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I was hoping our band would encourage Filipinos to go out there and be counted,” says Dakila’s drummer Frank Magtoto, recalling his youth in the ’70s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a band now considered obscure, Dakila can claim some incredible achievements. After Fanny, they were the second Filipino band signed to a major label, and the first to put their Filipino identity front and center. They were the first American band to record a track in Tagalog. In their time, they were popular, playing shows for Bill Graham alongside the biggest names of their generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Santana and Malo, the Pointer Sisters and Sly, and us. We practiced alongside them, we covered their songs, and we sometimes performed with them,” guitar player David Bustamante reminisces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with vocalist Romeo Bustamante and conguero Carlos Badia, Frank and David were part of a crowded scene in the Mission, the Black and Brown counterpart to the San Francisco sound up in Haight-Ashbury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had all these other bands around us. We felt like we had to come up with a brand of our own, in music or in identity. We’re not Latinos, we’re actually Filipinos from the Mission,” recalls David, “and, on our first record, I think we wanted to expand on that.”\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=868204738/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>Dakila is now getting the attention they have always deserved. Their debut album was reissued in Europe last year, just in time for the 50th anniversary of its release. They are the subject of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/dakilamovie/\">documentary\u003c/a> coming out this year called \u003ca href=\"https://www.dakilamovie.com/\">\u003cem>Searchin’ For My Soul: The Dakila Story\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, directed by local filmmaker Paul Abueg-Igaz. And David, the youngest surviving member of the band, is preparing to take Dakila to concerts across the Bay for the first time since the pandemic started, hoping to capitalize on their newfound popularity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent interviews, what he and Frank told me was simply incredible. The story of Dakila connects with the major social struggles shaking the Bay at the time, including the birth of the Asian American protest movement and the United Farm Workers’ fight for labor rights. This political consciousness animated their work — and led to what was likely the first truly Asian American rock album in music history.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The first politically Asian American album\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The story of Asian immigrants and their descendants in American music is as long as the history of Asian immigration itself. Every moment in American music history had their representative: Jazz had Japanese American pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, for example, and early rock ’n’ roll had Filipino four-piece The Rocky Fellers. They certainly broke barriers for Asians in American pop culture, but these forerunners generally lacked an explicitly political, pan-continental self-image; after all, they existed before the term “Asian American” was even coined. That broader political identity only came into being in 1968, when graduate students \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/\">Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee coined the term\u003c/a> to unify activists at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yellow Pearl’s folk album \u003cem>A Grain of Sand\u003c/em>, released independently in 1973, is usually cited as the first consciously Asian American album by music critics, thanks to its radical lyrics and pan-Asian philosophy. But perhaps this judgment reflects a pattern, all too common in Asian American studies, of overlooking the achievements of Filipinos. In fact, Dakila’s self-titled came out a year earlier than Yellow Pearl’s work, in 1972, and clearly expresses an Asian American consciousness, down to the decision to sing proudly in Tagalog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakila wanted their music to represent Asian Americans, and they made several radical choices to support that movement. On their debut album’s promotional tour, they played for Asian American student groups in campuses across the West Coast. They also performed benefit concerts to fundraise for Cesar Chavez as part of the oft-forgotten Filipino contingent of the United Farm Workers movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926507\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-800x643.jpg\" alt=\"An overhead shot of Dakila performing in front of a large club crowd. \" width=\"800\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-800x643.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-160x129.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-768x618.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dakila perform at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in 1972. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first track on their album nods to their involvement in local activism; it includes the slogan “Makibaka,” Tagalog for “struggle,” in its lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Makibaka was a protest chant that was happening here in the U.S.,” says Frank, who had never spoken about Dakila in the press prior to our interview. “Filipinos were using that when they were protesting our colleges, our government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakila’s background probably contributed to their prescient activist turn. The band’s history is intimately connected with the issues that animated the ’70s generation of Filipino American activists: the American occupation of the Philippines, the Vietnam War and the search for a uniquely Fil-Am identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dakila’s rise to fame\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Every Filipino member of Dakila has family ties to the military bases that dot the Bay, the legacy of a government program that granted citizenship to those who served in the Army or Navy during the American occupation of the Philippines. For the Bustamante brothers, Romeo and David, as well as their cousin Frank, the rhythms of military life defined their childhood. Their dads’ army band music was the soundtrack of those years, but once they caught the Beatlemania bug as teenagers, they ditched it for the electric sound of rock’n’roll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David and Romeo got their start rocking out for the school crowds of Vallejo, while Frank did the same over in the Mission, where they respectively grew up. But they didn’t get together and try to make it big until many years later, after Romeo got back from his Vietnam War conscription in Germany with an itch to make a change in his life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David, who was younger than Romeo by almost a decade, was still a senior in high school when his older brother informed him of his plans. “Romeo wanted to form a band because when Santana came out in ’69, he fell in love with that music,” says David. “He had moved to the Mission and his tastes had changed — before that we were playing R&B and funk for school crowds. So he told me that when I got out of high school, I should go play with him in San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Romeo assembled a talented, multiracial group of musicians for his band, including the Ancheta cousins, two Filipino guitarists who went on to found the first Asian American hard rock band \u003ca href=\"https://goldendragonband.bandcamp.com/album/golden-dragon\">Golden Dragon\u003c/a>, and Michael Gopaul, Romeo’s brother-in-law who was also a timbales player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of our original members was Raul Rekow,” David says, referring to Santana’s longtime conga drummer. “He actually got his start with us before he joined Santana.” In the final lineup, though, Rekow was replaced by another conguero, Carlos Badia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They quickly attained prominence in the Mission’s Latin rock scene, then the focus of intense major label interest after the success of bands like Santana and Malo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Three record companies approached us and wanted to give us a record deal,” recalls David. “We were in a bidding war with our friends in Malo, but they ended up signed to Warner Brothers while we went with Epic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926508\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of Dakila rocking out on an outdoor festival stage. \" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dakila live in the ’70s. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the time, the band performed under the name Soul Sacrifice — but Romeo felt like they should change their name to something that stood out, something perhaps in Tagalog, their first language. Romeo’s dad was the one who proposed the winning name Dakila, Tagalog for “great.” It put the band’s Filipino heritage front and center, and had another appeal as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It kind of sounded like \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘\u003c/span>tequila,’” says Frank, laughing. “And that wasn’t a bad thing for a band to be associated with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dakila tries for the big leagues\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dakila was up to this point a live band, and this was their first time in a record studio. “We practiced every day so we don’t waste any studio time,” says David. “We played like ten original songs for them, which the producers cut and spliced into six tracks on the album.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David is still disgruntled by the producers’ edits, which the band had no say in. “They were like, you’re done recording, you guys come back in the week. Meanwhile, they sped things up and played things backwards and did studio tricks. When we finally heard it, we thought it didn’t sound like us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meddling didn’t end with their production. For unknown reasons, Epic decided to release Dakila’s first single, the patchouli-tinged instrumental “El Dùbi,” with a comedic spoken word A-side called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag1Lg1eTrdI\">Language Lessons\u003c/a>,” created without the band’s involvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know why [Epic] had to do this language thing,” says Frank with irritation. The spoken word piece posed as an instruction manual for DJs struggling to pronounce Dakila’s Tagalog song titles, but this was just an elaborate set-up for racist jokes about Filipino people (“small but wiry”) and the Tagalog language.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926522\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"The members of Dakila pose around a wicker chair, surrounded by trees. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cover of Dakila’s self-titled debut album, shot by Herb Greene in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, there was one thing about the release the band did have control over: the album cover. Shot by \u003ca href=\"https://www.herbgreenefoto.com/\">Herb Greene\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park, it features the band members arrayed around a large, round wicker chair, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V10kWLh71U\">omnipresent feature of album covers in the ’70s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We borrowed that chair from \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabuhay_Gardens\">Mabuhay [Gardens]\u003c/a> – it was a Filipino restaurant before it became a punk venue, you know,” says Frank. “A lot of people didn’t know this when it was trendy in the ’70s, but it was a Filipino chair, with Filipino origins.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “peacock” chair, as it is sometimes called, was first built by Filipino prisoners forced into manufacturing goods for American export during the country’s occupation by the United States. The band’s reclamation of that chair was also a reclamation of that history. In their image and in their music, Filipinos were now speaking back to their former colonizers. [aside postid='arts_13924042,arts_13905208,news_11943512']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Epic Records, though, didn’t know how to promote a proudly Filipino American band. After making a last ditch effort to boost sales by touring the band through Asian American hotspots in California and Hawaii, Epic quietly dropped the band and scrapped their in-progress second album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the band, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the way things were going,” says Frank. “Not just about the label, but also the band. Members were getting restless, saying we’re not making it because of you, because of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I decided to leave,” says David. “I thought, if this wasn’t going to work out, I’d rather go back to school and get a degree in something that will get me money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David wasn’t alone in thinking this way: The rest of Dakila called it quits a year after they left Epic.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The band breaks up, but they aren’t forgotten\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Carlos Badia and Michael Gopaul left the music industry and disappeared from their bandmates’ lives after Dakila broke up, while the Ancheta cousins moved on to their other band, Golden Dragon. Frank worked his way up from a floor job at a company warehouse to becoming a programmer for that company, all without a degree, while David went to school for nursing and got a job at John Muir Health, in Concord.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While they got on with their lives, the band had no idea that their music was still out there, circulating in bootlegged copies in Europe, Asia and South America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A while ago, some people started telling me that my old band had been up on YouTube for a couple years now,” says David. “I was like, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘\u003c/span>I don’t know.’ I wasn’t on the internet back then. I guess there are some underground people, a younger generation, who like our music. I started looking it up, and wow, people were selling us on eBay. Cassettes. CDs. Eight tracks!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926509\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 776px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926509\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973..jpg\" alt=\"David Bustamante plays a guitar solo with great concentration.\" width=\"776\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973..jpg 776w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973.-160x198.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973.-768x950.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 776px) 100vw, 776px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Bustamante at a 1973 Dakila Concert at Winterland in San Francisco, where the band performed with Malo and Buddy Miles. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>David, now retired from his job, dedicates his time to preserving the legacy of Dakila. He tried to iron out the ownership rights from Epic Records, copyrighted Dakila’s logo and, most importantly, got the band back together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“David started calling all the band members who were still around for a concert called Voices of Latin Rock,” says Frank. “The promoter of the event wanted to get all the groups that used to play in the ’70s, and he knew Dakila from way back when.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What was supposed to be a one-off reunion turned into multiple event appearances throughout the Bay. The reunion began with David, Romeo, Frank and a new crop of Filipino musicians playing Dakila’s back catalog, but eventually Romeo and Frank decided to retire. Now, David, a full-time musician again, is the only one keeping Dakila alive, performing both their released music and tracks off their scrapped album that never saw the light of day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, for their album’s 50th anniversary, the newly reunited band partnered with Spain’s \u003ca href=\"https://guerssen.com/\">Guerssen Records\u003c/a> to put out the only official reissue of \u003cem>Dakila\u003c/em>. And David finally got his revenge on the producers: “I asked them to digitally slow the tempo down on some tracks to reflect how we wanted it,” David says. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better in my ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the rest of the living members, they’re all appearing in the forthcoming documentary on the band, \u003cem>Searchin’ For My Soul\u003c/em>, which takes its title from the final track on their album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Michael wrote that one,” muses David. “It’s really about searching for your identity, you know? A lot of our music is about speaking up and showing who you are. We were one of a kind; you weren’t seeing people like us on the main stage, or on movies, or TV. Now it’s common. We have a lot of Filipino artists, like H.E.R. What we were trying to say back then is becoming reality today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/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>For Dakila concert announcements and updates on their upcoming documentary, follow \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dakilaband/\">David Bustamante \u003c/a>and the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dakilamovie/\">Searchin’ for My Soul\u003c/a>\u003cem> film on Instagram. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926505\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926505\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/From-left-to-right-Frank-Magtoto-David-Bustamante-Bert-Ancheta-Carlos-Bato-Badia-Rome-Bustamante-Michael-Gopaul-David-DZandos-1-800x630.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/From-left-to-right-Frank-Magtoto-David-Bustamante-Bert-Ancheta-Carlos-Bato-Badia-Rome-Bustamante-Michael-Gopaul-David-DZandos-1-800x630.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/From-left-to-right-Frank-Magtoto-David-Bustamante-Bert-Ancheta-Carlos-Bato-Badia-Rome-Bustamante-Michael-Gopaul-David-DZandos-1-160x126.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/From-left-to-right-Frank-Magtoto-David-Bustamante-Bert-Ancheta-Carlos-Bato-Badia-Rome-Bustamante-Michael-Gopaul-David-DZandos-1-768x605.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/From-left-to-right-Frank-Magtoto-David-Bustamante-Bert-Ancheta-Carlos-Bato-Badia-Rome-Bustamante-Michael-Gopaul-David-DZandos-1.jpg 813w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left to right: Frank Magtoto, David Bustamante, Bert Ancheta, Carlos Bato Badia, Romeo Bustamante, Michael Gopaul and David ‘D’ Zandos. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dakila begins their debut album with a call to arms for the young Filipinos, Latinos, and Black kids they rubbed shoulders with as teenagers living in the Mission. “We are all brothers and sisters / Let’s work together,” they sing in Tagalog over a Latin rock groove.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were right in the middle of this wave of activism. I was hoping our band would encourage Filipinos to go out there and be counted,” says Dakila’s drummer Frank Magtoto, recalling his youth in the ’70s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a band now considered obscure, Dakila can claim some incredible achievements. After Fanny, they were the second Filipino band signed to a major label, and the first to put their Filipino identity front and center. They were the first American band to record a track in Tagalog. In their time, they were popular, playing shows for Bill Graham alongside the biggest names of their generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Santana and Malo, the Pointer Sisters and Sly, and us. We practiced alongside them, we covered their songs, and we sometimes performed with them,” guitar player David Bustamante reminisces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with vocalist Romeo Bustamante and conguero Carlos Badia, Frank and David were part of a crowded scene in the Mission, the Black and Brown counterpart to the San Francisco sound up in Haight-Ashbury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had all these other bands around us. We felt like we had to come up with a brand of our own, in music or in identity. We’re not Latinos, we’re actually Filipinos from the Mission,” recalls David, “and, on our first record, I think we wanted to expand on that.”\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=868204738/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>Dakila is now getting the attention they have always deserved. Their debut album was reissued in Europe last year, just in time for the 50th anniversary of its release. They are the subject of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/dakilamovie/\">documentary\u003c/a> coming out this year called \u003ca href=\"https://www.dakilamovie.com/\">\u003cem>Searchin’ For My Soul: The Dakila Story\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, directed by local filmmaker Paul Abueg-Igaz. And David, the youngest surviving member of the band, is preparing to take Dakila to concerts across the Bay for the first time since the pandemic started, hoping to capitalize on their newfound popularity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent interviews, what he and Frank told me was simply incredible. The story of Dakila connects with the major social struggles shaking the Bay at the time, including the birth of the Asian American protest movement and the United Farm Workers’ fight for labor rights. This political consciousness animated their work — and led to what was likely the first truly Asian American rock album in music history.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The first politically Asian American album\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The story of Asian immigrants and their descendants in American music is as long as the history of Asian immigration itself. Every moment in American music history had their representative: Jazz had Japanese American pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi, for example, and early rock ’n’ roll had Filipino four-piece The Rocky Fellers. They certainly broke barriers for Asians in American pop culture, but these forerunners generally lacked an explicitly political, pan-continental self-image; after all, they existed before the term “Asian American” was even coined. That broader political identity only came into being in 1968, when graduate students \u003ca href=\"https://time.com/5837805/asian-american-history/\">Yuji Ichioka and Emma Gee coined the term\u003c/a> to unify activists at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yellow Pearl’s folk album \u003cem>A Grain of Sand\u003c/em>, released independently in 1973, is usually cited as the first consciously Asian American album by music critics, thanks to its radical lyrics and pan-Asian philosophy. But perhaps this judgment reflects a pattern, all too common in Asian American studies, of overlooking the achievements of Filipinos. In fact, Dakila’s self-titled came out a year earlier than Yellow Pearl’s work, in 1972, and clearly expresses an Asian American consciousness, down to the decision to sing proudly in Tagalog.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakila wanted their music to represent Asian Americans, and they made several radical choices to support that movement. On their debut album’s promotional tour, they played for Asian American student groups in campuses across the West Coast. They also performed benefit concerts to fundraise for Cesar Chavez as part of the oft-forgotten Filipino contingent of the United Farm Workers movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926507\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-800x643.jpg\" alt=\"An overhead shot of Dakila performing in front of a large club crowd. \" width=\"800\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-800x643.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-160x129.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972-768x618.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/WINTERLAND-SF-1972.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dakila perform at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in 1972. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first track on their album nods to their involvement in local activism; it includes the slogan “Makibaka,” Tagalog for “struggle,” in its lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Makibaka was a protest chant that was happening here in the U.S.,” says Frank, who had never spoken about Dakila in the press prior to our interview. “Filipinos were using that when they were protesting our colleges, our government.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dakila’s background probably contributed to their prescient activist turn. The band’s history is intimately connected with the issues that animated the ’70s generation of Filipino American activists: the American occupation of the Philippines, the Vietnam War and the search for a uniquely Fil-Am identity.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dakila’s rise to fame\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Every Filipino member of Dakila has family ties to the military bases that dot the Bay, the legacy of a government program that granted citizenship to those who served in the Army or Navy during the American occupation of the Philippines. For the Bustamante brothers, Romeo and David, as well as their cousin Frank, the rhythms of military life defined their childhood. Their dads’ army band music was the soundtrack of those years, but once they caught the Beatlemania bug as teenagers, they ditched it for the electric sound of rock’n’roll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David and Romeo got their start rocking out for the school crowds of Vallejo, while Frank did the same over in the Mission, where they respectively grew up. But they didn’t get together and try to make it big until many years later, after Romeo got back from his Vietnam War conscription in Germany with an itch to make a change in his life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David, who was younger than Romeo by almost a decade, was still a senior in high school when his older brother informed him of his plans. “Romeo wanted to form a band because when Santana came out in ’69, he fell in love with that music,” says David. “He had moved to the Mission and his tastes had changed — before that we were playing R&B and funk for school crowds. So he told me that when I got out of high school, I should go play with him in San Francisco.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Romeo assembled a talented, multiracial group of musicians for his band, including the Ancheta cousins, two Filipino guitarists who went on to found the first Asian American hard rock band \u003ca href=\"https://goldendragonband.bandcamp.com/album/golden-dragon\">Golden Dragon\u003c/a>, and Michael Gopaul, Romeo’s brother-in-law who was also a timbales player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of our original members was Raul Rekow,” David says, referring to Santana’s longtime conga drummer. “He actually got his start with us before he joined Santana.” In the final lineup, though, Rekow was replaced by another conguero, Carlos Badia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They quickly attained prominence in the Mission’s Latin rock scene, then the focus of intense major label interest after the success of bands like Santana and Malo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Three record companies approached us and wanted to give us a record deal,” recalls David. “We were in a bidding war with our friends in Malo, but they ended up signed to Warner Brothers while we went with Epic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926508\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of Dakila rocking out on an outdoor festival stage. \" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/20615_462202417150574_1324443240_n.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dakila live in the ’70s. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the time, the band performed under the name Soul Sacrifice — but Romeo felt like they should change their name to something that stood out, something perhaps in Tagalog, their first language. Romeo’s dad was the one who proposed the winning name Dakila, Tagalog for “great.” It put the band’s Filipino heritage front and center, and had another appeal as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It kind of sounded like \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘\u003c/span>tequila,’” says Frank, laughing. “And that wasn’t a bad thing for a band to be associated with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Dakila tries for the big leagues\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Dakila was up to this point a live band, and this was their first time in a record studio. “We practiced every day so we don’t waste any studio time,” says David. “We played like ten original songs for them, which the producers cut and spliced into six tracks on the album.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David is still disgruntled by the producers’ edits, which the band had no say in. “They were like, you’re done recording, you guys come back in the week. Meanwhile, they sped things up and played things backwards and did studio tricks. When we finally heard it, we thought it didn’t sound like us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meddling didn’t end with their production. For unknown reasons, Epic decided to release Dakila’s first single, the patchouli-tinged instrumental “El Dùbi,” with a comedic spoken word A-side called “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag1Lg1eTrdI\">Language Lessons\u003c/a>,” created without the band’s involvement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know why [Epic] had to do this language thing,” says Frank with irritation. The spoken word piece posed as an instruction manual for DJs struggling to pronounce Dakila’s Tagalog song titles, but this was just an elaborate set-up for racist jokes about Filipino people (“small but wiry”) and the Tagalog language.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926522\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"The members of Dakila pose around a wicker chair, surrounded by trees. \" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/dakila-album-cover.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cover of Dakila’s self-titled debut album, shot by Herb Greene in Golden Gate Park.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nevertheless, there was one thing about the release the band did have control over: the album cover. Shot by \u003ca href=\"https://www.herbgreenefoto.com/\">Herb Greene\u003c/a> in Golden Gate Park, it features the band members arrayed around a large, round wicker chair, an \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V10kWLh71U\">omnipresent feature of album covers in the ’70s\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We borrowed that chair from \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabuhay_Gardens\">Mabuhay [Gardens]\u003c/a> – it was a Filipino restaurant before it became a punk venue, you know,” says Frank. “A lot of people didn’t know this when it was trendy in the ’70s, but it was a Filipino chair, with Filipino origins.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “peacock” chair, as it is sometimes called, was first built by Filipino prisoners forced into manufacturing goods for American export during the country’s occupation by the United States. The band’s reclamation of that chair was also a reclamation of that history. In their image and in their music, Filipinos were now speaking back to their former colonizers. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Epic Records, though, didn’t know how to promote a proudly Filipino American band. After making a last ditch effort to boost sales by touring the band through Asian American hotspots in California and Hawaii, Epic quietly dropped the band and scrapped their in-progress second album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In the band, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the way things were going,” says Frank. “Not just about the label, but also the band. Members were getting restless, saying we’re not making it because of you, because of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I decided to leave,” says David. “I thought, if this wasn’t going to work out, I’d rather go back to school and get a degree in something that will get me money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David wasn’t alone in thinking this way: The rest of Dakila called it quits a year after they left Epic.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The band breaks up, but they aren’t forgotten\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Carlos Badia and Michael Gopaul left the music industry and disappeared from their bandmates’ lives after Dakila broke up, while the Ancheta cousins moved on to their other band, Golden Dragon. Frank worked his way up from a floor job at a company warehouse to becoming a programmer for that company, all without a degree, while David went to school for nursing and got a job at John Muir Health, in Concord.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While they got on with their lives, the band had no idea that their music was still out there, circulating in bootlegged copies in Europe, Asia and South America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A while ago, some people started telling me that my old band had been up on YouTube for a couple years now,” says David. “I was like, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘\u003c/span>I don’t know.’ I wasn’t on the internet back then. I guess there are some underground people, a younger generation, who like our music. I started looking it up, and wow, people were selling us on eBay. Cassettes. CDs. Eight tracks!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926509\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 776px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926509\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973..jpg\" alt=\"David Bustamante plays a guitar solo with great concentration.\" width=\"776\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973..jpg 776w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973.-160x198.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/David-Bustamante-in-Dakila-SF-Winterland-with-Malo-and-Buddy-Miles-Band.-1973.-768x950.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 776px) 100vw, 776px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Bustamante at a 1973 Dakila Concert at Winterland in San Francisco, where the band performed with Malo and Buddy Miles. \u003ccite>(Guerssen Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>David, now retired from his job, dedicates his time to preserving the legacy of Dakila. He tried to iron out the ownership rights from Epic Records, copyrighted Dakila’s logo and, most importantly, got the band back together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“David started calling all the band members who were still around for a concert called Voices of Latin Rock,” says Frank. “The promoter of the event wanted to get all the groups that used to play in the ’70s, and he knew Dakila from way back when.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What was supposed to be a one-off reunion turned into multiple event appearances throughout the Bay. The reunion began with David, Romeo, Frank and a new crop of Filipino musicians playing Dakila’s back catalog, but eventually Romeo and Frank decided to retire. Now, David, a full-time musician again, is the only one keeping Dakila alive, performing both their released music and tracks off their scrapped album that never saw the light of day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, for their album’s 50th anniversary, the newly reunited band partnered with Spain’s \u003ca href=\"https://guerssen.com/\">Guerssen Records\u003c/a> to put out the only official reissue of \u003cem>Dakila\u003c/em>. And David finally got his revenge on the producers: “I asked them to digitally slow the tempo down on some tracks to reflect how we wanted it,” David says. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better in my ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the rest of the living members, they’re all appearing in the forthcoming documentary on the band, \u003cem>Searchin’ For My Soul\u003c/em>, which takes its title from the final track on their album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Michael wrote that one,” muses David. “It’s really about searching for your identity, you know? A lot of our music is about speaking up and showing who you are. We were one of a kind; you weren’t seeing people like us on the main stage, or on movies, or TV. Now it’s common. We have a lot of Filipino artists, like H.E.R. What we were trying to say back then is becoming reality today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/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>For Dakila concert announcements and updates on their upcoming documentary, follow \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dakilaband/\">David Bustamante \u003c/a>and the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dakilamovie/\">Searchin’ for My Soul\u003c/a>\u003cem> film on Instagram. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Robert Smith of The Cure Convinces Ticketmaster to Give Partial Refunds, Lower Fees",
