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"slug": "boots-riley-i-love-boosters-oakland-interview",
"title": "Can Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’ Make the Revolution Sexy?",
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"headTitle": "Can Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’ Make the Revolution Sexy? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a> looks back at his debut feature, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">\u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, it’s not the rave reviews, near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score or $18 million in box office revenue that stand out. It’s the messages he got from labor organizers. Dozens wrote to tell him they swayed their colleagues to form unions or authorize strikes after showing them his film, about a call center worker who discovers a shady corporate conspiracy to turn people into literal workhorses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a story of a guy in Baltimore who told me that there was going to be a 60-person show of hands on whether they want to make a union,” Riley tells KQED. “It was going to be kind of a nail-biter. … [Then] somebody yelled, ‘Equasapiens! Let’s be out!’ And then the whole crowd erupted in laughter, and every single person raised their hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Set in the Bay Area, Riley’s sophomore film \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> follows Corvette (Keke Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie) as they steal high-end designer clothes and resell them at discount prices. In their eyes, they’re doing fashion-forward (f)ilanthropy while keeping themselves financially afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before long, their cartoonish heists get them caught up in a rivalry with the elitist fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), whose lofty diatribes about her art cloak a conservative, tough-on-crime political agenda. The Velvet Gang, as the boosters are known, join forces with retail worker Violeta (Eiza González) and Chinese garment worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) to take down Smith through a surreal scheme that unspools reality and unveils a heinous secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using art to fuel a mass working-class movement has been an ambition of Riley’s since he got his start as a rapper in the early ’90s with his group, The Coup. With \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, the 55-year-old activist-turned-director arrives at a new height of his career: His first wide-release feature, with a star-studded cast, backing from prestige production company NEON and a $20 million budget, all to create a technicolor, eye-popping ode to the power of collective organizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988896\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x879.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x338.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x675.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x900.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu and Taylour Paige in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Riley has spent years \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrYJALWWLE&t=1s\">giving talks\u003c/a> about how, a century ago, labor strikes forced politicians to create basic social welfare programs that helped lift working people out of poverty. He wants to bring that back. “We need a mass, militant, radical labor movement that uses the withholding of labor as a tactic and strategy to affect policy change,” he says. With today’s income inequality \u003ca href=\"https://robertreich.substack.com/p/from-the-robber-barons-to-elon-musk\">drawing comparisons to the Gilded Age\u003c/a>, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is Riley’s bet on whether he can make the revolution sexy, and whether he can use the ultra-capitalist Hollywood system for his decidedly anti-capitalist ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What gets people to get involved in things is not anger or fear,” Riley says. “It’s optimism that there’s something that they can do. And so that’s what my writing normally is, is pointing to what actually can be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Boots on the ground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Long before he touched the microphone or picked up a camera, Riley was a community organizer. Born in Chicago and raised in Oakland by activist parents (his father, civil rights lawyer \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/lift-every-voice/article/Walter-Riley-16219770.php\">Walter Riley\u003c/a>, fought segregation in the South and later participated in San Francisco State University’s Third World Liberation strikes), Riley was 14 years old when neighborhood organizers recruited him and other youth to support Watsonville Cannery workers. He passed out flyers and helped organize rallies as the workers waged an \u003ca href=\"https://unityarchiveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Victoria.pdf\">18-month strike\u003c/a> that became one of the biggest organized labor victories of the 1980s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley’s activism didn’t stop, even as The Coup inked a major record deal and made their debut with the funky yet militant album \u003cem>Kill My Landlord\u003c/em> in 1993. In the mid ’90s, Riley helped lead a group called the Young Comrades to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1-k03bE8DY\">protest an anti-cruising law\u003c/a> that effectively criminalized Black youth hanging out at Lake Merritt. (A 1996 \u003cem>Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> op-ed chastised them for “rudely and repeatedly” interrupting city council meetings.