the next phase, it was two eyes, one on each side of the hole. So if you get a copy of \u003ci>Kind of Blue\u003c/i> and it has a red label that says “Columbia Records” and no logos on either side of the hole, that means it’s a reissue that happened around the ’70s and later. I think they brought back the “six-eye” now, but those classic period albums all have six eyes. So if you see a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSzqhXJb-dA\">Patti Bown\u003c/a> record and it’s a “six-eye”? Absolutely. That’s a great find.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927955\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"two vinyl records from Columbia, with red labels, seen out of their sleeves\" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1020x624.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-768x470.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1536x939.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1920x1174.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An example of an original Columbia “six-eye” record (left) and “two-eye” record. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you consider a reasonable price point for an average record — not a rare, “holy grail” type record?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can find cool, good, original press records for $4 and $5. So you don’t have to necessarily break the bank and spend $20 and $30, like new records cost now. [At $4 or $5] you can have some incredibly good music, incredibly well recorded. And with somebody like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfIjj-wN93Y&t=59s\">James Cleveland\u003c/a>, a lot of the time it’s live. So you get \u003cem>that thang\u003c/em>, you know. And I grew up in church and I love and I miss and need \u003cem>that thang\u003c/em>. It’s nice to find that.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Howard Wiley’s\u003c/strong> Recommended\u003cstrong> Record Shops\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you want to trace Howard Wiley’s record-shopping steps, here are his top three stops in the Bay Area, with his “liner notes” on what he loves about them:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanfrancisconoise.com/\">Noise\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>3427 Balboa St., San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927956\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927956\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a man looks through vinyl records in a record store while an employee sits behind the desk\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Howard Wiley shopping, while Sara Alison Johnson works, at Noise in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> I really love Noise. One, it’s family-owned and the owner is a saxophone player, as well. Not saying that musicians know more about records, but he just has a hunger for the music that is different. He wants to understand and he has an understanding of it. And he takes that same level of detail and study to the record store. And it’s still very organic. He runs it with his mother and his sister, and they really \u003cem>love\u003c/em> music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of hipster used record stores and things that have been popping up, and it’s different coming from a place where somebody thinks it’s cool versus somebody who really loves music. And that’s what I get from Noise. And [the owner] Danny always has his ear to the ground for very special stuff, very special periods. And it goes across genres, too. I’m a big jazz head, big blues head, but they have all the rock and a lot of the pop stuff. It is very eclectic and very informed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.downhomemusic.com/\">Down Home Music Store\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>10341 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a purple hoodie flips through records in a record store\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Howard Wiley flips through records at Down Home Record Store in El Cerrito on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> At Down Home, I always hit the jazz section first, then I hit up the roots stuff. I try to see what the ethnomusicologists have done. I look for the \u003ca href=\"https://folkways.si.edu/arhoolie\">Arhoolie\u003c/a> things since this store was originally opened by Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz. I look for records and CDs that are from small or boutique presses — stuff that’s hard to find and that you only find in indie spots. They’ve got the Japanese 45s, and Japanese pressings are detailed to the max. Best sound quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This place has a lot of great CDs and video recordings, too. TV performances, live performances, stuff that you won’t find on YouTube – you find those gems here. I got a bunch of Thelonious Monk and Roots Americana videos here. A lot of regional stuff – how the music sounded in the Pacific Northwest in the ’30s during their first great migration. What it sounded like in Mississippi churches.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Groove Yard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>5555 Claremont Ave, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927960\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927960\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"an older white man stands behind the counter in a cluttered record shop, laughing as he talks with a younger Black man in a purple hoodie and hat on the other side of the counter\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Groove Yard owner Rick Ballard (left) and Wiley talk records at Groove Yard in Oakland on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> The “holy trinity” of record stores in the East Bay used to be this place called Berigan’s, a place called DBA Brown and the Groove Yard. Unfortunately, Berigan’s and DBA Brown are no longer with us, and the Groove Yard is the last of that. It’s a super, super great record shop. I would go to the Groove Yard as a teenager and just hang out and listen to all the record collectors talk about labels and producers, and brag about their collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I learned not only about the records, but about the music and the culture. That’s what I get from the Groove Yard. Plus [owner] Rick Ballard is one of these dudes who’s been in the game so long as a record store owner, as a record importer and as somebody who has a place that draws all the avid collectors. So you’ll see Rick talk about stuff you don’t ever hear anybody talk about, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.evereststereo.com/about/\">Everest Records\u003c/a>. So this place is super special — a great record store run by somebody who is cool and informative. It has a special place in my heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Howard Wiley is a record fanatic. Or, as Wiley puts it, “a bona fide jazz fanatic junkie.” He’s also an accomplished jazz musician who’s played tenor saxophone with a who’s-who of greats, including trumpeter Clark Terry, pianist Jason Moran and hip-hop icon Lauryn Hill, in addition to his \u003ca href=\"https://ybgfestival.org/event/howard-wiley-2023/\">regular gigs around the Bay\u003c/a>. He’s released several albums since 1995, including the acclaimed \u003ca href=\"https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-angola-project/267828625\">\u003ci>The Angola Project\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, and he’s got new music on the way this year (plus a soon-to-be-announced role as a resident artistic director at \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfjazz.org/\">SFJAZZ\u003c/a>, starting in 2024).\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/jDYTyPEUMFc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/jDYTyPEUMFc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>I spoke to Wiley earlier this year for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924375/ambrose-akinmusire-jazz-trumpet-grammys-oakland-music\">a story about his pal and fellow jazz musician Ambrose Akinmusire\u003c/a>. Over the course of the conversation, I learned about Wiley’s massive record collection and his passion for crate digging. So as \u003ca href=\"https://recordstoreday.com/\">Record Store Day\u003c/a> approaches — an annual day designated to celebrate independent record stores, landing this year on April 22 — I asked Wiley to take me to some of his favorite local record shops and share his tips for finding classic records to start, or grow, one’s collection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>KQED Arts: Before we dig into the crates, tell us about your record collection.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Howard Wiley:\u003c/strong> I have about 10,000 records — about 7,000 collected on my own and 3,000 inherited from my mentor. Serious focus on the straight-ahead jazz. So I got all your favorite artists: all the Erroll Garner, all the Sarah Vaughan, all the Duke Ellington, all the Count Basie, all the Dexter Gordon, all the Charlie Parker, all the Miles Davis stuff. I have that and the artists who perform with them. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbpou3NLawM\">Johnny Hodges\u003c/a> played with Duke Ellington, so I got all the Johnny Hodges records. And all of the offshoots, the big bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I try to do regional stuff, [and] I like tenor [saxophone] players because I play tenor. I just love the music. I also have an incredibly large classical music collection. So all your major composers, all the major periods — not too much 20th century, though. Also got a lot of gospel. I’m working on gospel from the golden era [from the 1940s to 1950s], and, say, 1960 to 1990.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you approach digging for records? Do you have advice about what’s worth spending money on?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Streaming has a lot of the popular stuff. They got a lot of the hits and the top artists: Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if you see an original copy of Miles Davis’ \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kind of Blue\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> or of Dave Brubeck’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Time Out\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…they printed millions of those. Getting a reissue on one of those throughout the years is just as good. \u003c/span>I’m looking for off-the-beaten-path type stuff. Those seminal jazz artists that we don’t tend to talk about. So, I’ll look for a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgusuGsEtRQ\">Wynton Kelly\u003c/a> album. I’m gonna look for some \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAZTYX_zsQ8\">Red Garland\u003c/a> on Prestige [Records]. I’ll look for some \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqJ_ho8hvLE\">Shirley Scott\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927954\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927954\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a bin of records with a record by jazz artist J.J. Johnson called 'First Place' on top\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0341-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The kind of record Wiley geeks out on — a Columbia Records “six-eye” original of ‘First Place’ by J.J. Johnson, seen at Noise Records in San Francisco on April 7. ‘J.J. was one of the foremost innovators of jazz trombone coming out of the bebop era,’ says Wiley. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you scope a quality record?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can always tell by the thickness of the record. Once the ’80s hit, the vinyl got thinner. And just got thinner and thinner each decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also tell when you don’t have the big parent companies listed. If you’re looking for a good album – and it’s an old album – you won’t see any mention of parent companies. For example, if it’s a Verve album and it says Polygram on it, or Universal, you know that’s a reissue. If you see a Blue Note record and it says EMI on it, that’s a reissue. You want to look for the records where it’s just that [original] company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, with Columbia Records — especially during their heyday in the Miles Davis \u003ci>Kind of Blue\u003c/i> period — you look at the record and you’ll see the Columbia logo, which is like an eye, and you’ll see three on each side of the hole. That means it’s an original. Then in the next phase, it was two eyes, one on each side of the hole. So if you get a copy of \u003ci>Kind of Blue\u003c/i> and it has a red label that says “Columbia Records” and no logos on either side of the hole, that means it’s a reissue that happened around the ’70s and later. I think they brought back the “six-eye” now, but those classic period albums all have six eyes. So if you see a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSzqhXJb-dA\">Patti Bown\u003c/a> record and it’s a “six-eye”? Absolutely. That’s a great find.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927955\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"two vinyl records from Columbia, with red labels, seen out of their sleeves\" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1020x624.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-768x470.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1536x939.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388-1920x1174.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0388.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An example of an original Columbia “six-eye” record (left) and “two-eye” record. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you consider a reasonable price point for an average record — not a rare, “holy grail” type record?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can find cool, good, original press records for $4 and $5. So you don’t have to necessarily break the bank and spend $20 and $30, like new records cost now. [At $4 or $5] you can have some incredibly good music, incredibly well recorded. And with somebody like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfIjj-wN93Y&t=59s\">James Cleveland\u003c/a>, a lot of the time it’s live. So you get \u003cem>that thang\u003c/em>, you know. And I grew up in church and I love and I miss and need \u003cem>that thang\u003c/em>. It’s nice to find that.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Howard Wiley’s\u003c/strong> Recommended\u003cstrong> Record Shops\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>If you want to trace Howard Wiley’s record-shopping steps, here are his top three stops in the Bay Area, with his “liner notes” on what he loves about them:\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sanfrancisconoise.com/\">Noise\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>3427 Balboa St., San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927956\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927956\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a man looks through vinyl records in a record store while an employee sits behind the desk\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0338-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Howard Wiley shopping, while Sara Alison Johnson works, at Noise in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> I really love Noise. One, it’s family-owned and the owner is a saxophone player, as well. Not saying that musicians know more about records, but he just has a hunger for the music that is different. He wants to understand and he has an understanding of it. And he takes that same level of detail and study to the record store. And it’s still very organic. He runs it with his mother and his sister, and they really \u003cem>love\u003c/em> music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a lot of hipster used record stores and things that have been popping up, and it’s different coming from a place where somebody thinks it’s cool versus somebody who really loves music. And that’s what I get from Noise. And [the owner] Danny always has his ear to the ground for very special stuff, very special periods. And it goes across genres, too. I’m a big jazz head, big blues head, but they have all the rock and a lot of the pop stuff. It is very eclectic and very informed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.downhomemusic.com/\">Down Home Music Store\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>10341 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927957\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927957\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a purple hoodie flips through records in a record store\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0353-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Howard Wiley flips through records at Down Home Record Store in El Cerrito on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> At Down Home, I always hit the jazz section first, then I hit up the roots stuff. I try to see what the ethnomusicologists have done. I look for the \u003ca href=\"https://folkways.si.edu/arhoolie\">Arhoolie\u003c/a> things since this store was originally opened by Arhoolie Records founder Chris Strachwitz. I look for records and CDs that are from small or boutique presses — stuff that’s hard to find and that you only find in indie spots. They’ve got the Japanese 45s, and Japanese pressings are detailed to the max. Best sound quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This place has a lot of great CDs and video recordings, too. TV performances, live performances, stuff that you won’t find on YouTube – you find those gems here. I got a bunch of Thelonious Monk and Roots Americana videos here. A lot of regional stuff – how the music sounded in the Pacific Northwest in the ’30s during their first great migration. What it sounded like in Mississippi churches.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Groove Yard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>5555 Claremont Ave, Oakland\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927960\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927960\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"an older white man stands behind the counter in a cluttered record shop, laughing as he talks with a younger Black man in a purple hoodie and hat on the other side of the counter\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/IMG_0367-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Groove Yard owner Rick Ballard (left) and Wiley talk records at Groove Yard in Oakland on April 7. \u003ccite>(Ariana Proehl/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Wiley:\u003c/strong> The “holy trinity” of record stores in the East Bay used to be this place called Berigan’s, a place called DBA Brown and the Groove Yard. Unfortunately, Berigan’s and DBA Brown are no longer with us, and the Groove Yard is the last of that. It’s a super, super great record shop. I would go to the Groove Yard as a teenager and just hang out and listen to all the record collectors talk about labels and producers, and brag about their collections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I learned not only about the records, but about the music and the culture. That’s what I get from the Groove Yard. Plus [owner] Rick Ballard is one of these dudes who’s been in the game so long as a record store owner, as a record importer and as somebody who has a place that draws all the avid collectors. So you’ll see Rick talk about stuff you don’t ever hear anybody talk about, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.evereststereo.com/about/\">Everest Records\u003c/a>. So this place is super special — a great record store run by somebody who is cool and informative. It has a special place in my heart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Ahmad Jamal, Measured Maestro of Jazz Piano, Dies at 92",
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"content": "\u003cp>For most jazz performers, a song is part of a performance. For Ahmad Jamal, each song \u003cem>was\u003c/em> a performance. Over the course of a remarkable eight-decade career, Jamal, who passed away Sunday at the age of 92, created stellar recordings both as an ambitious youth and a sagely veteran. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s death was confirmed by his daughter, Sumayah Jamal. He died Sunday afternoon in Ashley Falls, Mass., after a battle with prostate cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s influence and admirers spread far and wide in jazz. For instance, Miles Davis found enormous inspiration in his work: In his 1989 autobiography, \u003cem>Miles\u003c/em>, the legendary trumpeter said that Jamal “knocked me out with his concept of space, his lightness of touch, his understatement, and the way he phrases notes and chords and passages.” Miles went on to record Jamal’s “New Rhumba” on his classic 1957 recording \u003cem>Miles Ahead\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13925776']His contemporary admirers are just as fervent. Pianist Ethan Iverson, a founding member of the exceptionally popular trio The Bad Plus, said, “All of his pieces are theatrical and contained. In some ways the Bad Plus was an extension of his classic trio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pianist Vijay Iyer was just as adamant. “His sense of time is that of a dancer, or a comedian. His left hand stays focused, and his right hand is always in motion, interacting with, leaning on, and shading the pulse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He bends any song to his will, always open to the moment and always pushing the boundaries, willing to override whatever old chestnut he’s playing in search of something profoundly alive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh on July 2, 1930. When he was 3 years old, his uncle challenged him to duplicate what he was playing on the piano, and the youngster actually could. He began formal studies of the piano at the age of 7 and quickly took on an advanced curriculum. He told Eugene Holley Jr. of \u003cem>Wax Poetics\u003c/em> in a 2018 interview, “I studied Art Tatum, Bach, Beethoven, Count Basie, John Kirby, and Nat Cole. I was studying Liszt. I had to know European and American classical music. My mother was rich in spirit, and she led me to another rich person: my teacher, Mary Cardwell Dawson, who started the first African-American opera company in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmvwCTMO1Lg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal grew up in a Pittsburgh community that was rich in jazz history. His neighbors included the legendary pianists Earl Hines, Errol Garner and Mary Lou Williams. As a youth, Jamal delivered newspapers to the household of Billy Strayhorn. When Jamal began his professional career at the age of 14, Art Tatum, an early titan of the keyboard, proclaimed him “a coming great.” During a tour stop in Detroit, Jamal, who was born to Baptist parents, converted to Islam and changed his name. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His fluency in European classical music — Jamal disdained the term jazz, preferring American classical music as a descriptor for his work — was a highlight of his style. In a 2001 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> article, Ben Waltzer, a pianist and curriculum director at the University of Chicago, noted, “when we listen to his music, fragments from Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ mingle with the blues, standard songs, melodic catch-phrases from bebop, and the ‘Marseillaise.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This may not seem remarkable today, when most jazz musicians are conservatory-trained and well versed in art music, from Louis Armstrong to Iannis Xenakis and from Laurie Anderson to John Zorn. But Jamal was a youth when there were significant barriers to African Americans entering the academy. “In Pittsburgh, we didn’t separate the two schools,” he told Waltzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s style went well beyond a diverse range of source material; he expanded the borders and depth of improvisation. “Jazz improvisation is generally understood as a narrative melodic line composed spontaneously in relation to a song’s harmonic structure,” wrote Waltzer. “Jamal broadened this concept by using recurring riffs, vamps and ostinatos — tropes of big-band jazz that were employed as background accompaniment for featured instrumentalists — not just to frame solos, as many musicians did, but as the stuff of improvisation itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMOVImLMq_A\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early and mid-’50s, Jamal led various trios and quartets, before settling into a trio setting with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. In 1958, they released the landmark jazz recording, \u003cem>At The Pershing: But Not For Me\u003c/em>. It is one of the most popular and influential recordings in jazz history. It stayed on the \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> Top 200 album chart for an astounding 108 weeks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIW0bRcV6Ic\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iverson said of the title track, “The classic Jamal Trio with Crosby and Fournier is one of the greatest groups of all time. ‘But Not For Me’ is a perfect three minutes. Literally perfect. There’s nothing better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio’s version of “Poinciana” sparked the popularity of the recording, and it became a signature tune for Jamal. He told \u003cem>Wax Poetics\u003c/em>, “It was a combination of things: Israel Crosby’s lines, what I was playing, and Vernel—if you listen to his work on “Poinciana,” you’d think it was two drummers!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0e2G32f3IU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal visited Africa in 1959. Upon his return to Chicago, he had a failed venture as a club owner, then took a hiatus from recording in the early ’60s. By the middle of the decade, he’d resumed recording and touring. His 1969 album, \u003cem>The Awakening\u003c/em>, was widely hailed for its rendering of jazz standards and originals. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpwxyQh2ZdA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His music was found in the soundtracks of movies like \u003cem>M*A*S*H\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Bridges of Madison County\u003c/em>. In a 1985 episode of NPR’s\u003cem> Piano Jazz\u003c/em>, Jamal told host and fellow piano legend Marian McPartland that his favorite recording was “the next one.” Then he allowed that the \u003cem>Pershing\u003c/em> “was close to perfection.” He also said that he continued to focus on ballads. “They are difficult to play,” he told her, “it takes years of living to read them properly.” In 1994, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued making stellar recordings into the past decade. His 2017 release, \u003cem>Marseille\u003c/em>, was noted in the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j2YWdiaBa4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recording featured all of the hallmarks that made Jamal a great pianist and bandleader, and the drummer Herlin Riley, like Fournier, was from New Orleans. It prompted Iyer to note that Jamal’s lineage of New Orleanian drummers — Fournier, Idris Muhammad and Riley — suggests rhythm as a ritual or cultural cornerstone. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s work continued to impress other pianists. In 2014 Matthew Shipp told NPR’s Karen Michel, “His imagination is so deep. One of the joys of listening to him is to see how his fertile imagination interacts with the material he does pick and recombines it into a musical entity that we’ve never heard. I mean, he is a musical architect of the highest order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waltzer added, “innovation in jazz can be subtle. Rather than reaching outward to create an overtly revolutionary sound, Mr. Jamal explored the inner workings of the small ensemble to control, shape and dramatize his music.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Ahmad+Jamal%2C+measured+maestro+of+the+jazz+piano%2C+dies+at+92&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>His contemporary admirers are just as fervent. Pianist Ethan Iverson, a founding member of the exceptionally popular trio The Bad Plus, said, “All of his pieces are theatrical and contained. In some ways the Bad Plus was an extension of his classic trio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pianist Vijay Iyer was just as adamant. “His sense of time is that of a dancer, or a comedian. His left hand stays focused, and his right hand is always in motion, interacting with, leaning on, and shading the pulse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He bends any song to his will, always open to the moment and always pushing the boundaries, willing to override whatever old chestnut he’s playing in search of something profoundly alive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal was born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh on July 2, 1930. When he was 3 years old, his uncle challenged him to duplicate what he was playing on the piano, and the youngster actually could. He began formal studies of the piano at the age of 7 and quickly took on an advanced curriculum. He told Eugene Holley Jr. of \u003cem>Wax Poetics\u003c/em> in a 2018 interview, “I studied Art Tatum, Bach, Beethoven, Count Basie, John Kirby, and Nat Cole. I was studying Liszt. I had to know European and American classical music. My mother was rich in spirit, and she led me to another rich person: my teacher, Mary Cardwell Dawson, who started the first African-American opera company in the country.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZmvwCTMO1Lg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ZmvwCTMO1Lg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Jamal grew up in a Pittsburgh community that was rich in jazz history. His neighbors included the legendary pianists Earl Hines, Errol Garner and Mary Lou Williams. As a youth, Jamal delivered newspapers to the household of Billy Strayhorn. When Jamal began his professional career at the age of 14, Art Tatum, an early titan of the keyboard, proclaimed him “a coming great.” During a tour stop in Detroit, Jamal, who was born to Baptist parents, converted to Islam and changed his name. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His fluency in European classical music — Jamal disdained the term jazz, preferring American classical music as a descriptor for his work — was a highlight of his style. In a 2001 \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em> article, Ben Waltzer, a pianist and curriculum director at the University of Chicago, noted, “when we listen to his music, fragments from Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ mingle with the blues, standard songs, melodic catch-phrases from bebop, and the ‘Marseillaise.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This may not seem remarkable today, when most jazz musicians are conservatory-trained and well versed in art music, from Louis Armstrong to Iannis Xenakis and from Laurie Anderson to John Zorn. But Jamal was a youth when there were significant barriers to African Americans entering the academy. “In Pittsburgh, we didn’t separate the two schools,” he told Waltzer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s style went well beyond a diverse range of source material; he expanded the borders and depth of improvisation. “Jazz improvisation is generally understood as a narrative melodic line composed spontaneously in relation to a song’s harmonic structure,” wrote Waltzer. “Jamal broadened this concept by using recurring riffs, vamps and ostinatos — tropes of big-band jazz that were employed as background accompaniment for featured instrumentalists — not just to frame solos, as many musicians did, but as the stuff of improvisation itself.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/pMOVImLMq_A'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pMOVImLMq_A'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the early and mid-’50s, Jamal led various trios and quartets, before settling into a trio setting with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer Vernel Fournier. In 1958, they released the landmark jazz recording, \u003cem>At The Pershing: But Not For Me\u003c/em>. It is one of the most popular and influential recordings in jazz history. It stayed on the \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> Top 200 album chart for an astounding 108 weeks. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/WIW0bRcV6Ic'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/WIW0bRcV6Ic'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Iverson said of the title track, “The classic Jamal Trio with Crosby and Fournier is one of the greatest groups of all time. ‘But Not For Me’ is a perfect three minutes. Literally perfect. There’s nothing better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trio’s version of “Poinciana” sparked the popularity of the recording, and it became a signature tune for Jamal. He told \u003cem>Wax Poetics\u003c/em>, “It was a combination of things: Israel Crosby’s lines, what I was playing, and Vernel—if you listen to his work on “Poinciana,” you’d think it was two drummers!”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z0e2G32f3IU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Z0e2G32f3IU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Jamal visited Africa in 1959. Upon his return to Chicago, he had a failed venture as a club owner, then took a hiatus from recording in the early ’60s. By the middle of the decade, he’d resumed recording and touring. His 1969 album, \u003cem>The Awakening\u003c/em>, was widely hailed for its rendering of jazz standards and originals. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zpwxyQh2ZdA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zpwxyQh2ZdA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>His music was found in the soundtracks of movies like \u003cem>M*A*S*H\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Bridges of Madison County\u003c/em>. In a 1985 episode of NPR’s\u003cem> Piano Jazz\u003c/em>, Jamal told host and fellow piano legend Marian McPartland that his favorite recording was “the next one.” Then he allowed that the \u003cem>Pershing\u003c/em> “was close to perfection.” He also said that he continued to focus on ballads. “They are difficult to play,” he told her, “it takes years of living to read them properly.” In 1994, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He continued making stellar recordings into the past decade. His 2017 release, \u003cem>Marseille\u003c/em>, was noted in the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. \u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/-j2YWdiaBa4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-j2YWdiaBa4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The recording featured all of the hallmarks that made Jamal a great pianist and bandleader, and the drummer Herlin Riley, like Fournier, was from New Orleans. It prompted Iyer to note that Jamal’s lineage of New Orleanian drummers — Fournier, Idris Muhammad and Riley — suggests rhythm as a ritual or cultural cornerstone. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamal’s work continued to impress other pianists. In 2014 Matthew Shipp told NPR’s Karen Michel, “His imagination is so deep. One of the joys of listening to him is to see how his fertile imagination interacts with the material he does pick and recombines it into a musical entity that we’ve never heard. I mean, he is a musical architect of the highest order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Waltzer added, “innovation in jazz can be subtle. Rather than reaching outward to create an overtly revolutionary sound, Mr. Jamal explored the inner workings of the small ensemble to control, shape and dramatize his music.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Ahmad+Jamal%2C+measured+maestro+of+the+jazz+piano%2C+dies+at+92&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Metallica Says New Album ‘72 Seasons’ Is ‘Dark’ and ‘Taboo’ as Ever",