"headTitle": "Robert Smith of The Cure Convinces Ticketmaster to Give Partial Refunds, Lower Fees | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>One cure — or a treatment, at least — for high Ticketmaster fees turns out to be The Cure frontman Robert Smith, who said he was “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobertSmith/status/1636188988238077953\">sickened\u003c/a>” by the charges and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobertSmith/status/1636496816521748481?s=20\">announced Thursday\u003c/a> that Ticketmaster will offer partial refunds and lower fees for The Cure tickets moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13923059']“After further conversation, Ticketmaster have agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high,” Smith tweeted. Smith said the company agreed to offer a $5-10 refund per ticket for verified fan accounts “as a gesture of goodwill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cure fans who already bought tickets for shows on the band’s May-July tour will get their refunds automatically, Smith said, and all future ticket purchases will incur lower fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/RobertSmith/status/1636496816521748481\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement came a day after Smith shared his frustration on Twitter, saying he was “as sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle. To be very clear: the artist has no way to limit them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, fans say the fees more than doubled their ticket price, with \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Tim_Burgess/status/1636357859192569856?s=20\">one social media user\u003c/a> sharing that they paid over $90 in fees for a $80 ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13921777']Ticketmaster has been in a harsh spotlight in recent months. Last November, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137465465/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-klobuchar-tennessee\">Taylor Swift fans waited hours\u003c/a>, paid high fees and weathered outages on the Ticketmaster website to try to score tickets to her Eras Tour. A day before the tickets were set to open to the general public, the company canceled the sale due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on Instagram, Swift said it was “excruciating for me to watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, following that debacle, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/01/24/1150942804/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-senate-hearing-live-nation\">the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing looking at Live Nation\u003c/a> — the company that owns Ticketmaster — and the lack of competition in the ticketing industry. Meanwhile, attorneys general across many states initiated consumer protection investigations, Swift’s fans sued the company for fraud and antitrust violations and some lawmakers called for Ticketmaster to be broken up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Robert+Smith+of+The+Cure+convinces+Ticketmaster+to+give+partial+refunds%2C+lower+fees+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One cure — or a treatment, at least — for high Ticketmaster fees turns out to be The Cure frontman Robert Smith, who said he was “\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobertSmith/status/1636188988238077953\">sickened\u003c/a>” by the charges and \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobertSmith/status/1636496816521748481?s=20\">announced Thursday\u003c/a> that Ticketmaster will offer partial refunds and lower fees for The Cure tickets moving forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“After further conversation, Ticketmaster have agreed with us that many of the fees being charged are unduly high,” Smith tweeted. Smith said the company agreed to offer a $5-10 refund per ticket for verified fan accounts “as a gesture of goodwill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cure fans who already bought tickets for shows on the band’s May-July tour will get their refunds automatically, Smith said, and all future ticket purchases will incur lower fees.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The announcement came a day after Smith shared his frustration on Twitter, saying he was “as sickened as you all are by today’s Ticketmaster ‘fees’ debacle. To be very clear: the artist has no way to limit them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some cases, fans say the fees more than doubled their ticket price, with \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Tim_Burgess/status/1636357859192569856?s=20\">one social media user\u003c/a> sharing that they paid over $90 in fees for a $80 ticket.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Ticketmaster has been in a harsh spotlight in recent months. Last November, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137465465/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-klobuchar-tennessee\">Taylor Swift fans waited hours\u003c/a>, paid high fees and weathered outages on the Ticketmaster website to try to score tickets to her Eras Tour. A day before the tickets were set to open to the general public, the company canceled the sale due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on Instagram, Swift said it was “excruciating for me to watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In January, following that debacle, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/01/24/1150942804/taylor-swift-ticketmaster-senate-hearing-live-nation\">the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing looking at Live Nation\u003c/a> — the company that owns Ticketmaster — and the lack of competition in the ticketing industry. Meanwhile, attorneys general across many states initiated consumer protection investigations, Swift’s fans sued the company for fraud and antitrust violations and some lawmakers called for Ticketmaster to be broken up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Robert+Smith+of+The+Cure+convinces+Ticketmaster+to+give+partial+refunds%2C+lower+fees+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Friendship Over Fame: Hip-Hop Crew UglyFace Highlights the Power of a Collective",
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"content": "\u003cp>It’s easier than ever to feel out of sync with others. The past few years have brought an alarming \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/03/02/mental-health-and-the-pandemic-what-u-s-surveys-have-found/\">rise in purposelessness and a lack of belonging\u003c/a> among young people. And despite social media’s promise of constant connectivity, studies show that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/06/518362255/feeling-lonely-too-much-time-on-social-media-may-be-why\">it makes us feel lonelier\u003c/a>, especially when TikTok stars, Instagram fame and polarizing Twitter debates all promote individual glory over collective growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/uglyface.88/?hl=en\">UglyFace\u003c/a> — a rap quartet of former high school homies who’ve since grown up and kept in touch through music — wants none of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The popular thought is to push individualism, but that just creates division,” says Andre Mosley, a founding member of the group. “We don’t have to step on each other’s necks to be big. We can all be our own version of big. There’s a bunch of stars in the sky, they all get to shine and coexist. Why can’t we?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originating in Tracy in 2007, UglyFace is leaning into free-spirited collaboration without any end goal, other than to connect with each other and their audience. Their latest effort, \u003ci>FIND YOUR TRiBE\u003c/i>, is proof.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOjHuZzD2L8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Initially released as \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4Z7OPWbaoOtmwFGyFoCsVx\">Episodes 1\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2An37IdU5MJ84RSJfi8i7j\">2\u003c/a> in January and February of this year, FIND YOUR TRiBE (the lowercase “i” intentionally de-emphasizes individual ego) is a monthly series of multimedia content — audio, music and visuals that document their countless hours spent kicking it, goofing around and recording.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The projects span 21 and 32 minutes, with 26 and 17 tracks, respectively, and embrace a fragmented stream-of-consciousness approach. Imagine watching YouTube videos, while listening to a dope rap album, while overhearing your best friends’ opinions and peeking inside a notebook of someone’s sketches. While it might sound overwhelming, the end product is cohesive — more artful than haphazard — and surprisingly effortless to digest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926207\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of local rappers wanders along the coast of the San Pablo Bay\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Andre Mosley, Aric Jones, Kevin Farpella and Aaron Temple of UglyFace walk along the waterfront in Richmond, California on March 10, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The group is made up of Mosley (a baritone vocalist and playful lyricist who often sings the hooks), Aaron Temple (a versatile rapper, producer, singer, videographer and sound editor who provides an anchor for the group), Aric Jones (the group’s third rapper, producer, songwriter and singer who originally hails from Chicago) and Kevin Farpella (a wizardly producer, writer, and audio engineer who brings it all together at his guest house in Tracy, which has been converted into their recording studio).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With stylistic qualities that range from \u003ci>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/i> (which utilized comedic sketches as a form of social critique) to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916267/learn-the-story-of-san-franciscos-toughest-skate-spot-in-new-thrasher-video\">Thrasher Magazine \u003c/a>(with an in-your-face DIY aesthetic), \u003ci>FIND YOUR TRiBE\u003c/i> feels expansive, inviting multiple audiences to mingle with it. During our conversation, Temple cited \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRJA2YrA6qI\">Spice 1’s “187 Proof” music video\u003c/a>, which features claymation, as inspiration. Farpella credits early Kanye West production as his guidance. Jones is a Bone Thugs and Twista enthusiast. Meanwhile, Mosley pays homage to Northern California icons, like E-40 and Mac Dre, through his wordplay. It’s an amalgamation of all that flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926210\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of local rappers stands in front of a wall with graffiti in Richmond, CA\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UglyFace stands for a portrait in front of an abandoned building after recording content for their online series. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a unit, they’re paving a way for a hyper-blended genre made up of low-budget storytelling, group therapy and good ol’ sound system-rattling slaps. Collectively, they’ve become a contemporary rap ensemble built on deep trust, versatility and quirky experimentation — allowing for vulnerability to shine from different angles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody wants to be stuck in one role,” Mosely says. “Sometimes we want to make a beat, or sing, or rap, or make a movie, or a podcast. I grew up in the choir, but I don’t want to just fucking sing everyday. Sometimes I want to make a video. It helps us to not become fatigued in one role.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That multi-layered approach is obvious on an album that isn’t afraid to veer outside the box. Slow-crooning tracks like “OFF HAND EP2” bleed into snippets of podcast excerpts like “AUTOCORRECT FYT.” Chippy conversations about who’s the best \u003ca href=\"http://techdeck.com/en_us\">Tech Deck\u003c/a> user on “SKATE FYT” are preceded by the playfully upbeat and optimistically worded “Instructional Song EP2.” From moment to moment, the project is spontaneous and largely unscripted: It’s basement-comedy in the form of a visual documentary. It’s a smoker’s lounge soundtrack with Bay Area argot. They even include faux commercials, like “GHETTO ASHTRAY PSA,” reminiscent of ‘90s rap album skits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just trying to get in where I fit in with my ideas,” says Temple. “We thought of it like we were making a show. It’s just a mix of our jokes, car shit, tapes on financial advice, cooking advice, our interests, opinions and views.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPhpbri7nnI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Currently, they’re working on future evolutions of their project — EP3 and EP4 are nearly finished — and have been in talks with DJ Toure of the Hieroglyphics for potential expansion and collaboration. No matter how it manifests, at its core, the series is a reminder about the importance of fostering our friendships and sharing that joy with others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the project doesn’t only highlight the idyllic elements of community-building. At times, the songs and accompanying videos highlight the messy challenges of artistic process and group dynamics. Perhaps most notably, a four-minute argument between Temple and Mosley is included on EP2 as “THE FIGHT FYT,” an unfiltered display of anger and hostility between group members. (It ends in genuine daps and apologies.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We almost stopped filming but it happened, it’s real, and they reconciled,” Farpella tells me of the fight. “The feedback so far has been heavily geared towards that argument, about how it even helped some listeners learn strategies about how to communicate more effectively when they’re angry. I was honestly surprised.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like a ‘90s VHS skate video with bloopers, injuries and outtakes, it’s all part of their cascade of caught-on-camera moments presented naturally, with minimal editing. The result is endearing, provocative and relatable, utilizing footage that other internet creators might dismiss due to a perceived lack of cohesion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926211\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"a local rapper texts his friend on the phone\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aric Jones of UglyFace wears a hoodie reading “Tribe”, part of the title of the group’s latest series. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They’re also learning and growing — in real time. In one of UglyFace’s more innovative approaches, they’ve invited listeners to \u003ca href=\"https://uglyfaced.com/blogs/news/tagged/fan-surveys\">fill out surveys\u003c/a>, so that anyone can provide feedback or request what they want to see or hear next from the group. In doing so, participants gain a 1% share for any song of their choice in the group’s catalogue (a process that involves fans receiving a check, as they explain on “ONE PERCENT SURVEY FYT”). It’s reminiscent of what Vallejo rapper LaRussell has done in recent years with his \u003ca href=\"https://southernlaced.com/2022/10/05/larussells-pay-what-you-want-approach-garners-one-thousand-album-sales-first-day/\">“pay what you want” model\u003c/a>; still, it’s a “fan empowerment” tactic that is far from common in the rap game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to do protype things, just off the feeling and vibe,” says Jones, the only member who’s no longer local; he’s currently living in LA. “[FIND YOUR TRiBE] is still in the pilot phase, but we’re not afraid to fail or go down other avenues. People don’t always like to be vulnerable like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926209\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926209\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of rappers stand in front of the San Pablo Bay\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Friends since high school, the members of UglyFace stand on an island in front of the San Pablo Bay. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The result is a rare rap collaboration that is rough-edged, unfinished and imperfect, without any over-curated bullshit, but nevertheless worthy of being shared. In our age of symmetrical crops and sparkling filters, it’s a breath of fresh air to see strangers messing around — and messing up — while wandering towards something new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘FIND YOUR TRiBE’ \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4Z7OPWbaoOtmwFGyFoCsVx\">\u003ci>EP1\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> and \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2An37IdU5MJ84RSJfi8i7j\">\u003ci>EP2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (albums and compilation videos) are currently available on all streaming platforms. EP3 is scheduled to release in the last week of March. Follow \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/uglyface.88/?hl=en\">\u003ci>UglyFace\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> online for livestreams and announcements about their album-making process.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s easier than ever to feel out of sync with others. The past few years have brought an alarming \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/03/02/mental-health-and-the-pandemic-what-u-s-surveys-have-found/\">rise in purposelessness and a lack of belonging\u003c/a> among young people. And despite social media’s promise of constant connectivity, studies show that \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/06/518362255/feeling-lonely-too-much-time-on-social-media-may-be-why\">it makes us feel lonelier\u003c/a>, especially when TikTok stars, Instagram fame and polarizing Twitter debates all promote individual glory over collective growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/uglyface.88/?hl=en\">UglyFace\u003c/a> — a rap quartet of former high school homies who’ve since grown up and kept in touch through music — wants none of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The popular thought is to push individualism, but that just creates division,” says Andre Mosley, a founding member of the group. “We don’t have to step on each other’s necks to be big. We can all be our own version of big. There’s a bunch of stars in the sky, they all get to shine and coexist. Why can’t we?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originating in Tracy in 2007, UglyFace is leaning into free-spirited collaboration without any end goal, other than to connect with each other and their audience. Their latest effort, \u003ci>FIND YOUR TRiBE\u003c/i>, is proof.\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/sOjHuZzD2L8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/sOjHuZzD2L8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Initially released as \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4Z7OPWbaoOtmwFGyFoCsVx\">Episodes 1\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2An37IdU5MJ84RSJfi8i7j\">2\u003c/a> in January and February of this year, FIND YOUR TRiBE (the lowercase “i” intentionally de-emphasizes individual ego) is a monthly series of multimedia content — audio, music and visuals that document their countless hours spent kicking it, goofing around and recording.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The projects span 21 and 32 minutes, with 26 and 17 tracks, respectively, and embrace a fragmented stream-of-consciousness approach. Imagine watching YouTube videos, while listening to a dope rap album, while overhearing your best friends’ opinions and peeking inside a notebook of someone’s sketches. While it might sound overwhelming, the end product is cohesive — more artful than haphazard — and surprisingly effortless to digest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926207\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of local rappers wanders along the coast of the San Pablo Bay\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63612_03102023_kqed_uglyface-195-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Andre Mosley, Aric Jones, Kevin Farpella and Aaron Temple of UglyFace walk along the waterfront in Richmond, California on March 10, 2023. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The group is made up of Mosley (a baritone vocalist and playful lyricist who often sings the hooks), Aaron Temple (a versatile rapper, producer, singer, videographer and sound editor who provides an anchor for the group), Aric Jones (the group’s third rapper, producer, songwriter and singer who originally hails from Chicago) and Kevin Farpella (a wizardly producer, writer, and audio engineer who brings it all together at his guest house in Tracy, which has been converted into their recording studio).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With stylistic qualities that range from \u003ci>Chappelle’s Show\u003c/i> (which utilized comedic sketches as a form of social critique) to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916267/learn-the-story-of-san-franciscos-toughest-skate-spot-in-new-thrasher-video\">Thrasher Magazine \u003c/a>(with an in-your-face DIY aesthetic), \u003ci>FIND YOUR TRiBE\u003c/i> feels expansive, inviting multiple audiences to mingle with it. During our conversation, Temple cited \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRJA2YrA6qI\">Spice 1’s “187 Proof” music video\u003c/a>, which features claymation, as inspiration. Farpella credits early Kanye West production as his guidance. Jones is a Bone Thugs and Twista enthusiast. Meanwhile, Mosley pays homage to Northern California icons, like E-40 and Mac Dre, through his wordplay. It’s an amalgamation of all that flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926210\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of local rappers stands in front of a wall with graffiti in Richmond, CA\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63621_03102023_kqed_uglyface-207-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">UglyFace stands for a portrait in front of an abandoned building after recording content for their online series. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a unit, they’re paving a way for a hyper-blended genre made up of low-budget storytelling, group therapy and good ol’ sound system-rattling slaps. Collectively, they’ve become a contemporary rap ensemble built on deep trust, versatility and quirky experimentation — allowing for vulnerability to shine from different angles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody wants to be stuck in one role,” Mosely says. “Sometimes we want to make a beat, or sing, or rap, or make a movie, or a podcast. I grew up in the choir, but I don’t want to just fucking sing everyday. Sometimes I want to make a video. It helps us to not become fatigued in one role.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That multi-layered approach is obvious on an album that isn’t afraid to veer outside the box. Slow-crooning tracks like “OFF HAND EP2” bleed into snippets of podcast excerpts like “AUTOCORRECT FYT.” Chippy conversations about who’s the best \u003ca href=\"http://techdeck.com/en_us\">Tech Deck\u003c/a> user on “SKATE FYT” are preceded by the playfully upbeat and optimistically worded “Instructional Song EP2.” From moment to moment, the project is spontaneous and largely unscripted: It’s basement-comedy in the form of a visual documentary. It’s a smoker’s lounge soundtrack with Bay Area argot. They even include faux commercials, like “GHETTO ASHTRAY PSA,” reminiscent of ‘90s rap album skits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just trying to get in where I fit in with my ideas,” says Temple. “We thought of it like we were making a show. It’s just a mix of our jokes, car shit, tapes on financial advice, cooking advice, our interests, opinions and views.”\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/fPhpbri7nnI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/fPhpbri7nnI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Currently, they’re working on future evolutions of their project — EP3 and EP4 are nearly finished — and have been in talks with DJ Toure of the Hieroglyphics for potential expansion and collaboration. No matter how it manifests, at its core, the series is a reminder about the importance of fostering our friendships and sharing that joy with others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the project doesn’t only highlight the idyllic elements of community-building. At times, the songs and accompanying videos highlight the messy challenges of artistic process and group dynamics. Perhaps most notably, a four-minute argument between Temple and Mosley is included on EP2 as “THE FIGHT FYT,” an unfiltered display of anger and hostility between group members. (It ends in genuine daps and apologies.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We almost stopped filming but it happened, it’s real, and they reconciled,” Farpella tells me of the fight. “The feedback so far has been heavily geared towards that argument, about how it even helped some listeners learn strategies about how to communicate more effectively when they’re angry. I was honestly surprised.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like a ‘90s VHS skate video with bloopers, injuries and outtakes, it’s all part of their cascade of caught-on-camera moments presented naturally, with minimal editing. The result is endearing, provocative and relatable, utilizing footage that other internet creators might dismiss due to a perceived lack of cohesion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926211\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"a local rapper texts his friend on the phone\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63616_03102023_kqed_uglyface-244-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Aric Jones of UglyFace wears a hoodie reading “Tribe”, part of the title of the group’s latest series. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They’re also learning and growing — in real time. In one of UglyFace’s more innovative approaches, they’ve invited listeners to \u003ca href=\"https://uglyfaced.com/blogs/news/tagged/fan-surveys\">fill out surveys\u003c/a>, so that anyone can provide feedback or request what they want to see or hear next from the group. In doing so, participants gain a 1% share for any song of their choice in the group’s catalogue (a process that involves fans receiving a check, as they explain on “ONE PERCENT SURVEY FYT”). It’s reminiscent of what Vallejo rapper LaRussell has done in recent years with his \u003ca href=\"https://southernlaced.com/2022/10/05/larussells-pay-what-you-want-approach-garners-one-thousand-album-sales-first-day/\">“pay what you want” model\u003c/a>; still, it’s a “fan empowerment” tactic that is far from common in the rap game.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We like to do protype things, just off the feeling and vibe,” says Jones, the only member who’s no longer local; he’s currently living in LA. “[FIND YOUR TRiBE] is still in the pilot phase, but we’re not afraid to fail or go down other avenues. People don’t always like to be vulnerable like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926209\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926209\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"A group of rappers stand in front of the San Pablo Bay\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63608_03102023_kqed_uglyface-088-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Friends since high school, the members of UglyFace stand on an island in front of the San Pablo Bay. \u003ccite>(Kori Suzuki/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The result is a rare rap collaboration that is rough-edged, unfinished and imperfect, without any over-curated bullshit, but nevertheless worthy of being shared. In our age of symmetrical crops and sparkling filters, it’s a breath of fresh air to see strangers messing around — and messing up — while wandering towards something new.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘FIND YOUR TRiBE’ \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4Z7OPWbaoOtmwFGyFoCsVx\">\u003ci>EP1\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> and \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/2An37IdU5MJ84RSJfi8i7j\">\u003ci>EP2\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> (albums and compilation videos) are currently available on all streaming platforms. EP3 is scheduled to release in the last week of March. Follow \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/uglyface.88/?hl=en\">\u003ci>UglyFace\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> online for livestreams and announcements about their album-making process.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "At 82, an Experimental Musician Returns to Her Roots With a Little Help from Google Translate",