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988894\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988894\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley on the set of ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His frontline work continued in the 2000s, when he organized guerrilla hip-hop concerts to protest a state law that increased criminal penalties for juvenile offenders. In 2011, during Occupy Oakland, he helped coordinate tens of thousands of people in a general strike that shut down the Port of Oakland. And in the years since, even as his star rose in Hollywood, he’s taken to the streets at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851697/boots-riley-spoke-at-the-oakland-teachers-strike-heres-what-he-said\">teachers strikes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933709/oakland-filmmaker-boots-riley-on-hollywood-strikes-radicalizing-creative-class\">the Hollywood writers strike\u003c/a> and anti-ICE protests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea then was the same as my idea now,” Riley says of his evolution, “which is to get the working class involved in class struggle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The absurdity of the rat race\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>I Love Boosters, \u003c/em>Riley operates in a different mode than the political theorist version of himself that gives erudite speeches at rallies and in \u003cem>Democracy Now\u003c/em> interviews. As a screenwriter and director, he’s weirder and looser, submerging viewers in a candy-colored world where he amplifies every indignity of life as a low-wage worker. The effect is hilarious, yet maddening enough to make viewers want to join the characters on the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Corvette and the Velvet Gang get jobs at Christie Smith’s fast-fashion chain, 30-second lunch breaks that start like track-and-field races leave them panting; their paychecks amount to chump change because they’re forced to buy designer outfits to wear on the job. Later, when we meet Jianhu, we find out the Chinese factory workers are sick because Smith orders them to distress denim by sandblasting it with absurdly large amounts of industrial chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989010 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actress Eiza González (left), Boots Riley (center), director of the movie “I Love Boosters,” and actress Poppy Liu (right) pose at a red carpet event for the movie ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is part of Boots’ genius in that he wields satire as a genre really expertly,” says Poppy Liu, whose sharp-tongued Jianhu is an unexpected moral center of the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corvette loses her housing and is squatting in an abandoned fast-food restaurant, unable to see the bigger picture of class solidarity because her mounting financial problems pose the more immediate threat. Her fixation on Smith feels personal, tinged with admiration and jealousy. It’s Jianhu who realizes that joining Corvette in her vendetta can lead to massive gains for exploited laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two characters’ dynamic embodies a lesson about coalition-building that Riley learned in his organizing days. “People start making sacrifices for each other because they start understanding how intertwined things are,” he says. “It starts with understanding that a situation in which people have solidarity is helping your own personal interests as well. And from that grows a different kind of consciousness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, those themes were the biggest thing that got me excited about the movie,” Liu says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Making class solidarity accessible\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other cast members had different entry points into the sometimes heady political ideas in \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>. For Eiza González, it was personal conversations with Riley about her family in Mexico; she shared that her mom was one of eight children from a humble family that couldn’t afford basic necessities like healthcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>González’s cool-girl Violeta is a secret wonk who delivers a passionate monologue about the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism at a crucial turning point in the film. She mustered the fire for her role as conversations on set turned to how, across cultures and borders, working people struggle to get by as the 1% makes record profits from their labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989008 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actress Eiza González poses at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters,’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He weirdly built the characters with us without us realizing, if that makes sense, which was amazing,” González says. “It was a different experience, but once you were in the character, you were believing it at its core.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While LaKeith Stanfield, who starred in \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>, shares many of Riley’s viewpoints on class inequality, he brings a wackiness and levity to \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> that helps make the film accessible and entertaining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989011 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actor LaKeith Stanfield poses at a red carpet event for the movie ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Anytime I can just be a part of a Boots Riley movie, I mean, even if I’m playing someone’s toe, I’m glad to be there,” Stanfield says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His character is a supernatural being who uses his oral sex skills for nefarious ends, and he brings much-needed hilarity to a story that’s largely about labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that people can be entertained and have a good laugh and gawk at the spectacle,” Stanfield says, “but also maybe look into some of our industry and … what effects we have on the global market and global labor. And also maybe take a look at, hopefully, the importance of us being a unit and being together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Thorny questions around Hollywood money\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Making a wide-release feature film with a not-so-secret socialist agenda has its challenges — chiefly, getting it funded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all who are eager to praise Riley’s activist bona fides (“He’s always been an anti-capitalist baddie,” Liu says), some observers on social media have criticized his willingness to take money from the film’s executive producer, Annapurna Pictures founder and Oracle heiress Megan Ellison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13988897 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x974.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x78.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x748.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x998.