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"headTitle": "Metallica Says New Album ‘72 Seasons’ Is ‘Dark’ and ‘Taboo’ as Ever | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Zoom has been credited for keeping students and teachers connected, the judicial system working and fitness classes jumping. You can add a Metallica album to that list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hard rockers met weekly over their computers to stay connected during the pandemic, a standing get-together that eventually became a songwriting factory. The first step was an acoustic version of their song “Blackened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It proved to us that, yes, we can at least do something remotely while we’re all still separated,” says guitarist Kirk Hammett. “That grew into trying to get riffs together for the new album though Zoom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six or seven of those song sketches ended up on \u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em>, the band’s 12th full-length album, out Friday. It’s the sound of a band not slowing down, despite singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich turning 60 this year and Hammett already on the other side of that milestone. Bassist Robert Trujillo is the baby, at just 58.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927741\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling man with long braids, dressed in all black, onstage playing a bass.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robert Trujillo at the Global Citizen Festival in New York, September 2022. \u003ccite>(ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It ended up working really fantastic,” says Hetfield. “I know what we do. I know what we do best. I know what we’ve done before. But there’s also an artist in me that wants to keep evolving and trying to do different stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album is a typical Metallica album — fast and furious with superb artistry — and lyrics that poke at the scab of pain and alienation. Yet there are some shoots of hope, as when Hetfield snarls, “Without darkness/ There’s no light.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Darkness is easy to talk about for me. So, so easy. And I wanted to offer a little more light in it,” says Hetfield, who has been frank about his battles with addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13891674']The title refers to the first 18 years of a person’s life and the album explores the cruelty of youth and the dangers of growing up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish I knew then what I know now — you can take that sentence, and apply it to the whole concept of this album,” says Hammett. “It’s a real provocative sort of concept that’s somewhat challenging and somewhat introspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noteworthy is “Screaming Suicide,” with a nasty inner voice taunting the singer. While far from the first time the band has tackled the issue, this time Hetfield drives into it, singing “Don’t ever speak my name/ Remember you’re to blame/ Keep me inside/ My name is suicide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was some delicate territory to navigate. But in the words of Mister Rogers, ‘If it’s a human experience, we should be able to talk about it,’” says Hetfield. “I’ve had those thoughts. Who hasn’t had those thoughts? If you say you haven’t, maybe you’re fooling yourself a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927742\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927742\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-800x797.png\" alt=\"A yellow album cover depicting the charred remains of a broken crib surrounded by broken toys and musical instruments.\" width=\"800\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-800x797.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-1020x1016.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-160x159.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-768x765.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM.png 1052w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Metallica’s ‘72 Seasons.’ \u003ccite>(Rhino/ Blackened Recordings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hammett is full of admiration for Hetfield’s lyrics and hopes the songs can help listeners get a better understanding of themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The topics are dark. The topics are taboo. But what he’s doing is shining light on them. He’s bringing awareness to them and saying this is a real issue that people need to deal with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em> also sees Hetfield experimenting with vocal effects and styles, like ghostlike chanting on “You Must Burn!” and an almost languid, glam vibe on “Crown of Barbed Wire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as vocals go, I really wanted to just explore some different stuff. I have a fear that all the songs kind of end up sounding the same. So I like giving them a little more character with different things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13875915']Another change is that on \u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em>, Hammett and Trujillo were given writing credits on more than half the album, a return to the way previous albums came together, like “Death Magnetic” and “St. Anger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All four guys were on the floor when we were writing, which is new for us. Usually it’s just Lars and I sitting out there hashing it out. It felt really great to have the energy of all four,” says Hetfield. “There’s a lot more democracy on this album. Lars and I gave up the steering wheel a little more than usual.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hammett agrees: “It was much more collaborative. The attitude was just more open. There is less limitations on everyone’s creativity and I think that shows.” His favorite song and riff on the album were supplied by Trujillo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band has lately gotten a popular bounce from TV show \u003cem>Stranger Things\u003c/em>. In the season four finale, fan-favorite character Eddie Munson heroically rocks out to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down, a sequence Hammett calls “the Metallica music video that was never made.” The song even reached No. 40 the Billboard Hot 100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003cem>Stranger Things\u003c/em> definitely took ‘Master of Puppets’ to another level and it feels like fans of ours that maybe grew up with this are now in positions of power,” says Hetfield. “You know, it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m a fan of Metallica. Why can’t we put this in there?’ So I’m super-grateful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927739\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927739\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A white man sits at a large drum kit, his mouth open in a scream, his drumsticks raised at his sides.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lars Ulrich performing with Metallica in Los Angeles, December 2022. \u003ccite>(Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album closes with “Inamorata,” a sprawling song that uncoils with snarling riffs as Hetfield sings, “Misery, she needs me/ Oh, but I need her more.” It clocks in at 11:10, making it one of Metallica’s longest songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hate long songs. I really do. I try to write shorter songs and Lars keeps making them longer. And that’s our kind of constant battle,” says Hetfield, who is a fan of Motörhead, Misfits and the Ramones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13848271']“I’m never concerned about what the number is at the end of the song as long as it does its purpose,” he adds. “We’re not out to prove anything and we’re not out to set records like, ‘Hey, this is our longest song ever. How great!’ You know, there’s no mission there whatsoever. The song wrote itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans may hope to hear many of the new songs on the band’s upcoming European and North American stadium tour but not everyone will have the same experience. Metallica plans to hit cities with two concerts per stop and promise two completely different setlists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We kind of need to be challenged because we’ve been playing these songs for so long and we need to change them around to still make them interesting and fun for us,” says Hammett. Hetfield agrees: “It’s fun for us and hopefully fun for the fans. And if they want to come to both shows, that would be fantastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 AP. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/\">visit AP\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Metallica’s ‘72 Seasons’ is out April 14, 2023. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Zoom has been credited for keeping students and teachers connected, the judicial system working and fitness classes jumping. You can add a Metallica album to that list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hard rockers met weekly over their computers to stay connected during the pandemic, a standing get-together that eventually became a songwriting factory. The first step was an acoustic version of their song “Blackened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It proved to us that, yes, we can at least do something remotely while we’re all still separated,” says guitarist Kirk Hammett. “That grew into trying to get riffs together for the new album though Zoom.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Six or seven of those song sketches ended up on \u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em>, the band’s 12th full-length album, out Friday. It’s the sound of a band not slowing down, despite singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich turning 60 this year and Hammett already on the other side of that milestone. Bassist Robert Trujillo is the baby, at just 58.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927741\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927741\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling man with long braids, dressed in all black, onstage playing a bass.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1243490028-1-scaled-e1681409022822.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Robert Trujillo at the Global Citizen Festival in New York, September 2022. \u003ccite>(ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It ended up working really fantastic,” says Hetfield. “I know what we do. I know what we do best. I know what we’ve done before. But there’s also an artist in me that wants to keep evolving and trying to do different stuff.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album is a typical Metallica album — fast and furious with superb artistry — and lyrics that poke at the scab of pain and alienation. Yet there are some shoots of hope, as when Hetfield snarls, “Without darkness/ There’s no light.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Darkness is easy to talk about for me. So, so easy. And I wanted to offer a little more light in it,” says Hetfield, who has been frank about his battles with addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The title refers to the first 18 years of a person’s life and the album explores the cruelty of youth and the dangers of growing up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish I knew then what I know now — you can take that sentence, and apply it to the whole concept of this album,” says Hammett. “It’s a real provocative sort of concept that’s somewhat challenging and somewhat introspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noteworthy is “Screaming Suicide,” with a nasty inner voice taunting the singer. While far from the first time the band has tackled the issue, this time Hetfield drives into it, singing “Don’t ever speak my name/ Remember you’re to blame/ Keep me inside/ My name is suicide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was some delicate territory to navigate. But in the words of Mister Rogers, ‘If it’s a human experience, we should be able to talk about it,’” says Hetfield. “I’ve had those thoughts. Who hasn’t had those thoughts? If you say you haven’t, maybe you’re fooling yourself a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927742\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927742\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-800x797.png\" alt=\"A yellow album cover depicting the charred remains of a broken crib surrounded by broken toys and musical instruments.\" width=\"800\" height=\"797\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-800x797.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-1020x1016.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-160x159.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM-768x765.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-13-at-11.06.45-AM.png 1052w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Metallica’s ‘72 Seasons.’ \u003ccite>(Rhino/ Blackened Recordings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hammett is full of admiration for Hetfield’s lyrics and hopes the songs can help listeners get a better understanding of themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The topics are dark. The topics are taboo. But what he’s doing is shining light on them. He’s bringing awareness to them and saying this is a real issue that people need to deal with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em> also sees Hetfield experimenting with vocal effects and styles, like ghostlike chanting on “You Must Burn!” and an almost languid, glam vibe on “Crown of Barbed Wire.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As far as vocals go, I really wanted to just explore some different stuff. I have a fear that all the songs kind of end up sounding the same. So I like giving them a little more character with different things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Another change is that on \u003cem>72 Seasons\u003c/em>, Hammett and Trujillo were given writing credits on more than half the album, a return to the way previous albums came together, like “Death Magnetic” and “St. Anger.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All four guys were on the floor when we were writing, which is new for us. Usually it’s just Lars and I sitting out there hashing it out. It felt really great to have the energy of all four,” says Hetfield. “There’s a lot more democracy on this album. Lars and I gave up the steering wheel a little more than usual.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hammett agrees: “It was much more collaborative. The attitude was just more open. There is less limitations on everyone’s creativity and I think that shows.” His favorite song and riff on the album were supplied by Trujillo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The band has lately gotten a popular bounce from TV show \u003cem>Stranger Things\u003c/em>. In the season four finale, fan-favorite character Eddie Munson heroically rocks out to Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” in the Upside Down, a sequence Hammett calls “the Metallica music video that was never made.” The song even reached No. 40 the Billboard Hot 100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003cem>Stranger Things\u003c/em> definitely took ‘Master of Puppets’ to another level and it feels like fans of ours that maybe grew up with this are now in positions of power,” says Hetfield. “You know, it’s like, ‘Hey, I’m a fan of Metallica. Why can’t we put this in there?’ So I’m super-grateful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927739\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927739\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A white man sits at a large drum kit, his mouth open in a scream, his drumsticks raised at his sides.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1449774458-scaled-e1681408100103.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lars Ulrich performing with Metallica in Los Angeles, December 2022. \u003ccite>(Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album closes with “Inamorata,” a sprawling song that uncoils with snarling riffs as Hetfield sings, “Misery, she needs me/ Oh, but I need her more.” It clocks in at 11:10, making it one of Metallica’s longest songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hate long songs. I really do. I try to write shorter songs and Lars keeps making them longer. And that’s our kind of constant battle,” says Hetfield, who is a fan of Motörhead, Misfits and the Ramones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’m never concerned about what the number is at the end of the song as long as it does its purpose,” he adds. “We’re not out to prove anything and we’re not out to set records like, ‘Hey, this is our longest song ever. How great!’ You know, there’s no mission there whatsoever. The song wrote itself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans may hope to hear many of the new songs on the band’s upcoming European and North American stadium tour but not everyone will have the same experience. Metallica plans to hit cities with two concerts per stop and promise two completely different setlists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We kind of need to be challenged because we’ve been playing these songs for so long and we need to change them around to still make them interesting and fun for us,” says Hammett. Hetfield agrees: “It’s fun for us and hopefully fun for the fans. And if they want to come to both shows, that would be fantastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 AP. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/\">visit AP\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Metallica’s ‘72 Seasons’ is out April 14, 2023. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "del-funky-homosapien-no-need-for-alarm-30-years-anniversary",
"title": "Looking Back on My Album ‘No Need for Alarm,’ 30 Years Later",
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"headTitle": "Looking Back on My Album ‘No Need for Alarm,’ 30 Years Later | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 792px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927684\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DEL.GIF.Horiz_.USE_.gif\" alt=\"a record cover cycles in and out of the background where its original cover photo was shot, showing a pagoda and victorian houses\" width=\"792\" height=\"565\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Released Nov. 23, 1993, Del the Funky Homosapien’s ‘No Need for Alarm’ is shown at the original location of its cover photo, in Chinese Garden Park at Alice and 7th Streets in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Photos by Beth LaBerge/KQED; animation by Bryan Bindloss/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Del the Funky Homosapien’s sophomore album \u003c/em>No Need For Alarm\u003cem> is a Bay Area classic that proved his uncompromising skill and helped establish the Hieroglyphics collective nationally as a creative force. Here, from an interview condensed for length and clarity, Del, a.k.a. Teren Delvon Jones, recalls the circumstances of the album’s recording, artwork and reception.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>As told to\u003c/strong>: Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen I was making \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>, I was in a dark space. I had a lot of issues growing up. I don’t think I was aware of it then, but looking back, I was in an angsty space. I was dealing with issues of abuse, being different from everybody, pretty much being a loner except for people that was into the culture I was, which was not that many. I appreciated the camaraderie that I had, too, don’t get me wrong. But yeah, I had an attitude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had come out with my first album, \u003cem>I Wish My Brother George Was Here\u003c/em>, which I made with Ice Cube — he’s my cousin. And the response from a lot of heads was not at all what I expected. It wasn’t celebratory. It was more like, “OK, you’re selling out. Why’re you rappin’ over P-Funk shit?” So, that caused me to be, like, “All right, I’m just going all in this time, just to show motherfuckers what I really be on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I think that hurt Cube — I think he was like, “OK, well, damn, you didn’t like the first album?” I’m like, “Nah, nah, I like it, but, you know…” It was just that, from my little social network, I wasn’t getting the love that I thought I was going to get. It was the opposite. Because motherfuckers already done heard all my demos and shit. They knew how wild I could get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927683\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927683\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a baseball cap, sunglasses, nose ring and sweatshirt holds a microphone out to the crowd\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del the Funky Homosapien onstage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Feb. 22, 1992, the year before ‘No Need for Alarm.’ \u003ccite>(Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So that’s what I did for \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>. I’m a battle rapper by nature. That’s what I really do. It was limited on the first album. And that was probably a wise decision, because a lot of people can’t understand that shit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was in transition. I was couch-surfing for a minute, living with different people, roommating. In ’93, I ended up living in New York mixing the album, doing whatever I needed to do for the album, so I had a little flat in New York that I was staying out of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13923766']Before mixing in New York, though, we recorded at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, with Matt Kelly. Matt Kelly is one of my mentors. He really showed me how to mix, he showed me how to be able to listen to the mix, how to work the equipment in the studio. When I had questions, he would answer my questions and really fuck with me. He took me under his wing and showed me a lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people write in the studio. We were more self-reliant — we had songs done before we even hit the studio. Nine times out of 10 when we hit the studio, we’re there to record the shit and get it done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our time outside the studio, though, that would be when we were smoking and drinking, making beats, selecting shit. Motherfuckers might bring records over, I’d be like, “Ooh, what’s this?” Be like, “Ooh, okay. We’ll use that real quick.” I might be at Opio’s house with A-Plus, Tajai might be there, we might be listening to records. His stepfather had a great collection of records, so we’d just be in his office, listening to records, getting ideas, maybe watching anime or something, playing video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927690\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927690\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"a young man in a superman t-shirt smokes in a park\" width=\"600\" height=\"840\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi-160x224.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del: ‘One of my favorite songs from around that time, ‘Pistol Whippers,’ it didn’t even make the album. I was proud of the production on that one. I just thought that beat was hella crazy.’ \u003ccite>(Carl Posey / Elektra Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album came out and Elektra Records loved it. I don’t know if Cube loved it, but Elektra was fully supportive. And Dante Ross was my dog over there — he’s part of the culture, so he felt it. I was with Sophia Chang too, she was A&R over at Jive Records, and got Souls of Mischief and Casual on the label there. She ended up leaving, but I still was good friends with her. So when I was in New York, I would never be at my little flat. A lot of the time I’d either be at Dante’s crib, or Sophia’s crib, or over at Kurious Jorge’s crib.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I appreciated their friendship and the encouragement, because like I said, I was in a dark place. I don’t even think I really believed in my shit like that, but Sophia and Dante really backed it, especially Sophia. I appreciated her taste because she fucked with Wu-Tang, she knew what was up. So it was big for her to be like, “Nah, this really is tight. Go forward.” Even when Cube was like, “Whatever, man, if you wanna do what you wanna to do, go ahead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spcKBTfjW1M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I will say this, there’s some things I said about women on that album that I’m not too proud of. I was a kid, but no excuses. I said some shit about white people on there that I’m not too proud of. I don’t really feel like that. Like I said, I have my issues — and, I’m Black, growing up in that era, so it was different. I think people that heard it understood where I was coming from, too, because I wasn’t trying to be malicious, necessarily. I was just letting it spill out, whatever the fuck it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland had crack going on and the high murder rate, which affected me, but I didn’t wanna rap about that shit. For me, hip-hop was like how it was for motherfuckers in the Bronx, like Ultramagnetic MCs. I done talked to Kool Keith, and he was like, “You might come home and see a hand in the mailbox, or your next-door neighbor might have a gorilla in this house.” Just wild shit. Because if you’ve got dope money, you might be trying to floss, maybe you might get a tiger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ultramag, they’re trying to escape that shit. They’re like, “Man, why I wanna rap about gangster shit? I don’t wanna rap about that shit.” So, that’s how I was. It did affect me, but hip-hop gave me a vehicle to escape it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927688\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927688\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"a red pagoda in a park, with victorian houses in the background\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The pagoda at Chinese Garden Park in Oakland, where the ‘No Need for Alarm’ cover photo was shot. Photographer Carl Posey recalls of the location: “The idea was to take people out of their typical element, and try something different.” \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album cover was shot by Carl Posey. The pagoda, you know, I love all kind of different cultures, and that just spoke to me, the structure and how it looked. Maybe since I was into anime and shit, martial arts, that might’ve had a slight thing to do with it too. But I just like Chinatown too, you feel me?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13924167']We shot at the pagoda, then I picked this other spot that’s an underpass over by Lake Merritt, by the college. These are places that I liked to go to at night, because I was like, a street kid. I might not have had a place to go sometimes, so I’d just be out at night, tripping or whatever, in some of the places that I like to be at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We did a comic book design for the cover. That was my idea. I was into Marvel and DC, but I was also heavy into underground comics. Vaughn Bodē, Mark Bodē, \u003cem>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\u003c/em>, all that shit was starting to come out and really bust the bubble. I did the lettering too. I’m a visual artist first and foremost, so I already had an artistic vision. Elektra was just gracious enough to let me go with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927691\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927691\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a bucket hat sitting in a concrete culvert holds his hands out toward the camera\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del the Funky Homosapien in Oakland, in 1993, in a publicity photo for ‘No Need for Alarm.’ ‘I think, looking back, Cube feels like, ‘Okay, you really did your thing. You didn’t try to ride my coattails. You did your thing and you became successful for that.’ I think he respects that now.’ \u003ccite>(Carl Posey / Elektra Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Man, I wish I still had that boombox I’m holding on the cover. I’d be playing all the classics on it. I was a huge Gang Starr fan. Ultramag, Erick Sermon, Jungle Brothers, De La, KMD, Brand Nubian. I also might be fucking with some dub, too, some King Tubby or Scratch Perry. I’d listen to dancehall too, and a bit of punk rock, like Black Flag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was 20 when I recorded \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>. I’m 50 now. I don’t feel 50, because I don’t drive. I skate everywhere. In certain ways I feel my age because of some of the injuries I’ve had, like when I was with the Gorillaz, I had a real bad injury, fell off the stage, damn near killed myself. But I don’t feel like I look hella old, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop is 50 now, too, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s so far removed from where it was. The essence of it is so far removed from where kids is at now. I’m not saying that don’t nobody care about it, because a lot of kids do care about it, and they try to research the shit and figure it out. It speaks to them. But it’s been commercialized to the point where it’s been milked down by corporate society, motherfuckers feasting on shit, just wearing it into the ground. That’s the sad situation of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not trying to sound hella dark or nothing, because I do got a lot of hope in the shit. There’s been new movements within hip-hop that took it somewhere else, that maybe a lot of old heads might not really fuck with. But I feel, overall, just the corporate rule, always, that’s what it is — “We trying to make money off this.” Ain’t really no concern about the culture or people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>, I’m just glad people still fuck with it, 30 years later. One love to all the supporters and all the fans. I love you all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-800x60.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927684\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 792px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927684\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DEL.GIF.Horiz_.USE_.gif\" alt=\"a record cover cycles in and out of the background where its original cover photo was shot, showing a pagoda and victorian houses\" width=\"792\" height=\"565\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Released Nov. 23, 1993, Del the Funky Homosapien’s ‘No Need for Alarm’ is shown at the original location of its cover photo, in Chinese Garden Park at Alice and 7th Streets in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Photos by Beth LaBerge/KQED; animation by Bryan Bindloss/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Del the Funky Homosapien’s sophomore album \u003c/em>No Need For Alarm\u003cem> is a Bay Area classic that proved his uncompromising skill and helped establish the Hieroglyphics collective nationally as a creative force. Here, from an interview condensed for length and clarity, Del, a.k.a. Teren Delvon Jones, recalls the circumstances of the album’s recording, artwork and reception.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>As told to\u003c/strong>: Gabe Meline\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">W\u003c/span>hen I was making \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>, I was in a dark space. I had a lot of issues growing up. I don’t think I was aware of it then, but looking back, I was in an angsty space. I was dealing with issues of abuse, being different from everybody, pretty much being a loner except for people that was into the culture I was, which was not that many. I appreciated the camaraderie that I had, too, don’t get me wrong. But yeah, I had an attitude.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had come out with my first album, \u003cem>I Wish My Brother George Was Here\u003c/em>, which I made with Ice Cube — he’s my cousin. And the response from a lot of heads was not at all what I expected. It wasn’t celebratory. It was more like, “OK, you’re selling out. Why’re you rappin’ over P-Funk shit?” So, that caused me to be, like, “All right, I’m just going all in this time, just to show motherfuckers what I really be on.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I think that hurt Cube — I think he was like, “OK, well, damn, you didn’t like the first album?” I’m like, “Nah, nah, I like it, but, you know…” It was just that, from my little social network, I wasn’t getting the love that I thought I was going to get. It was the opposite. Because motherfuckers already done heard all my demos and shit. They knew how wild I could get.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927683\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927683\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a baseball cap, sunglasses, nose ring and sweatshirt holds a microphone out to the crowd\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.ApolloTheater.1992.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del the Funky Homosapien onstage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem on Feb. 22, 1992, the year before ‘No Need for Alarm.’ \u003ccite>(Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So that’s what I did for \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>. I’m a battle rapper by nature. That’s what I really do. It was limited on the first album. And that was probably a wise decision, because a lot of people can’t understand that shit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was in transition. I was couch-surfing for a minute, living with different people, roommating. In ’93, I ended up living in New York mixing the album, doing whatever I needed to do for the album, so I had a little flat in New York that I was staying out of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Before mixing in New York, though, we recorded at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, with Matt Kelly. Matt Kelly is one of my mentors. He really showed me how to mix, he showed me how to be able to listen to the mix, how to work the equipment in the studio. When I had questions, he would answer my questions and really fuck with me. He took me under his wing and showed me a lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some people write in the studio. We were more self-reliant — we had songs done before we even hit the studio. Nine times out of 10 when we hit the studio, we’re there to record the shit and get it done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our time outside the studio, though, that would be when we were smoking and drinking, making beats, selecting shit. Motherfuckers might bring records over, I’d be like, “Ooh, what’s this?” Be like, “Ooh, okay. We’ll use that real quick.” I might be at Opio’s house with A-Plus, Tajai might be there, we might be listening to records. His stepfather had a great collection of records, so we’d just be in his office, listening to records, getting ideas, maybe watching anime or something, playing video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927690\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927690\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"a young man in a superman t-shirt smokes in a park\" width=\"600\" height=\"840\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.BackCover.600.72dpi-160x224.