"headTitle": "At 82, an Experimental Musician Returns to Her Roots With a Little Help from Google Translate | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://dorothymoskowitz.com/\">Dorothy Moskowitz\u003c/a> first listened to work by the Italian composer \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/fBioxJ2ElQU\">Francesco Paolo Paladino\u003c/a>, she heard something in his music that reminded her of the sound pieces of her youth. “I was astounded at how much chaos and mischief there was,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 82, Moskowitz has been involved in composing, recording and performing music for over seven decades. She was the lead vocalist for the experimental rock band The United States of America, which put out one eponymous album in 1968 and disbanded shortly after. Over the intervening years, Moskowitz has toured with Country Joe’s All Star Band, written original pieces for children’s musical theater, taught music and maintained her own recording practice out of her Bay Area home studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 17, her latest effort, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tompkinssquare.com/under-an-endless-sky.html\">Under an Endless Sky\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a collaboration with Paladino and the poet \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luca_Ferrari_(writer)\">Luca Chino Ferrari\u003c/a> under the name The United States of Alchemy, comes out on Tompkins Square records. Moskowitz’s voice sits delicately over the electro-acoustic compositions, singing evocative lines that originated in Italian (Ferrari is a poet). Imagine Marianne Faithfull working with minimalist composer John Adams and you can begin to grok the shape of this lovely, sometimes eerie music. The team worked back and forth via email, with most of Ferrari’s lines passing through Google translate before Moskowitz refined the words and phrases in English and set it all to melodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s part of the aesthetic, as far as I’m concerned,” says Moskowitz of her preference for collaboration over email. “I think there’s something that contaminates when you see people on Zoom and they’re in their pajamas. Not seeing or hearing each other keeps it very, very pure, very elevated. It’s coming from another world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s definitely something otherworldly about transmitting emails back and forth across two languages and international borders that helps to explain the seven ethereal songs on \u003ci>Under an Endless Sky\u003c/i>. The album opens with a 23-minute title track of virtual keyboards, violins, a string trio (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trio_cavalazzi/?hl=en\">Trio Cavalazzi\u003c/a>) and horns. Moskowitz’s vocals first enter at nearly the three-minute mark, underlining the sci-fi-esque nature of our modern existence: “How strange a thing is man / A blinded lab rat in a cage / Stuck in his house, elevator or car / His eyes engulfed by screens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\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=515981304/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>Unlike Hamlet’s “\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_piece_of_work_is_a_man\">what a piece of work is man\u003c/a>” monologue, which moves from admiration to condemnation of these humans, “the paragon of animals,” “Under an Endless Sky” begins with someone trapped by their technology who still has a chance to experience all that the physical world has to offer. “We’ve lost time, but we do not despair / For there’s no other way to go / But to live in the here and now,” Moskowitz sings in her modular melody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My job was to turn these really profound and philosophical musings of Luca’s into something that could be sung that had euphony and alliteration and sometimes rhyme — if they allowed it,” she says. “I was the tailor, the dressmaker, to Luca’s fabric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one song where she veered deeper into lyric writing is the album’s most affecting, “My Doomsday Serenade.” It’s a dense composition, full of tone shifts and overlaid vocals, with contributions from both Trio Cavalazzi and Italian electronic musician \u003ca href=\"https://www.riccardosinigaglia.com/\">Riccardo Sinigaglia\u003c/a>. Moskowitz is thrilled by this generational merger: the “kids” of Trio Cavalazzi; Sinigaglia, born in 1953; and Moskowitz in her 80s. “I think it’s really unusual that we have fused like that,” she enthuses. “Francesco pulled it all together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926268\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Two white men pose seated, smiling with ceramic frogs in their hands\" width=\"1200\" height=\"809\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926268\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-768x518.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francesco Paolo Paladino and Luca Chino Ferrari hamming it up in Piacenza, Italy. \u003ccite>(Maria Assunta Karini)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for the lyrics, Moskowitz says she and Ferrari went back and forth about the context of “doomsday.” For him, it was about a weighing of the soul, not just in an afterlife but as part of our everyday existence. “He really likes the luster of having ambiguity,” she says of his writing style. “You don’t know whether I’m talking about my mortality or whether I’m talking about ethics or whether I’m talking about Egyptian mythology.” The answer, she says, is “all three, yes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This song hits differently with Moskowitz on vocals than it would with a younger singer. Clear and precise, her voice carries with it the years of experience that give the words “It pounds out a reckoning / And beckons me to face up to myself” real weight — more prophetic than theoretical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for all of Moskowitz’s claims to favor traditional and direct lyrics (she cites the 15 years she spent writing original songs for the children’s theater company she co-ran in San Francisco), she also loves a well-placed evocative word, like “threnody” (a lament). During our interview, she urged me to make her sound “more folksy,” even as she referenced philosophers and listed off her many collaborators and accomplishments. As a first-generation American, she says she has a tendency to “lard my sentences with four syllables” — another delightful turn of phrase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Sepia toned image of white woman in glasses singing into mic\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1508\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926267\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-800x1005.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-1020x1282.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-768x965.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An undated photo of Dorothy Moskowitz. \u003ccite>(Tompkins Square)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Throughout, she was adamant about Paladino and Ferrari’s roles in the music-making. “Both these guys are geniuses, I will reiterate, put it in print!” she says. The dynamic between the three seems to have been effusive and full of praise, hence the moniker United States of Alchemy. What they were creating, and how they were creating it, felt magical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album closes with “Unknown to Ourselves,” a spare track with just Paladino on virtual keyboards and piano and Mauro Sambo on saxophone. Moskowitz’s vocals — about the finite nature of life and companionship — dominate for its first three minutes, until the music fades and the ambient sounds of a chirping cricket sing the whole production to sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might sound lonely, maybe a little bleak, but Moskowitz has a very positive take on the song, which is fueling her artistic productivity. “The way out of being unknown to ourselves is through creativity,” she says. “I think from the neck up, I’m still young. It helps keep me young to be this engaged, to be this pressured. I think it’s very, very healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moskowitz is definitely busy: she has a double album, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/peter-olof-fransson/the-afterlife-feat-dorothy-moskowitz\">The Afterlife\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, due soon with Swedish composer Peter Olof Fransson; a solo album called \u003ci>Rising to Eternity\u003c/i> (about the Webb telescope) coming out at the end of this year; The United States of Alchemy is working on a second album; and she also has “many songs unfinished” with her regular collaborator, the critic, novelist and songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Lucas\">Tim Lucas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conventional wisdom in the industry is that you don’t put anything out until something else is absorbed, otherwise you’re competing with yourself,” she explains. “And I think that’s good if you’re under 70 years old. But in your twilight years … I want to get everything out before the marbles go.”\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>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘Under an Endless Sky’ comes out Friday, March 17 on Tompkins Square. There will be a “low-key record release” on April 8, 1–3 p.m. at Oakland’s Mars Records (4125 Piedmont Ave.) with Dorothy Moskowitz present to sign copies.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://dorothymoskowitz.com/\">Dorothy Moskowitz\u003c/a> first listened to work by the Italian composer \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/fBioxJ2ElQU\">Francesco Paolo Paladino\u003c/a>, she heard something in his music that reminded her of the sound pieces of her youth. “I was astounded at how much chaos and mischief there was,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 82, Moskowitz has been involved in composing, recording and performing music for over seven decades. She was the lead vocalist for the experimental rock band The United States of America, which put out one eponymous album in 1968 and disbanded shortly after. Over the intervening years, Moskowitz has toured with Country Joe’s All Star Band, written original pieces for children’s musical theater, taught music and maintained her own recording practice out of her Bay Area home studio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On March 17, her latest effort, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tompkinssquare.com/under-an-endless-sky.html\">Under an Endless Sky\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, a collaboration with Paladino and the poet \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luca_Ferrari_(writer)\">Luca Chino Ferrari\u003c/a> under the name The United States of Alchemy, comes out on Tompkins Square records. Moskowitz’s voice sits delicately over the electro-acoustic compositions, singing evocative lines that originated in Italian (Ferrari is a poet). Imagine Marianne Faithfull working with minimalist composer John Adams and you can begin to grok the shape of this lovely, sometimes eerie music. The team worked back and forth via email, with most of Ferrari’s lines passing through Google translate before Moskowitz refined the words and phrases in English and set it all to melodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s part of the aesthetic, as far as I’m concerned,” says Moskowitz of her preference for collaboration over email. “I think there’s something that contaminates when you see people on Zoom and they’re in their pajamas. Not seeing or hearing each other keeps it very, very pure, very elevated. It’s coming from another world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s definitely something otherworldly about transmitting emails back and forth across two languages and international borders that helps to explain the seven ethereal songs on \u003ci>Under an Endless Sky\u003c/i>. The album opens with a 23-minute title track of virtual keyboards, violins, a string trio (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trio_cavalazzi/?hl=en\">Trio Cavalazzi\u003c/a>) and horns. Moskowitz’s vocals first enter at nearly the three-minute mark, underlining the sci-fi-esque nature of our modern existence: “How strange a thing is man / A blinded lab rat in a cage / Stuck in his house, elevator or car / His eyes engulfed by screens.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\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=515981304/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>Unlike Hamlet’s “\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_piece_of_work_is_a_man\">what a piece of work is man\u003c/a>” monologue, which moves from admiration to condemnation of these humans, “the paragon of animals,” “Under an Endless Sky” begins with someone trapped by their technology who still has a chance to experience all that the physical world has to offer. “We’ve lost time, but we do not despair / For there’s no other way to go / But to live in the here and now,” Moskowitz sings in her modular melody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My job was to turn these really profound and philosophical musings of Luca’s into something that could be sung that had euphony and alliteration and sometimes rhyme — if they allowed it,” she says. “I was the tailor, the dressmaker, to Luca’s fabric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The one song where she veered deeper into lyric writing is the album’s most affecting, “My Doomsday Serenade.” It’s a dense composition, full of tone shifts and overlaid vocals, with contributions from both Trio Cavalazzi and Italian electronic musician \u003ca href=\"https://www.riccardosinigaglia.com/\">Riccardo Sinigaglia\u003c/a>. Moskowitz is thrilled by this generational merger: the “kids” of Trio Cavalazzi; Sinigaglia, born in 1953; and Moskowitz in her 80s. “I think it’s really unusual that we have fused like that,” she enthuses. “Francesco pulled it all together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926268\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Two white men pose seated, smiling with ceramic frogs in their hands\" width=\"1200\" height=\"809\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926268\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-1020x688.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/FrancescoLuca_1200-768x518.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Francesco Paolo Paladino and Luca Chino Ferrari hamming it up in Piacenza, Italy. \u003ccite>(Maria Assunta Karini)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As for the lyrics, Moskowitz says she and Ferrari went back and forth about the context of “doomsday.” For him, it was about a weighing of the soul, not just in an afterlife but as part of our everyday existence. “He really likes the luster of having ambiguity,” she says of his writing style. “You don’t know whether I’m talking about my mortality or whether I’m talking about ethics or whether I’m talking about Egyptian mythology.” The answer, she says, is “all three, yes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This song hits differently with Moskowitz on vocals than it would with a younger singer. Clear and precise, her voice carries with it the years of experience that give the words “It pounds out a reckoning / And beckons me to face up to myself” real weight — more prophetic than theoretical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And for all of Moskowitz’s claims to favor traditional and direct lyrics (she cites the 15 years she spent writing original songs for the children’s theater company she co-ran in San Francisco), she also loves a well-placed evocative word, like “threnody” (a lament). During our interview, she urged me to make her sound “more folksy,” even as she referenced philosophers and listed off her many collaborators and accomplishments. As a first-generation American, she says she has a tendency to “lard my sentences with four syllables” — another delightful turn of phrase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926267\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Sepia toned image of white woman in glasses singing into mic\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1508\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926267\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-800x1005.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-1020x1282.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-160x201.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Dorothy_1200-768x965.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An undated photo of Dorothy Moskowitz. \u003ccite>(Tompkins Square)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Throughout, she was adamant about Paladino and Ferrari’s roles in the music-making. “Both these guys are geniuses, I will reiterate, put it in print!” she says. The dynamic between the three seems to have been effusive and full of praise, hence the moniker United States of Alchemy. What they were creating, and how they were creating it, felt magical.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album closes with “Unknown to Ourselves,” a spare track with just Paladino on virtual keyboards and piano and Mauro Sambo on saxophone. Moskowitz’s vocals — about the finite nature of life and companionship — dominate for its first three minutes, until the music fades and the ambient sounds of a chirping cricket sing the whole production to sleep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It might sound lonely, maybe a little bleak, but Moskowitz has a very positive take on the song, which is fueling her artistic productivity. “The way out of being unknown to ourselves is through creativity,” she says. “I think from the neck up, I’m still young. It helps keep me young to be this engaged, to be this pressured. I think it’s very, very healthy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moskowitz is definitely busy: she has a double album, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/peter-olof-fransson/the-afterlife-feat-dorothy-moskowitz\">The Afterlife\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, due soon with Swedish composer Peter Olof Fransson; a solo album called \u003ci>Rising to Eternity\u003c/i> (about the Webb telescope) coming out at the end of this year; The United States of Alchemy is working on a second album; and she also has “many songs unfinished” with her regular collaborator, the critic, novelist and songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Lucas\">Tim Lucas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conventional wisdom in the industry is that you don’t put anything out until something else is absorbed, otherwise you’re competing with yourself,” she explains. “And I think that’s good if you’re under 70 years old. But in your twilight years … I want to get everything out before the marbles go.”\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>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>‘Under an Endless Sky’ comes out Friday, March 17 on Tompkins Square. There will be a “low-key record release” on April 8, 1–3 p.m. at Oakland’s Mars Records (4125 Piedmont Ave.) with Dorothy Moskowitz present to sign copies.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "too-short-dogs-in-the-house-cover-art",
"title": "Meet the Artist Behind ‘Short Dog’s In The House’",
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"content": "\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>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">O\u003c/span>n the title track of Too Short’s 1990 album \u003ci>Short Dog’s In the House\u003c/i>, wedged between bars about globetrotting and cold mackin’, the pioneering Oakland MC says, “I used to be local ’til I signed with Jive / Too Short done went nationwide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a decade that started with Short \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">slanging tapes out of his trunk\u003c/a> as an independent artist, this was Short breaking into the hip-hop’s golden age of the ’90s. \u003ci>Short Dog’s In the House\u003c/i> features notable songs like “Pimpology,” one of the first of many tracks to sample lines from \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-mack-filmed-in-oakland\">the movie \u003ci>The Mack\u003c/i>, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. “Nothing But a Word to Me,” with Ice Cube, marks an early collaboration between major artists from Northern and Southern California. And the song “Short But Funky” is both a thinly veiled diss to MC Hammer and Too Short’s mission statement as an artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album’s biggest single, “The Ghetto,” found Short deviating from his player persona, dropping socially conscious rhymes over a classic Donny Hathaway interpolation. The album sold over a million units and influenced generations of hip-hop heads. It’s a classic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw0uz88E2gI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then there’s its illustrated cover art: a group of animated human-bodied dog-faced characters cold chilling in a parking lot. Cars that look like Mercedes-Benzes, Lamborghinis and Cadillacs are parked all around, as poodle and bulldog-like characters cut eyes, point fingers and posture like folks would at any social happening. This one is clearly a sideshow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this scene unfolds in the foreground, a larger canine figure in an Oakland jacket looms near the city’s skyline, like an overseeing oracle, here to tell the world about The Town. And at the bottom left corner of the album cover, in tiny lettering, there’s a signature from the artist: Curtis “Bozie” Wayne Riley Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926255\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926255\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-800x539.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"539\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait.jpg 896w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At left, a sketch from Boze, typifying the sort of characters he’d often draw in high school in the Bay Area. At right, a recent portrait of Boze. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Boze Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The process of me doing the album cover, it started way before I ever met Short,” says Bozie, who now goes simply by Boze, on a recent video call. “For me, it started at The Art School.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-to-late ’80s, Boze was a student at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/2234613913\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Arts Magnet School\u003c/a>, a.k.a. “The Art School,” a high school on the California College of The Arts campus. Boze, a multitalented kid from Deep East Oakland, attributes his skills to the tutelage of his artistic parents, the influence of his neighborhood, the lessons from his high school and his affinity for hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At The Art School, he had an African-American instructor named Robert L. Caillier who taught college-level arts courses, didn’t take any mess and was a firm believer in students using the classroom to refine their individual voices. “We were given the green light to draw all the things that we love,” says Boze. “So we were drawing hip-hop characters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 8th grade until 12th grade, Boze constantly practiced drawing donkey ropes, Kangol hats, Gazelle glasses, and Adidas with the fat strings. After graduation, Boze used his talents to freelance, illustrating projects for MC Ant, Tomahawk Records’ Indian Tone and a logo for East Bay rapper Spice 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926016\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926016\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443.jpg\" alt=\"Spice 1\" width=\"600\" height=\"589\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An early single by Spice 1, with a logo drawn by Boze. \u003ccite>(Jive Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Money was slow, though, and Boze briefly considered turning to the streets. Then he got into airbrushing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that era, about three major hip-hop tours would come to town each year, and Boze would be ready. “I’d be in my grandmother’s garage airbrushing like 10-12 outfits, charging people $350 a piece,” says Boze, noting that white Guess or Levi’s jeans were a favorite. “My grandmother was getting mad because she’d see all these guys with 5.0’s, glasshouses, and K5s pulling up and coming to the house,” says Boze, imitating his grandmother’s concerned voice. “I’m in there airbrushing! I had an honest hustle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with visual art, Boze was a part of\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/artist/4904066-T-CAP-Productions\"> T-CAP Productions\u003c/a>’ group \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/artist/203244-Capital-Tax\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Capital Tax\u003c/a>. He earned a name as a dancer, designed the logo for the crew and even did some musical production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CAPITAL TAX- 2 TIMIN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/skuAI7yFFJ0?start=1&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As his reputation and clientele in Deep East Oakland grew, Boze eventually made artwork for someone in Too Short’s crew. Coincidentally, Short had recorded a new album for Jive, and he needed artwork too. “They came to me,” says Boze. “Short was like, ‘I want you to do a sideshow scene, but I need it with dogs.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Short also suggested to Boze a few types of cars to draw, but told him to use his imagination with the rest. Boze is quick to mention that modern sideshows are different than the one depicted on the album cover, the way they used to be. “It was more like a car show. People brought out Falcons, Novas, Cougars, Mustangs. Trues and Vogues, Zapco boards. It was a chill situation,” says Boze. In the late 1980s, he adds, only a few people did donuts, police rarely came, and afterward, folks would hit Mexicali Rose or Denny’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13923766']With years of preparation from art school under his belt, chronicling that era of the sideshow came easy; Boze says he knocked it out in two or three days. But the image that’s widely known — that’s the second drawing. The first one was rejected by Jive; the label needed certain specs for reproduction. “Short never gave me back the original one,” says Boze. “So either Short still has it, or someone at Jive does.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The version that adorns the platinum-selling album, meanwhile, has been widely shared and impactful. Short has \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sJXzYAeTk0U?t=118\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gone on record\u003c/a> to mention the importance of the album cover, as have other major artists. Even Snoop Dogg seemed to have a fanboy moment when recently discussing the album art, and how it directly influenced the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggystyle\">cartoon-dog cover art\u003c/a> for his smash-hit album \u003cem>Doggystyle\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Snoop Dogg & Too Short Talk Music (April 07, 2020)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/qnd3wBdXXDE?start=1020&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boze tells me he’s talked to people about the \u003ci>Short Dog’s in the House\u003c/i> art all across the country: Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and even in Alabama, where he now resides. Years removed from the experience, now working as a curator of arts education for the \u003ca href=\"https://artistcommunities.org/directory/organizations/coleman-center-arts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coleman Center of the Arts\u003c/a> in York, Alabama, Boze says he doesn’t often discuss the album — but when it does come up, people tell him how it made them feel. Not the music on the album, but the artwork itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A teenager at the time of the drawing, Boze says it’s wild to think the image could be likened to a hip-hop version of \u003ca href=\"https://www.mfah.org/exhibitions/sugar-shack#&gid=cc5054066ed84c259198418242e77992&pid=25074691\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Sugar Shack\u003c/a>, the dance-hall scene painted by Ernie Barnes, which was featured on the cover of Marvin Gaye’s \u003cem>I Want You\u003c/em> and shown the final credits of the show \u003cem>Good Times\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s debatable if the image is on that same cultural level, the numbers don’t lie. “Over a million people have seen this work, I’ve got the plaque to prove it,” says Boze with a laugh. “I’m a platinum artist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\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\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\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>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">O\u003c/span>n the title track of Too Short’s 1990 album \u003ci>Short Dog’s In the House\u003c/i>, wedged between bars about globetrotting and cold mackin’, the pioneering Oakland MC says, “I used to be local ’til I signed with Jive / Too Short done went nationwide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a decade that started with Short \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#too-short-and-freddy-b-start-making-handmade-tapes\">slanging tapes out of his trunk\u003c/a> as an independent artist, this was Short breaking into the hip-hop’s golden age of the ’90s. \u003ci>Short Dog’s In the House\u003c/i> features notable songs like “Pimpology,” one of the first of many tracks to sample lines from \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#the-mack-filmed-in-oakland\">the movie \u003ci>The Mack\u003c/i>, filmed in Oakland\u003c/a>. “Nothing But a Word to Me,” with Ice Cube, marks an early collaboration between major artists from Northern and Southern California. And the song “Short But Funky” is both a thinly veiled diss to MC Hammer and Too Short’s mission statement as an artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The album’s biggest single, “The Ghetto,” found Short deviating from his player persona, dropping socially conscious rhymes over a classic Donny Hathaway interpolation. The album sold over a million units and influenced generations of hip-hop heads. It’s a classic.\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/fw0uz88E2gI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/fw0uz88E2gI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then there’s its illustrated cover art: a group of animated human-bodied dog-faced characters cold chilling in a parking lot. Cars that look like Mercedes-Benzes, Lamborghinis and Cadillacs are parked all around, as poodle and bulldog-like characters cut eyes, point fingers and posture like folks would at any social happening. This one is clearly a sideshow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While this scene unfolds in the foreground, a larger canine figure in an Oakland jacket looms near the city’s skyline, like an overseeing oracle, here to tell the world about The Town. And at the bottom left corner of the album cover, in tiny lettering, there’s a signature from the artist: Curtis “Bozie” Wayne Riley Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926255\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926255\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-800x539.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"539\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Boze.illos_.portrait.jpg 896w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At left, a sketch from Boze, typifying the sort of characters he’d often draw in high school in the Bay Area. At right, a recent portrait of Boze. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Boze Riley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“The process of me doing the album cover, it started way before I ever met Short,” says Bozie, who now goes simply by Boze, on a recent video call. “For me, it started at The Art School.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the mid-to-late ’80s, Boze was a student at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/2234613913\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Arts Magnet School\u003c/a>, a.k.a. “The Art School,” a high school on the California College of The Arts campus. Boze, a multitalented kid from Deep East Oakland, attributes his skills to the tutelage of his artistic parents, the influence of his neighborhood, the lessons from his high school and his affinity for hip-hop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At The Art School, he had an African-American instructor named Robert L. Caillier who taught college-level arts courses, didn’t take any mess and was a firm believer in students using the classroom to refine their individual voices. “We were given the green light to draw all the things that we love,” says Boze. “So we were drawing hip-hop characters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From 8th grade until 12th grade, Boze constantly practiced drawing donkey ropes, Kangol hats, Gazelle glasses, and Adidas with the fat strings. After graduation, Boze used his talents to freelance, illustrating projects for MC Ant, Tomahawk Records’ Indian Tone and a logo for East Bay rapper Spice 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926016\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926016\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443.jpg\" alt=\"Spice 1\" width=\"600\" height=\"589\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/R-1268690-1219563443-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An early single by Spice 1, with a logo drawn by Boze. \u003ccite>(Jive Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Money was slow, though, and Boze briefly considered turning to the streets. Then he got into airbrushing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that era, about three major hip-hop tours would come to town each year, and Boze would be ready. “I’d be in my grandmother’s garage airbrushing like 10-12 outfits, charging people $350 a piece,” says Boze, noting that white Guess or Levi’s jeans were a favorite. “My grandmother was getting mad because she’d see all these guys with 5.0’s, glasshouses, and K5s pulling up and coming to the house,” says Boze, imitating his grandmother’s concerned voice. “I’m in there airbrushing! I had an honest hustle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with visual art, Boze was a part of\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/artist/4904066-T-CAP-Productions\"> T-CAP Productions\u003c/a>’ group \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/artist/203244-Capital-Tax\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Capital Tax\u003c/a>. He earned a name as a dancer, designed the logo for the crew and even did some musical production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CAPITAL TAX- 2 TIMIN\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/skuAI7yFFJ0?start=1&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As his reputation and clientele in Deep East Oakland grew, Boze eventually made artwork for someone in Too Short’s crew. Coincidentally, Short had recorded a new album for Jive, and he needed artwork too. “They came to me,” says Boze. “Short was like, ‘I want you to do a sideshow scene, but I need it with dogs.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Short also suggested to Boze a few types of cars to draw, but told him to use his imagination with the rest. Boze is quick to mention that modern sideshows are different than the one depicted on the album cover, the way they used to be. “It was more like a car show. People brought out Falcons, Novas, Cougars, Mustangs. Trues and Vogues, Zapco boards. It was a chill situation,” says Boze. In the late 1980s, he adds, only a few people did donuts, police rarely came, and afterward, folks would hit Mexicali Rose or Denny’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>With years of preparation from art school under his belt, chronicling that era of the sideshow came easy; Boze says he knocked it out in two or three days. But the image that’s widely known — that’s the second drawing. The first one was rejected by Jive; the label needed certain specs for reproduction. “Short never gave me back the original one,” says Boze. “So either Short still has it, or someone at Jive does.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The version that adorns the platinum-selling album, meanwhile, has been widely shared and impactful. Short has \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/sJXzYAeTk0U?t=118\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gone on record\u003c/a> to mention the importance of the album cover, as have other major artists. Even Snoop Dogg seemed to have a fanboy moment when recently discussing the album art, and how it directly influenced the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggystyle\">cartoon-dog cover art\u003c/a> for his smash-hit album \u003cem>Doggystyle\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Snoop Dogg & Too Short Talk Music (April 07, 2020)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/qnd3wBdXXDE?start=1020&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boze tells me he’s talked to people about the \u003ci>Short Dog’s in the House\u003c/i> art all across the country: Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and even in Alabama, where he now resides. Years removed from the experience, now working as a curator of arts education for the \u003ca href=\"https://artistcommunities.org/directory/organizations/coleman-center-arts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Coleman Center of the Arts\u003c/a> in York, Alabama, Boze says he doesn’t often discuss the album — but when it does come up, people tell him how it made them feel. Not the music on the album, but the artwork itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A teenager at the time of the drawing, Boze says it’s wild to think the image could be likened to a hip-hop version of \u003ca href=\"https://www.mfah.org/exhibitions/sugar-shack#&gid=cc5054066ed84c259198418242e77992&pid=25074691\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Sugar Shack\u003c/a>, the dance-hall scene painted by Ernie Barnes, which was featured on the cover of Marvin Gaye’s \u003cem>I Want You\u003c/em> and shown the final credits of the show \u003cem>Good Times\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it’s debatable if the image is on that same cultural level, the numbers don’t lie. “Over a million people have seen this work, I’ve got the plaque to prove it,” says Boze with a laugh. “I’m a platinum artist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>When drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yoyoka_drums/?hl=en\">Yoyoka Soma\u003c/a> first rocketed into internet stardom in 2018, millions swarmed to her videos, proclaiming her the next big star in rock ‘n’ roll. Soma, then an elementary school student living in Hokkaido, Japan, seemed to already possess musical sensibilities some adults spend their whole lives training for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watching her was hypnotic: Music seemed to take over her entire body. Each hit of the cymbal appeared to electrify her limbs, powering the next succession of passionate and coordinated movements. Her expressions bounced from playful to focused, but never strained. It looked impossibly easy for her — even at age 7.