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer star in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ellison hasn’t donated to political campaigns and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/megan-ellison-second-coming-nimona-1235842667/\">tends to finance left-leaning prestige cinema\u003c/a>. But her father, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/06/nx-s1-5560216/who-is-larry-ellison-the-billionaire-trump-friend-whos-part-of-the-tiktok-takeover\">far-right billionaire Larry Ellison\u003c/a>, and her brother, David, head a media empire that controls a massive swath of television, film and social media, including Paramount, TikTok and, if a pending deal goes through, Warner Brothers Discovery. The senior Ellison has been accused of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-05-08/press-freedom-groups-allege-larry-ellison-has-promised-to-fire-cnn-anchors\">wielding his power to silence President Donald Trump’s critics\u003c/a>. So the source of Megan Ellison’s wealth has \u003ca href=\"https://brokeassstuart.com/p/wait-they-re-trying-to-cancel-boots-riley-now\">drawn scrutiny from some would-be supporters of Riley’s work\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Has Riley ever felt tension around using the Hollywood system to tell his anti-capitalist stories? He says no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got a pure way for you to take in your entertainment,’” he says.[aside postID=arts_13989013 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00657_TV_qed.jpg']“From the theater chains to the streamers, to the studios and funders big enough to do something that’s big enough for millions of people to see — you’re there,” he continues. “You’re mixed up in everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> started its theatrical run in only 100 theaters, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> will hit 2,500 screens Memorial Day weekend. After its world premiere at South By Southwest, Riley has been building word-of-mouth hype by throwing small screenings on college campuses, where he’s shown up to talk to students personally. But grassroots campaigning alone can’t create the magnitude of impact he’s aiming for, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you don’t have a goal of revolution, then it’s easier to say, ‘Hey, I just need to have my hands clean of this, and let me make a commune in the woods,’” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley is hopeful that the kind of radical social change he’s spent his life advocating for will come. He points to the post-pandemic strike wave, during which the U.S. saw a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/major-strike-activity-in-2023/\">280% increase in strikes in 2023 from the year before\u003c/a>. More recently, in January of this year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/minneapolis-minnesotas-general-strike-ice-border-patrol-trump/\">Minnesota unions and activists mounted a one-day general strike\u003c/a> to protest ICE abuses in their city, inspiring similar actions across the nation. For Riley, it’s only the beginning. With \u003cem>I Love Boosters, \u003c/em>he wants to remind viewers of their ability to stand together and tip the scales of power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the result of millions of people getting involved in class struggle, joining organizations, all of that,” he says, “because that is the only thing that can actually change the situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a> looks back at his debut feature, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">\u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, it’s not the rave reviews, near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score or $18 million in box office revenue that stand out. It’s the messages he got from labor organizers. Dozens wrote to tell him they swayed their colleagues to form unions or authorize strikes after showing them his film, about a call center worker who discovers a shady corporate conspiracy to turn people into literal workhorses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a story of a guy in Baltimore who told me that there was going to be a 60-person show of hands on whether they want to make a union,” Riley tells KQED. “It was going to be kind of a nail-biter. … [Then] somebody yelled, ‘Equasapiens! Let’s be out!’ And then the whole crowd erupted in laughter, and every single person raised their hands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Set in the Bay Area, Riley’s sophomore film \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> follows Corvette (Keke Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie) as they steal high-end designer clothes and resell them at discount prices. In their eyes, they’re doing fashion-forward (f)ilanthropy while keeping themselves financially afloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before long, their cartoonish heists get them caught up in a rivalry with the elitist fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), whose lofty diatribes about her art cloak a conservative, tough-on-crime political agenda. The Velvet Gang, as the boosters are known, join forces with retail worker Violeta (Eiza González) and Chinese garment worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) to take down Smith through a surreal scheme that unspools reality and unveils a heinous secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Using art to fuel a mass working-class movement has been an ambition of Riley’s since he got his start as a rapper in the early ’90s with his group, The Coup. With \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, the 55-year-old activist-turned-director arrives at a new height of his career: His first wide-release feature, with a star-studded cast, backing from prestige production company NEON and a $20 million budget, all to create a technicolor, eye-popping ode to the power of collective organizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988896\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x879.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x338.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x675.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x900.