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del: ‘One of my favorite songs from around that time, ‘Pistol Whippers,’ it didn’t even make the album. I was proud of the production on that one. I just thought that beat was hella crazy.’ \u003ccite>(Carl Posey / Elektra Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album came out and Elektra Records loved it. I don’t know if Cube loved it, but Elektra was fully supportive. And Dante Ross was my dog over there — he’s part of the culture, so he felt it. I was with Sophia Chang too, she was A&R over at Jive Records, and got Souls of Mischief and Casual on the label there. She ended up leaving, but I still was good friends with her. So when I was in New York, I would never be at my little flat. A lot of the time I’d either be at Dante’s crib, or Sophia’s crib, or over at Kurious Jorge’s crib.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I appreciated their friendship and the encouragement, because like I said, I was in a dark place. I don’t even think I really believed in my shit like that, but Sophia and Dante really backed it, especially Sophia. I appreciated her taste because she fucked with Wu-Tang, she knew what was up. So it was big for her to be like, “Nah, this really is tight. Go forward.” Even when Cube was like, “Whatever, man, if you wanna do what you wanna to do, go ahead.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/spcKBTfjW1M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/spcKBTfjW1M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>I will say this, there’s some things I said about women on that album that I’m not too proud of. I was a kid, but no excuses. I said some shit about white people on there that I’m not too proud of. I don’t really feel like that. Like I said, I have my issues — and, I’m Black, growing up in that era, so it was different. I think people that heard it understood where I was coming from, too, because I wasn’t trying to be malicious, necessarily. I was just letting it spill out, whatever the fuck it was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland had crack going on and the high murder rate, which affected me, but I didn’t wanna rap about that shit. For me, hip-hop was like how it was for motherfuckers in the Bronx, like Ultramagnetic MCs. I done talked to Kool Keith, and he was like, “You might come home and see a hand in the mailbox, or your next-door neighbor might have a gorilla in this house.” Just wild shit. Because if you’ve got dope money, you might be trying to floss, maybe you might get a tiger.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ultramag, they’re trying to escape that shit. They’re like, “Man, why I wanna rap about gangster shit? I don’t wanna rap about that shit.” So, that’s how I was. It did affect me, but hip-hop gave me a vehicle to escape it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927688\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927688\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"a red pagoda in a park, with victorian houses in the background\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.Square.NoLP_.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The pagoda at Chinese Garden Park in Oakland, where the ‘No Need for Alarm’ cover photo was shot. Photographer Carl Posey recalls of the location: “The idea was to take people out of their typical element, and try something different.” \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The album cover was shot by Carl Posey. The pagoda, you know, I love all kind of different cultures, and that just spoke to me, the structure and how it looked. Maybe since I was into anime and shit, martial arts, that might’ve had a slight thing to do with it too. But I just like Chinatown too, you feel me?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>We shot at the pagoda, then I picked this other spot that’s an underpass over by Lake Merritt, by the college. These are places that I liked to go to at night, because I was like, a street kid. I might not have had a place to go sometimes, so I’d just be out at night, tripping or whatever, in some of the places that I like to be at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We did a comic book design for the cover. That was my idea. I was into Marvel and DC, but I was also heavy into underground comics. Vaughn Bodē, Mark Bodē, \u003cem>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\u003c/em>, all that shit was starting to come out and really bust the bubble. I did the lettering too. I’m a visual artist first and foremost, so I already had an artistic vision. Elektra was just gracious enough to let me go with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927691\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927691\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a bucket hat sitting in a concrete culvert holds his hands out toward the camera\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Del.PressPhoto.93.800.72dpi-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Del the Funky Homosapien in Oakland, in 1993, in a publicity photo for ‘No Need for Alarm.’ ‘I think, looking back, Cube feels like, ‘Okay, you really did your thing. You didn’t try to ride my coattails. You did your thing and you became successful for that.’ I think he respects that now.’ \u003ccite>(Carl Posey / Elektra Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Man, I wish I still had that boombox I’m holding on the cover. I’d be playing all the classics on it. I was a huge Gang Starr fan. Ultramag, Erick Sermon, Jungle Brothers, De La, KMD, Brand Nubian. I also might be fucking with some dub, too, some King Tubby or Scratch Perry. I’d listen to dancehall too, and a bit of punk rock, like Black Flag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was 20 when I recorded \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>. I’m 50 now. I don’t feel 50, because I don’t drive. I skate everywhere. In certain ways I feel my age because of some of the injuries I’ve had, like when I was with the Gorillaz, I had a real bad injury, fell off the stage, damn near killed myself. But I don’t feel like I look hella old, either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop is 50 now, too, and it’s gotten to the point where it’s so far removed from where it was. The essence of it is so far removed from where kids is at now. I’m not saying that don’t nobody care about it, because a lot of kids do care about it, and they try to research the shit and figure it out. It speaks to them. But it’s been commercialized to the point where it’s been milked down by corporate society, motherfuckers feasting on shit, just wearing it into the ground. That’s the sad situation of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m not trying to sound hella dark or nothing, because I do got a lot of hope in the shit. There’s been new movements within hip-hop that took it somewhere else, that maybe a lot of old heads might not really fuck with. But I feel, overall, just the corporate rule, always, that’s what it is — “We trying to make money off this.” Ain’t really no concern about the culture or people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for \u003cem>No Need for Alarm\u003c/em>, I’m just glad people still fuck with it, 30 years later. One love to all the supporters and all the fans. I love you all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-800x60.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "frisco-daze-san-francisco-rap-album",
"title": "‘Frisco Daze’ Puts on a New Generation of San Francisco Rap",
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"headTitle": "‘Frisco Daze’ Puts on a New Generation of San Francisco Rap | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>At a recent Friday night function just blocks from the Salesforce Tower, there isn’t a Patagonia vest in sight. The evening’s unofficial dress code is orange and black: Giants gear, Jordans, hoops and long lashes. Bass frequencies pump through the speakers, camera phones light up and braids start flying as the room erupts in dance — not the typical vibe of a bar nestled between corporate offices in San Francisco’s Financial District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With gentrification, there are a lot of things that don’t feel like they’re for us,” says Antonio Murcia, a.k.a. DeLaCity, between greeting groups of smiling attendees. “We wanted to create something for the San Francisco natives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3711643683/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That something is the new album \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/friscodaze415/\">\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, a rap compilation featuring 30 up-and-coming artists all born and raised in the City. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/delacity/\">DeLaCity\u003c/a>, who runs a clothing brand of the same name, executive-produced \u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em> with rapper-turned-engineer Mix (Martin Encinas Leon) and DJSay (Von Parker). The three are longtime friends and collaborators: DeLaCity and DJSay co-founded the party crew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/saucefamcollective/\">Sauce Fam Collective\u003c/a> with Chase Collins, and DJSay is also a member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/familynotagroup__/\">Family Not a Group\u003c/a> (FNG), a squad of San Francisco DJs and rappers, 17 members deep. [aside postid='arts_13910221']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to this type of teamwork, San Francisco natives have been making their presence known in a transplant-heavy city where tech is king. Their efforts are clearly resonating: Family Not a Group regularly packs out venues like El Rio and Curio Bar. SOMArts’ acclaimed, recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13926133/muni-raised-me-somarts-san-francisco\">\u003ci>Muni Raised Me\u003c/i> exhibition\u003c/a> — which included art by several FNG and Sauce Fam affiliates — uplifted the stories of working-class, Black, Brown and immigrant San Francisco. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/larry-june-the-alchemist-the-great-escape.html\">Larry June’s national success\u003c/a> is putting a spotlight back on Frisco rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/ORy0slIG-yQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> is just the latest development in this cresting wave of creative momentum. City kids are tired of their voices being drowned out, and they have something to say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s my big mission to highlight the art and culture scene in San Francisco because we were very deprived of that, like before COVID and during COVID,” says DJSay. “And that was the push to be collaborative because — knowing what you’re up against, especially in San Francisco, given the price of rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Produced entirely by Adeyemi, \u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> is pure windows-down party music with a signature, Bay Area slap. DJSay, Mix and DeLaCity conceived its 14 tracks as a journey through a perfect San Francisco day. “Rollin’ Up at Bernal,” which samples Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On (The Dock of the Bay),” shows Professa Gabel, DinaRo, Serg2x, Ozer, Monk HTS and Made.by.Harry trading bars at a smoke spot with a view. “High Speeds N Heem” by OBN Emony and Allmothug is a perfect soundtrack for the corner store run before the house party. “Azul (DemSco)” pays homage to Dominican dembow and San Francisco’s Latin party scene, with verses from JaaayStayTru, Lirico en la Casa and Frisco Baby, whose double-time, bilingual bars sound like they could catch fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/g9QTeGv3QKU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em>’s three executive producers are all in their late 20s and early 30s, and the featured artists range from 18–44 years old. And with samples from San Francisco 1970s Latin soul legends Malo, and the city’s ’90s underground icons like Cold World Hustlers and Paris, “the Black Panther of hip-hop,” the project has an intergenerational appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> might not be conscious rap in terms of lyrical content, but it embodies an activist mission. The album’s three executive producers and many of its artists devote themselves to community work. By day, DeLaCity is a services coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ifrsf.org/rtp?locale=en\">Roadmap to Peace\u003c/a>, a Mission-based Latinx violence prevention initiative. DJSay volunteers with \u003ca href=\"https://www.us4usbayarea.org/\">Us4Us\u003c/a>, an organization with similar goals in Bayview/Hunters Point. And Mix — proudly the first member of his family to go to college — mentors youth at two educational initiatives, the \u003ca href=\"https://thesmartprogram.org/\">SMART Program\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://devmission.org/\">Dev/Mission\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927635\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927635\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-800x585.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man and two young Latino men make an announcement behind DJ gear at a party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-800x585.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-1020x746.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-768x561.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-1536x1123.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945.jpg 1640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJSay, Mix and DeLaCity (left to right) executive produced ‘Frisco Daze.’ \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In other words, DeLaCity, DJSay and Mix don’t just make music about their love for their city — they live it. One of their goals is to inspire San Francisco unity across neighborhoods and cultures. After all, that hasn’t always been the case in the Sucka Free City. In the late ’80s, a neighborhood \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@bayareahiphoparchive/in-conversation-with-black-c-from-rbl-p-81d5909efdd8\">beef between Sunnydale and the Fillmore\u003c/a> resulted in violence. A peaceful period followed when Frisco rap rose to national prominence in the early ’90s, following the success of RBL Posse, I.M.P., Messy Marv and JT the Bigga Figga. But too often, tragedy and incarceration \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/For-S-F-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">derailed the careers of San Francisco’s biggest stars\u003c/a>, and Oakland and Vallejo emerged as more prominent powerhouses of Bay Area rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San Francisco’s biggest problem was that we were always competing against each other, competing for the same space,” says Mix. “And, basically, we were our own worst enemy. And I think what we’re seeing today — and not just with us, but different collectives, different artists, different organizations — we are seeing the result of the mindset changing in the City, and different neighborhoods having peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927636\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-800x1066.jpg\" alt=\"Three young women with matching pink and white Frisco Daze shirts, denim shorts, braids and hoop earrings pose for a photo. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1066\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-800x1066.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">R&B group In Tha Moment contributed vocals and did the skits on ‘Frisco Daze.’ \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With the guidance of mentors like beloved Us4Us founder and \u003ca href=\"https://sfbayview.com/2021/01/uncle-damien-in-action/\">activist Uncle Damien\u003c/a>, who blesses \u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em> on the intro, the next generation is growing up with a different message. “When we were in high school, we had \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/S-F-gang-injunction-zone-controversial-3264233.php\">the gang injunction stuff\u003c/a> going on in the City, and the harsh sentencing that was happening with the D.A. [Kamala Harris] at the time — all of these things impacted a generation,” says Mix. “And now that people are coming out of jail, and people have suffered through so much, they don’t want to repeat that cycle. And it’s being expressed through the music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927638\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396.jpg 1870w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alien Mac Kitty (right) goes dumb to ‘Late Night Hype,’ her ‘Frisco Daze’ track with EaSWay, Afterthought and Real KMS. \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That grassroots push for Frisco unity is picking up momentum just in time for 415 Day on April 15. The \u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> crew is getting ready to celebrate the album with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq3OArMJE8g/\">415 Daze Fest\u003c/a>, with live performances and vendors at Monarch Gardens, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmFmYDJSPg/\">415 Nights\u003c/a> at ArenaSF, the official release party with a headlining performance from Young Bari.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, already, the project is resonating. “Me and Antonio go out on random nights and just have a big ol’ speaker playing the music to see the feedback. People bobbing their heads, asking, ‘What song is that?’ is such a great feeling,” says DJSay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some O.G. that rides a chopper came up,” DeLaCity says, “this gangster-ass dude, was like, ‘What’s that song right there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-800x60.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq3OArMJE8g/\">415 Daze Fest\u003c/a> takes place on April 15, 1-7 p.m., at Monarch Gardens, with food, vendors and performances by Stunnaman02, Allmothug, OBN Emony, Frisco Baby, In tha Moment and more. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Family Not a Group presents \u003ca href=\"https://tockify.com/elriosf2/detail/3089/1681596000000\">It’s a 415 Day Function at El Rio\u003c/a> on April 15, 3-8 p.m. with performances by Stunnaman02, Alien Mac Kitty, Grand-O, Sutro, Afterthought and Professa Gabel. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmFmYDJSPg/\">415 Nights\u003c/a>, the Frisco Daze release party, takes place April 15 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. at ArenaSF, with music by Young Bari, Zo Rosales, Sean G, DJSay, West Carolina and TheCityKid.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At a recent Friday night function just blocks from the Salesforce Tower, there isn’t a Patagonia vest in sight. The evening’s unofficial dress code is orange and black: Giants gear, Jordans, hoops and long lashes. Bass frequencies pump through the speakers, camera phones light up and braids start flying as the room erupts in dance — not the typical vibe of a bar nestled between corporate offices in San Francisco’s Financial District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With gentrification, there are a lot of things that don’t feel like they’re for us,” says Antonio Murcia, a.k.a. DeLaCity, between greeting groups of smiling attendees. “We wanted to create something for the San Francisco natives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3711643683/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That something is the new album \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/friscodaze415/\">\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, a rap compilation featuring 30 up-and-coming artists all born and raised in the City. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/delacity/\">DeLaCity\u003c/a>, who runs a clothing brand of the same name, executive-produced \u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em> with rapper-turned-engineer Mix (Martin Encinas Leon) and DJSay (Von Parker). The three are longtime friends and collaborators: DeLaCity and DJSay co-founded the party crew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/saucefamcollective/\">Sauce Fam Collective\u003c/a> with Chase Collins, and DJSay is also a member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/familynotagroup__/\">Family Not a Group\u003c/a> (FNG), a squad of San Francisco DJs and rappers, 17 members deep. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to this type of teamwork, San Francisco natives have been making their presence known in a transplant-heavy city where tech is king. Their efforts are clearly resonating: Family Not a Group regularly packs out venues like El Rio and Curio Bar. SOMArts’ acclaimed, recent \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13926133/muni-raised-me-somarts-san-francisco\">\u003ci>Muni Raised Me\u003c/i> exhibition\u003c/a> — which included art by several FNG and Sauce Fam affiliates — uplifted the stories of working-class, Black, Brown and immigrant San Francisco. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/larry-june-the-alchemist-the-great-escape.html\">Larry June’s national success\u003c/a> is putting a spotlight back on Frisco rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ORy0slIG-yQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ORy0slIG-yQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> is just the latest development in this cresting wave of creative momentum. City kids are tired of their voices being drowned out, and they have something to say.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s my big mission to highlight the art and culture scene in San Francisco because we were very deprived of that, like before COVID and during COVID,” says DJSay. “And that was the push to be collaborative because — knowing what you’re up against, especially in San Francisco, given the price of rent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Produced entirely by Adeyemi, \u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> is pure windows-down party music with a signature, Bay Area slap. DJSay, Mix and DeLaCity conceived its 14 tracks as a journey through a perfect San Francisco day. “Rollin’ Up at Bernal,” which samples Otis Redding’s “Sittin’ On (The Dock of the Bay),” shows Professa Gabel, DinaRo, Serg2x, Ozer, Monk HTS and Made.by.Harry trading bars at a smoke spot with a view. “High Speeds N Heem” by OBN Emony and Allmothug is a perfect soundtrack for the corner store run before the house party. “Azul (DemSco)” pays homage to Dominican dembow and San Francisco’s Latin party scene, with verses from JaaayStayTru, Lirico en la Casa and Frisco Baby, whose double-time, bilingual bars sound like they could catch fire.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/g9QTeGv3QKU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/g9QTeGv3QKU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em>’s three executive producers are all in their late 20s and early 30s, and the featured artists range from 18–44 years old. And with samples from San Francisco 1970s Latin soul legends Malo, and the city’s ’90s underground icons like Cold World Hustlers and Paris, “the Black Panther of hip-hop,” the project has an intergenerational appeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> might not be conscious rap in terms of lyrical content, but it embodies an activist mission. The album’s three executive producers and many of its artists devote themselves to community work. By day, DeLaCity is a services coordinator at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ifrsf.org/rtp?locale=en\">Roadmap to Peace\u003c/a>, a Mission-based Latinx violence prevention initiative. DJSay volunteers with \u003ca href=\"https://www.us4usbayarea.org/\">Us4Us\u003c/a>, an organization with similar goals in Bayview/Hunters Point. And Mix — proudly the first member of his family to go to college — mentors youth at two educational initiatives, the \u003ca href=\"https://thesmartprogram.org/\">SMART Program\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://devmission.org/\">Dev/Mission\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927635\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927635\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-800x585.jpg\" alt=\"A young Black man and two young Latino men make an announcement behind DJ gear at a party. \" width=\"800\" height=\"585\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-800x585.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-1020x746.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-768x561.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945-1536x1123.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-53-02-945.jpg 1640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJSay, Mix and DeLaCity (left to right) executive produced ‘Frisco Daze.’ \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In other words, DeLaCity, DJSay and Mix don’t just make music about their love for their city — they live it. One of their goals is to inspire San Francisco unity across neighborhoods and cultures. After all, that hasn’t always been the case in the Sucka Free City. In the late ’80s, a neighborhood \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@bayareahiphoparchive/in-conversation-with-black-c-from-rbl-p-81d5909efdd8\">beef between Sunnydale and the Fillmore\u003c/a> resulted in violence. A peaceful period followed when Frisco rap rose to national prominence in the early ’90s, following the success of RBL Posse, I.M.P., Messy Marv and JT the Bigga Figga. But too often, tragedy and incarceration \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/For-S-F-rappers-another-dream-deferred-2560404.php\">derailed the careers of San Francisco’s biggest stars\u003c/a>, and Oakland and Vallejo emerged as more prominent powerhouses of Bay Area rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San Francisco’s biggest problem was that we were always competing against each other, competing for the same space,” says Mix. “And, basically, we were our own worst enemy. And I think what we’re seeing today — and not just with us, but different collectives, different artists, different organizations — we are seeing the result of the mindset changing in the City, and different neighborhoods having peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927636\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-800x1066.jpg\" alt=\"Three young women with matching pink and white Frisco Daze shirts, denim shorts, braids and hoop earrings pose for a photo. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1066\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-800x1066.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-55-01-237.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">R&B group In Tha Moment contributed vocals and did the skits on ‘Frisco Daze.’ \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With the guidance of mentors like beloved Us4Us founder and \u003ca href=\"https://sfbayview.com/2021/01/uncle-damien-in-action/\">activist Uncle Damien\u003c/a>, who blesses \u003cem>Frisco Daze\u003c/em> on the intro, the next generation is growing up with a different message. “When we were in high school, we had \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/S-F-gang-injunction-zone-controversial-3264233.php\">the gang injunction stuff\u003c/a> going on in the City, and the harsh sentencing that was happening with the D.A. [Kamala Harris] at the time — all of these things impacted a generation,” says Mix. “And now that people are coming out of jail, and people have suffered through so much, they don’t want to repeat that cycle. And it’s being expressed through the music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927638\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927638\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Picsart_23-04-10_06-47-51-396.jpg 1870w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alien Mac Kitty (right) goes dumb to ‘Late Night Hype,’ her ‘Frisco Daze’ track with EaSWay, Afterthought and Real KMS. \u003ccite>(Zeus Cano (@zeustheprestigious))\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That grassroots push for Frisco unity is picking up momentum just in time for 415 Day on April 15. The \u003ci>Frisco Daze\u003c/i> crew is getting ready to celebrate the album with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq3OArMJE8g/\">415 Daze Fest\u003c/a>, with live performances and vendors at Monarch Gardens, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmFmYDJSPg/\">415 Nights\u003c/a> at ArenaSF, the official release party with a headlining performance from Young Bari.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, already, the project is resonating. “Me and Antonio go out on random nights and just have a big ol’ speaker playing the music to see the feedback. People bobbing their heads, asking, ‘What song is that?’ is such a great feeling,” says DJSay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some O.G. that rides a chopper came up,” DeLaCity says, “this gangster-ass dude, was like, ‘What’s that song right there?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-800x60.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq3OArMJE8g/\">415 Daze Fest\u003c/a> takes place on April 15, 1-7 p.m., at Monarch Gardens, with food, vendors and performances by Stunnaman02, Allmothug, OBN Emony, Frisco Baby, In tha Moment and more. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Family Not a Group presents \u003ca href=\"https://tockify.com/elriosf2/detail/3089/1681596000000\">It’s a 415 Day Function at El Rio\u003c/a> on April 15, 3-8 p.m. with performances by Stunnaman02, Alien Mac Kitty, Grand-O, Sutro, Afterthought and Professa Gabel. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CqmFmYDJSPg/\">415 Nights\u003c/a>, the Frisco Daze release party, takes place April 15 9 p.m. – 2 a.m. at ArenaSF, with music by Young Bari, Zo Rosales, Sean G, DJSay, West Carolina and TheCityKid.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How to Write Film Music That Stops Time",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s a standout scene in \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>, Barry Jenkins’ widely acclaimed 2016 coming-of-age film, that doesn’t have the typical “pivotal moment” hallmarks of an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQn_FkFElI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oscars Best Picture winner\u003c/a>. There’s not a big speech. Not a lot really happens, even.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the scene in which Juan (Mahershala Ali) teaches Little (Alex Hibbert) how to swim is rich text for other reasons. There’s the painterly light, athletic camera work. The symbolism is somehow both striking and understated — a rare glimpse of Black masculinity as a nurturing force, as well as what Jenkins has called a “spiritual transference” between these two characters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the music. Bright, anxious violins pick up speed as the figurative baptism progresses; over the course of a two-minute piece, composer Nicholas Britell’s score reflects the beauty and danger of the ocean, as well as the complex sea of emotions in our young protagonist: determination, hope and fear. I dare you to find me someone who didn’t sit in the movie theater holding their breath for the entire scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6yMItXePG8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the seven years since \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>’s release, with films like \u003cem>If Beale Street Could Talk\u003c/em> and the limited series \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, the partnership between Jenkins and Britell has produced numerous breathtaking moments like this. Jenkins tells stories of Black America, consistently turning an artful, unflinching eye on protagonists who are limited or literally trapped by injustice, by poverty and incarceration. And while Jenkins’ writing and direction are deeply empathetic, it’s often Britell’s scores — soaring, evocative works that apply R&B and hip-hop production techniques to classical music — that grant these characters their full humanity, reminding us that even people living in the most tragic of circumstances experience a vast range of emotion, including love and yearning along with anguish.[aside postid='forum_2010101892493']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A horn line swells, and we remember — oh, right. Every single person I meet has an entire universe of pain and beauty and unfulfilled dreams swirling inside them at all times. And then we weep uncontrollably into our popcorn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Britell, a classically trained pianist, has been a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/About-SFS/Collaborative-Partners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">collaborative partner\u003c/a>” with the San Francisco Symphony since 2018. But his April 14–15 events with Jenkins at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/soundbox\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SoundBox\u003c/a>, with Symphony musicians performing works from \u003cem>Moonlight,\u003c/em> \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, will present his most personal collaboration yet with the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emma Silvers: Barry, your projects have always shown a love of music, even going back to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/24154/medicine_for_melancholy\">\u003cem>Medicine for Melancholy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Can you talk about where music lives in your writing process? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> Music has always been part of it. I mean, I’ve always been surrounded by music — I grew up in a household where, even though we were so extremely poor, there was always music playing. Or I would go to the flea market and get tapes — and this is terrible as someone who now makes a living from copywritten material — but people would make these cassette tapes with all these different songs on them, and you could get a tape for like five bucks, as opposed to an album, which cost 15 or 20 bucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13844783']And I’ve always listened to music while I write. When I first got to college and started pursuing creative writing and working on film, I would go to this café to work. And between coffee, wine and music, I found that I could slip into a place where I could translate the feeling of what was happening in the scene in my head to the page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was also when I was discovering the filmmakers who became foundational to my idea of what cinema was, people like Claire Denis and Wong Kar-wai, and they used music in a very open, very clear way. In film school, I was taught music is meant to be in the background of a film, which is kind of making it elevator music. So I was like, \u003cem>No, no, no:\u003c/em> I’ve seen films where you can use this combination of sound and images and score to really elevate what the character was feeling. That’s the place it’s always had for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927608\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927608\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a young Black man in a dark collared shirt with glasses, smiling at the camera \" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-2048x1358.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1920x1273.