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"arts_13912562\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For as long as she can remember, drums have provided the musician an oasis from stress, frustration and unease. “If I have nerves, I sit at the drums and it’s gone,” says Soma, now 13, in a recent interview at her current home in Oakland. “I don’t know why but …they disappear once I sit at my drum set.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soma has lived in the Bay Area with her family — father Akifumi, mother Rie and younger brother Shido — since late 2022. Last fall, the Soma family decided to move to the states so that Soma could explore and grow more freely as a musician, uninhibited by their native Japan’s school system, which she describes as more traditional. Soma is currently in seventh grade at Oakland School for the Arts, where she is learning jazz and blues drum techniques that push her beyond her proclivity for the rock genre. When recalling music classes in Japan, Soma remembers their limitations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926106\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A family of four people, Japanese immigrants, smile for a portrait outside in front of trees: a teenage girl, her father, her younger brother and her mother\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma (left) poses for a photo with her dad Akifumi, mom Rie and younger brother Shido near their home in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s totally different because my Japanese school was not an arts school,” says Soma. “Class was very traditional: there was just the recorder, singing, piano and harmonica. I like those but there was no choice. So I couldn’t play the drums.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discouraged at school, Soma would pour herself into the drums at home — an instrument she’d been learning since she was one. Her parents, also musicians, were supportive and often held jam sessions where they’d play along to their favorite songs together — eventually forming their family band, KANEAIYOYOKA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Akifumi and Rie began uploading her \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@yoyoka_soma/featured\">solo cover videos to YouTube\u003c/a> in 2015, she steadily amassed an audience. In 2018, that audience exploded following a viral cover of the 1969 Led Zeppelin track “Good Times Bad Times.” In it, a younger Soma sports a short bowl cut, crinkling her nose and smiling as she plays to the song’s energetic and varied tempos. Over the next couple of years, her covers of other American rock staples like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” gained massive views and earned her two guest appearances on \u003cem>The Ellen Show\u003c/em> in 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91pz1E8pAOY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in recent conversations, the online attention and acclaim she received during that period don’t really come up. Lately, Soma is fully occupied with school, practice, gigs and filming videos and live streams for her subscribers. During the week, she begins most mornings first sleeping through her 6:30 a.m. alarm before trudging to the kitchen for breakfast and heading out for school. From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., she works through a packed schedule of English, music, social studies, math and life science courses before heading home for individual drum practice, dinner and more practice with family. “I’m so tired every day, most recently,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While her music classes in Japan felt a bit sterile and restricted, Soma says her current music courses are full of energy and chaos — sometimes to a fault. There is constant noise and a rowdiness that Soma has had trouble adjusting to. “My friends are so loud, [specifically] the boys,” she says. “I don’t like it — that part. But I have new experiences every day and I can learn [techniques] outside of rock music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she navigates this new setting, her greatest challenge is following along and understanding the material in English during her other classes. “Everyday, [I think]: ‘What are you talking about, teacher?’” says Soma. “My friends are so kind, like speaking a bit slowly. But in class, I don’t know! It’s the most difficult thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926086\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926086\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a young Japanese girl plays the drums while smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma says the language barrier has been difficult since moving to the U.S. — but music helps bridge the gaps. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In her alone time, she often retreats to nature or returns to her drum set at home to clear her head. These long school days, crammed with confusing lectures and new concepts taught in a language she has not yet grasped, are often overwhelming. In a recurring dream, she attends a school where the language barrier she currently struggles with is nonexistent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone speaks different languages, but I hear Japanese,” says Soma. “I like that dream. All the time. Every day, I go to that dream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Soma grapples with language obstacles, music and art allow her to fill in those gaps of understanding with others. During jam sessions with her classmates and other Bay Area artists, there is sometimes a moment of silent magic: where the groove and rhythm sync up between musicians and they’re able to improvise something unique to their musical connection. These sessions also act as keys that unlock new landscapes of sounds, genres and histories — allowing for an exchange of ideas and emotions without having to speak a word.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to the East Bay, Soma has jammed with Oakland singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito, whose soulful songs that combine blues, roots rock and country have inspired her to learn more about genre-blending music. Her friends at school have introduced her to an array of hip-hop and rap, where the art of sampling and revamping older songs and beats is generative and full of possibility. Music has offered her a new way of expanding her relationships, not only with new friends and fellow musicians, but with Oakland and herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926085\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a four-person Japanese family sit in a home music studio practicing instruments and smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma and her family practice for their band, Kaneaiyoyoka, at their home in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moving forward, Soma doesn’t have many long term plans sketched out. She wants to eventually make albums, have more jam sessions and perform at more events. But she also wants to read books, drink chocolate milk with her schoolmates, run around outside with her brother Shido and visit the Oakland Zoo. The pressure of being held in such high regard — and on a very public scale — isn’t really at the forefront of her mind. Soma, for all her talent and gifts, is still a young teen adjusting to completely new surroundings. In this current stage of life, of uncertainty and adaptation, she is inspired by the everyday: By moments of spontaneity that she translates through her rebellious, spirited playing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any creation of mine can be music. It should be natural until I die,” says Soma. “If I can give some courage or confidence to people, I want to be that person. I want to [give] back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKMlpDgg64E\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>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yoyoka Soma will perform at Notes & Words, an annual benefit concert for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, on March 25. \u003ca href=\"https://www.notesandwords.org/\">Tickets and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yoyoka_drums/?hl=en\">Yoyoka Soma\u003c/a> first rocketed into internet stardom in 2018, millions swarmed to her videos, proclaiming her the next big star in rock ‘n’ roll. Soma, then an elementary school student living in Hokkaido, Japan, seemed to already possess musical sensibilities some adults spend their whole lives training for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watching her was hypnotic: Music seemed to take over her entire body. Each hit of the cymbal appeared to electrify her limbs, powering the next succession of passionate and coordinated movements. Her expressions bounced from playful to focused, but never strained. It looked impossibly easy for her — even at age 7.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For as long as she can remember, drums have provided the musician an oasis from stress, frustration and unease. “If I have nerves, I sit at the drums and it’s gone,” says Soma, now 13, in a recent interview at her current home in Oakland. “I don’t know why but …they disappear once I sit at my drum set.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soma has lived in the Bay Area with her family — father Akifumi, mother Rie and younger brother Shido — since late 2022. Last fall, the Soma family decided to move to the states so that Soma could explore and grow more freely as a musician, uninhibited by their native Japan’s school system, which she describes as more traditional. Soma is currently in seventh grade at Oakland School for the Arts, where she is learning jazz and blues drum techniques that push her beyond her proclivity for the rock genre. When recalling music classes in Japan, Soma remembers their limitations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926106\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A family of four people, Japanese immigrants, smile for a portrait outside in front of trees: a teenage girl, her father, her younger brother and her mother\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63028_001_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma (left) poses for a photo with her dad Akifumi, mom Rie and younger brother Shido near their home in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s totally different because my Japanese school was not an arts school,” says Soma. “Class was very traditional: there was just the recorder, singing, piano and harmonica. I like those but there was no choice. So I couldn’t play the drums.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Discouraged at school, Soma would pour herself into the drums at home — an instrument she’d been learning since she was one. Her parents, also musicians, were supportive and often held jam sessions where they’d play along to their favorite songs together — eventually forming their family band, KANEAIYOYOKA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Akifumi and Rie began uploading her \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@yoyoka_soma/featured\">solo cover videos to YouTube\u003c/a> in 2015, she steadily amassed an audience. In 2018, that audience exploded following a viral cover of the 1969 Led Zeppelin track “Good Times Bad Times.” In it, a younger Soma sports a short bowl cut, crinkling her nose and smiling as she plays to the song’s energetic and varied tempos. Over the next couple of years, her covers of other American rock staples like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” gained massive views and earned her two guest appearances on \u003cem>The Ellen Show\u003c/em> in 2019.\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/91pz1E8pAOY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/91pz1E8pAOY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>But in recent conversations, the online attention and acclaim she received during that period don’t really come up. Lately, Soma is fully occupied with school, practice, gigs and filming videos and live streams for her subscribers. During the week, she begins most mornings first sleeping through her 6:30 a.m. alarm before trudging to the kitchen for breakfast and heading out for school. From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., she works through a packed schedule of English, music, social studies, math and life science courses before heading home for individual drum practice, dinner and more practice with family. “I’m so tired every day, most recently,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While her music classes in Japan felt a bit sterile and restricted, Soma says her current music courses are full of energy and chaos — sometimes to a fault. There is constant noise and a rowdiness that Soma has had trouble adjusting to. “My friends are so loud, [specifically] the boys,” she says. “I don’t like it — that part. But I have new experiences every day and I can learn [techniques] outside of rock music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she navigates this new setting, her greatest challenge is following along and understanding the material in English during her other classes. “Everyday, [I think]: ‘What are you talking about, teacher?’” says Soma. “My friends are so kind, like speaking a bit slowly. But in class, I don’t know! It’s the most difficult thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926086\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926086\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a young Japanese girl plays the drums while smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63038_012_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma says the language barrier has been difficult since moving to the U.S. — but music helps bridge the gaps. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In her alone time, she often retreats to nature or returns to her drum set at home to clear her head. These long school days, crammed with confusing lectures and new concepts taught in a language she has not yet grasped, are often overwhelming. In a recurring dream, she attends a school where the language barrier she currently struggles with is nonexistent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone speaks different languages, but I hear Japanese,” says Soma. “I like that dream. All the time. Every day, I go to that dream.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Soma grapples with language obstacles, music and art allow her to fill in those gaps of understanding with others. During jam sessions with her classmates and other Bay Area artists, there is sometimes a moment of silent magic: where the groove and rhythm sync up between musicians and they’re able to improvise something unique to their musical connection. These sessions also act as keys that unlock new landscapes of sounds, genres and histories — allowing for an exchange of ideas and emotions without having to speak a word.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to the East Bay, Soma has jammed with Oakland singer-songwriter Fantastic Negrito, whose soulful songs that combine blues, roots rock and country have inspired her to learn more about genre-blending music. Her friends at school have introduced her to an array of hip-hop and rap, where the art of sampling and revamping older songs and beats is generative and full of possibility. Music has offered her a new way of expanding her relationships, not only with new friends and fellow musicians, but with Oakland and herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13926085\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"a four-person Japanese family sit in a home music studio practicing instruments and smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RS63049_023_KQEDArts_YoyokaSomaDrummer_02092023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yoyoka Soma and her family practice for their band, Kaneaiyoyoka, at their home in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Moving forward, Soma doesn’t have many long term plans sketched out. She wants to eventually make albums, have more jam sessions and perform at more events. But she also wants to read books, drink chocolate milk with her schoolmates, run around outside with her brother Shido and visit the Oakland Zoo. The pressure of being held in such high regard — and on a very public scale — isn’t really at the forefront of her mind. Soma, for all her talent and gifts, is still a young teen adjusting to completely new surroundings. In this current stage of life, of uncertainty and adaptation, she is inspired by the everyday: By moments of spontaneity that she translates through her rebellious, spirited playing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any creation of mine can be music. It should be natural until I die,” says Soma. “If I can give some courage or confidence to people, I want to be that person. I want to [give] back.”\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/PKMlpDgg64E'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/PKMlpDgg64E'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\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>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Yoyoka Soma will perform at Notes & Words, an annual benefit concert for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, on March 25. \u003ca href=\"https://www.notesandwords.org/\">Tickets and information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘The Birds’ Is Turning 60 — What’s That Creepy-Ass Song the Kids Were Singing Anyway?",
"headTitle": "‘The Birds’ Is Turning 60 — What’s That Creepy-Ass Song the Kids Were Singing Anyway? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> turns 60 on March 28, and the film remains just as unnerving now as it was when it came out in 1963. Based on a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(story)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1952 Daphne du Maurier story\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904911/bay-area-horror-movies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inspired by a real-life incident\u003c/a> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/12/07/this-hitchcock-movie-was-inspired-by-crab-toxin-frenzy-in-capitola/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">residents of Capitola were attacked\u003c/a> by unhinged seabirds, the Hitchcock classic remains a Bay Area favorite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In case you’re one of the three people here who hasn’t yet seen it, the story goes a little something like this: After San Francisco gal-about-town Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren) goes to Bodega Bay (for what can only be described as a thirsty prank), the small community is subjected to increasingly violent attacks by a variety of birds. Chimneys are invaded! Windows are smashed! Eyes are pecked out! Teachers are murdered! As the attacks increase in severity, Melanie is transformed from a confident practical joker into a shell of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13904911']At Melanie’s side is the Brenner family. There’s her love interest, Mitch (Rod Taylor), Mitch’s mom Lydia (Jessica Tandy) and his little sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright). Try to ignore the fact that the math in this family makes no sense at all. Lydia is in her fifties, Mitch is in his thirties, but Cathy is \u003cem>just\u003c/em> turning 11? (Talk about a 1950s miracle baby!)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, after the first avian-inflicted deaths start to occur, Melanie goes to collect Cathy from school. What follows is probably the most iconic scene in the whole movie. As Melanie waits on a bench outside, smoking a cigarette, crows eerily gather on a climbing frame behind her. All the while, the children inside can be heard singing a folksy refrain, heightening the sense of impending doom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19r7ctge2lI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> has no musical score and is soundtracked almost entirely by the sound of screeching birds, the children’s song carries a particular sense of foreboding. Their repetitive little ditty has creeped me out since I was a child myself, and it continues to do so. In part, because it sounds like a song that is intrinsically designed to drive you mad if you listen to it for long enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So where the hell did this thing come from?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s called “Risselty Rosselty” and the version that we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> goes a little something like this:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I married my wife in the month of June,\u003cbr>\nRisselty rosselty, now, now, now,\u003cbr>\nI brought her home by the light of the moon,\u003cbr>\nRisselty rosselty, hey Johnny Dosselty,\u003cbr>\nNickety nackety, rustical quality,\u003cbr>\nWillickey wallackey now, now, now.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In subsequent verses, while the more nonsensical lines remain roughly the same, the first and third lines often change to push the song’s narrative along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the second verse, we find out that the wife “combed her hair but once a year,” and that “with every stroke, she shed a tear.” In the fifth we hear that she “swept up the floor but once a year,” and “said that brooms were much too dear.” In the seventh, the wife churns “butter in her dad’s old boot,” and “for a catch, she used her foot.” In the seventh, things get even grosser: “The butter, it came out a grisly grey,” and “the cheese, it took legs and ran away.” In the ninth, her husband finally tries to put his foot down and fails. “I asked my wife to wash the floor,” this verse goes, “she gave me my hat and she showed me the door.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The version of “Risselty Rosselty” that we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> is actually a sanitized rendition of a 19th century Scottish folk song called “Wee Cooper O’Fife,” in which a wife is failing to perform her household duties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sample verse:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>She wadna wash, nor she wadna wring,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nFor the spoiling o’ her gowden ring,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In this original, wee Cooper (the husband), frustrated by his wife’s vanity and laziness, takes to physically abusing her to teach her a lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point he lays “sheep’s skin” on her back before beating her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The Cooper has gane to his woo’ pack,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nAnd he’s laid a sheep’s skin on his wife’s back,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s I’ll no thrash ye for your gentle kin,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nBut I will thrash my ain sheep’s skin,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>(No wonder \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> didn’t go with the original.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wee Cooper O’ Fife,” it turns out, originally arrived in the United States sometime at the turn of the 19th century, and was later recorded by a variety of American folk artists including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFb_xMF5GTI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Burl Ives\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dagbxOZ9D5Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glenn Yarbrough\u003c/a>. The version we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em>, however, is more closely based on a rendition by Pete Seeger from 1957 that erased all of that uncomfortable domestic violence stuff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzguForOrjI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Seeger’s sister \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzB_EjRA5j0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peggy also recorded a version\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13921101']“Risselty-Rosselty” wound up in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> almost by happenstance. Legend has it that Alfred Hitchcock asked the movie’s scriptwriter \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Hunter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Hunter\u003c/a> to come up with an appropriate song to soundtrack Melanie’s anxiety as she waits for Cathy outside the schoolhouse. For inspiration, Hunter asked his three sons about songs they were singing at school and “Risselty-Rosselty” happened to be one of them. Hunter picked up the lyrics from a teacher at his sons’ school in Westchester, New York, and updated them to better fit the movie, and the times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scene of course culminates in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scores of children getting attacked by the crows\u003c/a>, as they run screaming from their school. Gloriously, the original schoolhouse still stands in Bodega Bay, albeit with a fence around it and a request from its residents not to approach the front door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should you wish to pay it a visit, you know what the soundtrack should be.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> turns 60 on March 28, and the film remains just as unnerving now as it was when it came out in 1963. Based on a \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(story)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1952 Daphne du Maurier story\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13904911/bay-area-horror-movies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">inspired by a real-life incident\u003c/a> in which \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2015/12/07/this-hitchcock-movie-was-inspired-by-crab-toxin-frenzy-in-capitola/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">residents of Capitola were attacked\u003c/a> by unhinged seabirds, the Hitchcock classic remains a Bay Area favorite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In case you’re one of the three people here who hasn’t yet seen it, the story goes a little something like this: After San Francisco gal-about-town Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren) goes to Bodega Bay (for what can only be described as a thirsty prank), the small community is subjected to increasingly violent attacks by a variety of birds. Chimneys are invaded! Windows are smashed! Eyes are pecked out! Teachers are murdered! As the attacks increase in severity, Melanie is transformed from a confident practical joker into a shell of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given that \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> has no musical score and is soundtracked almost entirely by the sound of screeching birds, the children’s song carries a particular sense of foreboding. Their repetitive little ditty has creeped me out since I was a child myself, and it continues to do so. In part, because it sounds like a song that is intrinsically designed to drive you mad if you listen to it for long enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So where the hell did this thing come from?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s called “Risselty Rosselty” and the version that we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> goes a little something like this:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>I married my wife in the month of June,\u003cbr>\nRisselty rosselty, now, now, now,\u003cbr>\nI brought her home by the light of the moon,\u003cbr>\nRisselty rosselty, hey Johnny Dosselty,\u003cbr>\nNickety nackety, rustical quality,\u003cbr>\nWillickey wallackey now, now, now.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In subsequent verses, while the more nonsensical lines remain roughly the same, the first and third lines often change to push the song’s narrative along.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the second verse, we find out that the wife “combed her hair but once a year,” and that “with every stroke, she shed a tear.” In the fifth we hear that she “swept up the floor but once a year,” and “said that brooms were much too dear.” In the seventh, the wife churns “butter in her dad’s old boot,” and “for a catch, she used her foot.” In the seventh, things get even grosser: “The butter, it came out a grisly grey,” and “the cheese, it took legs and ran away.” In the ninth, her husband finally tries to put his foot down and fails. “I asked my wife to wash the floor,” this verse goes, “she gave me my hat and she showed me the door.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The version of “Risselty Rosselty” that we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> is actually a sanitized rendition of a 19th century Scottish folk song called “Wee Cooper O’Fife,” in which a wife is failing to perform her household duties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sample verse:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>She wadna wash, nor she wadna wring,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nFor the spoiling o’ her gowden ring,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>In this original, wee Cooper (the husband), frustrated by his wife’s vanity and laziness, takes to physically abusing her to teach her a lesson.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point he lays “sheep’s skin” on her back before beating her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The Cooper has gane to his woo’ pack,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nAnd he’s laid a sheep’s skin on his wife’s back,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s I’ll no thrash ye for your gentle kin,\u003cbr>\nNickety, Nackety, noo, noo, noo,\u003cbr>\nBut I will thrash my ain sheep’s skin,\u003cbr>\nHey Willy Wallacky, hoo John Dougal,\u003cbr>\nA lane, quo’Rushity, roue, roue, roue.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>(No wonder \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> didn’t go with the original.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wee Cooper O’ Fife,” it turns out, originally arrived in the United States sometime at the turn of the 19th century, and was later recorded by a variety of American folk artists including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFb_xMF5GTI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Burl Ives\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dagbxOZ9D5Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glenn Yarbrough\u003c/a>. The version we hear in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em>, however, is more closely based on a rendition by Pete Seeger from 1957 that erased all of that uncomfortable domestic violence stuff.\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/mzguForOrjI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mzguForOrjI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>(Seeger’s sister \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzB_EjRA5j0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peggy also recorded a version\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Risselty-Rosselty” wound up in \u003cem>The Birds\u003c/em> almost by happenstance. Legend has it that Alfred Hitchcock asked the movie’s scriptwriter \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Hunter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evan Hunter\u003c/a> to come up with an appropriate song to soundtrack Melanie’s anxiety as she waits for Cathy outside the schoolhouse. For inspiration, Hunter asked his three sons about songs they were singing at school and “Risselty-Rosselty” happened to be one of them. Hunter picked up the lyrics from a teacher at his sons’ school in Westchester, New York, and updated them to better fit the movie, and the times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scene of course culminates in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scores of children getting attacked by the crows\u003c/a>, as they run screaming from their school. Gloriously, the original schoolhouse still stands in Bodega Bay, albeit with a fence around it and a request from its residents not to approach the front door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Should you wish to pay it a visit, you know what the soundtrack should be.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "bay-area-west-coast-south-rap-hip-hop-master-p-no-limit",
"title": "How the Bay Area and the South Became Hip-Hop Family",
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"headTitle": "How the Bay Area and the South Became Hip-Hop Family | KQED",