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu and Taylour Paige in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Riley has spent years \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcrYJALWWLE&t=1s\">giving talks\u003c/a> about how, a century ago, labor strikes forced politicians to create basic social welfare programs that helped lift working people out of poverty. He wants to bring that back. “We need a mass, militant, radical labor movement that uses the withholding of labor as a tactic and strategy to affect policy change,” he says. With today’s income inequality \u003ca href=\"https://robertreich.substack.com/p/from-the-robber-barons-to-elon-musk\">drawing comparisons to the Gilded Age\u003c/a>, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is Riley’s bet on whether he can make the revolution sexy, and whether he can use the ultra-capitalist Hollywood system for his decidedly anti-capitalist ends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What gets people to get involved in things is not anger or fear,” Riley says. “It’s optimism that there’s something that they can do. And so that’s what my writing normally is, is pointing to what actually can be done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Boots on the ground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Long before he touched the microphone or picked up a camera, Riley was a community organizer. Born in Chicago and raised in Oakland by activist parents (his father, civil rights lawyer \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/lift-every-voice/article/Walter-Riley-16219770.php\">Walter Riley\u003c/a>, fought segregation in the South and later participated in San Francisco State University’s Third World Liberation strikes), Riley was 14 years old when neighborhood organizers recruited him and other youth to support Watsonville Cannery workers. He passed out flyers and helped organize rallies as the workers waged an \u003ca href=\"https://unityarchiveproject.org/wp-content/uploads/Victoria.pdf\">18-month strike\u003c/a> that became one of the biggest organized labor victories of the 1980s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley’s activism didn’t stop, even as The Coup inked a major record deal and made their debut with the funky yet militant album \u003cem>Kill My Landlord\u003c/em> in 1993. In the mid ’90s, Riley helped lead a group called the Young Comrades to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1-k03bE8DY\">protest an anti-cruising law\u003c/a> that effectively criminalized Black youth hanging out at Lake Merritt. (A 1996 \u003cem>Oakland Tribune\u003c/em> op-ed chastised them for “rudely and repeatedly” interrupting city council meetings.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988894\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988894\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x1334.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_BTS_02_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley on the set of ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His frontline work continued in the 2000s, when he organized guerrilla hip-hop concerts to protest a state law that increased criminal penalties for juvenile offenders. In 2011, during Occupy Oakland, he helped coordinate tens of thousands of people in a general strike that shut down the Port of Oakland. And in the years since, even as his star rose in Hollywood, he’s taken to the streets at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851697/boots-riley-spoke-at-the-oakland-teachers-strike-heres-what-he-said\">teachers strikes\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933709/oakland-filmmaker-boots-riley-on-hollywood-strikes-radicalizing-creative-class\">the Hollywood writers strike\u003c/a> and anti-ICE protests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea then was the same as my idea now,” Riley says of his evolution, “which is to get the working class involved in class struggle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The absurdity of the rat race\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In \u003cem>I Love Boosters, \u003c/em>Riley operates in a different mode than the political theorist version of himself that gives erudite speeches at rallies and in \u003cem>Democracy Now\u003c/em> interviews. As a screenwriter and director, he’s weirder and looser, submerging viewers in a candy-colored world where he amplifies every indignity of life as a low-wage worker. The effect is hilarious, yet maddening enough to make viewers want to join the characters on the picket line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Corvette and the Velvet Gang get jobs at Christie Smith’s fast-fashion chain, 30-second lunch breaks that start like track-and-field races leave them panting; their paychecks amount to chump change because they’re forced to buy designer outfits to wear on the job. Later, when we meet Jianhu, we find out the Chinese factory workers are sick because Smith orders them to distress denim by sandblasting it with absurdly large amounts of industrial chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989010 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00644_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actress Eiza González (left), Boots Riley (center), director of the movie “I Love Boosters,” and actress Poppy Liu (right) pose at a red carpet event for the movie ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“This is part of Boots’ genius in that he wields satire as a genre really expertly,” says Poppy Liu, whose sharp-tongued Jianhu is an unexpected moral center of the film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Corvette loses her housing and is squatting in an abandoned fast-food restaurant, unable to see the bigger picture of class solidarity because her mounting financial problems pose the more immediate threat. Her fixation on Smith feels personal, tinged with admiration and jealousy. It’s Jianhu who realizes that joining Corvette in her vendetta can lead to massive gains for exploited laborers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two characters’ dynamic embodies a lesson about coalition-building that Riley learned in his organizing days. “People start making sacrifices for each other because they start understanding how intertwined things are,” he says. “It starts with understanding that a situation in which people have solidarity is helping your own personal interests as well. And from that grows a different kind of consciousness.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Honestly, those themes were the biggest thing that got me excited about the movie,” Liu says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Making class solidarity accessible\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Other cast members had different entry points into the sometimes heady political ideas in \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>. For Eiza González, it was personal conversations with Riley about her family in Mexico; she shared that her mom was one of eight children from a humble family that couldn’t afford basic necessities like healthcare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>González’s cool-girl Violeta is a secret wonk who delivers a passionate monologue about the Marxist concept of dialectical materialism at a crucial turning point in the film. She mustered the fire for her role as conversations on set turned to how, across cultures and borders, working people struggle to get by as the 1% makes record profits from their labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989008\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989008 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00277_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actress Eiza González poses at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters,’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He weirdly built the characters with us without us realizing, if that makes sense, which was amazing,” González says. “It was a different experience, but once you were in the character, you were believing it at its core.