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barry Jenkins’ San Francisco-set debut feature, ‘Medicine for Melancholy,’ will be released by The Criterion Collection in June, with new commentary from the filmmaker. \u003ccite>(Matt Morris)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve both spoken about not wanting to tell the audience how to feel, that it’s more about music that sounds the way the characters feel — kind of achieving interiority through music. Which, especially as a non-musician, seems mystical to me. Can you talk about what it looks like to get into that headspace and compose for different characters, especially people with very different lived experiences from your own?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> It can \u003cem>feel\u003c/em> mystical; I also use the word “alchemy” a lot. And so much of it is about this incredibly close collaboration, searching \u003cem>together\u003c/em> for things — I’m never working alone. Which is why it’s so special that Barry and I are doing this show; we get into this stream of consciousness when we’re in the room together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em>, for example, Barry said “I’m hearing brass and horns.” So I started thinking about the scene where Tish and Fonny have finally been able to rent that apartment, and they’re in the street and they start shouting to the sky with joy. I think a lot about shapes. I feel that the shapes of things in music actually affect us all in similar ways. So, OK, I want the music to go upward — to shout to the sky. Well, what if it’s a trumpet shouting to the sky? And then I start doing experiments with brass, French horns, clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, and I kind of go off into the wilderness and try things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, through experimenting together, we realized it was missing cellos. Like, \u003cem>oh, the cellos are the feeling of love.\u003c/em> And all of a sudden, if I take the chords that I was playing with brass but the cellos play them, everything feels different. It’s never, oh, what key signature is this, or what type of chord is this. It ultimately always comes back to feelings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmK71ZfaZO4\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Audiences have these incredibly poignant, personal responses to these scores, where the music seems to help them access complicated feelings about their own lives. Have you seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWQ7neoBhCE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the comments\u003c/a> on “Agape” on YouTube?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> They’re nuts. (Laughs.) Nuts! Way more people have listened to that piece than have even heard of this film. Way more people are going to hear that song than will ever watch \u003cem>If Beale Street Could Talk\u003c/em>. And I remember being there at the moment of its creation, in this really diligent but simple process of chasing what that moment felt like, both within the film and within the characters’ lives. It’s this very aspirational moment, when Tish is at her most hopeful, like everything is on the table for this family. And Nick just did this thing where he had the song keep reaching \u003cem>up and up and up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Barry Jenkins\"]‘[James] Baldwin was … bottling this nuclear atom of the hopes, the aspirations, the yearning, the melancholy of Black life in America. And Nick somehow found a way to get in there and really translate that into music.’[/pullquote]But the way that piece of music connects with people, and this is me saying this, not Nick — these are Black films and this is Black music. It really is. And it’s amazing to me there are white people all over the world, we’ve seen this on Instagram, who walk down the aisle to this piece of music. I say it’s Black music because what Mr. Baldwin was writing, and what Regina and Stephan and KiKi are doing in that sequence, is bottling this nuclear atom of the hopes, the aspirations, the yearning, the melancholy of Black life in America. And Nick somehow found a way to get in there and really translate that into music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I get a little tipsy and I go read those comments on YouTube, I see that the whole journey of making that film, even if people only accessed it through hearing this one song, would have been worth it. Because the way people respond to the feeling of that music … I mean, sometimes it knocks me down. If you want to know the power, the effect, the legitimate movement that a piece of score can create, go look up that thing on YouTube and the things that complete strangers — who have no skin in the game on how successful this film is or isn’t! — and they’re just pouring themselves out about what this piece of music means to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927605\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a young white man with light brown hair in a black button-down shirt and glasses looks down away from the camera\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicholas Britell’s other scores include collaborations with director Adam McKay, including ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Don’t Look Up,’ as well as the HBO show ‘Succession.’ \u003ccite>(Emma McIntyre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> I’ll just add that the music that I write with Barry is unlike anything else that I write. In some ways, I think Barry lets me tap into different emotions, and there are certain feelings that I think we are both drawn to. And I get to figure out: what is the sound of that? So much of what we do is experimentation — Barry will like a kernel of something, so we follow that, but we don’t know where we’re going. Just that when we’re there, we’ll know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> were both so rooted in Miami and New York, respectively, the cities where they took place. But \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> takes us to so many different locations, and then also has surreal elements. How do you find the sound for something of that scope, especially without the anchor of a specific, singular time or place?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13897166']\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> The scale and scope and difficulty of \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> was unlike anything I’d ever done. I remember Barry saying to me, you know, each state is a different state of mind for Cora — and we thought of it almost like different planets. Because that journey is unlike \u003cem>anything\u003c/em>. As a comparison, it’s not \u003cem>Succession,\u003c/em> where, from episode 1 to 2, we’re probably in New York City, probably in the Roy family. This is like we’re in a different \u003cem>universe\u003c/em>. We’re in a different dimension, possibly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the sonic experimentation, just the amount that we were going to push… we look at \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>, where there was the idea of using \u003ca href=\"https://ra.co/features/4040\">chopped and screwed\u003c/a> as a technique, or in \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em>, where we’re taking the sounds of love and harming them so they’re broken and they become a sound of injustice. On \u003cem>Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, it was times 100. How do we push things to feel beyond what we can even imagine?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, what is the architecture? Because if you establish a musical idea at the very beginning of a film, part of the beauty, hopefully, is that if it comes back later, you have a memory of having felt it — even just subconsciously. So multiplying that across 10 episodes, when do we echo back? I remember showing Barry some new ideas at one point, and he was like, ‘You know what? No new ideas. We’re done.’\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUIo56q-Qw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> was definitely less of a literal journey, but to me it was also a much more clear emotional one: every state is different, because Cora’s mental state has shifted in addition to the setting. What Nick said about planets — I love that because different planets have different atmospheres, and these soundscapes are like those atmospheres. Venus is not like Mars, you know, it’s got to be completely different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’re also responding to the world around us. [At one point during production] Nick and Caitlin, his wife, who’s a cellist, had moved out to L.A., and Nick, do you remember Caitlin took up this hobby of birdwatching?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell: \u003c/strong>She’s still doing it. She’s an avid birder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> She had all these feeders around, so there were these hummingbirds always around the studio. And I was thinking the other day, Nick, about the track “Fireflies.” And there’s a harp that’s played really fast, and to me, that’s the hummingbird wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927602\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowd of people sits watching classical musicians perform in a dark club-like space with large artworks projected onto the walls and ceiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘SoundBox: Modern Sanctuary,’ conducted by Edwin Outwater in February 2020. \u003ccite>(Mike Grittani/Grittani Creative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you want people to know going into these SoundBox shows?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> These performances are something Barry and I have never really done. While we’ve played \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em> live to picture before with orchestras, we have never actually performed in the authentic forms of the film with the original orchestrations. This is something we’ve been talking about since these were first written — like, how could we do this? \u003cem>Can\u003c/em> we do this? Because, for example, \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> is as much an orchestration exercise, with these different instrument colors, as it is about these very special reverbs at times, where you hear the sounds sort of floating and soaring and swirling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins: \u003c/strong>We have heard stories about the reverb quality of SoundBox and we are hoping to put it through its paces. We’ve heard it’s legit. And the cats that work there are out to prove to us that it’s legit, so we’re pushing the boundaries with this concert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll also say — I moved to the Bay at a time in my life when I was incredibly down on myself, and I went through some ups and downs there. And I’d walk past the Symphony all the time, and I just never thought … There are going to be images of Black folks projected all throughout this show. These folks are going to be playing music that I think organically reflects the experience of Black people. And I just never, never thought there was a world in which that would ever happen. It’s gonna be very cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘SoundBox: In Conversation With Nicholas Britell and Barry Jenkins’ takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 at the San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox (300 Franklin St., San Francisco). Tickets start at $99; \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/SBX-NicholasBritell\">details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Q&A: Barry Jenkins and Nicholas Britell Discuss 'Moonlight,' 'If Beale Street Could Talk' | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>here’s a standout scene in \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>, Barry Jenkins’ widely acclaimed 2016 coming-of-age film, that doesn’t have the typical “pivotal moment” hallmarks of an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCQn_FkFElI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Oscars Best Picture winner\u003c/a>. There’s not a big speech. Not a lot really happens, even.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the scene in which Juan (Mahershala Ali) teaches Little (Alex Hibbert) how to swim is rich text for other reasons. There’s the painterly light, athletic camera work. The symbolism is somehow both striking and understated — a rare glimpse of Black masculinity as a nurturing force, as well as what Jenkins has called a “spiritual transference” between these two characters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the music. Bright, anxious violins pick up speed as the figurative baptism progresses; over the course of a two-minute piece, composer Nicholas Britell’s score reflects the beauty and danger of the ocean, as well as the complex sea of emotions in our young protagonist: determination, hope and fear. I dare you to find me someone who didn’t sit in the movie theater holding their breath for the entire scene.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/z6yMItXePG8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/z6yMItXePG8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In the seven years since \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>’s release, with films like \u003cem>If Beale Street Could Talk\u003c/em> and the limited series \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, the partnership between Jenkins and Britell has produced numerous breathtaking moments like this. Jenkins tells stories of Black America, consistently turning an artful, unflinching eye on protagonists who are limited or literally trapped by injustice, by poverty and incarceration. And while Jenkins’ writing and direction are deeply empathetic, it’s often Britell’s scores — soaring, evocative works that apply R&B and hip-hop production techniques to classical music — that grant these characters their full humanity, reminding us that even people living in the most tragic of circumstances experience a vast range of emotion, including love and yearning along with anguish.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A horn line swells, and we remember — oh, right. Every single person I meet has an entire universe of pain and beauty and unfulfilled dreams swirling inside them at all times. And then we weep uncontrollably into our popcorn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Britell, a classically trained pianist, has been a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/About-SFS/Collaborative-Partners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">collaborative partner\u003c/a>” with the San Francisco Symphony since 2018. But his April 14–15 events with Jenkins at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/soundbox\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SoundBox\u003c/a>, with Symphony musicians performing works from \u003cem>Moonlight,\u003c/em> \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, will present his most personal collaboration yet with the organization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emma Silvers: Barry, your projects have always shown a love of music, even going back to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/24154/medicine_for_melancholy\">\u003cem>Medicine for Melancholy\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. Can you talk about where music lives in your writing process? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> Music has always been part of it. I mean, I’ve always been surrounded by music — I grew up in a household where, even though we were so extremely poor, there was always music playing. Or I would go to the flea market and get tapes — and this is terrible as someone who now makes a living from copywritten material — but people would make these cassette tapes with all these different songs on them, and you could get a tape for like five bucks, as opposed to an album, which cost 15 or 20 bucks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And I’ve always listened to music while I write. When I first got to college and started pursuing creative writing and working on film, I would go to this café to work. And between coffee, wine and music, I found that I could slip into a place where I could translate the feeling of what was happening in the scene in my head to the page.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was also when I was discovering the filmmakers who became foundational to my idea of what cinema was, people like Claire Denis and Wong Kar-wai, and they used music in a very open, very clear way. In film school, I was taught music is meant to be in the background of a film, which is kind of making it elevator music. So I was like, \u003cem>No, no, no:\u003c/em> I’ve seen films where you can use this combination of sound and images and score to really elevate what the character was feeling. That’s the place it’s always had for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927608\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927608\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"a black and white photo of a young Black man in a dark collared shirt with glasses, smiling at the camera \" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-2048x1358.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/3519cb71-3220-4c5f-bd61-a040847310ed-1920x1273.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Barry Jenkins’ San Francisco-set debut feature, ‘Medicine for Melancholy,’ will be released by The Criterion Collection in June, with new commentary from the filmmaker. \u003ccite>(Matt Morris)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve both spoken about not wanting to tell the audience how to feel, that it’s more about music that sounds the way the characters feel — kind of achieving interiority through music. Which, especially as a non-musician, seems mystical to me. Can you talk about what it looks like to get into that headspace and compose for different characters, especially people with very different lived experiences from your own?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> It can \u003cem>feel\u003c/em> mystical; I also use the word “alchemy” a lot. And so much of it is about this incredibly close collaboration, searching \u003cem>together\u003c/em> for things — I’m never working alone. Which is why it’s so special that Barry and I are doing this show; we get into this stream of consciousness when we’re in the room together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em>, for example, Barry said “I’m hearing brass and horns.” So I started thinking about the scene where Tish and Fonny have finally been able to rent that apartment, and they’re in the street and they start shouting to the sky with joy. I think a lot about shapes. I feel that the shapes of things in music actually affect us all in similar ways. So, OK, I want the music to go upward — to shout to the sky. Well, what if it’s a trumpet shouting to the sky? And then I start doing experiments with brass, French horns, clarinet, trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, and I kind of go off into the wilderness and try things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, through experimenting together, we realized it was missing cellos. Like, \u003cem>oh, the cellos are the feeling of love.\u003c/em> And all of a sudden, if I take the chords that I was playing with brass but the cellos play them, everything feels different. It’s never, oh, what key signature is this, or what type of chord is this. It ultimately always comes back to feelings.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/mmK71ZfaZO4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mmK71ZfaZO4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Audiences have these incredibly poignant, personal responses to these scores, where the music seems to help them access complicated feelings about their own lives. Have you seen \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWQ7neoBhCE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the comments\u003c/a> on “Agape” on YouTube?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> They’re nuts. (Laughs.) Nuts! Way more people have listened to that piece than have even heard of this film. Way more people are going to hear that song than will ever watch \u003cem>If Beale Street Could Talk\u003c/em>. And I remember being there at the moment of its creation, in this really diligent but simple process of chasing what that moment felt like, both within the film and within the characters’ lives. It’s this very aspirational moment, when Tish is at her most hopeful, like everything is on the table for this family. And Nick just did this thing where he had the song keep reaching \u003cem>up and up and up\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘[James] Baldwin was … bottling this nuclear atom of the hopes, the aspirations, the yearning, the melancholy of Black life in America. And Nick somehow found a way to get in there and really translate that into music.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But the way that piece of music connects with people, and this is me saying this, not Nick — these are Black films and this is Black music. It really is. And it’s amazing to me there are white people all over the world, we’ve seen this on Instagram, who walk down the aisle to this piece of music. I say it’s Black music because what Mr. Baldwin was writing, and what Regina and Stephan and KiKi are doing in that sequence, is bottling this nuclear atom of the hopes, the aspirations, the yearning, the melancholy of Black life in America. And Nick somehow found a way to get in there and really translate that into music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I get a little tipsy and I go read those comments on YouTube, I see that the whole journey of making that film, even if people only accessed it through hearing this one song, would have been worth it. Because the way people respond to the feeling of that music … I mean, sometimes it knocks me down. If you want to know the power, the effect, the legitimate movement that a piece of score can create, go look up that thing on YouTube and the things that complete strangers — who have no skin in the game on how successful this film is or isn’t! — and they’re just pouring themselves out about what this piece of music means to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927605\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a young white man with light brown hair in a black button-down shirt and glasses looks down away from the camera\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/image0-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicholas Britell’s other scores include collaborations with director Adam McKay, including ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Don’t Look Up,’ as well as the HBO show ‘Succession.’ \u003ccite>(Emma McIntyre)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> I’ll just add that the music that I write with Barry is unlike anything else that I write. In some ways, I think Barry lets me tap into different emotions, and there are certain feelings that I think we are both drawn to. And I get to figure out: what is the sound of that? So much of what we do is experimentation — Barry will like a kernel of something, so we follow that, but we don’t know where we’re going. Just that when we’re there, we’ll know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> were both so rooted in Miami and New York, respectively, the cities where they took place. But \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> takes us to so many different locations, and then also has surreal elements. How do you find the sound for something of that scope, especially without the anchor of a specific, singular time or place?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> The scale and scope and difficulty of \u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> was unlike anything I’d ever done. I remember Barry saying to me, you know, each state is a different state of mind for Cora — and we thought of it almost like different planets. Because that journey is unlike \u003cem>anything\u003c/em>. As a comparison, it’s not \u003cem>Succession,\u003c/em> where, from episode 1 to 2, we’re probably in New York City, probably in the Roy family. This is like we’re in a different \u003cem>universe\u003c/em>. We’re in a different dimension, possibly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s the sonic experimentation, just the amount that we were going to push… we look at \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em>, where there was the idea of using \u003ca href=\"https://ra.co/features/4040\">chopped and screwed\u003c/a> as a technique, or in \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em>, where we’re taking the sounds of love and harming them so they’re broken and they become a sound of injustice. On \u003cem>Underground Railroad\u003c/em>, it was times 100. How do we push things to feel beyond what we can even imagine?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, what is the architecture? Because if you establish a musical idea at the very beginning of a film, part of the beauty, hopefully, is that if it comes back later, you have a memory of having felt it — even just subconsciously. So multiplying that across 10 episodes, when do we echo back? I remember showing Barry some new ideas at one point, and he was like, ‘You know what? No new ideas. We’re done.’\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/-sUIo56q-Qw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/-sUIo56q-Qw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>The Underground Railroad\u003c/em> was definitely less of a literal journey, but to me it was also a much more clear emotional one: every state is different, because Cora’s mental state has shifted in addition to the setting. What Nick said about planets — I love that because different planets have different atmospheres, and these soundscapes are like those atmospheres. Venus is not like Mars, you know, it’s got to be completely different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And we’re also responding to the world around us. [At one point during production] Nick and Caitlin, his wife, who’s a cellist, had moved out to L.A., and Nick, do you remember Caitlin took up this hobby of birdwatching?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell: \u003c/strong>She’s still doing it. She’s an avid birder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins:\u003c/strong> She had all these feeders around, so there were these hummingbirds always around the studio. And I was thinking the other day, Nick, about the track “Fireflies.” And there’s a harp that’s played really fast, and to me, that’s the hummingbird wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927602\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a crowd of people sits watching classical musicians perform in a dark club-like space with large artworks projected onto the walls and ceiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DSC09282-grittani-creative-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘SoundBox: Modern Sanctuary,’ conducted by Edwin Outwater in February 2020. \u003ccite>(Mike Grittani/Grittani Creative)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What do you want people to know going into these SoundBox shows?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nicholas Britell:\u003c/strong> These performances are something Barry and I have never really done. While we’ve played \u003cem>Moonlight\u003c/em> live to picture before with orchestras, we have never actually performed in the authentic forms of the film with the original orchestrations. This is something we’ve been talking about since these were first written — like, how could we do this? \u003cem>Can\u003c/em> we do this? Because, for example, \u003cem>Beale Street\u003c/em> is as much an orchestration exercise, with these different instrument colors, as it is about these very special reverbs at times, where you hear the sounds sort of floating and soaring and swirling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Barry Jenkins: \u003c/strong>We have heard stories about the reverb quality of SoundBox and we are hoping to put it through its paces. We’ve heard it’s legit. And the cats that work there are out to prove to us that it’s legit, so we’re pushing the boundaries with this concert.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll also say — I moved to the Bay at a time in my life when I was incredibly down on myself, and I went through some ups and downs there. And I’d walk past the Symphony all the time, and I just never thought … There are going to be images of Black folks projected all throughout this show. These folks are going to be playing music that I think organically reflects the experience of Black people. And I just never, never thought there was a world in which that would ever happen. It’s gonna be very cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘SoundBox: In Conversation With Nicholas Britell and Barry Jenkins’ takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15 at the San Francisco Symphony’s SoundBox (300 Franklin St., San Francisco). Tickets start at $99; \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2022-23/SBX-NicholasBritell\">details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Susanna Hoffs’ ‘This Bird Has Flown’ is a Love Story — and a Valentine to Music",
"headTitle": "Susanna Hoffs’ ‘This Bird Has Flown’ is a Love Story — and a Valentine to Music | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927395\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927395\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-800x1243.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of a young woman in side profile. She is wearing pink headphones, gold hoop earrings and a leopard print jacket.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1243\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-800x1243.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-1020x1584.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-160x249.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-768x1193.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-989x1536.jpg 989w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917-1318x2048.jpg 1318w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/bird1_custom-2e5973a79650e4beb40d736197b63dae9dcb1917.jpg 1648w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The book cover of ‘This Bird Has Flown’ by Susanna Hoffs. \u003ccite>(Little, Brown & Company)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Jane Start’s life is all over the place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The musician was once a star, albeit a brief one — she scored a hit single with “Can’t You See I Want You,” a cover of a song by a pop star named Jonesy. But in the 10 years that have passed since then, our hero has taken a fall: “I was living with my parents again, which at thirty-three was a demoralizing last resort,” she says, bemoaning her new life with all of her possessions in four garbage bags, sitting near her “sagging twin bed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jane is the charming, funny, but unlucky protagonist of \u003cem>This Bird Has Flown\u003c/em>, the debut novel from Susanna Hoffs, the singer and guitarist who rose to fame with the Bangles in the 1980s. It’s a smart romantic comedy that proves that Hoffs’ immense writing talent isn’t just confined to songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13926136']As the novel opens, Jane is preparing for a gig in Las Vegas. She’s not exactly thrilled to be playing a private party, but she chooses to look at the bright side: “The pay tonight would mean a deposit on an apartment, and a few months’ rent, a chance to make another artsy record, even if no one bothered to listen to it. It would matter to me. If I could ever write another song again, that is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She shows up for the performance “wearing a tiny scrap of fabric posing as a dress, half-hidden beneath my ex-boyfriend’s vintage cardigan, the one possession I’d pinched, for sentimental reasons, when he’d left me for a twenty-three-year-old lingerie model. Two months ago.” Her longtime friend and manager, Pippa, has some bad news for her: She’s only going to play one song (her sole hit) to the audience full of “rowdy frat-bro types,” and it will be accompanied by a karaoke track. And she’s expected to sing in a hot pink wig.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the show, Pippa insists that Jane fly to London with her, a chance to regroup and write some new songs. Pippa ends up unable to make the flight, which turns out to be a bit of kismet — Jane finds herself seated next to an Oxford literature professor named Tom Hardy. The two chat about books and music over the course of the long flight and Jane, unable to resist the handsome academic, impulsively kisses him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13925644']Jane spends several days in London, pining for the one she thinks might have gotten away, until she finally gets a text message from him, asking her to visit him in Oxford. She does, and the two hit it off — so much so that she essentially moves in with him, accompanying him to events at his university, and befriending some of his colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also gets some exciting career news: Jonesy, the author of her one hit, wants her to play with him at a special show at Royal Albert Hall. Jane isn’t sure she wants to go through with it; she’s been afflicted with stage fright for most of her career. And she’s growing used to the idea of living with her new eternal flame, far from the spotlight: “Could it be the life I wanted was the one in England, with Tom? To write, record, perform in small venues — a folk singer’s life?” But things get complicated with Tom — Jane learns that he’s got a secret, one that causes her to see him in a different light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Novels like \u003cem>This Bird Has Flown \u003c/em>succeed or fail on the strength of their protagonists, and Jane is an unforgettable one. She’s refreshingly three-dimensional, aware of her own faults, frustrated over the difficult time she has getting over her ex-boyfriend. She’s self-deprecating, but knows she’s talented; Hoffs never makes her the butt of jokes. The reader sees her as a friend, not an object of pity, which is crucial to the novel’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom, too, is a fully fleshed character, not the kind of stock love interest that Hugh Grant might have played in a 1990s movie. The relationship between the two is unforced and natural, and their dialogue together never descends into the too-cute-by-half banter that sometimes marks contemporary love stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13926190']This novel is a comedy, and Hoffs is a tremendously funny author; she writes with an amused gentleness that syncs perfectly with Jane’s frenetic, somewhat anxious personality. And she nails the setting — London and Oxford turn into characters in the story, and Hoffs writes about them with real affection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This Bird Has Flown\u003c/em> is a love story, a sweet and tender romance, but not just one between Jane and Tom — it’s Hoffs’ valentine to music. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Jane spends several days in London, pining for the one she thinks might have gotten away, until she finally gets a text message from him, asking her to visit him in Oxford. She does, and the two hit it off — so much so that she essentially moves in with him, accompanying him to events at his university, and befriending some of his colleagues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also gets some exciting career news: Jonesy, the author of her one hit, wants her to play with him at a special show at Royal Albert Hall. Jane isn’t sure she wants to go through with it; she’s been afflicted with stage fright for most of her career. And she’s growing used to the idea of living with her new eternal flame, far from the spotlight: “Could it be the life I wanted was the one in England, with Tom? To write, record, perform in small venues — a folk singer’s life?” But things get complicated with Tom — Jane learns that he’s got a secret, one that causes her to see him in a different light.