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"content": "\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 Bay Area hip-hop 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\">“P\u003c/span>icture me on a tour bus in 1995 with a bunch of West Coast artists,” Percy “Master P” Miller wrote in his 2007 book \u003cem>Guaranteed Success\u003c/em>. “My brother and I were the only artists from the South. We were the opening act, and they wouldn’t even play our music on the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, in 1995, Master P was near the end of his four-year tenure as the owner of a small record store, No Limit Records & Tapes, in Richmond. The New Orleans-raised artist had relocated to the Bay Area to attend Merritt College, and he opened his San Pablo Avenue shop with $10,000 he’d inherited from a malpractice settlement after his grandfather’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I took that money and made my first financial investment: I bought a record store that was going out of business in an urban community,” wrote Master P. He negotiated six months of free rent in exchange for improving the retail space. “As a result, my record store was a booming success and, for the first time, I began to experience a comfortable lifestyle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone was checking for Master P and No Limit, though. In addition to being shunned by his tour mates, San Francisco radio station KMEL wouldn’t play his music — “even though I done sold more records than any other artist in the Bay Area,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Rap-s-Master-P-Has-a-Master-Plan-Media-rejects-2824304.php\">told Billy Jam for a 1997 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> article\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time of that interview, Master P was back in New Orleans, living an ostentatious multimillionaire lifestyle. No Limit had become a successful label with national distribution through Priority Records, and its massive sales funded Master P’s ever-expanding business empire. (By 1998, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/13/arts/gangsta-rapper-turns-entrepreneur-28-master-p-has-created-one-biggest.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">No Limit had cumulative record sales totaling $120 million\u003c/a>, according to \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em>.) He’d had an entrepreneurial spirit that dated back to his childhood, but it was in the Bay Area — home of the “out the trunk” independent rap hustle since the early ’80s — where he absorbed the game that facilitated his nationwide success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925975\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13925975\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-800x1097.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-800x1097.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1020x1399.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-160x219.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-768x1053.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1120x1536.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1493x2048.jpg 1493w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1920x2634.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-scaled.jpg 1866w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master P attends the 26th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. By the time of this photo, in 1999, his label No Limit had grossed over $120 million in album sales. \u003ccite>(Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Master P’s empire is just one example of the ongoing cultural exchange between the Bay Area and the South, which goes back decades: During the Second Great Migration between 1940 and 1970, Black Southerners \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910890/how-oaklands-16th-street-train-station-helped-build-west-oakland-and-the-modern-civil-rights-movement\">flocked to cities like Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, their descendants helped establish the Bay Area’s distinctive hip-hop culture, whose sound and independent business model then traveled back to Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and Memphis. Close observers of the rap scenes in these Southern cities will find strong ties to the Bay Area, and in turn, Southern rappers, producers and promoters have had a sizable stamp on the Bay Area’s own scene. This close kinship between the two regions undeniably shaped hip-hop history — and it continues to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Listen to our ‘From the Bay to the South’ playlist, curated by Tamara Palmer, on \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5K9S3wYkGHf9hk7k8sOdv6?si=f46124d722c84c0b\">Spotify\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeGdTT0--8KiiMa4o9t3tOxhGg4lfIPEA\">YouTube\u003c/a>.]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5K9S3wYkGHf9hk7k8sOdv6?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay-to-South business pipeline\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Master P and No Limit weren’t alone. Over the years, artists and record labels all across the South adopted the Bay Area’s independent business model and used it to achieve great success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Selling tapes out the trunk of the car, that was pretty much patented by E-40, Too $hort, Tony Draper at Suave House, Rap-A-Lot, people like that,” Vallejo-born rapper Earl “E-40” Stevens said in an interview for my 2004 book about Southern rap, shouting out two Houston labels. “Then came along the Master Ps of the world and the Cash Moneys. They watched the game and did what they supposed to do, and now they reaching for the stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/4mrKNCTlv0s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2019 interview with Sway Calloway\u003c/a>, Master P seemed to agree with this assessment. He referred to E-40’s uncle, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssiJQSm-Ln4\">soul singer\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/arts/music/the-first-family-of-hyphy-pops-a-collar-whatd-they-say.html\">entrepreneur\u003c/a> Saint Charles Thurman, as the “OG” music distributor who taught him how to release records independently. Watching Thurman’s success running the small distribution company Solar Music Group, Master P realized: “I don’t need to wait for the big companies to push me, I’m going to get out there and push myself,” he recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/ErwejjBZRMo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In turn, Master P along with other Southern artists, DJs and promoters played a crucial role in the national success of Bay Area artists like E-40 in the ’90s. Taking a cue from Herm Lewis, the Hunters Point street activist who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvTaoNzFGHU&list=PLU1OibAu4SezP41p6YZUfkokGSFMhlz3Y\">popularized artist compilations\u003c/a>, Master P released \u003cem>West Coast Bad Boyz, Vol. 1: Anotha Level of the Game\u003c/em> in 1994. It included contributions from the Bay Area’s JT the Bigga Figga, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923766/rbl-posse-a-lesson-to-be-learned-album-cover\">RBL Posse\u003c/a>, Rappin’ 4-Tay, Ray Luv and Dre Dog (now Andre Nickatina).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Master P would continue to release compilations after he moved No Limit back home to Louisiana. In 1997, the label’s breakout year, \u003cem>West Coast Bad Boyz II\u003c/em> starred Mac Dre, E-A-Ski and Sacramento rappers C-Bo, Lunasicc and Marvaless, and was dedicated to Tupac Shakur. Even more successful was the soundtrack to the 1997 movie \u003cem>I’m Bout It\u003c/em>, with E-40, B-Legit, E-A-Ski and JT The Bigga Figga, and which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>E-40 also credits DJs and promoters like Meen Green in Dallas, Greg Street in Atlanta and Marvin “Jabber Jaws” Williams in Shreveport for helping build his career on the radio and in clubs in those early years. Forming a constellation across the south, they booked him for gigs and put his records in rotation. [pullquote size='large']Close observers of the rap scenes in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and Memphis will find strong ties to the Bay Area, and in turn, Southern rappers, producers and promoters have had a sizable stamp on the Bay Area’s own scene.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though streaming has long replaced the “out the trunk” era, the Bay Area’s influence on independent music distribution remains. These days, the savviest artists from the South know that they need to hit San Francisco to strike a lucrative business deal with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/ourturbulentdecade/2012-empire-brought-the-music-industry-back-to-san-francisco\">EMPIRE\u003c/a>, now the world’s leading hip-hop distributor. When I visited the company’s well-appointed Financial District penthouse office in 2019, I met the remarkable Memphis rapper Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t shake,” he said warmly when introduced, offering a big hug in place of a stiff hand. Dolph, who was later murdered in his hometown in 2021, was responsible for two gold-certified records on EMPIRE’s wall. His EMPIRE deal also enabled him to sign and develop his own artists, such as fellow Memphis rapper Key Glock, setting them up to win via collaborations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t the first time the Bay Area played an important role in a Memphis artist’s success. Young Dolph’s one-time rival, Yo Gotti, made his mid-2010s comeback with hits like “Act Right,” produced by Pinole’s P-Lo, and “Law,” featuring E-40. (E-40 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIeGHPGSyRM\">recorded\u003c/a> with the late “Queen of Memphis,” Three Six Mafia’s Gangsta Boo, who \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GangstaBooQOM/status/185053550299193344\">once proclaimed\u003c/a>: “SHOUT OUT TO THE BAY AREA!!! I ROCKS WITH YALL THE LONG WAAAAY.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/8HYXw1vADFQ\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going back further, musical and cultural influence has also flowed from Memphis to the Bay. MC Hammer \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mchammer/status/27278318672?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">admitted on Twitter\u003c/a> that he learned the pre-crunk, pre-hyphy “get buck” style of dancing (later known as gangsta walking) in Memphis in the late ’80s. And iconic Memphis duo 8Ball & MJG worked with marquee Bay Area names like E-40, Mac Mall, Rappin’ 4-Tay and Spice 1 on both group and solo projects in the late ’90s and early aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Atlanta had become the rap industry’s power center by the time EMPIRE launched in San Francisco in 2010, keeping EMPIRE’s headquarters in the Bay Area is a core part of the company’s mission. “San Francisco has always been a place where incredible creatives were bred, but few of them are here at this point,” EMPIRE Vice President Nima Etminan told me in 2019. “Even in the music scene, when you look at it, a Sway [Calloway from SiriusXM], or an Ebro [Darden of Hot 97 in New York], or a [early Apple Music exec] Larry Jackson … all came from here, but people don’t really realize it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think [being in the] Financial District on the 24th floor in downtown San Francisco is definitely not necessarily the cheapest route to take,” Etminan continued, “but it’s a statement. It’s like, you’ve got to come \u003cem>here\u003c/em> to see us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay’s influence on bounce and trap, and the South’s mark on hyphy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area, Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans share a love for big, trunk-rattling beats, and collaborations between the cities’ artists have resulted in influential hits. Atlanta hitmaker Lil Jon bumped Too Short in his ride in high school, and later produced Short’s “Blow The Whistle” and E-40’s “Tell Me When to Go,” the twin beacons that introduced hyphy to the rest of the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/2GZbaXdK8Js\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In turn, producers from the Bay Area have facilitated crucial Southern records. The late KMEL DJ Cameron Paul’s track “Brown Beats” helped form the \u003ca href=\"https://1079ishot.com/new-orleans-bounce-cameron-paul-brown-beats/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spine of New Orleans bounce music\u003c/a>. Houston’s DJ Screw, who passed away in 2000, recorded a session in his home studio with Texas-born Oaklander Spice 1, and was known to feature plenty of Bay Area rap songs on his influential “Grey Tape” cassette mixes. Mike Dean, who produced for Houston’s Rap-A-Lot Records, crafted beats for \u003cem>Stackin Chips\u003c/em>, the 1997 debut album of Keak Da Sneak’s group 3X Krazy, and Bay Area artists like Yukmouth (whose Smoke-A-Lot Records is distributed by Rap-A-Lot), Seagram and producer Tone Capone recorded for the label in the ’90s and early aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just outside of Houston in Port Arthur, Chad “Pimp C” Butler of UGK shared a close friendship and musical camaraderie with Too Short. In 2007, the night before he died, Pimp C appeared onstage at Too Short’s show at the now-defunct House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, according to Julia Beverly’s biography \u003cem>Sweet Jones: Pimp C’s Trill Life Story\u003c/em>. In what’s said to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK3HLJk8iMY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his final interview\u003c/a>, Pimp C credited the Oakland legend for his career longevity: “I just follow what Too Short told me. He told me ‘Don’t Stop Rappin’.’ I just kept on making the kind of records that the people down where I live at like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outkast, whose Andre 3000 has acknowledged the Bay Area as a notable early influence, broadcast an alternative rap sound out of Atlanta in the ’90s. “I have to — I \u003cem>have\u003c/em> to — give a shout to the Hieroglyphics crew and Souls Of Mischief, because as kids we were hugely influenced by them,” Andre 3000 told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/microphonecheck/2014/09/26/351559126/andre-3000-you-can-do-anything-from-atlanta\">NPR’s \u003cem>Microphone Check\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in 2014. And Outkast’s Big Boi was just as direct about another Bay Area influence: “One of my favorite rappers happens to be Too Short,” he rapped on the 2010 track “Fo Yo Sorrows.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/qsUSlR7tTEs\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, as trap music began to fill the Southern streets, a Bay Area-bred producer helped develop its sound and take it to the national airwaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Xavier “Zaytoven” Dotson was born to a military family in Germany and spent his formative years in San Francisco before joining his parents in Atlanta, where a giant, free basement studio at their new Georgia home beckoned. Within a year, when he wasn’t away from the studio playing organ for his parents’ church, Zaytoven produced Gucci Mane’s breakout 2005 hit “Icy.” Word quickly got around the proverbial trap that Zaytoven’s basement was \u003cem>the\u003c/em> place to record, and his client list grew to include Future, Usher, Travis Scott, the late Young Dolph and many others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/Io6D5tAK8Ks\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though it’s with artists from the South, you can hear, you can see where the sound came from: that’s Bay Area music all day long,” Zaytoven said of “Icy” in a \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jrbRSK0Dkfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2018 interview with \u003cem>The Sana G Morning Show\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on KMEL. “[The Bay] still has a funky instrumentation sound to it, so even when I’m in the South making just gutter beats, I still got them melodic sounds going on. That’s what attached me to the Bay Area so much. … I definitely try to represent the Bay every time I get. This is where I got my game from!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the producer returned to his local roots and worked with EMPIRE to release the compilation \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">\u003cem>Zaytoven Presents: Fo15\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on April 15 (or 415 Day, in homage to San Francisco’s area code). Up-and-coming San Francisco artists on the collection included Lil Bean, Lil Pete, Lil Yee, KxNG Llama, Prezi and ZayBang — proving that the Bay Area-South pipeline is far from running dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was molded in San Francisco, California,” Zaytoven added in his KMEL interview. “That’s why I represent the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13925986\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zaytoven performs at AfroTech 2019 at Oakland Marriott City Center on Nov. 9, 2019. \u003ccite>(Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for AfroTech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A cultural and philanthropic exchange\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Beyond business and beats, Northern California has made an imprint on the South’s cultural institutions thanks to philanthropy and outreach from artists like Tupac and E-40. Though Tupac is considered a West Coast icon, surprisingly, Too Short called him “the heartbeat of the South” when I interviewed him in 2004.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to be at the club and the DJ would put on records off \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> because \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> came out right after Pac died,” said Too Short, who lived in Atlanta in the mid-’90s. “You would swear that nigga was on stage! The whole damn crowd be singing every word. It would be like a concert, and he ain’t even there.” [aside postid='arts_13924126,arts_13924224,arts_13925177']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Towards the end of his life, Tupac \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/archive/all-eyes-on-her-vol-48-no-22/\">moved his mother Afeni Shakur\u003c/a> (who was originally from North Carolina) to Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb near Atlanta where he purchased his first home. Afeni operated the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in the former Confederate town from 2005 to 2015. It was an extension of the annual PACamp that Afeni started in 1997 as a free summer arts program for youth ages 12–18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I visited the arts center a few months after its opening, I was struck by a statue of Tupac in the Peace Garden, which represented how he might have looked had he been allowed to grow older. It was remarkable that Tupac’s legacy was housed in Georgia instead of the Bay Area or Los Angeles. And his influence resonated beyond the Peach State throughout the South.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just saw how much of an influence Tupac had on Master P and No Limit, how much of an influence Tupac had on the whole city of Atlanta, Georgia and on Houston, Texas, and just how much influence on that whole ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J90bUNuJ20k\">Bankhead [Bounce]\u003c/a>’ and getting crunk certain songs off \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> had on that shit,” Too Short said. “Tupac was so much crunk — his shit was so crunk as far as what crunk meant, you know what I’m saying? He was a part of it even though he had just passed away. But he was a part of it. The \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> album was in it. It was in the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 766px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925976\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"766\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer.jpeg 766w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer-160x214.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tupac statue at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two decades after the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center opened, E-40 would make his own impact on a southern state by investing in its young artists. The veteran rapper still has family in Texas and Louisiana, and studied at Grambling State University in Louisiana for a year. Although he didn’t complete his degree there, he made a lasting contribution with \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/e40-100k-donation-hbcu-alma-mater-grambling\">his $100,000 donation\u003c/a> to the university’s marching band and music program, which now boasts the brand-new Earl “E-40” Stevens Sound Recording Studio on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Music is my passion,” E-40 said while presenting the check in February 2023. “Music is therapeutic and healing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South wasn’t just where E-40 spent formative years as a young musician. It also influenced a key part of his artistry: his slang, much of which he has invented himself over the years. “Of course, I don’t make up all the fuckin’ words in the world, but I make up at least 75% of the shit I say,” said E-40 in a 2004 \u003cem>Murder Dog\u003c/em> interview. “The other 25%, I get words from down South, choppin’ it up with my folks down South.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The familial, cultural and business ties between the Bay Area and the South are strong and diverse, and have been for generations. It’s time to appreciate and nurture these bonds. And the beat goes on: as this back-and-forth flow of influence continues to percolate behind the scenes, the future is looking rather funky.\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\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.thetamarapalmer.com/\">Tamara Palmer\u003c/a> is a DJ and the author of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Country-Fried-Soul-Adventures-Hip-Hop/dp/0879308575\">Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop\u003c/a>\u003cem> (Backbeat Books, 2005). She’s currently working on a personal rap anthology called \u003c/em>California Love\u003cem>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Mapping the connections between Master P, E-40, Outkast, Too Short, UGK and others in hip-hop's Bay Area-Southern pipeline.",
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"title": "How the Bay Area and the South Became Hip-Hop Family | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\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 Bay Area hip-hop 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\">“P\u003c/span>icture me on a tour bus in 1995 with a bunch of West Coast artists,” Percy “Master P” Miller wrote in his 2007 book \u003cem>Guaranteed Success\u003c/em>. “My brother and I were the only artists from the South. We were the opening act, and they wouldn’t even play our music on the bus.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time, in 1995, Master P was near the end of his four-year tenure as the owner of a small record store, No Limit Records & Tapes, in Richmond. The New Orleans-raised artist had relocated to the Bay Area to attend Merritt College, and he opened his San Pablo Avenue shop with $10,000 he’d inherited from a malpractice settlement after his grandfather’s death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I took that money and made my first financial investment: I bought a record store that was going out of business in an urban community,” wrote Master P. He negotiated six months of free rent in exchange for improving the retail space. “As a result, my record store was a booming success and, for the first time, I began to experience a comfortable lifestyle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not everyone was checking for Master P and No Limit, though. In addition to being shunned by his tour mates, San Francisco radio station KMEL wouldn’t play his music — “even though I done sold more records than any other artist in the Bay Area,” he \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Rap-s-Master-P-Has-a-Master-Plan-Media-rejects-2824304.php\">told Billy Jam for a 1997 \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> article\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time of that interview, Master P was back in New Orleans, living an ostentatious multimillionaire lifestyle. No Limit had become a successful label with national distribution through Priority Records, and its massive sales funded Master P’s ever-expanding business empire. (By 1998, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/13/arts/gangsta-rapper-turns-entrepreneur-28-master-p-has-created-one-biggest.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">No Limit had cumulative record sales totaling $120 million\u003c/a>, according to \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em>.) He’d had an entrepreneurial spirit that dated back to his childhood, but it was in the Bay Area — home of the “out the trunk” independent rap hustle since the early ’80s — where he absorbed the game that facilitated his nationwide success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925975\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13925975\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-800x1097.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1097\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-800x1097.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1020x1399.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-160x219.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-768x1053.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1120x1536.jpg 1120w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1493x2048.jpg 1493w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-1920x2634.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-461087774-scaled.jpg 1866w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Master P attends the 26th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles. By the time of this photo, in 1999, his label No Limit had grossed over $120 million in album sales. \u003ccite>(Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Master P’s empire is just one example of the ongoing cultural exchange between the Bay Area and the South, which goes back decades: During the Second Great Migration between 1940 and 1970, Black Southerners \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910890/how-oaklands-16th-street-train-station-helped-build-west-oakland-and-the-modern-civil-rights-movement\">flocked to cities like Oakland, Richmond and San Francisco\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, their descendants helped establish the Bay Area’s distinctive hip-hop culture, whose sound and independent business model then traveled back to Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and Memphis. Close observers of the rap scenes in these Southern cities will find strong ties to the Bay Area, and in turn, Southern rappers, producers and promoters have had a sizable stamp on the Bay Area’s own scene. This close kinship between the two regions undeniably shaped hip-hop history — and it continues to this day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Listen to our ‘From the Bay to the South’ playlist, curated by Tamara Palmer, on \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5K9S3wYkGHf9hk7k8sOdv6?si=f46124d722c84c0b\">Spotify\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeGdTT0--8KiiMa4o9t3tOxhGg4lfIPEA\">YouTube\u003c/a>.]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/5K9S3wYkGHf9hk7k8sOdv6?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay-to-South business pipeline\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Master P and No Limit weren’t alone. Over the years, artists and record labels all across the South adopted the Bay Area’s independent business model and used it to achieve great success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Selling tapes out the trunk of the car, that was pretty much patented by E-40, Too $hort, Tony Draper at Suave House, Rap-A-Lot, people like that,” Vallejo-born rapper Earl “E-40” Stevens said in an interview for my 2004 book about Southern rap, shouting out two Houston labels. “Then came along the Master Ps of the world and the Cash Moneys. They watched the game and did what they supposed to do, and now they reaching for the stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/4mrKNCTlv0s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2019 interview with Sway Calloway\u003c/a>, Master P seemed to agree with this assessment. He referred to E-40’s uncle, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssiJQSm-Ln4\">soul singer\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/arts/music/the-first-family-of-hyphy-pops-a-collar-whatd-they-say.html\">entrepreneur\u003c/a> Saint Charles Thurman, as the “OG” music distributor who taught him how to release records independently. Watching Thurman’s success running the small distribution company Solar Music Group, Master P realized: “I don’t need to wait for the big companies to push me, I’m going to get out there and push myself,” he recalled.\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/ErwejjBZRMo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ErwejjBZRMo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In turn, Master P along with other Southern artists, DJs and promoters played a crucial role in the national success of Bay Area artists like E-40 in the ’90s. Taking a cue from Herm Lewis, the Hunters Point street activist who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvTaoNzFGHU&list=PLU1OibAu4SezP41p6YZUfkokGSFMhlz3Y\">popularized artist compilations\u003c/a>, Master P released \u003cem>West Coast Bad Boyz, Vol. 1: Anotha Level of the Game\u003c/em> in 1994. It included contributions from the Bay Area’s JT the Bigga Figga, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13923766/rbl-posse-a-lesson-to-be-learned-album-cover\">RBL Posse\u003c/a>, Rappin’ 4-Tay, Ray Luv and Dre Dog (now Andre Nickatina).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Master P would continue to release compilations after he moved No Limit back home to Louisiana. In 1997, the label’s breakout year, \u003cem>West Coast Bad Boyz II\u003c/em> starred Mac Dre, E-A-Ski and Sacramento rappers C-Bo, Lunasicc and Marvaless, and was dedicated to Tupac Shakur. Even more successful was the soundtrack to the 1997 movie \u003cem>I’m Bout It\u003c/em>, with E-40, B-Legit, E-A-Ski and JT The Bigga Figga, and which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>E-40 also credits DJs and promoters like Meen Green in Dallas, Greg Street in Atlanta and Marvin “Jabber Jaws” Williams in Shreveport for helping build his career on the radio and in clubs in those early years. Forming a constellation across the south, they booked him for gigs and put his records in rotation. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though streaming has long replaced the “out the trunk” era, the Bay Area’s influence on independent music distribution remains. These days, the savviest artists from the South know that they need to hit San Francisco to strike a lucrative business deal with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/ourturbulentdecade/2012-empire-brought-the-music-industry-back-to-san-francisco\">EMPIRE\u003c/a>, now the world’s leading hip-hop distributor. When I visited the company’s well-appointed Financial District penthouse office in 2019, I met the remarkable Memphis rapper Adolph “Young Dolph” Thornton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t shake,” he said warmly when introduced, offering a big hug in place of a stiff hand. Dolph, who was later murdered in his hometown in 2021, was responsible for two gold-certified records on EMPIRE’s wall. His EMPIRE deal also enabled him to sign and develop his own artists, such as fellow Memphis rapper Key Glock, setting them up to win via collaborations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t the first time the Bay Area played an important role in a Memphis artist’s success. Young Dolph’s one-time rival, Yo Gotti, made his mid-2010s comeback with hits like “Act Right,” produced by Pinole’s P-Lo, and “Law,” featuring E-40. (E-40 also \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIeGHPGSyRM\">recorded\u003c/a> with the late “Queen of Memphis,” Three Six Mafia’s Gangsta Boo, who \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GangstaBooQOM/status/185053550299193344\">once proclaimed\u003c/a>: “SHOUT OUT TO THE BAY AREA!!! I ROCKS WITH YALL THE LONG WAAAAY.”)\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/8HYXw1vADFQ'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/8HYXw1vADFQ'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Going back further, musical and cultural influence has also flowed from Memphis to the Bay. MC Hammer \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mchammer/status/27278318672?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">admitted on Twitter\u003c/a> that he learned the pre-crunk, pre-hyphy “get buck” style of dancing (later known as gangsta walking) in Memphis in the late ’80s. And iconic Memphis duo 8Ball & MJG worked with marquee Bay Area names like E-40, Mac Mall, Rappin’ 4-Tay and Spice 1 on both group and solo projects in the late ’90s and early aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Atlanta had become the rap industry’s power center by the time EMPIRE launched in San Francisco in 2010, keeping EMPIRE’s headquarters in the Bay Area is a core part of the company’s mission. “San Francisco has always been a place where incredible creatives were bred, but few of them are here at this point,” EMPIRE Vice President Nima Etminan told me in 2019. “Even in the music scene, when you look at it, a Sway [Calloway from SiriusXM], or an Ebro [Darden of Hot 97 in New York], or a [early Apple Music exec] Larry Jackson … all came from here, but people don’t really realize it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think [being in the] Financial District on the 24th floor in downtown San Francisco is definitely not necessarily the cheapest route to take,” Etminan continued, “but it’s a statement. It’s like, you’ve got to come \u003cem>here\u003c/em> to see us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The Bay’s influence on bounce and trap, and the South’s mark on hyphy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area, Atlanta, Houston and New Orleans share a love for big, trunk-rattling beats, and collaborations between the cities’ artists have resulted in influential hits. Atlanta hitmaker Lil Jon bumped Too Short in his ride in high school, and later produced Short’s “Blow The Whistle” and E-40’s “Tell Me When to Go,” the twin beacons that introduced hyphy to the rest of the nation.\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/2GZbaXdK8Js'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/2GZbaXdK8Js'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In turn, producers from the Bay Area have facilitated crucial Southern records. The late KMEL DJ Cameron Paul’s track “Brown Beats” helped form the \u003ca href=\"https://1079ishot.com/new-orleans-bounce-cameron-paul-brown-beats/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spine of New Orleans bounce music\u003c/a>. Houston’s DJ Screw, who passed away in 2000, recorded a session in his home studio with Texas-born Oaklander Spice 1, and was known to feature plenty of Bay Area rap songs on his influential “Grey Tape” cassette mixes. Mike Dean, who produced for Houston’s Rap-A-Lot Records, crafted beats for \u003cem>Stackin Chips\u003c/em>, the 1997 debut album of Keak Da Sneak’s group 3X Krazy, and Bay Area artists like Yukmouth (whose Smoke-A-Lot Records is distributed by Rap-A-Lot), Seagram and producer Tone Capone recorded for the label in the ’90s and early aughts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just outside of Houston in Port Arthur, Chad “Pimp C” Butler of UGK shared a close friendship and musical camaraderie with Too Short. In 2007, the night before he died, Pimp C appeared onstage at Too Short’s show at the now-defunct House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, according to Julia Beverly’s biography \u003cem>Sweet Jones: Pimp C’s Trill Life Story\u003c/em>. In what’s said to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK3HLJk8iMY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his final interview\u003c/a>, Pimp C credited the Oakland legend for his career longevity: “I just follow what Too Short told me. He told me ‘Don’t Stop Rappin’.’ I just kept on making the kind of records that the people down where I live at like.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Outkast, whose Andre 3000 has acknowledged the Bay Area as a notable early influence, broadcast an alternative rap sound out of Atlanta in the ’90s. “I have to — I \u003cem>have\u003c/em> to — give a shout to the Hieroglyphics crew and Souls Of Mischief, because as kids we were hugely influenced by them,” Andre 3000 told \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/microphonecheck/2014/09/26/351559126/andre-3000-you-can-do-anything-from-atlanta\">NPR’s \u003cem>Microphone Check\u003c/em>\u003c/a> in 2014. And Outkast’s Big Boi was just as direct about another Bay Area influence: “One of my favorite rappers happens to be Too Short,” he rapped on the 2010 track “Fo Yo Sorrows.”\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/qsUSlR7tTEs'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qsUSlR7tTEs'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Later, as trap music began to fill the Southern streets, a Bay Area-bred producer helped develop its sound and take it to the national airwaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Xavier “Zaytoven” Dotson was born to a military family in Germany and spent his formative years in San Francisco before joining his parents in Atlanta, where a giant, free basement studio at their new Georgia home beckoned. Within a year, when he wasn’t away from the studio playing organ for his parents’ church, Zaytoven produced Gucci Mane’s breakout 2005 hit “Icy.” Word quickly got around the proverbial trap that Zaytoven’s basement was \u003cem>the\u003c/em> place to record, and his client list grew to include Future, Usher, Travis Scott, the late Young Dolph and many others.\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/Io6D5tAK8Ks'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Io6D5tAK8Ks'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“Even though it’s with artists from the South, you can hear, you can see where the sound came from: that’s Bay Area music all day long,” Zaytoven said of “Icy” in a \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/jrbRSK0Dkfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2018 interview with \u003cem>The Sana G Morning Show\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on KMEL. “[The Bay] still has a funky instrumentation sound to it, so even when I’m in the South making just gutter beats, I still got them melodic sounds going on. That’s what attached me to the Bay Area so much. … I definitely try to represent the Bay every time I get. This is where I got my game from!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, the producer returned to his local roots and worked with EMPIRE to release the compilation \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13895586/a-salute-to-san-francisco-rap\">\u003cem>Zaytoven Presents: Fo15\u003c/em>\u003c/a> on April 15 (or 415 Day, in homage to San Francisco’s area code). Up-and-coming San Francisco artists on the collection included Lil Bean, Lil Pete, Lil Yee, KxNG Llama, Prezi and ZayBang — proving that the Bay Area-South pipeline is far from running dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was molded in San Francisco, California,” Zaytoven added in his KMEL interview. “That’s why I represent the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925986\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13925986\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/GettyImages-1186811732.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Zaytoven performs at AfroTech 2019 at Oakland Marriott City Center on Nov. 9, 2019. \u003ccite>(Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for AfroTech)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A cultural and philanthropic exchange\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Beyond business and beats, Northern California has made an imprint on the South’s cultural institutions thanks to philanthropy and outreach from artists like Tupac and E-40. Though Tupac is considered a West Coast icon, surprisingly, Too Short called him “the heartbeat of the South” when I interviewed him in 2004.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to be at the club and the DJ would put on records off \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> because \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> came out right after Pac died,” said Too Short, who lived in Atlanta in the mid-’90s. “You would swear that nigga was on stage! The whole damn crowd be singing every word. It would be like a concert, and he ain’t even there.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Towards the end of his life, Tupac \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/archive/all-eyes-on-her-vol-48-no-22/\">moved his mother Afeni Shakur\u003c/a> (who was originally from North Carolina) to Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb near Atlanta where he purchased his first home. Afeni operated the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in the former Confederate town from 2005 to 2015. It was an extension of the annual PACamp that Afeni started in 1997 as a free summer arts program for youth ages 12–18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I visited the arts center a few months after its opening, I was struck by a statue of Tupac in the Peace Garden, which represented how he might have looked had he been allowed to grow older. It was remarkable that Tupac’s legacy was housed in Georgia instead of the Bay Area or Los Angeles. And his influence resonated beyond the Peach State throughout the South.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I just saw how much of an influence Tupac had on Master P and No Limit, how much of an influence Tupac had on the whole city of Atlanta, Georgia and on Houston, Texas, and just how much influence on that whole ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J90bUNuJ20k\">Bankhead [Bounce]\u003c/a>’ and getting crunk certain songs off \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> had on that shit,” Too Short said. “Tupac was so much crunk — his shit was so crunk as far as what crunk meant, you know what I’m saying? He was a part of it even though he had just passed away. But he was a part of it. The \u003cem>Makaveli\u003c/em> album was in it. It was in the scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925976\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 766px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925976\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"766\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer.jpeg 766w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/Tupac-Statue-By-Tamara-Palmer-160x214.jpeg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Tupac statue at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two decades after the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center opened, E-40 would make his own impact on a southern state by investing in its young artists. The veteran rapper still has family in Texas and Louisiana, and studied at Grambling State University in Louisiana for a year. Although he didn’t complete his degree there, he made a lasting contribution with \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/e40-100k-donation-hbcu-alma-mater-grambling\">his $100,000 donation\u003c/a> to the university’s marching band and music program, which now boasts the brand-new Earl “E-40” Stevens Sound Recording Studio on campus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Music is my passion,” E-40 said while presenting the check in February 2023. “Music is therapeutic and healing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South wasn’t just where E-40 spent formative years as a young musician. It also influenced a key part of his artistry: his slang, much of which he has invented himself over the years. “Of course, I don’t make up all the fuckin’ words in the world, but I make up at least 75% of the shit I say,” said E-40 in a 2004 \u003cem>Murder Dog\u003c/em> interview. “The other 25%, I get words from down South, choppin’ it up with my folks down South.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The familial, cultural and business ties between the Bay Area and the South are strong and diverse, and have been for generations. It’s time to appreciate and nurture these bonds. And the beat goes on: as this back-and-forth flow of influence continues to percolate behind the scenes, the future is looking rather funky.\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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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"http://www.thetamarapalmer.com/\">Tamara Palmer\u003c/a> is a DJ and the author of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Country-Fried-Soul-Adventures-Hip-Hop/dp/0879308575\">Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop\u003c/a>\u003cem> (Backbeat Books, 2005). She’s currently working on a personal rap anthology called \u003c/em>California Love\u003cem>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "tia-nomore-earth-mama-a24-savanah-leaf",
"title": "How Becoming a Mom and a Doula Prepared Tia Nomore for Her Starring Role",
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"headTitle": "How Becoming a Mom and a Doula Prepared Tia Nomore for Her Starring Role | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A lot has happened for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tia.nomore/?hl=en\">Tia Nomore\u003c/a> since she became a mom during the height of the pandemic — the arrival of her daughter, and a debut acting role that would challenge her to pull from the most vulnerable depths of her experience. “I feel like a portal sometimes, and that’s very much motherhood,” says the multi-hyphenate artist. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re carrying. I mean, you know, but you don’t until they’re on the other side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nomore stars as Gia in \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i>, a forthcoming A24 feature set in 2006 Oakland, directed by U.K.-born, Oakland-raised former Olympic athlete Savanah Leaf. In the film, Nomore plays Gia, a stoic, smart and resourceful single mom going through pregnancy while maintaining a relationship with her other two children in foster care, who she can only see during supervised visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People that have seen the movie are so impressed with my performance, but I have a hard time considering it a performance because a lot of that shit was just very real for me,” says Nomore, who was born and raised in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore performs at The New Parish on night seven of the Noise Pop Music and Art Festival on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nomore is best known as a rapper signed to San Francisco’s Text Me Records, and before getting tapped for \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i>, she was two albums deep into her music career. Her last single, “\u003ca href=\"https://tianomore.bandcamp.com/track/drip-feat-amen\">Drip\u003c/a>” featuring Amen and Stoni, came out in 2021, and during last month’s Noise Pop festival, she opened for Junglepussy in front of hundreds of fans at the New Parish. \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i> premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to glowing reviews, and has only added to her momentum. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Nomore was approached to play Gia, the casting process wasn’t what she expected. She met producers at Bushrod Park in North Oakland, and though it was a familiar setting, she was somewhat skeptical. She received a callback to read for Gia over Zoom, and afterward, she heard that Leaf wanted to meet. When they connected, Nomore instantly picked up on their similarities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13880448']“She like hella tall, lanky, has a stature of importance,” she says about Leaf. “I recognize one another in that because I’m soft, but I’m also very sharp. That was the first thing I recognized off top, and I was like, ‘I fuck with her energy.’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While becoming Gia on set, Nomore was a year postpartum, still settling into her ever-changing motherhood adventure. Separately, she was training to become a doula, a third career endeavor that gave her an intimate look at other mothers’ experiences, and allowed her to see Gia’s circumstances with sensitivity and grace. Donning a prosthetic pregnancy belly, she felt a sense of clarity, as if the opportunity was sent to her by the spirits above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925636\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore in Downtown Oakland on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Leaf brought additional insights from her experience as a documentarian. She had her first shot at directing alongside Taylor Russell for the 2020 short documentary, \u003ci>The Heart Still Hums\u003c/i>, which followed mothers working with Sacramento’s Black Mothers United and Chicks in Crisis, which assists parents overcoming addiction, going through pregnancy without a partner and giving birth at a young age. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for this role, for Gia in particular, I really had to tap into Savannah’s lands, because it’s a story that’s very close to home for her. It’s very personal,” Nomore says. “I had to gain a lot of understanding and empathy for a stranger quite quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On set, Nomore and Leaf created a bond so deep that they could look at each other, lace fingers and push against one another when things became too emotional or overwhelming. Nomore also depended on her co-stars Erika Alexander for the deeply emotional scenes, and Bokeem Woodbine for lessons on handling parenthood, artistry and getting back to herself after immersing herself in her role. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was comforted as Tia to be Gia,” Nomore says. “Like I had my community in real life that knows me from the gate to help support me in doing something so pivotal.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925627\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore backstage at The New Parish in Oakland on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her connections with the other actors ran deep. Keta Price, who plays Mel, went to school with Nomore’s older sister, and Slim Yani, who plays Ari, and has been friends with Nomore through music since their MySpace days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like home, just turf shit,” Nomore explained. “You really just had a whole cast of real Town niggas. It was real, none of us was actors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her role as Gia, Nomore unlocked a new creative pathway for herself — one that has allowed her to become a better person, mother and artist. She says playing Gia encouraged her to pour into her inner child, which has helped her connect with her daughter. And she’s gratified to portray the challenges of motherhood she’s seen firsthand in her work as a doula, ones that rarely get shine on screen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hella wanted to bring this story to life for moms,” Nomore started. “Nobody fucking asks these moms how they’re doing, or how they got to where they are, or how they can be supported for real. So I had to show that shit in my performance.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Tia Nomore Was Ready for Her Star Role in A24’s ‘Earth Mama’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A lot has happened for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tia.nomore/?hl=en\">Tia Nomore\u003c/a> since she became a mom during the height of the pandemic — the arrival of her daughter, and a debut acting role that would challenge her to pull from the most vulnerable depths of her experience. “I feel like a portal sometimes, and that’s very much motherhood,” says the multi-hyphenate artist. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re carrying. I mean, you know, but you don’t until they’re on the other side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nomore stars as Gia in \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i>, a forthcoming A24 feature set in 2006 Oakland, directed by U.K.-born, Oakland-raised former Olympic athlete Savanah Leaf. In the film, Nomore plays Gia, a stoic, smart and resourceful single mom going through pregnancy while maintaining a relationship with her other two children in foster care, who she can only see during supervised visits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People that have seen the movie are so impressed with my performance, but I have a hard time considering it a performance because a lot of that shit was just very real for me,” says Nomore, who was born and raised in Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925625\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-performs-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-night-seven-of-the-Noise-Pop-Music-and-Art-Festival-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore performs at The New Parish on night seven of the Noise Pop Music and Art Festival on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Nomore is best known as a rapper signed to San Francisco’s Text Me Records, and before getting tapped for \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i>, she was two albums deep into her music career. Her last single, “\u003ca href=\"https://tianomore.bandcamp.com/track/drip-feat-amen\">Drip\u003c/a>” featuring Amen and Stoni, came out in 2021, and during last month’s Noise Pop festival, she opened for Junglepussy in front of hundreds of fans at the New Parish. \u003ci>Earth Mama\u003c/i> premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to glowing reviews, and has only added to her momentum. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Nomore was approached to play Gia, the casting process wasn’t what she expected. She met producers at Bushrod Park in North Oakland, and though it was a familiar setting, she was somewhat skeptical. She received a callback to read for Gia over Zoom, and afterward, she heard that Leaf wanted to meet. When they connected, Nomore instantly picked up on their similarities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“She like hella tall, lanky, has a stature of importance,” she says about Leaf. “I recognize one another in that because I’m soft, but I’m also very sharp. That was the first thing I recognized off top, and I was like, ‘I fuck with her energy.’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While becoming Gia on set, Nomore was a year postpartum, still settling into her ever-changing motherhood adventure. Separately, she was training to become a doula, a third career endeavor that gave her an intimate look at other mothers’ experiences, and allowed her to see Gia’s circumstances with sensitivity and grace. Donning a prosthetic pregnancy belly, she felt a sense of clarity, as if the opportunity was sent to her by the spirits above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925636\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925636\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-in-Downtown-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-002-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore in Downtown Oakland on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Leaf brought additional insights from her experience as a documentarian. She had her first shot at directing alongside Taylor Russell for the 2020 short documentary, \u003ci>The Heart Still Hums\u003c/i>, which followed mothers working with Sacramento’s Black Mothers United and Chicks in Crisis, which assists parents overcoming addiction, going through pregnancy without a partner and giving birth at a young age. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think for this role, for Gia in particular, I really had to tap into Savannah’s lands, because it’s a story that’s very close to home for her. It’s very personal,” Nomore says. “I had to gain a lot of understanding and empathy for a stranger quite quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On set, Nomore and Leaf created a bond so deep that they could look at each other, lace fingers and push against one another when things became too emotional or overwhelming. Nomore also depended on her co-stars Erika Alexander for the deeply emotional scenes, and Bokeem Woodbine for lessons on handling parenthood, artistry and getting back to herself after immersing herself in her role. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was comforted as Tia to be Gia,” Nomore says. “Like I had my community in real life that knows me from the gate to help support me in doing something so pivotal.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13925627\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13925627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/02/Tia-Nomore-backstage-at-The-New-Parish-in-Oakland-on-Sunday-Feb.-26-2023.-001-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tia Nomore backstage at The New Parish in Oakland on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her connections with the other actors ran deep. Keta Price, who plays Mel, went to school with Nomore’s older sister, and Slim Yani, who plays Ari, and has been friends with Nomore through music since their MySpace days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It felt like home, just turf shit,” Nomore explained. “You really just had a whole cast of real Town niggas. It was real, none of us was actors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Through her role as Gia, Nomore unlocked a new creative pathway for herself — one that has allowed her to become a better person, mother and artist. She says playing Gia encouraged her to pour into her inner child, which has helped her connect with her daughter. And she’s gratified to portray the challenges of motherhood she’s seen firsthand in her work as a doula, ones that rarely get shine on screen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hella wanted to bring this story to life for moms,” Nomore started. “Nobody fucking asks these moms how they’re doing, or how they got to where they are, or how they can be supported for real. So I had to show that shit in my performance.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Outside Lands Lineup: Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion, Foo Fighters and More",
"headTitle": "Outside Lands Lineup: Kendrick Lamar, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion, Foo Fighters and More | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Now in its 15th year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> music festival returns Aug. 11-13 with headliners Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion and more. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beloved Bay Area event features multiple stages, tents and booths with an eclectic lineup that ranges from energetic alternative rock and heartracing EDM sets to soulful rap and wistful R&B vocal performances. The lineup, announced today, also includes rappers J.I.D. and Zack Fox, alternative bands Cigarettes After Sex and Inhaler, genre-blending musicians Lil Yachty and Alex G as well as South Korean girl group Aespa and indie acts Alvvays, Soccer Mommy and Grace Ives. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three-day passes for the festival start at $499 plus fees, and go on sale Wednesday, March 8, at 10 a.m. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/tickets/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11911968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"Lana del Rey performs at the 2016 Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11911968\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-400x261.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-1180x771.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-960x627.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lana del Rey performs at the 2016 Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Full lineup: \u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar\u003cbr>\nFoo Fighters\u003cbr>\nODESZA\u003cbr>\nLana Del Rey\u003cbr>\nThe 1975\u003cbr>\nMegan Thee Stallion\u003cbr>\nZedd\u003cbr>\nJanelle Monáe\u003cbr>\nMaggie Rogers\u003cbr>\nFISHER\u003cbr>\nLil Yachty\u003cbr>\nNoah Kahan\u003cbr>\nCigarettes After Sex\u003cbr>\nJ.I.D.\u003cbr>\nInterpol\u003cbr>\nWillow\u003cbr>\nFather John Misty\u003cbr>\nTobe Nwigwe\u003cbr>\nOrville Peck\u003cbr>\nAespa\u003cbr>\nbeabadoobee\u003cbr>\nL’Impératrice\u003cbr>\nCuco\u003cbr>\nNore En Pure\u003cbr>\nPoolside\u003cbr>\nAlvvays\u003cbr>\nNIKI\u003cbr>\nAlex G\u003cbr>\nSoccer Mommy\u003cbr>\nDiesel (Shaquille O’Neal)\u003cbr>\nMonolink\u003cbr>\nRaveena\u003cbr>\nTrixie Mattel\u003cbr>\nMariah The Scientist\u003cbr>\nISOxo\u003cbr>\nHolly Humberstone\u003cbr>\nLovejoy\u003cbr>\nBecky Hill\u003cbr>\nJoy Oladokun\u003cbr>\nJessie Murph\u003cbr>\nInhaler\u003cbr>\nCrumb\u003cbr>\nDope Lemon\u003cbr>\nGabriels\u003cbr>\nEthel Cain\u003cbr>\nZack Fox\u003cbr>\nCobra Man\u003cbr>\nSamia\u003cbr>\nTops\u003cbr>\nOrion Sun\u003cbr>\nThe Jungle Giants\u003cbr>\nMild Mind\u003cbr>\nYaya Bey\u003cbr>\nNation of Language\u003cbr>\nDonny Benét\u003cbr>\nEvan Giia\u003cbr>\nManila Grey\u003cbr>\nNanna\u003cbr>\nThe Dip\u003cbr>\nEddie Zuko\u003cbr>\nWild Child\u003cbr>\nNo Vacation\u003cbr>\nPretty Sick\u003cbr>\nGrace Ives\u003cbr>\nWestend\u003cbr>\nmidwxst\u003cbr>\nWednesday\u003cbr>\nUpsahl\u003cbr>\nIzzy Heltai\u003cbr>\nFake Fruit\u003cbr>\nVenus & The Flytraps \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In the SOMA Tent:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAme b2b Trikk\u003cbr>\nBlond:ish\u003cbr>\nClaptone\u003cbr>\nCoco & Breezy\u003cbr>\nDaniel Avery\u003cbr>\nDenis Sulta\u003cbr>\nDisco Lines\u003cbr>\nEREZ\u003cbr>\nJustin Jay\u003cbr>\nKim Ann Foxman\u003cbr>\nLoverground\u003cbr>\nMISS DRE\u003cbr>\nNala\u003cbr>\nRed Axes\u003cbr>\nSama AbdulHadi\u003cbr>\nTinlicker\u003cbr>\nVNSSA\u003cbr>\nWhoMadeWho \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Janelle Monae, The 1975, J.I.D, Zack Fox, Lil Yachty, Aespa , Alvvays, Maggie Rogers, Alex G and more round out the Outside Lands lineup. ",
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"description": "Janelle Monae, The 1975, J.I.D, Zack Fox, Lil Yachty, Aespa , Alvvays, Maggie Rogers, Alex G and more round out the Outside Lands lineup. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Now in its 15th year, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/\">Outside Lands\u003c/a> music festival returns Aug. 11-13 with headliners Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Lana Del Rey, Megan Thee Stallion and more. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The beloved Bay Area event features multiple stages, tents and booths with an eclectic lineup that ranges from energetic alternative rock and heartracing EDM sets to soulful rap and wistful R&B vocal performances. The lineup, announced today, also includes rappers J.I.D. and Zack Fox, alternative bands Cigarettes After Sex and Inhaler, genre-blending musicians Lil Yachty and Alex G as well as South Korean girl group Aespa and indie acts Alvvays, Soccer Mommy and Grace Ives. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three-day passes for the festival start at $499 plus fees, and go on sale Wednesday, March 8, at 10 a.m. \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfoutsidelands.com/tickets/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11911968\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-800x523.jpg\" alt=\"Lana del Rey performs at the 2016 Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"523\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11911968\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-800x523.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-400x261.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-768x502.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-1180x771.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/Lana-Del-Ray-02-960x627.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lana del Rey performs at the 2016 Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Full lineup: \u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar\u003cbr>\nFoo Fighters\u003cbr>\nODESZA\u003cbr>\nLana Del Rey\u003cbr>\nThe 1975\u003cbr>\nMegan Thee Stallion\u003cbr>\nZedd\u003cbr>\nJanelle Monáe\u003cbr>\nMaggie Rogers\u003cbr>\nFISHER\u003cbr>\nLil Yachty\u003cbr>\nNoah Kahan\u003cbr>\nCigarettes After Sex\u003cbr>\nJ.I.D.\u003cbr>\nInterpol\u003cbr>\nWillow\u003cbr>\nFather John Misty\u003cbr>\nTobe Nwigwe\u003cbr>\nOrville Peck\u003cbr>\nAespa\u003cbr>\nbeabadoobee\u003cbr>\nL’Impératrice\u003cbr>\nCuco\u003cbr>\nNore En Pure\u003cbr>\nPoolside\u003cbr>\nAlvvays\u003cbr>\nNIKI\u003cbr>\nAlex G\u003cbr>\nSoccer Mommy\u003cbr>\nDiesel (Shaquille O’Neal)\u003cbr>\nMonolink\u003cbr>\nRaveena\u003cbr>\nTrixie Mattel\u003cbr>\nMariah The Scientist\u003cbr>\nISOxo\u003cbr>\nHolly Humberstone\u003cbr>\nLovejoy\u003cbr>\nBecky Hill\u003cbr>\nJoy Oladokun\u003cbr>\nJessie Murph\u003cbr>\nInhaler\u003cbr>\nCrumb\u003cbr>\nDope Lemon\u003cbr>\nGabriels\u003cbr>\nEthel Cain\u003cbr>\nZack Fox\u003cbr>\nCobra Man\u003cbr>\nSamia\u003cbr>\nTops\u003cbr>\nOrion Sun\u003cbr>\nThe Jungle Giants\u003cbr>\nMild Mind\u003cbr>\nYaya Bey\u003cbr>\nNation of Language\u003cbr>\nDonny Benét\u003cbr>\nEvan Giia\u003cbr>\nManila Grey\u003cbr>\nNanna\u003cbr>\nThe Dip\u003cbr>\nEddie Zuko\u003cbr>\nWild Child\u003cbr>\nNo Vacation\u003cbr>\nPretty Sick\u003cbr>\nGrace Ives\u003cbr>\nWestend\u003cbr>\nmidwxst\u003cbr>\nWednesday\u003cbr>\nUpsahl\u003cbr>\nIzzy Heltai\u003cbr>\nFake Fruit\u003cbr>\nVenus & The Flytraps \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>In the SOMA Tent:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nAme b2b Trikk\u003cbr>\nBlond:ish\u003cbr>\nClaptone\u003cbr>\nCoco & Breezy\u003cbr>\nDaniel Avery\u003cbr>\nDenis Sulta\u003cbr>\nDisco Lines\u003cbr>\nEREZ\u003cbr>\nJustin Jay\u003cbr>\nKim Ann Foxman\u003cbr>\nLoverground\u003cbr>\nMISS DRE\u003cbr>\nNala\u003cbr>\nRed Axes\u003cbr>\nSama AbdulHadi\u003cbr>\nTinlicker\u003cbr>\nVNSSA\u003cbr>\nWhoMadeWho \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "The 2023 Oscars’ Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked",