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While LaKeith Stanfield, who starred in \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>, shares many of Riley’s viewpoints on class inequality, he brings a wackiness and levity to \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> that helps make the film accessible and entertaining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13989011 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00222_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Actor LaKeith Stanfield poses at a red carpet event for the movie ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Anytime I can just be a part of a Boots Riley movie, I mean, even if I’m playing someone’s toe, I’m glad to be there,” Stanfield says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His character is a supernatural being who uses his oral sex skills for nefarious ends, and he brings much-needed hilarity to a story that’s largely about labor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that people can be entertained and have a good laugh and gawk at the spectacle,” Stanfield says, “but also maybe look into some of our industry and … what effects we have on the global market and global labor. And also maybe take a look at, hopefully, the importance of us being a unit and being together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Thorny questions around Hollywood money\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Making a wide-release feature film with a not-so-secret socialist agenda has its challenges — chiefly, getting it funded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For all who are eager to praise Riley’s activist bona fides (“He’s always been an anti-capitalist baddie,” Liu says), some observers on social media have criticized his willingness to take money from the film’s executive producer, Annapurna Pictures founder and Oracle heiress Megan Ellison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13988897 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x974.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x78.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x748.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x998.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer star in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ellison hasn’t donated to political campaigns and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/megan-ellison-second-coming-nimona-1235842667/\">tends to finance left-leaning prestige cinema\u003c/a>. But her father, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2025/10/06/nx-s1-5560216/who-is-larry-ellison-the-billionaire-trump-friend-whos-part-of-the-tiktok-takeover\">far-right billionaire Larry Ellison\u003c/a>, and her brother, David, head a media empire that controls a massive swath of television, film and social media, including Paramount, TikTok and, if a pending deal goes through, Warner Brothers Discovery. The senior Ellison has been accused of \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2026-05-08/press-freedom-groups-allege-larry-ellison-has-promised-to-fire-cnn-anchors\">wielding his power to silence President Donald Trump’s critics\u003c/a>. So the source of Megan Ellison’s wealth has \u003ca href=\"https://brokeassstuart.com/p/wait-they-re-trying-to-cancel-boots-riley-now\">drawn scrutiny from some would-be supporters of Riley’s work\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Has Riley ever felt tension around using the Hollywood system to tell his anti-capitalist stories? He says no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not trying to be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got a pure way for you to take in your entertainment,’” he says.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“From the theater chains to the streamers, to the studios and funders big enough to do something that’s big enough for millions of people to see — you’re there,” he continues. “You’re mixed up in everything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> started its theatrical run in only 100 theaters, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> will hit 2,500 screens Memorial Day weekend. After its world premiere at South By Southwest, Riley has been building word-of-mouth hype by throwing small screenings on college campuses, where he’s shown up to talk to students personally. But grassroots campaigning alone can’t create the magnitude of impact he’s aiming for, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you don’t have a goal of revolution, then it’s easier to say, ‘Hey, I just need to have my hands clean of this, and let me make a commune in the woods,’” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley is hopeful that the kind of radical social change he’s spent his life advocating for will come. He points to the post-pandemic strike wave, during which the U.S. saw a \u003ca href=\"https://www.epi.org/publication/major-strike-activity-in-2023/\">280% increase in strikes in 2023 from the year before\u003c/a>. More recently, in January of this year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/02/minneapolis-minnesotas-general-strike-ice-border-patrol-trump/\">Minnesota unions and activists mounted a one-day general strike\u003c/a> to protest ICE abuses in their city, inspiring similar actions across the nation. For Riley, it’s only the beginning. With \u003cem>I Love Boosters, \u003c/em>he wants to remind viewers of their ability to stand together and tip the scales of power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want the result of millions of people getting involved in class struggle, joining organizations, all of that,” he says, “because that is the only thing that can actually change the situation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’ Gets a Lovably Chaotic Premiere in Oakland",