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Novels like \u003cem>This Bird Has Flown \u003c/em>succeed or fail on the strength of their protagonists, and Jane is an unforgettable one. She’s refreshingly three-dimensional, aware of her own faults, frustrated over the difficult time she has getting over her ex-boyfriend. She’s self-deprecating, but knows she’s talented; Hoffs never makes her the butt of jokes. The reader sees her as a friend, not an object of pity, which is crucial to the novel’s success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom, too, is a fully fleshed character, not the kind of stock love interest that Hugh Grant might have played in a 1990s movie. The relationship between the two is unforced and natural, and their dialogue together never descends into the too-cute-by-half banter that sometimes marks contemporary love stories.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s been a decade since the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/asawamusic/world-music\">World Music Program\u003c/a> was founded at Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and students are poised to celebrate in a big way with “Takeover X”: \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/announcements/2023-04-04-takeover-x-ruth-asawa-school-arts-world-music-celebration\">three nights of performances\u003c/a> at the school’s Don Kryston Memorial Theater, April 13–15.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The production will be a far cry from the program’s humble beginnings when founder and director Monina Sen Cervone started with a single taiko drumming class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The first drum was an old tire that I taped with duct tape. We had no classroom. So I was out on the tennis courts. I was out in the quad,” Cervone recalls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cervone was tired of music education centering European classical music and wanted to offer classes that represent the diversity of cultures in San Francisco. Her efforts evolved into the school’s World Music Program in 2012 – the only public school department of its kind in the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program is differentiated not only by the type of music and instruments it teaches, but by \u003ci>how\u003c/i> they are taught. “Everything that we learn is taught aurally [by] ear,” Cervone says. “And there’s a lot of, I think, assumptions made about music that’s learned in that way. It doesn’t have as much credit as classical music, and I hope that’s being changed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Takeover X anniversary show will feature musical performances on Japanese taiko and Afro-Brazilian and West African drums. They’ll also highlight the Balinese gamelan, the Filipino kulintang and tinikling folk dance, and original pieces composed and choreographed by students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is our 10-year anniversary, so it’s a little bit different than our normal shows. We have alumni coming back and we have some really special pieces,” says Skyler Lee, a junior. Lee performs with the all-female identifying Afro-Brazilian drum group Bateria con Fuerza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another student, senior Elliot Berry, has been going to sleep at night thinking about the songs he and his classmates will perform. “I love it so much, and it’s always on my mind,” Berry says. And he assures you won’t be able to resist the spirit of the music, either, if you check out one of their shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Audience participation is such a huge, important factor of our shows,” Berry says. “So if you’re in the audience, you’re gonna be having fun, you’re gonna be screaming, you’re gonna be cheering. Like, we’ll hype you up and you’ll hype us up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts World Music Program presents ‘Takeover X’ April 13–15 at the Dan Kryston Memorial Theater on campus. Tickets and more info \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/announcements/2023-04-04-takeover-x-ruth-asawa-school-arts-world-music-celebration\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Takeover X anniversary show will feature musical performances on Japanese taiko and Afro-Brazilian and West African drums. They’ll also highlight the Balinese gamelan, the Filipino kulintang and tinikling folk dance, and original pieces composed and choreographed by students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is our 10-year anniversary, so it’s a little bit different than our normal shows. We have alumni coming back and we have some really special pieces,” says Skyler Lee, a junior. Lee performs with the all-female identifying Afro-Brazilian drum group Bateria con Fuerza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another student, senior Elliot Berry, has been going to sleep at night thinking about the songs he and his classmates will perform. “I love it so much, and it’s always on my mind,” Berry says. And he assures you won’t be able to resist the spirit of the music, either, if you check out one of their shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Audience participation is such a huge, important factor of our shows,” Berry says. “So if you’re in the audience, you’re gonna be having fun, you’re gonna be screaming, you’re gonna be cheering. Like, we’ll hype you up and you’ll hype us up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts World Music Program presents ‘Takeover X’ April 13–15 at the Dan Kryston Memorial Theater on campus. Tickets and more info \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/announcements/2023-04-04-takeover-x-ruth-asawa-school-arts-world-music-celebration\">here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Meet the Oakland Guy Making Fun of Your Favorite California Punk Bands",
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"content": "\u003cp>His name is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabekatz_music/\">Gabe Katz\u003c/a>. He’s 37 years old and lives in Oakland. And for weeks, punks all over the Bay Area (and beyond) have been sharing his hilarious impersonations of California’s favorite punk bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz, a music teacher by day and \u003ca href=\"https://gabekatz1.bandcamp.com/\">guitarist\u003c/a> and punk rock drummer by night, also co-hosts \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turd-polisher/id1513288302\">\u003cem>Turd Polisher\u003c/em>\u003c/a>: a podcast that relentlessly (and gloriously) dismantles guests’ least favorite songs of all time. In short, the man understands song structure. And punk rock. And hilarity. Which is how he came up with the now-widely shared, supremely knowing, one-minute takedowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all started back in January with the Rancid one. “Every Rancid Song” expertly captures the essence of the East Bay quartet in five easy steps:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓Enunciation that’s just a little bit British\u003cbr>\n✓Talking about walking\u003cbr>\n✓References to drab infrastructural entities\u003cbr>\n✓A vague suggestion of poverty\u003cbr>\n✓Gratuitously mentioning geographic locations (Rancid does this so often, \u003ca href=\"https://i.redd.it/qhjhwdivfnv01.jpg\">someone on Reddit made a map\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7194630909063384362\" data-video-id=\"7194630909063384362\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Rancid Song \u003ca title=\"punk\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancid\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancid?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancid\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancidpunks\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancidpunks?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancidpunks\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"oakland\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/oakland?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#oakland\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"hellcatrecords\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hellcatrecords?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#hellcatrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedy?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedy\u003c/a> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7194630908639759150?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a> \u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> [tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Rancid’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HZ5Bd6DUY\">Olympia, WA\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJy823DXgk4\">Lulu\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOx4U3sCuQ\">Nihilism\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next up is Katz’s “Every NOFX Song,” which perfectly encapsulates the San Francisco pop punks using the following elements:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A reference to drugs\u003cbr>\n✓At least one person’s full name\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to a bar\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to another band\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to pee\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom!\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7201598891245030698\" data-video-id=\"7201598891245030698\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every NoFX song. \u003ca title=\"nofx\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nofx?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nofx\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmike\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmike?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmike\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmikeddude\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmikeddude?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmikeddude\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatwreckchords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatwreckchords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatwreckchords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sanfrancisco\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sanfrancisco\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fishermanswharf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fishermanswharf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fishermanswharf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"vanswarpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vanswarpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#vanswarpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"warpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/warpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#warpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"theeparkside\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/theeparkside?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#theeparkside\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7201598923704929070?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to NOFX’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZ2sha5994\">Kids of the K-Hole\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-Gjg_vi3A\">Seeing Double at the Triple Rock\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4IEFLgYAoc\">See Her Pee\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s “Every Bad Religion Song,” which captures the So-Cal legends using the following formula:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A staccato delivery\u003cbr>\n✓References to scientific pursuits\u003cbr>\n✓Rolling your eyes at God\u003cbr>\n✓Relentless assonance\u003cbr>\n✓Throwing shade at mindless mainstream culture\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7215641460652297518\" data-video-id=\"7215641460652297518\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Bad Religion song. \u003ca title=\"badreligion\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/badreligion?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#badreligion\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"epitaphrecords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/epitaphrecords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#epitaphrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"gabekatzcomedy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gabekatzcomedy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#gabekatzcomedy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7215641415353781035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Bad Religion’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kcpP-8jfM\">American Jesus\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzhiQA6-Aw\">Atomic Garden\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JikOUxstTZ4\">Modern Day Catastrophists\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz says we can definitely expect more videos like these from him in future, but asked which other bands he has in his sights, he says simply: “I cannot divulge that information at this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz is hoping to move into comedy writing and voice acting full-time soon. Asked why he started making fun of these beloved bands in the first place, he is firm. “They had it coming,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Place your bets now on who’s got it coming next. Lagwagon? Dead Kennedys? Green Day? Pennywise? Black Flag? Fingers crossed for all of the above.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>His name is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabekatz_music/\">Gabe Katz\u003c/a>. He’s 37 years old and lives in Oakland. And for weeks, punks all over the Bay Area (and beyond) have been sharing his hilarious impersonations of California’s favorite punk bands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz, a music teacher by day and \u003ca href=\"https://gabekatz1.bandcamp.com/\">guitarist\u003c/a> and punk rock drummer by night, also co-hosts \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/turd-polisher/id1513288302\">\u003cem>Turd Polisher\u003c/em>\u003c/a>: a podcast that relentlessly (and gloriously) dismantles guests’ least favorite songs of all time. In short, the man understands song structure. And punk rock. And hilarity. Which is how he came up with the now-widely shared, supremely knowing, one-minute takedowns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It all started back in January with the Rancid one. “Every Rancid Song” expertly captures the essence of the East Bay quartet in five easy steps:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓Enunciation that’s just a little bit British\u003cbr>\n✓Talking about walking\u003cbr>\n✓References to drab infrastructural entities\u003cbr>\n✓A vague suggestion of poverty\u003cbr>\n✓Gratuitously mentioning geographic locations (Rancid does this so often, \u003ca href=\"https://i.redd.it/qhjhwdivfnv01.jpg\">someone on Reddit made a map\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7194630909063384362\" data-video-id=\"7194630909063384362\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\">\n\u003csection> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Rancid Song \u003ca title=\"punk\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancid\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancid?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancid\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"rancidpunks\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rancidpunks?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#rancidpunks\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"oakland\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/oakland?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#oakland\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"hellcatrecords\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/hellcatrecords?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#hellcatrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedy\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedy?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedy\u003c/a> \u003ca target=\"_blank\" title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7194630908639759150?refer=embed\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a> \u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Rancid’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5HZ5Bd6DUY\">Olympia, WA\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJy823DXgk4\">Lulu\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOx4U3sCuQ\">Nihilism\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next up is Katz’s “Every NOFX Song,” which perfectly encapsulates the San Francisco pop punks using the following elements:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A reference to drugs\u003cbr>\n✓At least one person’s full name\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to a bar\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to another band\u003cbr>\n✓A reference to pee\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boom!\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7201598891245030698\" data-video-id=\"7201598891245030698\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every NoFX song. \u003ca title=\"nofx\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nofx?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#nofx\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmike\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmike?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmike\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatmikeddude\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatmikeddude?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatmikeddude\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fatwreckchords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fatwreckchords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fatwreckchords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sanfrancisco\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sanfrancisco?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sanfrancisco\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"sf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#sf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"fishermanswharf\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fishermanswharf?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#fishermanswharf\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"vanswarpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vanswarpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#vanswarpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"warpedtour\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/warpedtour?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#warpedtour\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"theeparkside\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/theeparkside?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#theeparkside\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"music\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/music?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#music\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#whythefuckwouldtheydothisshit\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7201598923704929070?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to NOFX’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEZ2sha5994\">Kids of the K-Hole\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-Gjg_vi3A\">Seeing Double at the Triple Rock\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4IEFLgYAoc\">See Her Pee\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s “Every Bad Religion Song,” which captures the So-Cal legends using the following formula:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>✓A staccato delivery\u003cbr>\n✓References to scientific pursuits\u003cbr>\n✓Rolling your eyes at God\u003cbr>\n✓Relentless assonance\u003cbr>\n✓Throwing shade at mindless mainstream culture\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_/video/7215641460652297518\" data-video-id=\"7215641460652297518\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@gabekatz_\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@gabekatz_?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@gabekatz_\u003c/a> Every Bad Religion song. \u003ca title=\"badreligion\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/badreligion?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#badreligion\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"epitaphrecords\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/epitaphrecords?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#epitaphrecords\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punk\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punk?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punk\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"punkrock\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/punkrock?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#punkrock\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"comedyvideo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/comedyvideo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#comedyvideo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"funny\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#funny\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/thisiswhatgetsmecancelled?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#thisiswhatgetsmecancelled\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"gabekatzcomedy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/gabekatzcomedy?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#gabekatzcomedy\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Gabe Katz\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7215641415353781035?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Gabe Katz\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If you have no idea why this is funny, go and listen to Bad Religion’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12kcpP-8jfM\">American Jesus\u003c/a>,” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzhiQA6-Aw\">Atomic Garden\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JikOUxstTZ4\">Modern Day Catastrophists\u003c/a>.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz says we can definitely expect more videos like these from him in future, but asked which other bands he has in his sights, he says simply: “I cannot divulge that information at this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Katz is hoping to move into comedy writing and voice acting full-time soon. Asked why he started making fun of these beloved bands in the first place, he is firm. “They had it coming,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Place your bets now on who’s got it coming next. Lagwagon? Dead Kennedys? Green Day? Pennywise? Black Flag? Fingers crossed for all of the above.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-hip-hop-1980s",
"title": "How Bay Area Hip-Hop Found Its Sound in the 1980s",
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"headTitle": "How Bay Area Hip-Hop Found Its Sound in the 1980s | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927363\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-1536x864.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the mid-1980s, after years of street dance, DJing and graffiti sharing equal space, rapping took center stage. The Bay Area’s bass-heavy sound would arrive at the end of the decade. (Clockwise from top left: Too Short, MC Hammer, Dominique DiPrima, Club Nouveau, and Motorcycle Mike.) \u003ccite>(Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; SFSU Television Archives; Raymond Boyd/Getty Images; Hodisk Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t’s a wintry January evening when Bas-1 brings me to Del the Funky Homosapien’s house in the East Bay. For much of the afternoon, Bas — the \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/old-school-fool-1/\">Oakland native\u003c/a> who’s worked with Digital Underground and released \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bas-1+full+album+mentally+astute\">his own solo records\u003c/a> — has schooled me on the origins of the Bay Area hip-hop sound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas lists numerous rappers from the ’80s, and not just Todd “Too Short” Shaw, the East Oakland rapper who famously hustled homemade cassette tapes. I’ve never heard most of the names Bas mentions: MC Chocolate Milk, Windell Baby Doll, Davy Def, Buddy Bean, Reggie Reg Rock Ski.ter, M.C. Tracy, Rock Master Fresh, Nic Nack, Kimmie Fresh, and the Acorn Crew with Grandmaster Fresh (a rapper later known as “DJ Daryl” Anderson, famed for producing tracks like 415’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZ6CAwZmys\">Side Show\u003c/a>” and 2Pac’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJfDP3b5_U\">Keep Ya Head Up\u003c/a>”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13924126']Many of these early Bay Area rappers never put out a commercially available record. Instead, their work is mostly confined to locally distributed cassette tapes — collectors call them “gray tapes” — that are now nearly impossible to find. They publicly broadcasted these tapes throughout neighborhoods, utilizing boomboxes and car stereos as well as stereos at house parties. “None of them sound like Too Short,” says Bas. “Some of these people didn’t put out recordings, but they were known.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the 1980s, Bay Area hip-hop was an artistic movement struggling for a distinct identity. The first half of the decade was defined by street dance and aerosol art as much as rap and DJing. But as local youth began to absorb the sounds emanating from national hotspots like New York, they created a distinctive style all their own — one that would make a global impact in the years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Del’s house, Bas queues up an extraordinary live video clip of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u3eiG9BtdE\">Mac Mill, Emperor E, and DJ Anthony “K-os” Bryant\u003c/a> performing at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11690787/when-oakland-was-a-chocolate-city-a-brief-history-of-festival-at-the-lake\">Festival at the Lake\u003c/a>, a now-defunct annual event held at Lake Merritt, in 1988. (Alex “Naru” Reece, who organized the showcase where Mac Mill performed, clarified in a follow-up conversation that it didn’t happen during Festival at the Lake. He also says the showcase was filmed in 1986 for a 1988 video compilation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mac Mill and Emperor E go back and forth, trading sound effects and dense Oakland slang as K-os cuts and scratches copies of Long Island band Original Concept’s deathless bass classic, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai4VC0NUxl4\">Knowledge Me\u003c/a>.” Bas praises Mac Mill’s unusual “Arabian” style, which the latter deployed nearly a decade later with the 1995 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_f0TB3Igro\">Arabian Hump\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u3eiG9BtdE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, Bas-1 calls Chris “CJ Flash” Jourdan, an OG who worked with Timex Social Club, the Berkeley teen band whose 1986 electro-funk classic, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVce2IeYcTg\">Rumors\u003c/a>,” represented the first national breakthrough for Bay Area hip-hop culture. As Bas broadcasts CJ Flash’s voice from his phone through Del’s stereo equipment, CJ Flash spends the next hour or so describing a fledging scene where poppers and boogaloo dancers, not rappers or DJs, were the prime attractions. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These ensembles drew from a street-dance tradition that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891300/reclaiming-the-legacy-of-oaklands-boogaloo-dance-culture\">dates back decades\u003c/a>. Their kinetic performances ignited crowds at high schools, house parties, and public spaces like Justin Herman Plaza and Union Square in San Francisco and UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza. Battles even took place on the street, with crews traveling to different neighborhoods around the region to seek out rivals. “You could meet with people on their turf and get down, and hopefully not get thumped in the process,” says CJ Flash. Many Bay Area hip-hop pioneers got their start in dance crews, including Club Nouveau’s Jay King (who pop-locked with The Unknowns), DJ King Tech (who was known as Wizard, and danced with Master City Breakers), and Flash himself (who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub1TtnI4dh8\">performed with UFO\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub1TtnI4dh8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By contrast, rapping was a relatively new and undeveloped skill, the lowest element on the hip-hop totem pole. “Anybody could rap. Anybody could say a bunch of basic rhyme words with no style and flavor,” says Bas, noting as an aside that “most folks couldn’t understand the lyrics anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How is a discussion about street dancers connected to an exploration of the Bay Area hip-hop sound? It’s important to understand the conditions under which the genre emerged locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Turntables, Casios and Homemade Tapes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As KQED’s Eric Arnold explains in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924126/the-bay-area-was-hip-hop-before-there-was-hip-hop\">The Bay Area Was Hip-Hop Before There Was Hip-Hop\u003c/a>,” foundational elements such as spoken word, funk, and rhythm & blues existed locally well before New Jersey trio Sugarhill Gang arrived with “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM\">Rapper’s Delight\u003c/a>” in the fall of 1979.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13923978']At the same time, the Bay Area was not the Bronx, where breakbeat culture catalyzed and fermented. Bronx DJs, MCs and B-boys like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, the Rock Steady Crew and many others gained renown among mid-’70s New York youth long before “Rapper’s Delight.” By contrast, as CJ Flash explains, it took much of the 1980s for Bay Area youth to develop the cadences and rhythms we now associate with modern rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, enterprising musicians couldn’t purchase studio software and distribute their own music on an internet platform like Soundcloud. Recording equipment was expensive. An unsigned artist needed the financial and business expertise to manufacture vinyl and cassettes with artwork, much less convince record stores like Leopold’s Records in Berkeley to carry them. (Recordable CD-Rs weren’t widely used until the 1990s.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This helps explain why so many rappers utilized turntables and Casio keyboards, and then recorded their songs using the microphone input on relatively cheap stereo equipment. Captured on recordable cassettes like Maxell and TDK, some of these “gray tapes” simply had stickers with handwritten titles. More often, they weren’t labeled at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927410\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of handmade Bay Area rap tapes, part of Naru’s home archives. \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In those days, Too Short was an outlier, a Fremont High School student who canvassed East Oakland spots like Arroyo Park, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@bayareahiphoparchive/in-conversation-with-56fae687e9c\">selling copies of “Game Raps”\u003c/a> at a few dollars a pop. Since Short was originally from Los Angeles, he relied on rap partner Tony “Freddy B” Adams to show him around the Town. The duo \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">made customized tapes for local drug dealers and players\u003c/a> in the city’s nightlife — now known as “special request” tapes — shouting out the customers’ names in their raps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Short was a hustler,” says CJ Flash. “He had a style of telling stories that was so outlandish and so funny that word got around.” Short and Freddy B developed the trademark “Biiiiitch!” catchphrase, and Short has often said that he and Freddy B intended to get famous together. Unfortunately, Freddy B was in prison when Short released his landmark “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>” tape in 1987. (Adams is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/local-features/from-too-hort-colleague-to-christian-missionary/\">now a minister\u003c/a> at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfield.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 676px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"455\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984.jpg 676w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short in 1984, at the age of 18. \u003ccite>(Katy Raddatz/San Francisco Examiner/Bancroft Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Others like Sir Quick Draw, Mac Mill, and Chief Naked Head (later known as Premo; he passed away in January of 2023) simply gave away their tapes or let friends copy or “dub” the originals. As Richmond rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925761/magic-mike-richmond-calvin-t-rap-hip-hop\">Magic Mike explained in a recent interview with Dregs One\u003c/a>, dubs of his tracks circulated as widely as Germany. “It was more or less trying to make a name for yourself…you had to make a tape,” adds CJ Flash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, Bay Area hip-hop in the ’80s was a primordial soup of youngsters figuring out what the local sound would be. The answers wouldn’t arrive until near the end of the decade. “The Bay Area was behind,” says CJ Flash, comparing it to more advanced regions like Los Angeles, South Florida, and New York. “We never thought about radio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A Pivotal Moment’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Alex “Naru Kwina” Hence remembers the first time he heard the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” as a 14-year-old preparing to attend Oakland High School. “When the song went off, everybody ran outside, like, ‘Did you hear that song?!” he laughs, calling it one of the best moments of his life. “It was a pivotal moment, bro. We literally started rapping the song and trying to remember it.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naru called himself Sir Quick Draw, an alias inspired by Hanna-Barbera cartoon \u003cem>Quick Draw McGraw\u003c/em> as well as the fact that, as a runner, “I was hella fast.” He took inspiration from Kurtis Blow, the Harlem rapper who scored major hits like 1980’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzl-2g5HhaI\">The Breaks\u003c/a>.” And Naru almost immediately began recording his voice on tape. His first original song was “The Caveman Rap,” which was inspired by Brooklyn rapper Jimmy Spicer’s 1980 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkGLco0tGqc\">Adventures of Super Rhyme\u003c/a>.” Naru can still recite those verses from memory: \u003cem>Now people come and take a trip in time with me / Back to that sweet year one million B.C.