"headTitle": "The 2023 Oscars’ Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>This year’s crop of Oscar nominees for best original song may not have a James Bond theme or a ubiquitous Disney banger, but it’s got range: a viral dance number, a pair of ballads by major pop stars, a welcome surprise and… yes, the obligatory \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/127988436/diane-warren\">Diane Warren\u003c/a> track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR has been publishing these lists for a few years now — here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1083945317/the-2022-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2022\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896127/the-2021-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2021\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2020\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/23/697103948/the-2019-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2019\u003c/a> — and it’s been a while since a best-original-song field has been this easy to rank. The best are great, as they either feature prominently in the films or reflect directly on the themes therein. The worst either roll vacantly over the closing credits, are by Diane Warren, or both. The middle… eh, we’ll get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. “Applause,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Sofia Carson (Diane Warren, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAHorHpPqb4&t=1s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now might be a good time to note a few of the original songs that could have received Oscar nominations in 2023. Remember \u003cem>Turning Red’\u003c/em>s amazing boy-band pastiches? “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQQRjFzB8gY\">Nobody Like U\u003c/a>,” by last year’s best original song winners \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/691274976/billie-eilish\">Billie Eilish\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/1045249930/finneas\">Finneas\u003c/a>, didn’t even make \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/feature/2023-oscars-best-original-song-predictions-1235396256/\">the shortlist for the category\u003c/a> this year. Same goes for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bduECEfvCng\">On My Way\u003c/a>,” a Jennifer Lopez pop ballad from \u003cem>Marry Me\u003c/em> that was strong enough to make viewers think, “It is plausible that this fictional chart-topper could be a huge hit in real life.” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/519967140/jazmine-sullivan\">Jazmine Sullivan\u003c/a>’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSYtUDDW1WU\">Stand Up\u003c/a>” (from \u003cem>Till\u003c/em>) was shortlisted, but not nominated, while the Will Ferrell/Ryan Reynolds musical number “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMkJIR9pX1w\">Good Afternoon\u003c/a>” (from \u003cem>Spirited\u003c/em>, also shortlisted-but-not-nominated) would have given the Oscars telecast a welcome bit of bonkers energy, but… here we are. Diane Warren. Again. Some more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somewhere along the way, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went from having a Diane Warren fixation to a Diane Warren \u003cem>problem\u003c/em>. It’s one thing to nominate, say, 1997’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUFasKZcH_c\">How Do I Live\u003c/a>,” which has more or less become a pop standard. But Warren’s boilerplate movie songs have been nominated for eight of the past nine years, and the past six — all from consecutive years! — could have been written by ChatGPT if it had been fed enough Diane Warren songs beforehand. All six of those songs are basically the same: lightly rousing but deliberately paced vehicles dispensing affirmation, with titles like “Stand Up for Something,” “I’ll Fight” and “I’m Standing With You,” heard by virtually no one in the world beyond the people who didn’t feel like getting up to make themselves a snack on Oscar night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13896127']The Academy’s members gave Warren an honorary award last fall, which makes a fair bit of sense, given that she’s never been far from their minds. She received her first Oscar nomination all the way back in 1988, yet she’s never won in 13 (soon to be 14) tries. That honorary award would be much more welcome if it meant that Oscar voters would \u003cem>stop feeling obligated to nominate her\u003c/em>, particularly when the songs she’s written are 1) generic to the point of self-parody; and 2) extremely obscure. This year’s nominee is derived from a movie (\u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>) that not only isn’t available for screening or streaming by the viewing public, but could also theoretically be entirely made up. Couldn’t you imagine, say, \u003cem>30 Rock\u003c/em>‘s Jenna Maroney appearing in a movie called \u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway, “Applause.” Look, it’s possible that Academy voters were deeply moved by the song’s instructions to, you know, stand up and give yourself some respect and whatnot. But… come on. This song is nominated because Diane Warren’s name is on it, and because Diane Warren is a veteran Hollywood songwriter — she lives there and works specifically in the movie industry — and not some pop star tossing out crumbs in the hope of getting an EGOT someday. The song genuinely \u003cem>does not matter\u003c/em>, and that’s true in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you go. Be sure to watch this space next year, when “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3twMeHY5Ws\">Gonna Be You\u003c/a>” makes\u003cem> 80 for Brady\u003c/em> the Oscar nominee it was destined to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. “Lift Me Up,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Rihanna (Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx_OexsUI2M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember that line a few sentences ago about “some pop star tossing out crumbs in the hope of getting an EGOT someday”? Meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15757248/rihanna\">Rihanna’\u003c/a>s “Lift Me Up,” a ballad that barely merited a shrug when it came out last fall, even though it was 1) from the dizzily anticipated blockbuster \u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em>; and 2) the singer’s first piece of new music in more than six years. Revisiting the song months later, that shrug persists: Rihanna lends it a clear, emotive, luminous vocal, and it’s a more-or-less effective sonic bridge between \u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em> and its bonus scene, but the song could have been dropped onto the closing credits of just about any movie without the words needing to change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Think about the emotional weight of the first \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> movie to appear following the death of Chadwick Boseman. Now take a peek at this song’s lyric sheet: “Lift me up / Hold me down / Keep me close / Safe and sound.” There’s virtually nothing here beyond boilerplate requests for support, all the way down. Swap Rihanna’s name for that of, say, Sofia Carson, and ask yourself: Would “Lift Me Up” have even made the shortlist in this category?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. “Hold My Hand,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga and BloodPop, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2CIAKVTOrc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em> doesn’t squander many opportunities to recapture the high-flying grandeur of its 1986 predecessor. But it falls a little short in the songs department, even with the passing nod to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/1140355932/kenny-loggins\">Kenny Loggins\u003c/a>’ “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E\">Danger Zone\u003c/a>” that pops up in the film’s opening moments. The original \u003cem>Top Gun\u003c/em> was packed with hits — including “Danger Zone,” Berlin’s Oscar-winning “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx51eegLTY8\">Take My Breath Away\u003c/a>” and Loverboy’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_nvASTXl-Y\">Heaven in Your Eyes\u003c/a>” — but \u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em> largely skimps on the original songs, with just OneRepublic’s forgettable “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNEUkkoUoIA\">I Ain’t Worried\u003c/a>” and Lady Gaga’s power ballad “Hold My Hand” to show for 36 years of buildup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where the latter song doesn’t skimp is in the sheer exertion of it all: Lady Gaga gives “Hold My Hand” every ounce of the fists-plunged-heavenward, writhing-atop-a-piano-on-a-lonely-airstrip grandeur it requires, and then some. Lyrically, it doesn’t add up to a whole lot — “I know you’re scared and your pain is imperfect / But don’t you give up on yourself” — but damned if it doesn’t pair effectively with images of planes whooshing ominously and rulebooks getting tossed into trash cans. This is Lady Gaga’s third Oscar nomination in this category alone (she won for “Shallow” in 2019), so she knows her way around a movie moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. “This Is a Life,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski (Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzxsTXNmVm0\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just based on degree-of-difficulty alone, this one deserves a lofty ranking: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/92313933/son-lux\">Son Lux\u003c/a>’s Ryan Lott (also rightly nominated for best original score) helped synthesize the themes of \u003cem>Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/em> — of which there are many — into a singular, graceful song that mirrors the film’s grand, humanistic sweep. “This Is a Life” simply operates on another level from the other closing-credits fare on this list, in part because it fits alongside no movie but this one. It’s a song about “many lives that could have been,” about “the weight of eternity at the speed of light,” and about the impossible knot of outcomes the film has spent two-plus hours endeavoring to untangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also exquisitely performed. Lott uses the orchestra at his disposal sparingly, as it slides in at key moments alongside the ideal pairing of singers \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/468710961/mitski\">Mitski\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15320822/david-byrne\">David Byrne\u003c/a> — two voices that know their way around the search for meaning and wonder. Each contributes mightily to the song’s (and the film’s) warm, openhearted embrace of a world defined by endless possibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. “Naatu Naatu” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>RRR\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj (M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_eEgJhsBMo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>RRR\u003c/em> is an absolute meal of a movie: Three hours of grand, epic spectacle, punctuated by brutal violence and none-too-subtle messaging that combines anti-colonialism with ultranationalism. You might love it, you might not, but let’s see if we can’t gather together in celebration of its greatest moment: A viral dance number called “Naatu Naatu,” in which the film’s impossibly telegenic stars (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) dance their hearts out while lip-syncing for their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13925431']Placing “Naatu Naatu” and “Applause” in the same field of nominees is like declaring that \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-defense-of-the-blobfish-why-the-worlds-ugliest-animal-isnt-as-ugly-as-you-think-it-is-6676336/\">the humble, misunderstood blobfish\u003c/a> is visually akin to Ram Charan because they’re both living organisms. Every second of this thing is \u003cem>electric\u003c/em>: a song-and-dance number for which watching qualifies as aerobic exercise, in part because dancing along is essentially involuntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s honestly a shame that the credits at the top of this ranking can only note performers and songwriters, because a healthy share of the credit also belongs to \u003cem>RRR’\u003c/em>s leads. Their commitment to the bit, and to Prem Rakshith’s impeccably synchronized choreography, makes “Naatu Naatu” one of the season’s biggest Oscar slam dunks. It should win, it almost certainly \u003cem>will\u003c/em> win, and the fact that it’s being performed on the telecast means we \u003cem>all\u003c/em> win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=The+2023+Oscars%27+best+original+song+nominees%2C+cruelly+ranked&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This year’s crop of Oscar nominees for best original song may not have a James Bond theme or a ubiquitous Disney banger, but it’s got range: a viral dance number, a pair of ballads by major pop stars, a welcome surprise and… yes, the obligatory \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/127988436/diane-warren\">Diane Warren\u003c/a> track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPR has been publishing these lists for a few years now — here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1083945317/the-2022-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2022\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896127/the-2021-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2021\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2020\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/23/697103948/the-2019-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2019\u003c/a> — and it’s been a while since a best-original-song field has been this easy to rank. The best are great, as they either feature prominently in the films or reflect directly on the themes therein. The worst either roll vacantly over the closing credits, are by Diane Warren, or both. The middle… eh, we’ll get there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. “Applause,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Sofia Carson (Diane Warren, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\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/VAHorHpPqb4'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/VAHorHpPqb4'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Now might be a good time to note a few of the original songs that could have received Oscar nominations in 2023. Remember \u003cem>Turning Red’\u003c/em>s amazing boy-band pastiches? “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQQRjFzB8gY\">Nobody Like U\u003c/a>,” by last year’s best original song winners \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/691274976/billie-eilish\">Billie Eilish\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/1045249930/finneas\">Finneas\u003c/a>, didn’t even make \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/feature/2023-oscars-best-original-song-predictions-1235396256/\">the shortlist for the category\u003c/a> this year. Same goes for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bduECEfvCng\">On My Way\u003c/a>,” a Jennifer Lopez pop ballad from \u003cem>Marry Me\u003c/em> that was strong enough to make viewers think, “It is plausible that this fictional chart-topper could be a huge hit in real life.” \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/519967140/jazmine-sullivan\">Jazmine Sullivan\u003c/a>’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSYtUDDW1WU\">Stand Up\u003c/a>” (from \u003cem>Till\u003c/em>) was shortlisted, but not nominated, while the Will Ferrell/Ryan Reynolds musical number “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMkJIR9pX1w\">Good Afternoon\u003c/a>” (from \u003cem>Spirited\u003c/em>, also shortlisted-but-not-nominated) would have given the Oscars telecast a welcome bit of bonkers energy, but… here we are. Diane Warren. Again. Some more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Somewhere along the way, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences went from having a Diane Warren fixation to a Diane Warren \u003cem>problem\u003c/em>. It’s one thing to nominate, say, 1997’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUFasKZcH_c\">How Do I Live\u003c/a>,” which has more or less become a pop standard. But Warren’s boilerplate movie songs have been nominated for eight of the past nine years, and the past six — all from consecutive years! — could have been written by ChatGPT if it had been fed enough Diane Warren songs beforehand. All six of those songs are basically the same: lightly rousing but deliberately paced vehicles dispensing affirmation, with titles like “Stand Up for Something,” “I’ll Fight” and “I’m Standing With You,” heard by virtually no one in the world beyond the people who didn’t feel like getting up to make themselves a snack on Oscar night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Academy’s members gave Warren an honorary award last fall, which makes a fair bit of sense, given that she’s never been far from their minds. She received her first Oscar nomination all the way back in 1988, yet she’s never won in 13 (soon to be 14) tries. That honorary award would be much more welcome if it meant that Oscar voters would \u003cem>stop feeling obligated to nominate her\u003c/em>, particularly when the songs she’s written are 1) generic to the point of self-parody; and 2) extremely obscure. This year’s nominee is derived from a movie (\u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>) that not only isn’t available for screening or streaming by the viewing public, but could also theoretically be entirely made up. Couldn’t you imagine, say, \u003cem>30 Rock\u003c/em>‘s Jenna Maroney appearing in a movie called \u003cem>Tell It Like a Woman\u003c/em>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyway, “Applause.” Look, it’s possible that Academy voters were deeply moved by the song’s instructions to, you know, stand up and give yourself some respect and whatnot. But… come on. This song is nominated because Diane Warren’s name is on it, and because Diane Warren is a veteran Hollywood songwriter — she lives there and works specifically in the movie industry — and not some pop star tossing out crumbs in the hope of getting an EGOT someday. The song genuinely \u003cem>does not matter\u003c/em>, and that’s true in more ways than one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, there you go. Be sure to watch this space next year, when “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3twMeHY5Ws\">Gonna Be You\u003c/a>” makes\u003cem> 80 for Brady\u003c/em> the Oscar nominee it was destined to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. “Lift Me Up,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Rihanna (Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\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/Mx_OexsUI2M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Mx_OexsUI2M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Remember that line a few sentences ago about “some pop star tossing out crumbs in the hope of getting an EGOT someday”? Meet \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15757248/rihanna\">Rihanna’\u003c/a>s “Lift Me Up,” a ballad that barely merited a shrug when it came out last fall, even though it was 1) from the dizzily anticipated blockbuster \u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em>; and 2) the singer’s first piece of new music in more than six years. Revisiting the song months later, that shrug persists: Rihanna lends it a clear, emotive, luminous vocal, and it’s a more-or-less effective sonic bridge between \u003cem>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever\u003c/em> and its bonus scene, but the song could have been dropped onto the closing credits of just about any movie without the words needing to change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Think about the emotional weight of the first \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> movie to appear following the death of Chadwick Boseman. Now take a peek at this song’s lyric sheet: “Lift me up / Hold me down / Keep me close / Safe and sound.” There’s virtually nothing here beyond boilerplate requests for support, all the way down. Swap Rihanna’s name for that of, say, Sofia Carson, and ask yourself: Would “Lift Me Up” have even made the shortlist in this category?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. “Hold My Hand,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Lady Gaga (Lady Gaga and BloodPop, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\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/O2CIAKVTOrc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/O2CIAKVTOrc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em> doesn’t squander many opportunities to recapture the high-flying grandeur of its 1986 predecessor. But it falls a little short in the songs department, even with the passing nod to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/1140355932/kenny-loggins\">Kenny Loggins\u003c/a>’ “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E\">Danger Zone\u003c/a>” that pops up in the film’s opening moments. The original \u003cem>Top Gun\u003c/em> was packed with hits — including “Danger Zone,” Berlin’s Oscar-winning “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx51eegLTY8\">Take My Breath Away\u003c/a>” and Loverboy’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_nvASTXl-Y\">Heaven in Your Eyes\u003c/a>” — but \u003cem>Top Gun: Maverick\u003c/em> largely skimps on the original songs, with just OneRepublic’s forgettable “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNEUkkoUoIA\">I Ain’t Worried\u003c/a>” and Lady Gaga’s power ballad “Hold My Hand” to show for 36 years of buildup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where the latter song doesn’t skimp is in the sheer exertion of it all: Lady Gaga gives “Hold My Hand” every ounce of the fists-plunged-heavenward, writhing-atop-a-piano-on-a-lonely-airstrip grandeur it requires, and then some. Lyrically, it doesn’t add up to a whole lot — “I know you’re scared and your pain is imperfect / But don’t you give up on yourself” — but damned if it doesn’t pair effectively with images of planes whooshing ominously and rulebooks getting tossed into trash cans. This is Lady Gaga’s third Oscar nomination in this category alone (she won for “Shallow” in 2019), so she knows her way around a movie moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. “This Is a Life,” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski (Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\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/EzxsTXNmVm0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/EzxsTXNmVm0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Just based on degree-of-difficulty alone, this one deserves a lofty ranking: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/92313933/son-lux\">Son Lux\u003c/a>’s Ryan Lott (also rightly nominated for best original score) helped synthesize the themes of \u003cem>Everything Everywhere All at Once\u003c/em> — of which there are many — into a singular, graceful song that mirrors the film’s grand, humanistic sweep. “This Is a Life” simply operates on another level from the other closing-credits fare on this list, in part because it fits alongside no movie but this one. It’s a song about “many lives that could have been,” about “the weight of eternity at the speed of light,” and about the impossible knot of outcomes the film has spent two-plus hours endeavoring to untangle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also exquisitely performed. Lott uses the orchestra at his disposal sparingly, as it slides in at key moments alongside the ideal pairing of singers \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/468710961/mitski\">Mitski\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/artists/15320822/david-byrne\">David Byrne\u003c/a> — two voices that know their way around the search for meaning and wonder. Each contributes mightily to the song’s (and the film’s) warm, openhearted embrace of a world defined by endless possibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. “Naatu Naatu” \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>RRR\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>, performed by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj (M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\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/4_eEgJhsBMo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4_eEgJhsBMo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>RRR\u003c/em> is an absolute meal of a movie: Three hours of grand, epic spectacle, punctuated by brutal violence and none-too-subtle messaging that combines anti-colonialism with ultranationalism. You might love it, you might not, but let’s see if we can’t gather together in celebration of its greatest moment: A viral dance number called “Naatu Naatu,” in which the film’s impossibly telegenic stars (Ram Charan and N.T. Rama Rao Jr.) dance their hearts out while lip-syncing for their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Placing “Naatu Naatu” and “Applause” in the same field of nominees is like declaring that \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-defense-of-the-blobfish-why-the-worlds-ugliest-animal-isnt-as-ugly-as-you-think-it-is-6676336/\">the humble, misunderstood blobfish\u003c/a> is visually akin to Ram Charan because they’re both living organisms. Every second of this thing is \u003cem>electric\u003c/em>: a song-and-dance number for which watching qualifies as aerobic exercise, in part because dancing along is essentially involuntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s honestly a shame that the credits at the top of this ranking can only note performers and songwriters, because a healthy share of the credit also belongs to \u003cem>RRR’\u003c/em>s leads. Their commitment to the bit, and to Prem Rakshith’s impeccably synchronized choreography, makes “Naatu Naatu” one of the season’s biggest Oscar slam dunks. It should win, it almost certainly \u003cem>will\u003c/em> win, and the fact that it’s being performed on the telecast means we \u003cem>all\u003c/em> win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=The+2023+Oscars%27+best+original+song+nominees%2C+cruelly+ranked&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "De La Soul on Streaming: Your Guide to a Legendary Hip-Hop Catalog",
"headTitle": "De La Soul on Streaming: Your Guide to a Legendary Hip-Hop Catalog | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Streaming platforms were initially sold as an all-encompassing music library — every song at one’s fingertips! — yet there are inevitable gaps within their discographies. For hip-hop fans, few omissions have been more grievous than the missing catalog of De La Soul. One of the giants of hip-hop’s “golden era” of the late ’80s through mid ’90s, De La’s penchant for playful creativity would go on to influence everyone from the Pharcyde to OutKast, Kanye West to Childish Gambino. Despite this, almost all of their most important albums have been missing from (legal) streaming services. When founding member Trugoy the Dove \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/13/1156489848/dave-jolicoeur-de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-obituary\">unexpectedly passed away\u003c/a> last month, anyone seeking to revisit most of De La Soul’s best known works would have been left empty-handed and confused. We now take for granted that our favorite artists have their catalogs readily available to us yet when in a time of grief over Trugoy’s death, new and old fans were met with a deafening silence of options to revisit his musical legacy. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What kept De La’s tunes out of rotation was a frustrating morass of outdated contracts and record label parsimony. It got so bad that in 2014, the group put their entire catalog on their website to download for free for a day. As they told \u003cem>Rolling Stone \u003c/em>at the time, “We’ve been blessed to be in the Library of Congress, but we can’t even have our music on iTunes.” Likewise, there was an attempt in 2019 by Tommy Boy Records, which owns the rights to De La’s music, to put them on streaming but the terms of that deal were so unfavorable to the group that\u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/2019/02/de-la-soul-calls-out-former-record-label-over-unfair-streaming-deal\"> public outrage\u003c/a> forced Tommy Boy to abandon their plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of these are just business concerns. Our social awareness of music has always been tied to how songs and albums are distributed. Much like the proverbial tree falling in the woods without a witness, if an artist has recorded the greatest album of all time, does it really matter if no one has the means to hear it? De La may have sold millions of physical cassettes, CDs and vinyl records in the past but how many households have the means to play any of those formats? De La’s absence from streaming sites has effectively erased their presence from the contemporary musical landscape \u003cem>and \u003c/em>threatens to minimize their historical import. It’s not just the artist who loses out; we, as listeners, are left poorer too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All this has finally been rectified. The group’s most important recordings are now legally available on the internet. Given how long it’s taken for this music to arrive, we thought it necessary to revisit this storied catalog and its restored legacy, to help new fans familiarize themselves with the memorable (and singular) arc of their career and give veteran listeners a reintroduction to their most influential work.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Souls Who Flaunt Styles: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>3 Feet High and Rising \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(1989)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La Soul’s debut reshaped the public imagination of what hip-hop could be. The core trio — Posdnuos, Trugoy and DJ Pasemaster Mase — assisted by mentor/producer Prince Paul all came straight outta the wilds of suburban Long Island, rapping about advice-spouting crocodiles, Martian transmissions, and an artistic meta-concept they dubbed The D.A.I.S.Y. (Da Inner Soul, Y’all) Age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7GOdFpyX7aUbHOaYt7mwyP?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La were part of the Native Tongues, a collective of like-minded artists that included the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah, among others. Promoting Afrocentric positivity, they purposefully set themselves to contrast against the boisterous brio exemplified by such icons of the era as LL Cool J, NWA or Big Daddy Kane. De La Soul, especially, became smart, sardonic avatars for Black misfits and nerds, mining the sublime from the absurd. On the album, this is partly showcased in their songcraft, especially the humorous skits peppered throughout that turned the format into a rap album staple. There was also the consistently irreverent ways in which Pos and Trugoy adroitly rapped on everything from the garishness of consumer culture (“Take It Off”) to sexy flirtations (“Buddy”) to personal hygiene (\u003cstrong>“A Little Bit of Soap”\u003c/strong>). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6zgClTCI7zRqQLf148Sozu?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group would prove too clever by half, however, at least for the mainstream music media who were quick to dub them “hip-hop hippies.” That encouraged their label, Tommy Boy, to lean further into the aesthetic by creating artwork doused in day-glo colors and cartoon daisies. De La had to refute this characterization in real time; on the album’s big radio hit, \u003cstrong>“Me, Myself and I,”\u003c/strong> Pos (aka Plug One) insists, “You say Plug One and Two are hippies / No we’re not / That’s pure plug bull.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/792UwI6utk5DMQUT1KXa5E?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite these grumblings, \u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>still brimmed in mirth, including on the musical side, overseen by Prince Paul and including contributions by the entire group. Sample-hungry rap producers had spent the previous few years mining the James Brown and P-Funk catalogs and though De La sampled from both on their debut, they were more likely to create memorable musical moments from children’s television songs (“The Magic Number”), obscure doo-wop singles (“Plug Tunin'”) and classic ’80s pop hits (“Say No Go”). Similar to how their DJ, PA Mase, could expertly splice up a dizzying number of snippets on a song like \u003cstrong>“Cool Breeze on the Rocks,”\u003c/strong> the group collectively embraced unfettered sampling as a calling card, a way to demonstrate how drawing upon “found sounds” could create new sounds. Ironically though, their love for sampling is one reason why it took so long for their music to make it to streaming; no one wanted to foot the bill to properly clear all those samples. In fact, the version of the track that appears on streaming is completely reimagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5iYjvQbLvISapScuxb4XTo?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even 30+ years later, \u003cem>3 Feet High\u003c/em> still sounds wondrous and weird, even compared to their later albums, let alone the rest of the hip-hop landscape. Scores of other artists have tried to be clever but few, if any, have embodied a creative impulse as irrepressible and risk-taking. De La’s debut was a proof of concept that the right combination of ingenuity and frivolity could create something indelibly, impossibly hip. (Just don’t call them hippies.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Time For Heads To Get Flown: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>De La Soul Is Dead\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (1991)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine debuting with a gold record, lauded as darlings of “alternative” rap, and then using your follow-up LP to unceremoniously kill off that gilded goose. If the title, \u003cem>De La Soul Is Dead,\u003c/em> wasn’t enough of an announcement of intent, the album’s cover removed any lingering ambiguity: a broken pot of daisies, knocked upon its side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>felt like a kaleidoscope of colorful ideas splashed against a wall and the group’s sophomore effort was equally intentional but with a darker palette. Consider this LP’s recurring skits: all meta-level self-deprecation where we overhear a pack of misanthropes listening to the album in real time, trashing the group and its pretensions at every opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4YxeQH9KdAp0JRyD5YQAFP?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La also dabbled in heavier social commentary, whether mocking the violent posturing of gangsta rappers (“Afro Connections at the Hi 5”), addressing the trauma of drug addiction (“My Brother’s a Basehead”) or most surprisingly, turning a story about familial sexual abuse (\u003cstrong>“Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa”\u003c/strong>) into a commercial single (and one of the most depressing holiday songs ever). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7HuylwCfdFfEH5Qc9MZ7dT?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, De La’s symbolic death and reinvention wasn’t nearly as dramatic as fans might have feared. Though the trio puffed their chests out a bit further and their humor leaned a touch darker, the album still brimmed with a similar exuberance to \u003cem>3 Feet High\u003c/em>. The LP’s lead single, \u003cstrong>“Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey),”\u003c/strong> braided together various threads of the group’s evolving attitude: on the one hand, it was a lamentation on the exhausting nature of stardom, where De La complains about the parade of aspiring acts hounding them with demos in hand. On the other, the song’s playful post-disco groove injected a sonic ebullience that balanced the weary cynicism lining the group’s lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/43intIKOsACYuCBGtAix43?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seemed as if the success of \u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>gave the group license to go deeper into their artistic bag: more eclectic samples, more risk-taking (and less commercial) song concepts, and just plain more of everything; the CD version had 26 tracks and all but completely filled the standard 74 minute limit. Combine the album’s density with its wild, creative swings and \u003cem>Dead \u003c/em>can be a rather disjointed \u003cem>linear \u003c/em>listen if you’re simply going end to end. However, a random shuffle will likely land you onto one of the album’s many excellent songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1Chs3yVLdqewaHtmYjdN19?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes their summer-in-the-park party anthem \u003cstrong>“A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’,”\u003c/strong> as well as a Stevie Wonder-inspired reflection on relationship rancor, “Talkin’ Bout Hey Love.” Meanwhile, on the humorous tip, \u003cstrong>“Bitties in the BK Lounge”\u003c/strong> might be the group’s funniest track. Leave it to De La to elevate a routine fast food encounter into an epic clash of the dozens between a bored cashier and snarky customer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0cD0uNbIzZPCX6HX22mAi5?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to overstate how creatively sprawling this album was, even within an era where hip-hop artists were experimenting with all kinds of new styles and modes. Especially in a time when hip-hop still felt deep in a fertile, “anything goes” state of imaginative possibility, De La continued to lead the vanguard of artists searching for the cutting edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>F__ Being Hard, De La Soul Is Complicated: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (1993)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/em> is arguably the most “concept album-y” title of all of De La’s releases but the joke is that whatever the album’s concept was, the group seemed content to keep it to themselves. It’s as if De La, with its well-established ire towards the recording industry, decided to just forgo any pretense of commercial accessibility in favor of being “just weird, lost in the woods,” according to Pitchfork’s Andrew Nosnitsky, who also lauded \u003cem>Buhloone \u003c/em>as “notoriously and proudly inaccessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This may not sound like a selling point but despite feeling crafted like a puzzle box, it’s a pleasantly compact one — just 10 full-length songs — coming after its two behemoth predecessors. With practically no filler on \u003cem>Buhloone \u003c/em>besides its assorted, anticipated skits, the album’s hit/miss ratio is as good as the group has ever delivered and it’s no surprise that hardcore De La fans have long insisted it is the most complete work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1bJqruJ4gXeIqpFsyPqHF1?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a distinctively urgent energy to much of the album, with the group mining their deep trove of jazz, blues, rock and funk samples to power the propulsion on songs like “Eye Patch” and \u003cstrong>“En Focus,”\u003c/strong> or the back-half standout, \u003cstrong>“In The Woods,”\u003c/strong> featuring Shortie No Mas whose piercing ad-libs dot the LP. Three albums — and \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-23-ca-392-story.html\">one lawsuit\u003c/a> — into their career and the group seemed undeterred in repurposing samples that spanned from Michael Jackson hits to forgotten electro singles to classic soul-jazz sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6fnCrJKX2kw5Roh8LjCm4D?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As tense as much of the album can be elsewhere, one of the few times where the group winds things down to a more contemplative groove is on the LP standout, \u003cstrong>“I Am, I Be.”\u003c/strong> The song features a particularly poignant set of verses by Pos who both opens and closes the track. By this point in the ’90s, he had already established himself as one of hip-hop’s most thoughtful lyricists, and here he pens a brilliant set of philosophical musings on everything from the challenges of parenthood to dissolving friendships to record label servitude: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nI am Posdnuos\u003cbr>I be the new generation of slaves\u003cbr>Here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes\u003cbr>The pile of revenue I create\u003cbr>But I guess I don’t get a cut ’cause my rent’s a month late\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5v125GhjtJgappJWdNDTV2?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s all done over a haunting, melancholy track featuring no less than seven different samples, most notably an anchoring Lou Rawls loop. The group took such a shine to the song that they recorded an instrumental version for the album as well and invited funk pioneer Maceo Parker to play his saxophone over it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4WKEvBiDnakwRImM41yZXC?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However frustrated De La may have been with the rap industry, it’s also clear they have tremendous love for the rap community. Comedic hip-hop legend Biz Markie, who De La later hired as a tour DJ, features on the closing track, “Stone Age,” while the single, \u003cstrong>“Ego Trippin’ [Part Two]”\u003c/strong> doesn’t just nod to the Ultramagnetics’ 1986 song of the same name, but is filled with easter eggs for their heroes and peers by quoting and re-using famous lines from Pete Rock and CL Smooth (“When I Reminisce Over You”), Big Daddy Kane (“Ain’t No Half Steppin'”) and Run DMC (“Sucker MCs”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3I7Mq9ieKF1Eeq9mlZTUad?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans wouldn’t have known it at the time but \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate \u003c/em>also marked an end to a particular era for the group. The maniacal mind of producer Prince Paul had guided each of De La’s first three albums but at some point post-\u003cem>Buhloone\u003c/em>, the group decided to amicably break ties with their mentor and take greater creative control over their subsequent releases. By De La’s next album, they were prepared to reintroduce themselves, no longer as youthful rebels but now as hip-hop doyen, intent on defending the culture’s moral center.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No Offense To A Player But They Don’t Play: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Stakes Is High \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(1996)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three years since \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate \u003c/em>had yielded a sea-change within hip-hop. The rise and dominance of artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mobb Deep and the Notorious B.I.G. — among many others — eschewed the Afrocentric positivity that De La’s Native Tongues Family had ushered in less than a decade prior, supplanting it with lurid, violent tales of the rich and infamous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6j4aQL66B36i6OcU8fOEHJ?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop’s culture war had already been brewing across the ’90s, with artists like Masta Ace, Common and De La themselves mocking what they saw as a cynical embrace of gang-banging and drug-slanging posturing. But few albums drew a line in the sand as conspicuous as \u003cem>Stakes Is High. \u003c/em>The album’s very title was part of that manifesto, an insistence that nihilism shouldn’t be a form of entertainment. As Trugoy rhymes on the title track, he was “sick of swoll head rappers with their sickening raps / Clappers of gats, making the whole sick world collapse.” Elsewhere, he and Pos poke fun at wannabe gangsters idolizing the mafia — “Why you acting all spicy and sheisty / The only Italians you knew was icees” (“Itsoweezee”) — and empty slogans — “You cry ‘keeping it real’ but you should try keeping it right” (“The Bizness”). Not all their finger-wagging was so direct; after previously decrying R&B as “rhythm and b*******,” De La cook up a crossover parody with the hilariously titled\u003cstrong> “Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby”\u003c/strong> which nails the generic sound of mid-90s hip-hop/R&B songs so well that with slightly less sarcasm salted in, Tommy Boy could have legitimately released this as a radio single.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0wgRcYqvlkLondVqD5Pgmn?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along those lines: The overall sonic feel of \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>is playful and easy-going. Whatever fears fans may have had about the absence of Prince Paul, De La proved more than capable of maintaining without him (with a few assists by the likes of Spearhead X and then-newcomer Jay Dee/J-Dilla). Befitting an album released in early July of 1996, there’s a downright summery vibe to much of \u003cem>Stakes \u003c/em>thanks to a prevalence of mid-tempo beats and filtered sampling techniques; alongside OutKast’s \u003cem>ATLiens, \u003c/em>De La may have assembled one of the best backyard BBQ soundtracks of that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0zikBNHRf92YezkmmfEiSE?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the relative minimalism of \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>moved back towards super-size, with 17 song-length tracks (though, notably, no more skits). For all their targeted barbs at the rest of the rap world, much of the album is just Trugoy and Posdnuos at their best, mixing clever braggadocio and heartfelt sentiment in their songwriting. It’s a more grounded effort compared to the zany eccentricity of some of their early releases, reflecting the maturity of the group itself. They weren’t a trio of Long Island naifs anymore; they had reached the upper tier of hip-hop’s hierarchy and \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>demonstrated the seriousness of that stature — but not without its occasional winks and chuckles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/135z3i5CjKr3H4BCT4lGPg?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Certified Rhyme Meadows: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(2000) \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>& Bionix \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(2001)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1999, De La Soul and their label, Tommy Boy, had announced plans for \u003cem>Art Official Intelligence \u003c/em>as three albums, to be released several months apart. In reality, only the first two installments — \u003cem>Mosaic Thump\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Bionix\u003c/em> — came out, six months apart, marking the first new major set of De La material in four years. Unlike their previous albums, the \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>volumes didn’t have a unifying concept driving them. According to Maseo, the goal behind them was to release, “just some … real good songs, working with a lot of people that we respect in the music industry.” He wasn’t kidding; the two discs featured over 20 guests, equivalent to all the guests on their first four albums combined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of all the albums now made available on streaming, the \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>pair were the most conventional-sounding relative to music of the time. While De La would never have embraced the excesses of the shiny suit era in the late ’90s, their \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>output was decidedly more radio-friendly: slower grooves, melodic hooks, love/sex themes, plus a slew of R&B features including Chaka Khan (“All Good?”), Glenn Lewis (“Am I Worth You?”) and Emily “yummy” Bingham (\u003cstrong>“Special”\u003c/strong>). The level of craftsmanship was still high but some of their younger, oppositional spirit now seemed replaced by a lighter, feel-good demeanor. De La at middle age (in rap years) seemed like some chill dudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7IanAuGaHmsRBDqdwrq1x4?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then again, with 35 songs split between the two discs, there was still plenty of material for long-time fans. Songs like “Declaration,” “View” (both on \u003cem>Mosaic Thump) \u003c/em>and “Held Down” (\u003cem>Bionix\u003c/em>) continued Posdnuos’ 10+ year reign as one of the hip-hop’s most underrated lyricists while singles like \u003cstrong>“Oooh”\u003c/strong> and “Thru Ya City” (both on \u003cem>Mosaic Thump\u003c/em>) have bouncy club appeal, only on the group’s terms (unlike their first hit from 1989, “Me, Myself and I,” which De La have publicly disavowed at their own shows).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0m1EDSjYlgZ3OQteqhP0XR?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a long-standing rumor that De La Soul wanted to wheel out so much music, all at once, in part to complete all obligations to Tommy Boy after years of frustration with the label. This may be apocryphal but if accurate, the cruel irony is that Tommy Boy beat the group to the punch: Before the third installment of \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>could come out in 2001, the label underwent a corporate restructuring that orphaned a range of intended projects, \u003cem>AOI\u003c/em> included. Either way, the members of De La were finally, after 13 years, able to find a new path for their careers. The product of those new efforts was 2004’s \u003cem>The Grind Date\u003c/em>, a semi-independent release that became the group’s most celebrated album since \u003cem>Stakes Is High\u003c/em>; it has \u003cem>already \u003c/em>been on streaming services for years. Finally, that album’s older siblings get to join the party, and we’re all left richer for it. The D.A.I.S.Y. Age may be long over, but long live the De La Age. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=De+La+Soul+Is+Streaming&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Streaming platforms were initially sold as an all-encompassing music library — every song at one’s fingertips! — yet there are inevitable gaps within their discographies. For hip-hop fans, few omissions have been more grievous than the missing catalog of De La Soul. One of the giants of hip-hop’s “golden era” of the late ’80s through mid ’90s, De La’s penchant for playful creativity would go on to influence everyone from the Pharcyde to OutKast, Kanye West to Childish Gambino. Despite this, almost all of their most important albums have been missing from (legal) streaming services. When founding member Trugoy the Dove \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/13/1156489848/dave-jolicoeur-de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-obituary\">unexpectedly passed away\u003c/a> last month, anyone seeking to revisit most of De La Soul’s best known works would have been left empty-handed and confused. We now take for granted that our favorite artists have their catalogs readily available to us yet when in a time of grief over Trugoy’s death, new and old fans were met with a deafening silence of options to revisit his musical legacy. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What kept De La’s tunes out of rotation was a frustrating morass of outdated contracts and record label parsimony. It got so bad that in 2014, the group put their entire catalog on their website to download for free for a day. As they told \u003cem>Rolling Stone \u003c/em>at the time, “We’ve been blessed to be in the Library of Congress, but we can’t even have our music on iTunes.” Likewise, there was an attempt in 2019 by Tommy Boy Records, which owns the rights to De La’s music, to put them on streaming but the terms of that deal were so unfavorable to the group that\u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/2019/02/de-la-soul-calls-out-former-record-label-over-unfair-streaming-deal\"> public outrage\u003c/a> forced Tommy Boy to abandon their plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>None of these are just business concerns. Our social awareness of music has always been tied to how songs and albums are distributed. Much like the proverbial tree falling in the woods without a witness, if an artist has recorded the greatest album of all time, does it really matter if no one has the means to hear it? De La may have sold millions of physical cassettes, CDs and vinyl records in the past but how many households have the means to play any of those formats? De La’s absence from streaming sites has effectively erased their presence from the contemporary musical landscape \u003cem>and \u003c/em>threatens to minimize their historical import. It’s not just the artist who loses out; we, as listeners, are left poorer too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All this has finally been rectified. The group’s most important recordings are now legally available on the internet. Given how long it’s taken for this music to arrive, we thought it necessary to revisit this storied catalog and its restored legacy, to help new fans familiarize themselves with the memorable (and singular) arc of their career and give veteran listeners a reintroduction to their most influential work.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Souls Who Flaunt Styles: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>3 Feet High and Rising \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(1989)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La Soul’s debut reshaped the public imagination of what hip-hop could be. The core trio — Posdnuos, Trugoy and DJ Pasemaster Mase — assisted by mentor/producer Prince Paul all came straight outta the wilds of suburban Long Island, rapping about advice-spouting crocodiles, Martian transmissions, and an artistic meta-concept they dubbed The D.A.I.S.Y. (Da Inner Soul, Y’all) Age.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7GOdFpyX7aUbHOaYt7mwyP?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La were part of the Native Tongues, a collective of like-minded artists that included the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah, among others. Promoting Afrocentric positivity, they purposefully set themselves to contrast against the boisterous brio exemplified by such icons of the era as LL Cool J, NWA or Big Daddy Kane. De La Soul, especially, became smart, sardonic avatars for Black misfits and nerds, mining the sublime from the absurd. On the album, this is partly showcased in their songcraft, especially the humorous skits peppered throughout that turned the format into a rap album staple. There was also the consistently irreverent ways in which Pos and Trugoy adroitly rapped on everything from the garishness of consumer culture (“Take It Off”) to sexy flirtations (“Buddy”) to personal hygiene (\u003cstrong>“A Little Bit of Soap”\u003c/strong>). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6zgClTCI7zRqQLf148Sozu?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group would prove too clever by half, however, at least for the mainstream music media who were quick to dub them “hip-hop hippies.” That encouraged their label, Tommy Boy, to lean further into the aesthetic by creating artwork doused in day-glo colors and cartoon daisies. De La had to refute this characterization in real time; on the album’s big radio hit, \u003cstrong>“Me, Myself and I,”\u003c/strong> Pos (aka Plug One) insists, “You say Plug One and Two are hippies / No we’re not / That’s pure plug bull.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/792UwI6utk5DMQUT1KXa5E?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite these grumblings, \u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>still brimmed in mirth, including on the musical side, overseen by Prince Paul and including contributions by the entire group. Sample-hungry rap producers had spent the previous few years mining the James Brown and P-Funk catalogs and though De La sampled from both on their debut, they were more likely to create memorable musical moments from children’s television songs (“The Magic Number”), obscure doo-wop singles (“Plug Tunin'”) and classic ’80s pop hits (“Say No Go”). Similar to how their DJ, PA Mase, could expertly splice up a dizzying number of snippets on a song like \u003cstrong>“Cool Breeze on the Rocks,”\u003c/strong> the group collectively embraced unfettered sampling as a calling card, a way to demonstrate how drawing upon “found sounds” could create new sounds. Ironically though, their love for sampling is one reason why it took so long for their music to make it to streaming; no one wanted to foot the bill to properly clear all those samples. In fact, the version of the track that appears on streaming is completely reimagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5iYjvQbLvISapScuxb4XTo?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even 30+ years later, \u003cem>3 Feet High\u003c/em> still sounds wondrous and weird, even compared to their later albums, let alone the rest of the hip-hop landscape. Scores of other artists have tried to be clever but few, if any, have embodied a creative impulse as irrepressible and risk-taking. De La’s debut was a proof of concept that the right combination of ingenuity and frivolity could create something indelibly, impossibly hip. (Just don’t call them hippies.)\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Time For Heads To Get Flown: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>De La Soul Is Dead\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (1991)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Imagine debuting with a gold record, lauded as darlings of “alternative” rap, and then using your follow-up LP to unceremoniously kill off that gilded goose. If the title, \u003cem>De La Soul Is Dead,\u003c/em> wasn’t enough of an announcement of intent, the album’s cover removed any lingering ambiguity: a broken pot of daisies, knocked upon its side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>felt like a kaleidoscope of colorful ideas splashed against a wall and the group’s sophomore effort was equally intentional but with a darker palette. Consider this LP’s recurring skits: all meta-level self-deprecation where we overhear a pack of misanthropes listening to the album in real time, trashing the group and its pretensions at every opportunity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4YxeQH9KdAp0JRyD5YQAFP?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>De La also dabbled in heavier social commentary, whether mocking the violent posturing of gangsta rappers (“Afro Connections at the Hi 5”), addressing the trauma of drug addiction (“My Brother’s a Basehead”) or most surprisingly, turning a story about familial sexual abuse (\u003cstrong>“Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa”\u003c/strong>) into a commercial single (and one of the most depressing holiday songs ever). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7HuylwCfdFfEH5Qc9MZ7dT?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, De La’s symbolic death and reinvention wasn’t nearly as dramatic as fans might have feared. Though the trio puffed their chests out a bit further and their humor leaned a touch darker, the album still brimmed with a similar exuberance to \u003cem>3 Feet High\u003c/em>. The LP’s lead single, \u003cstrong>“Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey),”\u003c/strong> braided together various threads of the group’s evolving attitude: on the one hand, it was a lamentation on the exhausting nature of stardom, where De La complains about the parade of aspiring acts hounding them with demos in hand. On the other, the song’s playful post-disco groove injected a sonic ebullience that balanced the weary cynicism lining the group’s lyrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/43intIKOsACYuCBGtAix43?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It seemed as if the success of \u003cem>3 Feet High \u003c/em>gave the group license to go deeper into their artistic bag: more eclectic samples, more risk-taking (and less commercial) song concepts, and just plain more of everything; the CD version had 26 tracks and all but completely filled the standard 74 minute limit. Combine the album’s density with its wild, creative swings and \u003cem>Dead \u003c/em>can be a rather disjointed \u003cem>linear \u003c/em>listen if you’re simply going end to end. However, a random shuffle will likely land you onto one of the album’s many excellent songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1Chs3yVLdqewaHtmYjdN19?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes their summer-in-the-park party anthem \u003cstrong>“A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’,”\u003c/strong> as well as a Stevie Wonder-inspired reflection on relationship rancor, “Talkin’ Bout Hey Love.” Meanwhile, on the humorous tip, \u003cstrong>“Bitties in the BK Lounge”\u003c/strong> might be the group’s funniest track. Leave it to De La to elevate a routine fast food encounter into an epic clash of the dozens between a bored cashier and snarky customer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0cD0uNbIzZPCX6HX22mAi5?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to overstate how creatively sprawling this album was, even within an era where hip-hop artists were experimenting with all kinds of new styles and modes. Especially in a time when hip-hop still felt deep in a fertile, “anything goes” state of imaginative possibility, De La continued to lead the vanguard of artists searching for the cutting edge.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>F__ Being Hard, De La Soul Is Complicated: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong> (1993)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/em> is arguably the most “concept album-y” title of all of De La’s releases but the joke is that whatever the album’s concept was, the group seemed content to keep it to themselves. It’s as if De La, with its well-established ire towards the recording industry, decided to just forgo any pretense of commercial accessibility in favor of being “just weird, lost in the woods,” according to Pitchfork’s Andrew Nosnitsky, who also lauded \u003cem>Buhloone \u003c/em>as “notoriously and proudly inaccessible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This may not sound like a selling point but despite feeling crafted like a puzzle box, it’s a pleasantly compact one — just 10 full-length songs — coming after its two behemoth predecessors. With practically no filler on \u003cem>Buhloone \u003c/em>besides its assorted, anticipated skits, the album’s hit/miss ratio is as good as the group has ever delivered and it’s no surprise that hardcore De La fans have long insisted it is the most complete work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1bJqruJ4gXeIqpFsyPqHF1?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a distinctively urgent energy to much of the album, with the group mining their deep trove of jazz, blues, rock and funk samples to power the propulsion on songs like “Eye Patch” and \u003cstrong>“En Focus,”\u003c/strong> or the back-half standout, \u003cstrong>“In The Woods,”\u003c/strong> featuring Shortie No Mas whose piercing ad-libs dot the LP. Three albums — and \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-23-ca-392-story.html\">one lawsuit\u003c/a> — into their career and the group seemed undeterred in repurposing samples that spanned from Michael Jackson hits to forgotten electro singles to classic soul-jazz sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6fnCrJKX2kw5Roh8LjCm4D?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As tense as much of the album can be elsewhere, one of the few times where the group winds things down to a more contemplative groove is on the LP standout, \u003cstrong>“I Am, I Be.”\u003c/strong> The song features a particularly poignant set of verses by Pos who both opens and closes the track. By this point in the ’90s, he had already established himself as one of hip-hop’s most thoughtful lyricists, and here he pens a brilliant set of philosophical musings on everything from the challenges of parenthood to dissolving friendships to record label servitude: \u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\nI am Posdnuos\u003cbr>I be the new generation of slaves\u003cbr>Here to make papes to buy a record exec rakes\u003cbr>The pile of revenue I create\u003cbr>But I guess I don’t get a cut ’cause my rent’s a month late\n\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5v125GhjtJgappJWdNDTV2?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s all done over a haunting, melancholy track featuring no less than seven different samples, most notably an anchoring Lou Rawls loop. The group took such a shine to the song that they recorded an instrumental version for the album as well and invited funk pioneer Maceo Parker to play his saxophone over it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/4WKEvBiDnakwRImM41yZXC?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However frustrated De La may have been with the rap industry, it’s also clear they have tremendous love for the rap community. Comedic hip-hop legend Biz Markie, who De La later hired as a tour DJ, features on the closing track, “Stone Age,” while the single, \u003cstrong>“Ego Trippin’ [Part Two]”\u003c/strong> doesn’t just nod to the Ultramagnetics’ 1986 song of the same name, but is filled with easter eggs for their heroes and peers by quoting and re-using famous lines from Pete Rock and CL Smooth (“When I Reminisce Over You”), Big Daddy Kane (“Ain’t No Half Steppin'”) and Run DMC (“Sucker MCs”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/3I7Mq9ieKF1Eeq9mlZTUad?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans wouldn’t have known it at the time but \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate \u003c/em>also marked an end to a particular era for the group. The maniacal mind of producer Prince Paul had guided each of De La’s first three albums but at some point post-\u003cem>Buhloone\u003c/em>, the group decided to amicably break ties with their mentor and take greater creative control over their subsequent releases. By De La’s next album, they were prepared to reintroduce themselves, no longer as youthful rebels but now as hip-hop doyen, intent on defending the culture’s moral center.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No Offense To A Player But They Don’t Play: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Stakes Is High \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(1996)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three years since \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate \u003c/em>had yielded a sea-change within hip-hop. The rise and dominance of artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mobb Deep and the Notorious B.I.G. — among many others — eschewed the Afrocentric positivity that De La’s Native Tongues Family had ushered in less than a decade prior, supplanting it with lurid, violent tales of the rich and infamous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/6j4aQL66B36i6OcU8fOEHJ?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hip-hop’s culture war had already been brewing across the ’90s, with artists like Masta Ace, Common and De La themselves mocking what they saw as a cynical embrace of gang-banging and drug-slanging posturing. But few albums drew a line in the sand as conspicuous as \u003cem>Stakes Is High. \u003c/em>The album’s very title was part of that manifesto, an insistence that nihilism shouldn’t be a form of entertainment. As Trugoy rhymes on the title track, he was “sick of swoll head rappers with their sickening raps / Clappers of gats, making the whole sick world collapse.” Elsewhere, he and Pos poke fun at wannabe gangsters idolizing the mafia — “Why you acting all spicy and sheisty / The only Italians you knew was icees” (“Itsoweezee”) — and empty slogans — “You cry ‘keeping it real’ but you should try keeping it right” (“The Bizness”). Not all their finger-wagging was so direct; after previously decrying R&B as “rhythm and b*******,” De La cook up a crossover parody with the hilariously titled\u003cstrong> “Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby”\u003c/strong> which nails the generic sound of mid-90s hip-hop/R&B songs so well that with slightly less sarcasm salted in, Tommy Boy could have legitimately released this as a radio single.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0wgRcYqvlkLondVqD5Pgmn?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along those lines: The overall sonic feel of \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>is playful and easy-going. Whatever fears fans may have had about the absence of Prince Paul, De La proved more than capable of maintaining without him (with a few assists by the likes of Spearhead X and then-newcomer Jay Dee/J-Dilla). Befitting an album released in early July of 1996, there’s a downright summery vibe to much of \u003cem>Stakes \u003c/em>thanks to a prevalence of mid-tempo beats and filtered sampling techniques; alongside OutKast’s \u003cem>ATLiens, \u003c/em>De La may have assembled one of the best backyard BBQ soundtracks of that year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0zikBNHRf92YezkmmfEiSE?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the relative minimalism of \u003cem>Buhloone Mindstate\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>moved back towards super-size, with 17 song-length tracks (though, notably, no more skits). For all their targeted barbs at the rest of the rap world, much of the album is just Trugoy and Posdnuos at their best, mixing clever braggadocio and heartfelt sentiment in their songwriting. It’s a more grounded effort compared to the zany eccentricity of some of their early releases, reflecting the maturity of the group itself. They weren’t a trio of Long Island naifs anymore; they had reached the upper tier of hip-hop’s hierarchy and \u003cem>Stakes Is High \u003c/em>demonstrated the seriousness of that stature — but not without its occasional winks and chuckles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/135z3i5CjKr3H4BCT4lGPg?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Certified Rhyme Meadows: \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(2000) \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>& Bionix \u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>(2001)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1999, De La Soul and their label, Tommy Boy, had announced plans for \u003cem>Art Official Intelligence \u003c/em>as three albums, to be released several months apart. In reality, only the first two installments — \u003cem>Mosaic Thump\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Bionix\u003c/em> — came out, six months apart, marking the first new major set of De La material in four years. Unlike their previous albums, the \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>volumes didn’t have a unifying concept driving them. According to Maseo, the goal behind them was to release, “just some … real good songs, working with a lot of people that we respect in the music industry.” He wasn’t kidding; the two discs featured over 20 guests, equivalent to all the guests on their first four albums combined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of all the albums now made available on streaming, the \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>pair were the most conventional-sounding relative to music of the time. While De La would never have embraced the excesses of the shiny suit era in the late ’90s, their \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>output was decidedly more radio-friendly: slower grooves, melodic hooks, love/sex themes, plus a slew of R&B features including Chaka Khan (“All Good?”), Glenn Lewis (“Am I Worth You?”) and Emily “yummy” Bingham (\u003cstrong>“Special”\u003c/strong>). The level of craftsmanship was still high but some of their younger, oppositional spirit now seemed replaced by a lighter, feel-good demeanor. De La at middle age (in rap years) seemed like some chill dudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/7IanAuGaHmsRBDqdwrq1x4?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then again, with 35 songs split between the two discs, there was still plenty of material for long-time fans. Songs like “Declaration,” “View” (both on \u003cem>Mosaic Thump) \u003c/em>and “Held Down” (\u003cem>Bionix\u003c/em>) continued Posdnuos’ 10+ year reign as one of the hip-hop’s most underrated lyricists while singles like \u003cstrong>“Oooh”\u003c/strong> and “Thru Ya City” (both on \u003cem>Mosaic Thump\u003c/em>) have bouncy club appeal, only on the group’s terms (unlike their first hit from 1989, “Me, Myself and I,” which De La have publicly disavowed at their own shows).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe style=\"border-radius:12px\" src=\"https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/0m1EDSjYlgZ3OQteqhP0XR?utm_source=generator\" width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a long-standing rumor that De La Soul wanted to wheel out so much music, all at once, in part to complete all obligations to Tommy Boy after years of frustration with the label. This may be apocryphal but if accurate, the cruel irony is that Tommy Boy beat the group to the punch: Before the third installment of \u003cem>AOI \u003c/em>could come out in 2001, the label underwent a corporate restructuring that orphaned a range of intended projects, \u003cem>AOI\u003c/em> included. Either way, the members of De La were finally, after 13 years, able to find a new path for their careers. The product of those new efforts was 2004’s \u003cem>The Grind Date\u003c/em>, a semi-independent release that became the group’s most celebrated album since \u003cem>Stakes Is High\u003c/em>; it has \u003cem>already \u003c/em>been on streaming services for years. Finally, that album’s older siblings get to join the party, and we’re all left richer for it. The D.A.I.S.Y. Age may be long over, but long live the De La Age. \u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=De+La+Soul+Is+Streaming&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"order": 9
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
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"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"source": "American Public Media"
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
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},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
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"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"meta": {
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"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
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},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
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"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
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},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
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"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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"planet-money": {
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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