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still got that old-school flavor, man,” he admits. “Hip-hop was more fun for me back then.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"840\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927368\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1-160x224.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naru Kwina, who recorded under the names Sir Quick Draw and Em Cee Quick, poses with his home archives. \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But rap in the Bay Area didn’t take off right away. “Most people would rap other people’s songs. They’d just repeat what they heard on the radio,” says Naru. Aspiring MCs honed their craft by congregating at Eastmont Mall, “trying to impress the girls, and getting our names on our derby jackets.” And when Tom Tom Club’s 1981 hit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECiMhe4E0pI\">Genius of Love\u003c/a>” dropped? “Everybody rapped over that joint, man. Too many people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s worth remembering that hip-hop was a phenomenon developed essentially by Black and Brown children. Rapping, pop-locking, spray-painting aerosol art on neighborhood walls, even DJing: These were youthful forms of play and creative expression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas, who grew up in North Oakland, remembers \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#at-fishermans-wharf-a-street-dance-destination-emerges\">popping and “roboting” at Pier 39 on Fisherman’s Wharf\u003c/a> in the late ’70s as a child. “You have people like Ben [James] from Live Incorporated doing pantomime and roboting,” he says, noting one of the better-known dance crews. Dancers competed for attention and tips that they could spend on Snickers bars and arcade games. “Battle-wise, you had to have skill and talent to a certain caliber in order to truly be out on the Wharf or on Market [and Powell] in front of the cable cars,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-800x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"547\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A street dance crew called The Vita Family perform at Pier 39 in 1986. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local newspaper stories focused on the emergence of hip-hop as a youth obsession. Enterprising teachers incorporated it into their lesson plans. On high-school campuses, fledgling DJs like Joseph Thomas “G.I. Joe” Simms Jr. at El Cerrito High School and groups like the Devastating Four proliferated. At house parties, mobile DJ crews spun the latest electro, boogie-funk, and rap hits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gatherings at schools, churches, and community centers typically reserved a few minutes for fledgling local rap and dance crews to perform. This was also the era of \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#nancy-reagan-visits-oakland-and-coins-the-phrase-just-say-no\">the Reagan Administration’s “Just Say No” campaign\u003c/a>, and kids were often asked to help spread an anti-drug message through raps. “Inspired by rapping groups such as Sugar Hill, Run DMC, Jeckyl and Hyde and Mell (sic) and the Furious Five, teen-agers create their own raps mostly for fun and to bring attention to themselves,” read a June 29, 1985, story in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13925415']In the first half of the decade, street dance remained a focal point. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/12/04/1140504217/double-dutch-fantastic-four-holiday-classic\">Double Dutch jump-rope competitions\u003c/a> sponsored by McDonald’s drew thousands to Lincoln Square Center in Oakland. The San Francisco Street Breakers held a fundraising benefit, “Super Break Sunday,” at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts in 1985. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ironically, street dance “got played out” after the success of Hollywood movies like \u003cem>Beat Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Breakin’\u003c/em>, and rap music moved to the center of hip-hop culture. Quickening the process were concerts by Black music stars like the \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-fresh-fest-comes-to-oakland\">Fresh Festival\u003c/a>, the first national hip-hop tour, with headliners Run-DMC at the Oakland Coliseum. Local radio tentatively began to experiment with rap, notably KMEL-FM and its mix DJs such as Michael Erickson and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13828163/watch-cameron-paul-give-a-masterclass-in-early-djing\">the late Cameron Paul\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1020x1517.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"952\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13927323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1020x1517.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-800x1190.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-160x238.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-768x1142.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1033x1536.jpg 1033w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_.jpg 1345w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flyer for the Fresh Festival, which arrived in Oakland in 1984.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“By 1985, there was this incredible scene in the South Bay,” says Adisa “The Bishop” Banjoko. As a teen DJ in San Bruno “who looked like Urkel,” he remembers traveling far and wide to buy records, from Creative Music Emporium in San Francisco to T’s Wauzi in Oakland. Meanwhile, nightclubs like Mothers and Studio 47 brought a fusion of hip-hop, freestyle and techno. “San Jose had underage hip-hop teenage clubs, and no other city had those,” he says. (Banjoko later became a rapper, a journalist, and now promotes jiu-jitsu, meditation and chess with his company \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/real64blocks/?hl=en\">64 Blocks\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Oakland, Naru continued making tapes. “I come from a musical family. My cousin’s the Maestro” — a.k.a. producer Keenan Foster, who has worked with Too Short, Dru Down, and Askari X — “and a lot of my family sings. I got a drum machine, a little Yamaha keyboard. I would play my bass lines. We had double-cassette decks.” He collaborated with Taj “Turntable T” Tilghman, “who was dope on the turntables.” Turntable T eventually bought a Roland TR-808 drum machine, the instrument du jour for def beat MCs. “When that 808 came, that was it. Everyone loved that deck. \u003cem>Boom!\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gray tapes” that circulated weren’t the EP and album-length releases we’re familiar with today. Some tapes only had one song per side; or maybe just one song on one side, period. Artists were judged not only by their ability to rap engagingly for several minutes, but also to chop up a familiar beat like Whodini’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5r0i2ZAbCc\">Friends\u003c/a>,” transforming it into something fresh and original; or even make rudimentary 808 beats. For example, Too Short drew attention for “rapping the longest,” as Bas explains, leading to songs that lasted eight or nine minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-800x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"682\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-800x682.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-1020x870.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-160x136.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-768x655.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adisa Banjoko in the 1980s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Adisa Banjoko)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Those tapes were everywhere. Everyone was trying to see what was possible,” says Banjoko. In 1987, he began making raps under the name MC Most Ill. His first song was “Rhyme Junkie.” “The truth was, some of it was really cool but a lot of it actually also sucked, because [the art form] was brand new. … The quality control was not there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On August 18, 1984, the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> published an article called “Rapping with Too-Short,” the first story on the 18-year-old prodigy. Pacific News Service journalist Anthony Adams called Short’s songs “preacher-like yarns over pre-recorded music,” and noted that one of them was about automaker John DeLorean, whose conviction for cocaine trafficking made national news. Short claimed he and his partner Freddy B sold over 2,000 tapes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Chronicle-Examiner\u003c/em> also frequently interviewed \u003ca href=\"https://www.dominiquediprima.com/\">Dominique “Lady D” DiPrima\u003c/a>, a New York transplant and San Francisco State University student who rapped, sung, and organized events. DiPrima possessed a rich family pedigree — her father was the jazz writer Amiri Baraka, her mother the beat poet Diane DiPrima. In late 1984, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#home-turf-premieres-on-kron-tv\">KRON-TV recruited her to host \u003cem>Home Turf\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a Saturday-afternoon program that became appointment viewing for local teens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone had a crush on Dominique,” says Naru, giggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-800x541.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"541\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-800x541.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-1020x690.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-160x108.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-768x520.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-1536x1039.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_.png 1540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominique DiPrima, pictured here hosting a 1987 episode of ‘Home Turf’ on KRON-4. \u003ccite>(SFSU Television Archive)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The First Bay Area Rap Record Opens the Floodgates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the under-acknowledged aspects of early hip-hop is the way elder Black musicians shepherded young artists into the recording industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late Sylvia Robinson, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, initially emerged in the mid-’50s as one-half of Mickey & Sylvia, who scored a national hit with “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SwMB9v1pQ4\">Love Is Strange\u003c/a>.” As a ’70s solo artist and producer, Robinson made slinky, Eartha Kitt-like erotic disco capers such as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2X1040_gY\">Pillow Talk\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPScEJ66_m4\">Sweet Stuff\u003c/a>.” After discovering hip-hop when she heard DJ Lovebug Starski at a party, Robinson formed Sugar Hill Records, and turned three rapping teens she found in New Jersey into its first act, the Sugarhill Gang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This process of soul veterans working with young people resulted in independent 12” singles that mirrored — if not yet accurately capturing — the nascent rap sound at a time when big companies virtually ignored it. With his Mercury Records contract, Kurtis Blow was the only act with a major album deal. A handful of other pioneers like DJ Hollywood scored one-off 12” deals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar process played out in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R_h9BCuvBE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first Bay Area rap record is widely considered to be Phil “Motorcycle Mike” Lewis and the Rat Trap Band’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Odk2Vu70s\">Super Rat\u003c/a>,” a 1981 boogie-funk single notoriously released by East Oakland heroin kingpin Milton “Mickey Mo” Moore’s Hodisk Records. The name “Hodisk” was a cheeky reference to his onetime side business as a pimp. (Moore has since reformed and is now a pastor in West Oakland.) In fact, Mickey Mo boasts in his 1996 autobiography \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qy6RNV6f5w\">The Man: The Life Story of a Drug Kingpin\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “Hodisk Records became the first record company on the West Coast to release a rap record.” (The first L.A. rap record, Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp’s “The Gigolo Rapp,” was also released in 1981.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mickey Mo has another claim to rap lore: In 1980, he \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-first-rap-performance-on-a-major-stage\">helped finance an Oakland Coliseum concert\u003c/a> headlined by L.A. funk band War, with the Sugarhill Gang as a supporting act. Journalist Lee Hildebrand’s pre-concert interview with the Gang in the \u003cem>Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> was the first mention of rap music in the local press. A second funk-rap novelty, Steve Walker’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9jCLUWwBY\">Tally Ho!\u003c/a>,” also appeared in 1981. In 1983, San Francisco’s Debo & Brian released the electro-funk EP \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgv_AfTbEng\">This Is It\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. The momentum had started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had made this vow that I would never ever do anything having to do with rap,” laughs Claytoven Richardson. During his long career, the Berkeley-born, Oakland-raised Richardson worked with Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Celine Dion. But in the early ’80s, he was best known as a singer, producer, and arranger with hot dancefloor jazz-funk bands like Bill Summers & Summers’ Heat. His anti-rap stance reflected the music industry at large in the 1980s. “Nobody had the foresight to see that it would morph and change and do the things that it’s done,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927369\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 625px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927369\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson.jpg 625w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson-160x90.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claytoven Richardson pictured in March 2023 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Steven Simione/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, Richardson couldn’t avoid the increasingly popular genre when he scored a production deal at Fantasy Records, the onetime Berkeley jazz label also known for innovative acts like Sylvester and Cybotron, as well as one-off singles generated by a “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” philosophy. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the records Richardson produced in that anything-goes environment was Mighty Mouth’s satirical complaint, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU1hAFnrtU8\">I’m All Rapped Out\u003c/a>.” (He wasn’t the only one annoyed over rap; perhaps out of wishful thinking, a 1985 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> article referred to the “fast-fading hip-hop scene.”) A vocalist named Lawrence Pittman didn’t show up for the session, so Richardson performed the lyrics himself. However, Pittman showed up to rap on Mighty Mouth’s second single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqfQcLbemE4\">The Roaches\u003c/a>,” which parodied Whodini’s electro hit, “Freaks Come Out at Night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other scattered local raps appeared between 1985 and 1986. Former boogaloo dancer Jay King, just home from a stint in the Air Force and splitting time between Sacramento and Vallejo, formed a group called Frost and released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObIekxeoSg\">Battle Beat\u003c/a>.” His friends Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy produced it, as well as another electro-rap track, Sorcerey’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ap6uw-kX8o\">Woo Baby\u003c/a>.” Pittsburg rapper James “Red Beat” Briggs issued “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7dUlMEZUSc\">Freak City\u003c/a>,” which was later remixed by N.W.A. co-founder Arabian Prince. And there was Rodney “Disco Alamo” Brown, from Richmond, whose 12” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K-pXg1DY98\">The Task Force\u003c/a>” is \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#richmonds-task-force-memorialized-on-wax\">an early example\u003c/a> of Bay Area rap chronicling street life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927313\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-800x484.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"484\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-800x484.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-1020x618.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-768x465.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short, pictured at his manager’s house in Oakland on September 21, 1987. \u003ccite>(Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, Too Short’s rising buzz led to a deal with deep East Oakland entrepreneur Dean Hodges’ 75 Girls label. Released in 1985, the resulting \u003cem>Don’t Stop Rappin’\u003c/em> was the first official album by a local rapper. While fans of a certain age still treasure protean electro-funk tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2ywke376NQ\">Girl\u003c/a>” — which E-40 referenced on his 1998 hit, “Earl, That’s Yo Life” — the album couldn’t compare to his raunchy and wickedly hilarious “special request” tapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was during this period that Naru finally got his chance in the studio. Since 1984, UC Berkeley station \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#college-radio-makes-its-mark\">KALX-FM\u003c/a> served as home to “Music for the People,” a Sunday-morning community affairs and music show hosted by the late Charles “Natty Prep” Douglass, as well as DJs like Billy “Jam” Kiernan (who also broadcast on San Francisco State University station KUSF-FM), David “Davey D” Cook, and funkster Rickey “The Uhuru Maggot” Vincent. When Naru won \u003ca href=\"https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/107287\">a 1986 rap contest hosted by Billy Jam on KALX\u003c/a>, he earned a deal with Bay Wave Records, a local imprint distributed by Hollywood-based Macola Records. Richardson was hired to produce the session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLlNn1Zh1ww\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Quick Draw] was a great rapper. He had a lot of great lyrics and ideas,” says Richardson. On “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLlNn1Zh1ww\">Rapaholic\u003c/a>,” Richardson and session engineer Michael Denten (who later worked with Spice 1 and E-40) accompanied Quick Draw’s dexterous and energetic raps with sharp-angled percussive edits and sound effects reminiscent of The Art of Noise and Mantronix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Respect to Claytoven,” says Naru, who not only continues to make music but also owns a company, \u003ca href=\"http://hiplearning.org/\">Hip Learning\u003c/a>, that promotes childhood education with rap. He wasn’t entirely satisfied with the “Rapaholic” experience: “They made the record sound hella more polished. It was [supposed to be] a little more underground than that.” However, he adds, “[Claytoven] taught us a lot in the studio about the mics they use and how to mix. It was a good experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"889\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi-160x237.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photocopied flyer advertising Sir Quick Draw’s single ‘Rapaholic.’ \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Radio Breakthrough — And a Kid Named Hammer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the trajectory of Bay Area hip-hop waxed and waned, three catalyzing moments brought the scene into focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first was an R&B track. Timex Social Club’s “Rumors” captured the pulse of Bay Area youth culture, from Marcus Thompson and Alex Hill’s skittering electro-funk bass and drums to singer Michael Marshall’s distinctly regional accent and coy recitation of schoolyard gossip (“Did you hear the one about Michael? Some say he must be gay…”) Produced by Jay King and Denzil Foster and released on King’s Jay Records in February 1986, it mushroomed into a top ten \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> pop hit and dominated radio all year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVce2IeYcTg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by the summer, Timex Social Club was falling apart and trading accusations with King over money and credit. The group’s only album \u003cem>Vicious Rumors\u003c/em> — by that point it was just Michael Marshall — featured drum programming from CJ Flash and a shout-out to KALX’s Natty Prep, who helped break “Rumors” on his “Music and Life” show. Marshall retreated from the spotlight before \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#i-got-5-on-it-remix-a-meeting-of-greats-recorded-in-alameda\">re-emerging as the hook man\u003c/a> on the Luniz’ 1995 smash “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtkpnXLrL4\">I Got 5 on It\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After breaking with Timex Social Club, King formed a group called Jet Set and signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The group changed their name to Club Nouveau before debuting with the single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKWhkjXV5uM\">Jealousy\u003c/a>.” A follow-up, the Bill Withers cover “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbyjaUJWWmk\">Lean on Me\u003c/a>,” went to number-one on the \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> Hot 100, while Club Nouveau’s debut album \u003cem>Life, Love & Pain\u003c/em> went platinum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927310\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-1020x624.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-768x470.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Singers Samuelle Prater, Jay King and Valerie Watson of Club Nouveau performs at the U.I.C. Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in August 1987. \u003ccite>(Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>King’s growing stardom rippled across the Bay and reached Felton Pilate, the Vallejo keyboardist, singer, and producer best known as a driving force in Bay Area funk stars Con Funk Shun. The two had already worked together on King’s onetime rap group Frost; Pilate engineered that record. Pilate soon added one of King’s projects, Sacramento R&B/rap group New Choice, to a growing slate of projects he produced and engineered at his Felstar Studios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Felstar Studios was the culmination of work he had begun while not touring and rehearsing with Con Funk Shun. At his home studio on Sandpiper Drive in Vallejo, Pilate helped assemble records for fledgling local artists. “I never thought of myself as just a studio,” he says, where he simply records his clients. “I have a little experience here. I’ve got several gold albums. Here, let me pass on some of this knowledge.” When asked if he considered himself a mentor, he demurs, even though that’s arguably what he was. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Pilate opened Felstar Studios on Sonoma Boulevard, his trusted associate was James Earley, a young engineer whom he credits for adding a more contemporary sensibility to the Studios’ output. Among the locals who came to them were M.V.P., a family trio consisting of Earl Stevens, Danell Stevens, and Brandt Jones. Their 1988 12”, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLuAL6DueI\">The Kings Men\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included Tanina Stevens and Angela Pressley, who called themselves Sugar ‘N’ Spice. The members of M.V.P. updated their stage names to E-40, D-Shot and B-Legit, added Tanina as Suga T, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-clicks-down-dirty-ushers-in-mobb-music-era\">evolved into The Click\u003c/a>, arguably becoming the most famous rap group to emerge from Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927370\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40.jpg 700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">M.V.P., a 1988 Vallejo rap group featuring Busy D, E-40 and Legit (L–R). The three would later add E-40’s sister Suga T and become known as The Click. \u003ccite>(Gerry Ericksen / Rushforce Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1986, Pilate and Earley both had solo deals at Berkeley’s Fantasy Records. It was there that Pilate met a former Oakland A’s batboy named Stanley “Holyghost Boy” Burrell through Fantasy Records producer Fred L. Pittman. “Fred would often hire me to do keyboard arrangements for him,” says Pilate. When Pittman asked him to play keys for Holyghost Boy, Pilate responded, “Hey Fred, why don’t you let me take the reins on this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a classically trained jazz and classical musician, Pilate didn’t think much of rap, even though Con Funk Shun not only included a rap verse on a 1982 single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9GHVTI-EE\">Ain’t Nobody Baby\u003c/a>”; but also made “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmzvN7raB0\">Electric Lady\u003c/a>,” a 1985 hit produced by Larry Smith of Whodini fame that landed in the top five of \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em>’s Black Singles chart. “Musically, I wasn’t a fan, but as a producer, I said, ‘I can do this,’” he says. “Like everyone else, Con Funk Shun wanted to be relevant, and rap was all over the radio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tracks Burrell brought to Pilate consisted of him rapping over sparse Yamaha RX5 drum-machine parts. Pilate responded by going into “study mode.” He listened to the rap stuff that was getting airplay like Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew. As a result, the skittering percussion on Burrell’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVWFiptGNY\">Let’s Get It Started\u003c/a>” is reminiscent of the go-go-inspired arrangements on Doug E. Fresh hits like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sGw9GSCiYU\">The Show\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UtqnKIF7kE\">All the Way to Heaven\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-800x565.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"565\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer films the music video for ‘Let’s Get It Started’ at Sweet Jimmie’s nightclub in downtown Oakland, March 19, 1988. \u003ccite>(Deanne Fitzmaurice/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My thing was to make it more music-driven than beat-driven,” says Pilate. In many cases, he simply “listened to what [Burrell] was talking about and wrote a straight R&B song underneath it.” He also gives credit to Earley, who helped refine the drum programming and brought “that younger ear” to the project. They incorporated stock horn stabs from a battery of Juno, Roland, and Yamaha drum machines. Meanwhile, Kent “The Lone Mixer” Wilson and Bryant “D.J. Redeemed” Marable added rhythmic scratches by cutting up Curtis Mayfield and Beastie Boys records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the demos were finished, Fantasy Records dropped Pilate, Earley and Burrell from their deals. “They weren’t really sure how to market any of us,” says Pilate. Then, he chuckles, “The next time I ran into the Holyghost Boy, he had changed his name to MC Hammer.” After forming Bustin’ Records in Fremont with financial help from Oakland A’s ballplayers like Mike Davis and Dwayne Murphy, Hammer turned the Pilate demos into three 12”s — “Ring ’Em,” “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Let’s Get It Started” — and the 1987 album \u003cem>Feel My Power\u003c/em>. “I was like, man, those were rough mixes! You were supposed to come back and let me fix that!” Pilate laughs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone involved in Bay Area hip-hop has vivid memories of MC Hammer blowing up. Near-mythical stories of his local takeover abound, like attending local concerts surrounded by a massive crew; or tearing up the dance floor at The Silks, a popular nightclub in Emeryville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-800x727.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"727\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-800x727.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-1020x926.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-160x145.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-768x698.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate.jpg 1058w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer and Fenton Pilate in modern times. Pilate engineered and co-produced MC Hammer’s first recordings. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Felton Pilate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, it’s worth revisiting \u003cem>Feel My Power\u003c/em> and 1988’s \u003cem>Let’s Get It Started\u003c/em>. Released after Hammer signed with Capitol Records, \u003cem>Let’s Get It Started\u003c/em> found Hammer and Pilate remixing those original demos while adding vital new tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sZVcXzSE3M\">Pump It Up\u003c/a>.” The results are bombastic and vibrant dance-floor jams as ecstatic as anything by Kid ‘n’ Play and Salt-n-Pepa. Hammer’s subsequent leap into pop superstardom with 1990’s \u003cem>Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em\u003c/em> and the ubiquity of “U Can’t Touch This” obscure just how great those early tracks are.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Eight Woofers in the Trunk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>MC Hammer’s major-label arrival in 1988 capped a year of Bay Area hip-hop on the cusp of national exposure. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Too Short issued \u003cem>Born to Mack\u003c/em> in the fall of 1987 on his Dangerous Music label, Jive Records picked it up. (Dangerous Music also issued \u003cem>Dangerous Crew\u003c/em>, a compilation of vital Bay Area acts like Spice-1, Rappin’ 4-Tay, and the female duo Danger Zone.) Digital Underground’s playful and psychedelic “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zQ1frcgSbI\">Underwater Rimes\u003c/a> / \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBNB20wVo0\">Your Life’s a Cartoon\u003c/a>” led to a deal with Tommy Boy. Local talent waited in the wings, including rapper/producer Paris (A.T.C.’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHpiPWfOBk4\">Cisco Jam\u003c/a>”), Sway & King Tech (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJujmVXiwE\">Flynamic Force\u003c/a>\u003c/em> EP), Dangerous Dame (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Frj4j09GE\">The Power That’s Packed\u003c/a>”), and MC Twist and the Def Squad (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZz7qhjfjw\">Just Rock\u003c/a>”). And the late Cameron Paul, known for his “Beats & Pieces” breakbeats, remixed Queens trio Salt-n-Pepa’s 1987 track “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkdk1oMmtE\">Push It\u003c/a>” into a global phenomenon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13828164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-800x496.jpg\" alt=\"Cameron Paul reveals his mixing secrets.\" width=\"800\" height=\"496\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13828164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-240x149.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-375x233.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-520x322.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cameron Paul, who provided the spine of New Orleans bounce music with ‘Brown Beats’ and recorded a smash-hit remix of Salt ‘n’ Pepa’s ‘Push It,’ was also a prominent club and radio megamix DJ in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Incidentally, the first local group to score a major label deal wasn’t Hammer, but Surf MCs, a Berkeley group that Profile Records promoted as a Beastie Boys-like rap/rock crossover. Their 1987 album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojCAqdBA7uA\">Surf or Die\u003c/a>\u003c/em> proved a flop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the third moment that catalyzed Bay Area hip-hop wasn’t a singular record like Timex Social Club’s “Rumors,” or an artist like Hammer and Short. It was the sound of walloping, all-enveloping bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Made for surgically enhanced car and jeep stereos, the bass colossus is as much a feature of hip-hop in the mid-’80s as the pounding Roland TR-808 machine, from Rick Rubin’s production on LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” and T La Rock’s “It’s Yours” to Rodney O and DJ Joe Cooley’s “Everlasting Bass” and Dr. Dre’s work on Eazy-E’s “The Boyz-N-The Hood.” It also mirrors the crack-cocaine epidemic that began to blight and distort communities across the country. As street life turned treacherous, the specter of the hustler, and whether to become one, cast a growing shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13925761']“Then the new style came, the bass got deeper / You gave up the mike and bought you a beeper / Do you want to rap or sell coke? / Brothers like you ain’t never broke,” Too Short memorably rapped on his 1989 hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvfUUOO0xoM\">Life Is…Too Short\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Banjoko recalls how the presence of gangs transformed local shows. “You would see a bunch of people dressed up together [in the same gear], and you might assume they were a rap or dance crew. They were young drug lords,” he says. “You could get trampled, beat up or robbed by any of them. I remember 69 Ville being massively deep at the Fresh Fest and the [Run-DMC] Raising Hell tour. They were terrifying, straight up. You were going to tuck your chain, you were going to take your Kangol off, or they were going to take it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"409\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hugh EMC, the San Francisco rapper whose 1988 single ‘It’s the Game’ unflinchingly chronicled street life. \u003ccite>(Soul Sonic Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rap imagery became more honest and explicit. Some like Richmond rapper Magic Mike, San Francisco’s Hugh EMC (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_p7L0eJfKI\">It’s the Game\u003c/a>”), and Oakland’s Hollywood (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/641778-Hollywood-Stay-Heart-And-Soul-Raps-Just-A-Battlefield\">Gangster Rap\u003c/a>”) seemed to embrace the hustler ethos, while cautiously adding verses about the consequences of that lifestyle. Then there was Oakland rapper Morocco Moe, whose “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogNoOCIVPrI\">Task\u003c/a>” criticized how law enforcement brutalized communities in the War on Drugs: “Their intentions are good/But their actions are wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every Black neighborhood was infested” with crack, says Vallejo producer Khayree Shaheed. “There was an influx of money coming into young Black men, but there was also a lot of death occurring.” The epidemic also marked his entry into the world of rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a descendant of the Bay Area’s vaunted funk tradition, Khayree spent the ’70s and early ’80s playing bass guitar for bands like Grand Larceny, Body Mind & Spirit and Touch of Class (with keyboardist Rosie Gaines, who later joined Prince & the New Power Generation). His travels took him across the U.S. and even to Japan, where Touch of Class lived and performed for several months. (Though his bands made demos, there are no official recordings to date.) When asked about the first time he heard rap, Khayree cites “jazzoetry” ensembles like The Last Poets, not the Sugarhill Gang. And as a youth growing up on Lofas Place in Vallejo, he spent plenty of time following Con Funk Shun, hoping to apprentice with the biggest band in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927412\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-800x510.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"510\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-1020x651.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-1536x980.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo musician Khayree Shaheed, playing bass onstage in 1979. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Khayree Shaheed)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Khayree was in his mid-20s when Rod “I.C.E.” Andrews and Dan “Luvva D” Morrison a.k.a. the Luvva Twins brought Khayree a demo they had made on a Casio keyboard, “Hubba Head.” The song title was slang for a crack addict, and the duo described the “hubba head’s” descent into addiction with charismatic punch. They arranged the music and rapped most of the lyrics, while Khayree dropped a short verse and added guitar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khayree had already spent time at Pilate’s home studio, honing his writing and production skills. (“I always enjoyed working with him,” says Pilate.) Now, he brought “Hubba Head” to Pilate, and the two prepared it for release. Setting up his own label, Big Bank Records, Khayree distributed two hundred copies of the 12” to DJs and influencers. “The record was super popular in the streets,” says Khayree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pArkWvlAebg\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After “Hubba Head,” Khayree began working with Jay King, a fellow graduate of Vallejo High School. The opportunity to write and produce New Choice’s 1987 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-VLZQ4X1yA\">Cold Stupid\u003c/a>” and most of the quintet’s 1988 debut, \u003cem>At Last\u003c/em>, gave him important experience on a major project and financial stability. By fusing bass, funky R&B and hip-hop breakbeats, New Choice reflected a parallel R&B movement that both influenced and was inspired by the hip-hop scene. Similar Bay Area acts included Oakland’s Tony! Toni! Toné!, who parlayed backing sessions for Sheila E. and Tramaine Hawkins into a major-label deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flush from his experience with New Choice, Khayree was ready to start his own company. “I’m listening to EPMD’s \u003cem>Strictly Business\u003c/em>,” he says, inspiring the name of his second label, Strictly Business Records. He knew that Mike “The Mac” Robinson, who also grew up on Lofas Place, was a rapper. Robinson hailed from a musical family: his uncle Steve “Silver” Scales was a well-traveled Vallejo funk percussionist who played with Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and the B-52s. (Though it would be a delicious coincidence, Scales didn’t perform on “Genius of Love.”) Khayree encouraged Robinson to take music more seriously. Meanwhile, Robinson’s mother drew the memorable Strictly Business logo: an open briefcase, ready for business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1988, Khayree released The Mac’s three-song EP, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/805531-The-Mac-Im-Ah-Big-Mac\">I’m Ah Big Mac\u003c/a>.” Heard now, what immediately stands out is the unique \u003cem>tone\u003c/em> of the bass. “We used synthesizers that had dumb-fat bass lines,” explains Khayree in reference to himself and Too Short as well as future Bay Area colleagues like Ant Banks. By comparison, he says, other regional scenes relied on a “natural” bass guitar or samples from records. “You feel it through your whole body. … You can get it with a bass guitar, depending on how you EQ the bass and what you run your guitar through. But you’re \u003cem>never\u003c/em> going to touch the subs and the depth of a Minimoog, of the Oberheim Ovx, or the Roland Juno 106.” The EP’s highlight is its B-side “The Game Is Thick,” which centers on a sample of Prince’s “D.M.S.R.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927371\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-800x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"498\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927371\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-800x498.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-1020x635.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-768x478.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick.jpg 1537w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khayree and The Mac (L–R), pictured on the cover of The Mac’s ‘The Game is Thick.’ \u003ccite>(Phil Bray / Strictly Business Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1989, Khayree remixed and re-released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCxGl7Ok1YI\">The Game Is Thick\u003c/a>” as a standalone 12” with a memorable cover photo: Khayree looking super-clean in a grey suit, clasping a briefcase, with The Mac in a red-and-black bomber jacket. Khayree calls the style “pimping.” “We didn’t mean pimping so much as getting prostitutes to work,” he explains. “It’s an attitude, and it’s a musical style.” The “game” is a metaphor for life in the Black community. Street slang illustrated complex situations, whether it was dealing with the repercussions of a raging crack epidemic, or simply navigating the tensions of everyday living. Meanwhile, The Mac’s “cool, silky, pimpish” flow and Khayree’s synthesized bass production proved a clear predecessor to the ’90s mob-music sound that took over Bay Area rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13924167']Upon release, “The Game Is Thick” didn’t make a major impact, and most copies went to local DJ pools. “We promoted records out of the trunk,” says Khayree. “We went from Bobby G’s Soul Disco in San Francisco to [Rico Casanova’s record pool] The Pros in Oakland.” Still, “The Game Is Thick” remix received a mention in Davey “D” Cook’s April 7, 1989 “Beats & Breaks” column for \u003cem>BAM\u003c/em> Magazine. “Let me tell you, it’s hyped to the max,” Davey D wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Khayree’s encouragement, the Mac taught himself how to produce music with synth keyboards. He also introduced Khayree to another Vallejo artist, Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, who became Strictly Business’ second act. By the time The Mac was shot and killed on July 23, 1991 in what Khayree calls “a case of mistaken identity,” the two had recorded dozens of tracks and released a third and final 12” protesting police violence, 1990’s “Enuff of Tis Sh-t!” One of The Mac’s beats posthumously appeared on Mac Dre’s 1993 track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slA_s7tSjMU\">The M.A.C. & Mac D.R.E.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927413\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-1536x1003.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khayree with Kool Moe Dee at the 1988 BRE Conference in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Khayree Shaheed)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Mike had a big, big loving heart,” remembers Khayree, sounding wistful. He emphasizes how The Mac left behind a daughter, “Mac” Reina Robinson, and a pregnant girlfriend who gave birth to his son, Mike. At one point, Khayree plays a voicemail of The Mac passionately singing a funky, swinging hook, as if to counteract the stereotype that rappers aren’t musicians. He talks about how The Mac’s way of playing simple, evocative keyboard notes for maximum effect echoes in the work of his famed protégé, Mac Dre. “I miss him,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area rap broke wide at the end of the decade, leading to a 1989 story in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/10/arts/rap-by-the-bay-oakland-emerges-as-a-force-in-pop.html\">Rap by the Bay: Oakland Emerges as a Force in Pop\u003c/a>.” Not every local pioneer who laid the groundwork would enjoy the fruits of that success. But their stories are essential to understanding how local hip-hop came of age, and everything that came after.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927363\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-800x450.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-1020x574.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-1536x864.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In the mid-1980s, after years of street dance, DJing and graffiti sharing equal space, rapping took center stage. The Bay Area’s bass-heavy sound would arrive at the end of the decade. (Clockwise from top left: Too Short, MC Hammer, Dominique DiPrima, Club Nouveau, and Motorcycle Mike.) \u003ccite>(Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; SFSU Television Archives; Raymond Boyd/Getty Images; Hodisk Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s year-long exploration of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history, with new content dropping all throughout 2023.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>t’s a wintry January evening when Bas-1 brings me to Del the Funky Homosapien’s house in the East Bay. For much of the afternoon, Bas — the \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/old-school-fool-1/\">Oakland native\u003c/a> who’s worked with Digital Underground and released \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bas-1+full+album+mentally+astute\">his own solo records\u003c/a> — has schooled me on the origins of the Bay Area hip-hop sound.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas lists numerous rappers from the ’80s, and not just Todd “Too Short” Shaw, the East Oakland rapper who famously hustled homemade cassette tapes. I’ve never heard most of the names Bas mentions: MC Chocolate Milk, Windell Baby Doll, Davy Def, Buddy Bean, Reggie Reg Rock Ski.ter, M.C. Tracy, Rock Master Fresh, Nic Nack, Kimmie Fresh, and the Acorn Crew with Grandmaster Fresh (a rapper later known as “DJ Daryl” Anderson, famed for producing tracks like 415’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZ6CAwZmys\">Side Show\u003c/a>” and 2Pac’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAJfDP3b5_U\">Keep Ya Head Up\u003c/a>”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Many of these early Bay Area rappers never put out a commercially available record. Instead, their work is mostly confined to locally distributed cassette tapes — collectors call them “gray tapes” — that are now nearly impossible to find. They publicly broadcasted these tapes throughout neighborhoods, utilizing boomboxes and car stereos as well as stereos at house parties. “None of them sound like Too Short,” says Bas. “Some of these people didn’t put out recordings, but they were known.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the 1980s, Bay Area hip-hop was an artistic movement struggling for a distinct identity. The first half of the decade was defined by street dance and aerosol art as much as rap and DJing. But as local youth began to absorb the sounds emanating from national hotspots like New York, they created a distinctive style all their own — one that would make a global impact in the years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Del’s house, Bas queues up an extraordinary live video clip of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u3eiG9BtdE\">Mac Mill, Emperor E, and DJ Anthony “K-os” Bryant\u003c/a> performing at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11690787/when-oakland-was-a-chocolate-city-a-brief-history-of-festival-at-the-lake\">Festival at the Lake\u003c/a>, a now-defunct annual event held at Lake Merritt, in 1988. (Alex “Naru” Reece, who organized the showcase where Mac Mill performed, clarified in a follow-up conversation that it didn’t happen during Festival at the Lake. He also says the showcase was filmed in 1986 for a 1988 video compilation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mac Mill and Emperor E go back and forth, trading sound effects and dense Oakland slang as K-os cuts and scratches copies of Long Island band Original Concept’s deathless bass classic, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai4VC0NUxl4\">Knowledge Me\u003c/a>.” Bas praises Mac Mill’s unusual “Arabian” style, which the latter deployed nearly a decade later with the 1995 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_f0TB3Igro\">Arabian Hump\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5u3eiG9BtdE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5u3eiG9BtdE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Then, Bas-1 calls Chris “CJ Flash” Jourdan, an OG who worked with Timex Social Club, the Berkeley teen band whose 1986 electro-funk classic, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVce2IeYcTg\">Rumors\u003c/a>,” represented the first national breakthrough for Bay Area hip-hop culture. As Bas broadcasts CJ Flash’s voice from his phone through Del’s stereo equipment, CJ Flash spends the next hour or so describing a fledging scene where poppers and boogaloo dancers, not rappers or DJs, were the prime attractions. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These ensembles drew from a street-dance tradition that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891300/reclaiming-the-legacy-of-oaklands-boogaloo-dance-culture\">dates back decades\u003c/a>. Their kinetic performances ignited crowds at high schools, house parties, and public spaces like Justin Herman Plaza and Union Square in San Francisco and UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza. Battles even took place on the street, with crews traveling to different neighborhoods around the region to seek out rivals. “You could meet with people on their turf and get down, and hopefully not get thumped in the process,” says CJ Flash. Many Bay Area hip-hop pioneers got their start in dance crews, including Club Nouveau’s Jay King (who pop-locked with The Unknowns), DJ King Tech (who was known as Wizard, and danced with Master City Breakers), and Flash himself (who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub1TtnI4dh8\">performed with UFO\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ub1TtnI4dh8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ub1TtnI4dh8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>By contrast, rapping was a relatively new and undeveloped skill, the lowest element on the hip-hop totem pole. “Anybody could rap. Anybody could say a bunch of basic rhyme words with no style and flavor,” says Bas, noting as an aside that “most folks couldn’t understand the lyrics anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How is a discussion about street dancers connected to an exploration of the Bay Area hip-hop sound? It’s important to understand the conditions under which the genre emerged locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Turntables, Casios and Homemade Tapes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As KQED’s Eric Arnold explains in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924126/the-bay-area-was-hip-hop-before-there-was-hip-hop\">The Bay Area Was Hip-Hop Before There Was Hip-Hop\u003c/a>,” foundational elements such as spoken word, funk, and rhythm & blues existed locally well before New Jersey trio Sugarhill Gang arrived with “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM\">Rapper’s Delight\u003c/a>” in the fall of 1979.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the same time, the Bay Area was not the Bronx, where breakbeat culture catalyzed and fermented. Bronx DJs, MCs and B-boys like Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, the Rock Steady Crew and many others gained renown among mid-’70s New York youth long before “Rapper’s Delight.” By contrast, as CJ Flash explains, it took much of the 1980s for Bay Area youth to develop the cadences and rhythms we now associate with modern rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, enterprising musicians couldn’t purchase studio software and distribute their own music on an internet platform like Soundcloud. Recording equipment was expensive. An unsigned artist needed the financial and business expertise to manufacture vinyl and cassettes with artwork, much less convince record stores like Leopold’s Records in Berkeley to carry them. (Recordable CD-Rs weren’t widely used until the 1990s.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This helps explain why so many rappers utilized turntables and Casio keyboards, and then recorded their songs using the microphone input on relatively cheap stereo equipment. Captured on recordable cassettes like Maxell and TDK, some of these “gray tapes” simply had stickers with handwritten titles. More often, they weren’t labeled at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927410\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.BoxofTapes.CloseUp.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A box of handmade Bay Area rap tapes, part of Naru’s home archives. \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In those days, Too Short was an outlier, a Fremont High School student who canvassed East Oakland spots like Arroyo Park, \u003ca href=\"https://medium.com/@bayareahiphoparchive/in-conversation-with-56fae687e9c\">selling copies of “Game Raps”\u003c/a> at a few dollars a pop. Since Short was originally from Los Angeles, he relied on rap partner Tony “Freddy B” Adams to show him around the Town. The duo \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">made customized tapes for local drug dealers and players\u003c/a> in the city’s nightlife — now known as “special request” tapes — shouting out the customers’ names in their raps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Short was a hustler,” says CJ Flash. “He had a style of telling stories that was so outlandish and so funny that word got around.” Short and Freddy B developed the trademark “Biiiiitch!” catchphrase, and Short has often said that he and Freddy B intended to get famous together. Unfortunately, Freddy B was in prison when Short released his landmark “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVJTvOO4yY\">Freaky Tales\u003c/a>” tape in 1987. (Adams is \u003ca href=\"https://www.dailyrepublic.com/all-dr-news/solano-news/local-features/from-too-hort-colleague-to-christian-missionary/\">now a minister\u003c/a> at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Fairfield.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927341\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 676px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"455\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984.jpg 676w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TooShort.SFExaminer.1984-160x108.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short in 1984, at the age of 18. \u003ccite>(Katy Raddatz/San Francisco Examiner/Bancroft Library)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Others like Sir Quick Draw, Mac Mill, and Chief Naked Head (later known as Premo; he passed away in January of 2023) simply gave away their tapes or let friends copy or “dub” the originals. As Richmond rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925761/magic-mike-richmond-calvin-t-rap-hip-hop\">Magic Mike explained in a recent interview with Dregs One\u003c/a>, dubs of his tracks circulated as widely as Germany. “It was more or less trying to make a name for yourself…you had to make a tape,” adds CJ Flash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, Bay Area hip-hop in the ’80s was a primordial soup of youngsters figuring out what the local sound would be. The answers wouldn’t arrive until near the end of the decade. “The Bay Area was behind,” says CJ Flash, comparing it to more advanced regions like Los Angeles, South Florida, and New York. “We never thought about radio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘A Pivotal Moment’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Alex “Naru Kwina” Hence remembers the first time he heard the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” as a 14-year-old preparing to attend Oakland High School. “When the song went off, everybody ran outside, like, ‘Did you hear that song?!” he laughs, calling it one of the best moments of his life. “It was a pivotal moment, bro. We literally started rapping the song and trying to remember it.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naru called himself Sir Quick Draw, an alias inspired by Hanna-Barbera cartoon \u003cem>Quick Draw McGraw\u003c/em> as well as the fact that, as a runner, “I was hella fast.” He took inspiration from Kurtis Blow, the Harlem rapper who scored major hits like 1980’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzl-2g5HhaI\">The Breaks\u003c/a>.” And Naru almost immediately began recording his voice on tape. His first original song was “The Caveman Rap,” which was inspired by Brooklyn rapper Jimmy Spicer’s 1980 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkGLco0tGqc\">Adventures of Super Rhyme\u003c/a>.” Naru can still recite those verses from memory: \u003cem>Now people come and take a trip in time with me / Back to that sweet year one million B.C.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still got that old-school flavor, man,” he admits. “Hip-hop was more fun for me back then.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927368\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"840\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927368\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Naru.Boxes_.1-160x224.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naru Kwina, who recorded under the names Sir Quick Draw and Em Cee Quick, poses with his home archives. \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But rap in the Bay Area didn’t take off right away. “Most people would rap other people’s songs. They’d just repeat what they heard on the radio,” says Naru. Aspiring MCs honed their craft by congregating at Eastmont Mall, “trying to impress the girls, and getting our names on our derby jackets.” And when Tom Tom Club’s 1981 hit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECiMhe4E0pI\">Genius of Love\u003c/a>” dropped? “Everybody rapped over that joint, man. Too many people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s worth remembering that hip-hop was a phenomenon developed essentially by Black and Brown children. Rapping, pop-locking, spray-painting aerosol art on neighborhood walls, even DJing: These were youthful forms of play and creative expression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bas, who grew up in North Oakland, remembers \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#at-fishermans-wharf-a-street-dance-destination-emerges\">popping and “roboting” at Pier 39 on Fisherman’s Wharf\u003c/a> in the late ’70s as a child. “You have people like Ben [James] from Live Incorporated doing pantomime and roboting,” he says, noting one of the better-known dance crews. Dancers competed for attention and tips that they could spend on Snickers bars and arcade games. “Battle-wise, you had to have skill and talent to a certain caliber in order to truly be out on the Wharf or on Market [and Powell] in front of the cable cars,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-800x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"547\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1298788791.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A street dance crew called The Vita Family perform at Pier 39 in 1986. \u003ccite>(Liz Hafalia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local newspaper stories focused on the emergence of hip-hop as a youth obsession. Enterprising teachers incorporated it into their lesson plans. On high-school campuses, fledgling DJs like Joseph Thomas “G.I. Joe” Simms Jr. at El Cerrito High School and groups like the Devastating Four proliferated. At house parties, mobile DJ crews spun the latest electro, boogie-funk, and rap hits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gatherings at schools, churches, and community centers typically reserved a few minutes for fledgling local rap and dance crews to perform. This was also the era of \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#nancy-reagan-visits-oakland-and-coins-the-phrase-just-say-no\">the Reagan Administration’s “Just Say No” campaign\u003c/a>, and kids were often asked to help spread an anti-drug message through raps. “Inspired by rapping groups such as Sugar Hill, Run DMC, Jeckyl and Hyde and Mell (sic) and the Furious Five, teen-agers create their own raps mostly for fun and to bring attention to themselves,” read a June 29, 1985, story in the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the first half of the decade, street dance remained a focal point. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/12/04/1140504217/double-dutch-fantastic-four-holiday-classic\">Double Dutch jump-rope competitions\u003c/a> sponsored by McDonald’s drew thousands to Lincoln Square Center in Oakland. The San Francisco Street Breakers held a fundraising benefit, “Super Break Sunday,” at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts in 1985. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ironically, street dance “got played out” after the success of Hollywood movies like \u003cem>Beat Street\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Breakin’\u003c/em>, and rap music moved to the center of hip-hop culture. Quickening the process were concerts by Black music stars like the \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-fresh-fest-comes-to-oakland\">Fresh Festival\u003c/a>, the first national hip-hop tour, with headliners Run-DMC at the Oakland Coliseum. Local radio tentatively began to experiment with rap, notably KMEL-FM and its mix DJs such as Michael Erickson and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13828163/watch-cameron-paul-give-a-masterclass-in-early-djing\">the late Cameron Paul\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1020x1517.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"952\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13927323\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1020x1517.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-800x1190.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-160x238.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-768x1142.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_-1033x1536.jpg 1033w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/FreshFest.Flyer_.jpg 1345w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flyer for the Fresh Festival, which arrived in Oakland in 1984.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“By 1985, there was this incredible scene in the South Bay,” says Adisa “The Bishop” Banjoko. As a teen DJ in San Bruno “who looked like Urkel,” he remembers traveling far and wide to buy records, from Creative Music Emporium in San Francisco to T’s Wauzi in Oakland. Meanwhile, nightclubs like Mothers and Studio 47 brought a fusion of hip-hop, freestyle and techno. “San Jose had underage hip-hop teenage clubs, and no other city had those,” he says. (Banjoko later became a rapper, a journalist, and now promotes jiu-jitsu, meditation and chess with his company \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/real64blocks/?hl=en\">64 Blocks\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Oakland, Naru continued making tapes. “I come from a musical family. My cousin’s the Maestro” — a.k.a. producer Keenan Foster, who has worked with Too Short, Dru Down, and Askari X — “and a lot of my family sings. I got a drum machine, a little Yamaha keyboard. I would play my bass lines. We had double-cassette decks.” He collaborated with Taj “Turntable T” Tilghman, “who was dope on the turntables.” Turntable T eventually bought a Roland TR-808 drum machine, the instrument du jour for def beat MCs. “When that 808 came, that was it. Everyone loved that deck. \u003cem>Boom!\u003c/em>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Gray tapes” that circulated weren’t the EP and album-length releases we’re familiar with today. Some tapes only had one song per side; or maybe just one song on one side, period. Artists were judged not only by their ability to rap engagingly for several minutes, but also to chop up a familiar beat like Whodini’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5r0i2ZAbCc\">Friends\u003c/a>,” transforming it into something fresh and original; or even make rudimentary 808 beats. For example, Too Short drew attention for “rapping the longest,” as Bas explains, leading to songs that lasted eight or nine minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927334\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-800x682.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"682\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-800x682.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-1020x870.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-160x136.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait-768x655.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Adisa.portrait.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adisa Banjoko in the 1980s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Adisa Banjoko)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Those tapes were everywhere. Everyone was trying to see what was possible,” says Banjoko. In 1987, he began making raps under the name MC Most Ill. His first song was “Rhyme Junkie.” “The truth was, some of it was really cool but a lot of it actually also sucked, because [the art form] was brand new. … The quality control was not there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On August 18, 1984, the \u003cem>San Francisco Examiner\u003c/em> published an article called “Rapping with Too-Short,” the first story on the 18-year-old prodigy. Pacific News Service journalist Anthony Adams called Short’s songs “preacher-like yarns over pre-recorded music,” and noted that one of them was about automaker John DeLorean, whose conviction for cocaine trafficking made national news. Short claimed he and his partner Freddy B sold over 2,000 tapes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003cem>Chronicle-Examiner\u003c/em> also frequently interviewed \u003ca href=\"https://www.dominiquediprima.com/\">Dominique “Lady D” DiPrima\u003c/a>, a New York transplant and San Francisco State University student who rapped, sung, and organized events. DiPrima possessed a rich family pedigree — her father was the jazz writer Amiri Baraka, her mother the beat poet Diane DiPrima. In late 1984, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#home-turf-premieres-on-kron-tv\">KRON-TV recruited her to host \u003cem>Home Turf\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a Saturday-afternoon program that became appointment viewing for local teens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone had a crush on Dominique,” says Naru, giggling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-800x541.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"541\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-800x541.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-1020x690.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-160x108.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-768x520.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_-1536x1039.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/DominiqueDiprima.HomeTurf.SFSU_.png 1540w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dominique DiPrima, pictured here hosting a 1987 episode of ‘Home Turf’ on KRON-4. \u003ccite>(SFSU Television Archive)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The First Bay Area Rap Record Opens the Floodgates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the under-acknowledged aspects of early hip-hop is the way elder Black musicians shepherded young artists into the recording industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late Sylvia Robinson, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, initially emerged in the mid-’50s as one-half of Mickey & Sylvia, who scored a national hit with “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SwMB9v1pQ4\">Love Is Strange\u003c/a>.” As a ’70s solo artist and producer, Robinson made slinky, Eartha Kitt-like erotic disco capers such as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2X1040_gY\">Pillow Talk\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPScEJ66_m4\">Sweet Stuff\u003c/a>.” After discovering hip-hop when she heard DJ Lovebug Starski at a party, Robinson formed Sugar Hill Records, and turned three rapping teens she found in New Jersey into its first act, the Sugarhill Gang.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This process of soul veterans working with young people resulted in independent 12” singles that mirrored — if not yet accurately capturing — the nascent rap sound at a time when big companies virtually ignored it. With his Mercury Records contract, Kurtis Blow was the only act with a major album deal. A handful of other pioneers like DJ Hollywood scored one-off 12” deals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar process played out in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/2R_h9BCuvBE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/2R_h9BCuvBE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The first Bay Area rap record is widely considered to be Phil “Motorcycle Mike” Lewis and the Rat Trap Band’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Odk2Vu70s\">Super Rat\u003c/a>,” a 1981 boogie-funk single notoriously released by East Oakland heroin kingpin Milton “Mickey Mo” Moore’s Hodisk Records. The name “Hodisk” was a cheeky reference to his onetime side business as a pimp. (Moore has since reformed and is now a pastor in West Oakland.) In fact, Mickey Mo boasts in his 1996 autobiography \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qy6RNV6f5w\">The Man: The Life Story of a Drug Kingpin\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, “Hodisk Records became the first record company on the West Coast to release a rap record.” (The first L.A. rap record, Disco Daddy and Captain Rapp’s “The Gigolo Rapp,” was also released in 1981.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mickey Mo has another claim to rap lore: In 1980, he \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-first-rap-performance-on-a-major-stage\">helped finance an Oakland Coliseum concert\u003c/a> headlined by L.A. funk band War, with the Sugarhill Gang as a supporting act. Journalist Lee Hildebrand’s pre-concert interview with the Gang in the \u003cem>Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> was the first mention of rap music in the local press. A second funk-rap novelty, Steve Walker’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB9jCLUWwBY\">Tally Ho!\u003c/a>,” also appeared in 1981. In 1983, San Francisco’s Debo & Brian released the electro-funk EP \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgv_AfTbEng\">This Is It\u003c/a>\u003c/em>. The momentum had started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had made this vow that I would never ever do anything having to do with rap,” laughs Claytoven Richardson. During his long career, the Berkeley-born, Oakland-raised Richardson worked with Aretha Franklin, Kenny G, Whitney Houston, Elton John, and Celine Dion. But in the early ’80s, he was best known as a singer, producer, and arranger with hot dancefloor jazz-funk bands like Bill Summers & Summers’ Heat. His anti-rap stance reflected the music industry at large in the 1980s. “Nobody had the foresight to see that it would morph and change and do the things that it’s done,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927369\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 625px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927369\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson.jpg 625w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/ClaytovenRichardson-160x90.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 625px) 100vw, 625px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Claytoven Richardson pictured in March 2023 in Los Angeles, California. \u003ccite>(Steven Simione/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, Richardson couldn’t avoid the increasingly popular genre when he scored a production deal at Fantasy Records, the onetime Berkeley jazz label also known for innovative acts like Sylvester and Cybotron, as well as one-off singles generated by a “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” philosophy. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the records Richardson produced in that anything-goes environment was Mighty Mouth’s satirical complaint, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU1hAFnrtU8\">I’m All Rapped Out\u003c/a>.” (He wasn’t the only one annoyed over rap; perhaps out of wishful thinking, a 1985 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> article referred to the “fast-fading hip-hop scene.”) A vocalist named Lawrence Pittman didn’t show up for the session, so Richardson performed the lyrics himself. However, Pittman showed up to rap on Mighty Mouth’s second single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqfQcLbemE4\">The Roaches\u003c/a>,” which parodied Whodini’s electro hit, “Freaks Come Out at Night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other scattered local raps appeared between 1985 and 1986. Former boogaloo dancer Jay King, just home from a stint in the Air Force and splitting time between Sacramento and Vallejo, formed a group called Frost and released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObIekxeoSg\">Battle Beat\u003c/a>.” His friends Denzil Foster & Thomas McElroy produced it, as well as another electro-rap track, Sorcerey’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ap6uw-kX8o\">Woo Baby\u003c/a>.” Pittsburg rapper James “Red Beat” Briggs issued “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7dUlMEZUSc\">Freak City\u003c/a>,” which was later remixed by N.W.A. co-founder Arabian Prince. And there was Rodney “Disco Alamo” Brown, from Richmond, whose 12” “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6K-pXg1DY98\">The Task Force\u003c/a>” is \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#richmonds-task-force-memorialized-on-wax\">an early example\u003c/a> of Bay Area rap chronicling street life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927313\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-800x484.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"484\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927313\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-800x484.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-1020x618.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-160x97.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164-768x465.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1206295164.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short, pictured at his manager’s house in Oakland on September 21, 1987. \u003ccite>(Steve Ringman/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most importantly, Too Short’s rising buzz led to a deal with deep East Oakland entrepreneur Dean Hodges’ 75 Girls label. Released in 1985, the resulting \u003cem>Don’t Stop Rappin’\u003c/em> was the first official album by a local rapper. While fans of a certain age still treasure protean electro-funk tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2ywke376NQ\">Girl\u003c/a>” — which E-40 referenced on his 1998 hit, “Earl, That’s Yo Life” — the album couldn’t compare to his raunchy and wickedly hilarious “special request” tapes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was during this period that Naru finally got his chance in the studio. Since 1984, UC Berkeley station \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#college-radio-makes-its-mark\">KALX-FM\u003c/a> served as home to “Music for the People,” a Sunday-morning community affairs and music show hosted by the late Charles “Natty Prep” Douglass, as well as DJs like Billy “Jam” Kiernan (who also broadcast on San Francisco State University station KUSF-FM), David “Davey D” Cook, and funkster Rickey “The Uhuru Maggot” Vincent. When Naru won \u003ca href=\"https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/107287\">a 1986 rap contest hosted by Billy Jam on KALX\u003c/a>, he earned a deal with Bay Wave Records, a local imprint distributed by Hollywood-based Macola Records. Richardson was hired to produce the session.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/dLlNn1Zh1ww'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/dLlNn1Zh1ww'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“[Quick Draw] was a great rapper. He had a lot of great lyrics and ideas,” says Richardson. On “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLlNn1Zh1ww\">Rapaholic\u003c/a>,” Richardson and session engineer Michael Denten (who later worked with Spice 1 and E-40) accompanied Quick Draw’s dexterous and energetic raps with sharp-angled percussive edits and sound effects reminiscent of The Art of Noise and Mantronix.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Respect to Claytoven,” says Naru, who not only continues to make music but also owns a company, \u003ca href=\"http://hiplearning.org/\">Hip Learning\u003c/a>, that promotes childhood education with rap. He wasn’t entirely satisfied with the “Rapaholic” experience: “They made the record sound hella more polished. It was [supposed to be] a little more underground than that.” However, he adds, “[Claytoven] taught us a lot in the studio about the mics they use and how to mix. It was a good experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927411\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"889\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/SirQuickdrawFlyer.72dpi-160x237.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A photocopied flyer advertising Sir Quick Draw’s single ‘Rapaholic.’ \u003ccite>(Mosi Reeves)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A Radio Breakthrough — And a Kid Named Hammer\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the trajectory of Bay Area hip-hop waxed and waned, three catalyzing moments brought the scene into focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first was an R&B track. Timex Social Club’s “Rumors” captured the pulse of Bay Area youth culture, from Marcus Thompson and Alex Hill’s skittering electro-funk bass and drums to singer Michael Marshall’s distinctly regional accent and coy recitation of schoolyard gossip (“Did you hear the one about Michael? Some say he must be gay…”) Produced by Jay King and Denzil Foster and released on King’s Jay Records in February 1986, it mushroomed into a top ten \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> pop hit and dominated radio all year.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/jVce2IeYcTg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/jVce2IeYcTg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But by the summer, Timex Social Club was falling apart and trading accusations with King over money and credit. The group’s only album \u003cem>Vicious Rumors\u003c/em> — by that point it was just Michael Marshall — featured drum programming from CJ Flash and a shout-out to KALX’s Natty Prep, who helped break “Rumors” on his “Music and Life” show. Marshall retreated from the spotlight before \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#i-got-5-on-it-remix-a-meeting-of-greats-recorded-in-alameda\">re-emerging as the hook man\u003c/a> on the Luniz’ 1995 smash “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtkpnXLrL4\">I Got 5 on It\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After breaking with Timex Social Club, King formed a group called Jet Set and signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The group changed their name to Club Nouveau before debuting with the single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKWhkjXV5uM\">Jealousy\u003c/a>.” A follow-up, the Bill Withers cover “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbyjaUJWWmk\">Lean on Me\u003c/a>,” went to number-one on the \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em> Hot 100, while Club Nouveau’s debut album \u003cem>Life, Love & Pain\u003c/em> went platinum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927310\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-800x489.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"489\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927310\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-800x489.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-1020x624.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851-768x470.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1346275851.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Singers Samuelle Prater, Jay King and Valerie Watson of Club Nouveau performs at the U.I.C. Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois in August 1987. \u003ccite>(Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>King’s growing stardom rippled across the Bay and reached Felton Pilate, the Vallejo keyboardist, singer, and producer best known as a driving force in Bay Area funk stars Con Funk Shun. The two had already worked together on King’s onetime rap group Frost; Pilate engineered that record. Pilate soon added one of King’s projects, Sacramento R&B/rap group New Choice, to a growing slate of projects he produced and engineered at his Felstar Studios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Felstar Studios was the culmination of work he had begun while not touring and rehearsing with Con Funk Shun. At his home studio on Sandpiper Drive in Vallejo, Pilate helped assemble records for fledgling local artists. “I never thought of myself as just a studio,” he says, where he simply records his clients. “I have a little experience here. I’ve got several gold albums. Here, let me pass on some of this knowledge.” When asked if he considered himself a mentor, he demurs, even though that’s arguably what he was. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Pilate opened Felstar Studios on Sonoma Boulevard, his trusted associate was James Earley, a young engineer whom he credits for adding a more contemporary sensibility to the Studios’ output. Among the locals who came to them were M.V.P., a family trio consisting of Earl Stevens, Danell Stevens, and Brandt Jones. Their 1988 12”, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLuAL6DueI\">The Kings Men\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included Tanina Stevens and Angela Pressley, who called themselves Sugar ‘N’ Spice. The members of M.V.P. updated their stage names to E-40, D-Shot and B-Legit, added Tanina as Suga T, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-clicks-down-dirty-ushers-in-mobb-music-era\">evolved into The Click\u003c/a>, arguably becoming the most famous rap group to emerge from Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927370\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927370\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40.jpg 700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/MVP.e-40-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">M.V.P., a 1988 Vallejo rap group featuring Busy D, E-40 and Legit (L–R). The three would later add E-40’s sister Suga T and become known as The Click. \u003ccite>(Gerry Ericksen / Rushforce Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1986, Pilate and Earley both had solo deals at Berkeley’s Fantasy Records. It was there that Pilate met a former Oakland A’s batboy named Stanley “Holyghost Boy” Burrell through Fantasy Records producer Fred L. Pittman. “Fred would often hire me to do keyboard arrangements for him,” says Pilate. When Pittman asked him to play keys for Holyghost Boy, Pilate responded, “Hey Fred, why don’t you let me take the reins on this?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a classically trained jazz and classical musician, Pilate didn’t think much of rap, even though Con Funk Shun not only included a rap verse on a 1982 single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9GHVTI-EE\">Ain’t Nobody Baby\u003c/a>”; but also made “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmmzvN7raB0\">Electric Lady\u003c/a>,” a 1985 hit produced by Larry Smith of Whodini fame that landed in the top five of \u003cem>Billboard\u003c/em>’s Black Singles chart. “Musically, I wasn’t a fan, but as a producer, I said, ‘I can do this,’” he says. “Like everyone else, Con Funk Shun wanted to be relevant, and rap was all over the radio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tracks Burrell brought to Pilate consisted of him rapping over sparse Yamaha RX5 drum-machine parts. Pilate responded by going into “study mode.” He listened to the rap stuff that was getting airplay like Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew. As a result, the skittering percussion on Burrell’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVWFiptGNY\">Let’s Get It Started\u003c/a>” is reminiscent of the go-go-inspired arrangements on Doug E. Fresh hits like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sGw9GSCiYU\">The Show\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UtqnKIF7kE\">All the Way to Heaven\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927325\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-800x565.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"565\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927325\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-800x565.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-1020x720.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_-768x542.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.VIdeoShoot.NewParish.Getty_.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer films the music video for ‘Let’s Get It Started’ at Sweet Jimmie’s nightclub in downtown Oakland, March 19, 1988. \u003ccite>(Deanne Fitzmaurice/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My thing was to make it more music-driven than beat-driven,” says Pilate. In many cases, he simply “listened to what [Burrell] was talking about and wrote a straight R&B song underneath it.” He also gives credit to Earley, who helped refine the drum programming and brought “that younger ear” to the project. They incorporated stock horn stabs from a battery of Juno, Roland, and Yamaha drum machines. Meanwhile, Kent “The Lone Mixer” Wilson and Bryant “D.J. Redeemed” Marable added rhythmic scratches by cutting up Curtis Mayfield and Beastie Boys records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the demos were finished, Fantasy Records dropped Pilate, Earley and Burrell from their deals. “They weren’t really sure how to market any of us,” says Pilate. Then, he chuckles, “The next time I ran into the Holyghost Boy, he had changed his name to MC Hammer.” After forming Bustin’ Records in Fremont with financial help from Oakland A’s ballplayers like Mike Davis and Dwayne Murphy, Hammer turned the Pilate demos into three 12”s — “Ring ’Em,” “The Thrill Is Gone” and “Let’s Get It Started” — and the 1987 album \u003cem>Feel My Power\u003c/em>. “I was like, man, those were rough mixes! You were supposed to come back and let me fix that!” Pilate laughs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone involved in Bay Area hip-hop has vivid memories of MC Hammer blowing up. Near-mythical stories of his local takeover abound, like attending local concerts surrounded by a massive crew; or tearing up the dance floor at The Silks, a popular nightclub in Emeryville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927324\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-800x727.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"727\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-800x727.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-1020x926.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-160x145.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate-768x698.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Hammer.Pilate.jpg 1058w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer and Fenton Pilate in modern times. Pilate engineered and co-produced MC Hammer’s first recordings. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Felton Pilate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Today, it’s worth revisiting \u003cem>Feel My Power\u003c/em> and 1988’s \u003cem>Let’s Get It Started\u003c/em>. Released after Hammer signed with Capitol Records, \u003cem>Let’s Get It Started\u003c/em> found Hammer and Pilate remixing those original demos while adding vital new tracks like “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sZVcXzSE3M\">Pump It Up\u003c/a>.” The results are bombastic and vibrant dance-floor jams as ecstatic as anything by Kid ‘n’ Play and Salt-n-Pepa. Hammer’s subsequent leap into pop superstardom with 1990’s \u003cem>Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em\u003c/em> and the ubiquity of “U Can’t Touch This” obscure just how great those early tracks are.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Eight Woofers in the Trunk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>MC Hammer’s major-label arrival in 1988 capped a year of Bay Area hip-hop on the cusp of national exposure. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After Too Short issued \u003cem>Born to Mack\u003c/em> in the fall of 1987 on his Dangerous Music label, Jive Records picked it up. (Dangerous Music also issued \u003cem>Dangerous Crew\u003c/em>, a compilation of vital Bay Area acts like Spice-1, Rappin’ 4-Tay, and the female duo Danger Zone.) Digital Underground’s playful and psychedelic “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zQ1frcgSbI\">Underwater Rimes\u003c/a> / \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpBNB20wVo0\">Your Life’s a Cartoon\u003c/a>” led to a deal with Tommy Boy. Local talent waited in the wings, including rapper/producer Paris (A.T.C.’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHpiPWfOBk4\">Cisco Jam\u003c/a>”), Sway & King Tech (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBJujmVXiwE\">Flynamic Force\u003c/a>\u003c/em> EP), Dangerous Dame (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Frj4j09GE\">The Power That’s Packed\u003c/a>”), and MC Twist and the Def Squad (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lZz7qhjfjw\">Just Rock\u003c/a>”). And the late Cameron Paul, known for his “Beats & Pieces” breakbeats, remixed Queens trio Salt-n-Pepa’s 1987 track “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPkdk1oMmtE\">Push It\u003c/a>” into a global phenomenon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13828164\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-800x496.jpg\" alt=\"Cameron Paul reveals his mixing secrets.\" width=\"800\" height=\"496\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13828164\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-768x476.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-240x149.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-375x233.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/CameronPaul-520x322.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cameron Paul, who provided the spine of New Orleans bounce music with ‘Brown Beats’ and recorded a smash-hit remix of Salt ‘n’ Pepa’s ‘Push It,’ was also a prominent club and radio megamix DJ in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Incidentally, the first local group to score a major label deal wasn’t Hammer, but Surf MCs, a Berkeley group that Profile Records promoted as a Beastie Boys-like rap/rock crossover. Their 1987 album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojCAqdBA7uA\">Surf or Die\u003c/a>\u003c/em> proved a flop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet the third moment that catalyzed Bay Area hip-hop wasn’t a singular record like Timex Social Club’s “Rumors,” or an artist like Hammer and Short. It was the sound of walloping, all-enveloping bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Made for surgically enhanced car and jeep stereos, the bass colossus is as much a feature of hip-hop in the mid-’80s as the pounding Roland TR-808 machine, from Rick Rubin’s production on LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” and T La Rock’s “It’s Yours” to Rodney O and DJ Joe Cooley’s “Everlasting Bass” and Dr. Dre’s work on Eazy-E’s “The Boyz-N-The Hood.” It also mirrors the crack-cocaine epidemic that began to blight and distort communities across the country. As street life turned treacherous, the specter of the hustler, and whether to become one, cast a growing shadow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Then the new style came, the bass got deeper / You gave up the mike and bought you a beeper / Do you want to rap or sell coke? / Brothers like you ain’t never broke,” Too Short memorably rapped on his 1989 hit, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvfUUOO0xoM\">Life Is…Too Short\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Banjoko recalls how the presence of gangs transformed local shows. “You would see a bunch of people dressed up together [in the same gear], and you might assume they were a rap or dance crew. They were young drug lords,” he says. “You could get trampled, beat up or robbed by any of them. I remember 69 Ville being massively deep at the Fresh Fest and the [Run-DMC] Raising Hell tour. They were terrifying, straight up. You were going to tuck your chain, you were going to take your Kangol off, or they were going to take it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"409\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13927326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/HughEMC-160x109.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hugh EMC, the San Francisco rapper whose 1988 single ‘It’s the Game’ unflinchingly chronicled street life. \u003ccite>(Soul Sonic Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rap imagery became more honest and explicit. Some like Richmond rapper Magic Mike, San Francisco’s Hugh EMC (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_p7L0eJfKI\">It’s the Game\u003c/a>”), and Oakland’s Hollywood (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/641778-Hollywood-Stay-Heart-And-Soul-Raps-Just-A-Battlefield\">Gangster Rap\u003c/a>”) seemed to embrace the hustler ethos, while cautiously adding verses about the consequences of that lifestyle. Then there was Oakland rapper Morocco Moe, whose “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogNoOCIVPrI\">Task\u003c/a>” criticized how law enforcement brutalized communities in the War on Drugs: “Their intentions are good/But their actions are wrong.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every Black neighborhood was infested” with crack, says Vallejo producer Khayree Shaheed. “There was an influx of money coming into young Black men, but there was also a lot of death occurring.” The epidemic also marked his entry into the world of rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As a descendant of the Bay Area’s vaunted funk tradition, Khayree spent the ’70s and early ’80s playing bass guitar for bands like Grand Larceny, Body Mind & Spirit and Touch of Class (with keyboardist Rosie Gaines, who later joined Prince & the New Power Generation). His travels took him across the U.S. and even to Japan, where Touch of Class lived and performed for several months. (Though his bands made demos, there are no official recordings to date.) When asked about the first time he heard rap, Khayree cites “jazzoetry” ensembles like The Last Poets, not the Sugarhill Gang. And as a youth growing up on Lofas Place in Vallejo, he spent plenty of time following Con Funk Shun, hoping to apprentice with the biggest band in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927412\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-800x510.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"510\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-800x510.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-1020x651.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-768x490.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi-1536x980.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.1979.DockoftheBay.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo musician Khayree Shaheed, playing bass onstage in 1979. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Khayree Shaheed)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Khayree was in his mid-20s when Rod “I.C.E.” Andrews and Dan “Luvva D” Morrison a.k.a. the Luvva Twins brought Khayree a demo they had made on a Casio keyboard, “Hubba Head.” The song title was slang for a crack addict, and the duo described the “hubba head’s” descent into addiction with charismatic punch. They arranged the music and rapped most of the lyrics, while Khayree dropped a short verse and added guitar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khayree had already spent time at Pilate’s home studio, honing his writing and production skills. (“I always enjoyed working with him,” says Pilate.) Now, he brought “Hubba Head” to Pilate, and the two prepared it for release. Setting up his own label, Big Bank Records, Khayree distributed two hundred copies of the 12” to DJs and influencers. “The record was super popular in the streets,” says Khayree.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/pArkWvlAebg'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pArkWvlAebg'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>After “Hubba Head,” Khayree began working with Jay King, a fellow graduate of Vallejo High School. The opportunity to write and produce New Choice’s 1987 single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-VLZQ4X1yA\">Cold Stupid\u003c/a>” and most of the quintet’s 1988 debut, \u003cem>At Last\u003c/em>, gave him important experience on a major project and financial stability. By fusing bass, funky R&B and hip-hop breakbeats, New Choice reflected a parallel R&B movement that both influenced and was inspired by the hip-hop scene. Similar Bay Area acts included Oakland’s Tony! Toni! Toné!, who parlayed backing sessions for Sheila E. and Tramaine Hawkins into a major-label deal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flush from his experience with New Choice, Khayree was ready to start his own company. “I’m listening to EPMD’s \u003cem>Strictly Business\u003c/em>,” he says, inspiring the name of his second label, Strictly Business Records. He knew that Mike “The Mac” Robinson, who also grew up on Lofas Place, was a rapper. Robinson hailed from a musical family: his uncle Steve “Silver” Scales was a well-traveled Vallejo funk percussionist who played with Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and the B-52s. (Though it would be a delicious coincidence, Scales didn’t perform on “Genius of Love.”) Khayree encouraged Robinson to take music more seriously. Meanwhile, Robinson’s mother drew the memorable Strictly Business logo: an open briefcase, ready for business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1988, Khayree released The Mac’s three-song EP, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/805531-The-Mac-Im-Ah-Big-Mac\">I’m Ah Big Mac\u003c/a>.” Heard now, what immediately stands out is the unique \u003cem>tone\u003c/em> of the bass. “We used synthesizers that had dumb-fat bass lines,” explains Khayree in reference to himself and Too Short as well as future Bay Area colleagues like Ant Banks. By comparison, he says, other regional scenes relied on a “natural” bass guitar or samples from records. “You feel it through your whole body. … You can get it with a bass guitar, depending on how you EQ the bass and what you run your guitar through. But you’re \u003cem>never\u003c/em> going to touch the subs and the depth of a Minimoog, of the Oberheim Ovx, or the Roland Juno 106.” The EP’s highlight is its B-side “The Game Is Thick,” which centers on a sample of Prince’s “D.M.S.R.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927371\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-800x498.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"498\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927371\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-800x498.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-1020x635.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick-768x478.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/TheMac.GameisThick.jpg 1537w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khayree and The Mac (L–R), pictured on the cover of The Mac’s ‘The Game is Thick.’ \u003ccite>(Phil Bray / Strictly Business Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1989, Khayree remixed and re-released “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCxGl7Ok1YI\">The Game Is Thick\u003c/a>” as a standalone 12” with a memorable cover photo: Khayree looking super-clean in a grey suit, clasping a briefcase, with The Mac in a red-and-black bomber jacket. Khayree calls the style “pimping.” “We didn’t mean pimping so much as getting prostitutes to work,” he explains. “It’s an attitude, and it’s a musical style.” The “game” is a metaphor for life in the Black community. Street slang illustrated complex situations, whether it was dealing with the repercussions of a raging crack epidemic, or simply navigating the tensions of everyday living. Meanwhile, The Mac’s “cool, silky, pimpish” flow and Khayree’s synthesized bass production proved a clear predecessor to the ’90s mob-music sound that took over Bay Area rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Upon release, “The Game Is Thick” didn’t make a major impact, and most copies went to local DJ pools. “We promoted records out of the trunk,” says Khayree. “We went from Bobby G’s Soul Disco in San Francisco to [Rico Casanova’s record pool] The Pros in Oakland.” Still, “The Game Is Thick” remix received a mention in Davey “D” Cook’s April 7, 1989 “Beats & Breaks” column for \u003cem>BAM\u003c/em> Magazine. “Let me tell you, it’s hyped to the max,” Davey D wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Khayree’s encouragement, the Mac taught himself how to produce music with synth keyboards. He also introduced Khayree to another Vallejo artist, Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, who became Strictly Business’ second act. By the time The Mac was shot and killed on July 23, 1991 in what Khayree calls “a case of mistaken identity,” the two had recorded dozens of tracks and released a third and final 12” protesting police violence, 1990’s “Enuff of Tis Sh-t!” One of The Mac’s beats posthumously appeared on Mac Dre’s 1993 track, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slA_s7tSjMU\">The M.A.C. & Mac D.R.E.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13927413\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13927413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi-1536x1003.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/Khayree.KoolMoeDee.72dpi.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Khayree with Kool Moe Dee at the 1988 BRE Conference in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Khayree Shaheed)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Mike had a big, big loving heart,” remembers Khayree, sounding wistful. He emphasizes how The Mac left behind a daughter, “Mac” Reina Robinson, and a pregnant girlfriend who gave birth to his son, Mike. At one point, Khayree plays a voicemail of The Mac passionately singing a funky, swinging hook, as if to counteract the stereotype that rappers aren’t musicians. He talks about how The Mac’s way of playing simple, evocative keyboard notes for maximum effect echoes in the work of his famed protégé, Mac Dre. “I miss him,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area rap broke wide at the end of the decade, leading to a 1989 story in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/10/arts/rap-by-the-bay-oakland-emerges-as-a-force-in-pop.html\">Rap by the Bay: Oakland Emerges as a Force in Pop\u003c/a>.” Not every local pioneer who laid the groundwork would enjoy the fruits of that success. But their stories are essential to understanding how local hip-hop came of age, and everything that came after.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Blue Note Jazz Festival Lineup: Mary J. Blige, Nas, Chance the Rapper, More",
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"content": "\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenotejazz.com/jazz-festival-napa/\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> in Napa has announced its 2023 lineup, and it leans ever more into hip-hop for its second year. Headliners Mary J. Blige, Nas, and Chance the Rapper will be joined by Madlib, Cordae, Rakim, Digable Planets, Rapsody and special guests De La Soul.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>R&B artists like Ari Lennox and and NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge) are also high on the bill, with jazz artists Keyon Harrold, Soulive, Domi & JD Beck, Terrace Martin, Nicholas Payton, Yussef Dayes and others scattered across the three-day festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13916940']Rounding out the notable acts on the lineup are funk legend George Clinton appearing with Parliament Funkadelic, New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia, soul visionary Meshell Ndegeocello, and Taylor McFerrin appearing with his dad, Bobby McFerrin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in 2022, the festival’s artist in residence is Robert Glasper, and will be hosted by Dave Chappelle. One big change for 2023, though: 2022’s festival was held at Charles Krug Winery, north of St. Helena, while this year’s festival is at Silverado Resort, just outside the city of Napa. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Blue Note Jazz Festival runs Friday–Sunday, July 28–30, at the Silverado Resort in Napa. Tickets for the three-day festival, starting at $550 plus fees, go on sale Wednesday, April 9 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenotejazz.com/jazz-festival-napa/tickets/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Also performing: Ari Lennox, NxWorries, Madlib, Cordae, George Clinton, Big Freedia, Meshell Ndegeocello, Rakim, Domi & JD Beck and more.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenotejazz.com/jazz-festival-napa/\">Blue Note Jazz Festival\u003c/a> in Napa has announced its 2023 lineup, and it leans ever more into hip-hop for its second year. Headliners Mary J. Blige, Nas, and Chance the Rapper will be joined by Madlib, Cordae, Rakim, Digable Planets, Rapsody and special guests De La Soul.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>R&B artists like Ari Lennox and and NxWorries (Anderson .Paak and Knxwledge) are also high on the bill, with jazz artists Keyon Harrold, Soulive, Domi & JD Beck, Terrace Martin, Nicholas Payton, Yussef Dayes and others scattered across the three-day festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Rounding out the notable acts on the lineup are funk legend George Clinton appearing with Parliament Funkadelic, New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia, soul visionary Meshell Ndegeocello, and Taylor McFerrin appearing with his dad, Bobby McFerrin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As in 2022, the festival’s artist in residence is Robert Glasper, and will be hosted by Dave Chappelle. One big change for 2023, though: 2022’s festival was held at Charles Krug Winery, north of St. Helena, while this year’s festival is at Silverado Resort, just outside the city of Napa. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Blue Note Jazz Festival runs Friday–Sunday, July 28–30, at the Silverado Resort in Napa. Tickets for the three-day festival, starting at $550 plus fees, go on sale Wednesday, April 9 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. \u003ca href=\"https://www.bluenotejazz.com/jazz-festival-napa/tickets/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"soldout": {
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