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"content": "\u003cp>Poppy Liu doing the splits on the red carpet — not an elegant walkway, but a rug crammed inside an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> storefront full of sweaty reporters — wasn’t the only lovably chaotic moment at the West Coast premiere of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a>’s \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sffilm\">San Francisco International Film Festival\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987291/grand-lake-theatre-100-years-oakland\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a> Tuesday evening, there was also a marriage proposal during the after-screening Q&A; lots of oral sex jokes from LaKeith Stanfield (in the film, he plays a demon who uses his skills to nefarious ends); and, of course, many rants about the Marxist concept of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/a-brief-and-imperfect-explanation-of-dialectical-materialism\">dialectical materialism\u003c/a>. As for the splits: Liu explained that she felt awkward for being late, and it was the only logical thing to do in a moment of “neurodivergent panic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989009\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poppy Liu does the splits while holding onto LaKeith Stanfield at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The evening’s wild antics mixed with heady political philosophy mirrored the tone and pacing of \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> itself, which follows an all-woman shoplifting ring, the Velvet Gang, who resell designer clothes from high-end Bay Area stores to make ends meet and provide a community service of “fashion-forward (f)ilanthropy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boosters, Corvette (Keke Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie), get caught up in a rivalry with the elitist, foul-mouthed fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), and eventually join forces with retail worker Violeta (Eiza Gonzalez) and Chinese garment worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) for an epic scheme that defies the laws of physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988896\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x879.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x338.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x675.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x900.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu and Taylour Paige in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boots Riley, who spent decades as a frontline community organizer and political rapper before becoming a filmmaker, has never been shy about the bold aims of his art: “We need a mass, militant radical labor movement,” he told KQED on the red carpet. And although worker organizing is an explicit theme in \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, Riley makes its union politics go down easy with skillful comedic pacing, technicolor visuals and the boosters’ runway-worthy looks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The gags don’t stop throughout the film’s taut 105-minute run time. In the opening scene, Corvette seemingly propositions a guy for sex by asking his shoe size and then flips it into a sales pitch for discounted footwear. Bolstered by a soundtrack of boings and whoops from Tune-Yards, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> excels in physical comedy. Corvette’s \u003cem>Tom and Jerry\u003c/em>-esque standoff with Christie Smith and her minions gets more bizarre at each turn until it culminates in a reveal as freaky as the one in Riley’s 2018 film \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988897\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x974.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x78.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x748.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x998.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer star in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is Riley’s sophomore feature, and his sci-fi imagination feels bigger here, as does his ambition to inject the story with references to Marxist philosophy. Dialectical materialism, a theory of conflict between opposing forces and its ability to drive change, underpins some of the wackiest elements of the movie. Some viewers might find the film’s monologues about it burdensome, but I left with the urge to watch the film at least three more times to truly unpack it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989012\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989012\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley, director of the movie ‘I Love Boosters,’ prepares to shake hands with someone at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Whether you’ve taken poli-sci classes or not, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> makes you feel, on a visceral level, the power of ordinary people coming together against a powerful, exploitive few. The Oakland audience — which included notable artists like comedian W. Kamau Bell and actor Jamal Trulove — jeered at the film’s fake conservative news clips (one featured a low-income woman arguing for the right to pay more in rent) and cheered emphatically as picket signs went up on screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> gets its wide release on May 22, much hand-wringing about the morality of stealing will undoubtedly ensue. But whether you agree with the boosters’ tactics is beside the point. As LaKeith Stanfield put it in the post-screening Q&A, the film is really all about “this social issue that I think that we’re having trouble with, which is unity.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Poppy Liu doing the splits on the red carpet — not an elegant walkway, but a rug crammed inside an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> storefront full of sweaty reporters — wasn’t the only lovably chaotic moment at the West Coast premiere of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a>’s \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sffilm\">San Francisco International Film Festival\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13987291/grand-lake-theatre-100-years-oakland\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a> Tuesday evening, there was also a marriage proposal during the after-screening Q&A; lots of oral sex jokes from LaKeith Stanfield (in the film, he plays a demon who uses his skills to nefarious ends); and, of course, many rants about the Marxist concept of \u003ca href=\"https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/a-brief-and-imperfect-explanation-of-dialectical-materialism\">dialectical materialism\u003c/a>. As for the splits: Liu explained that she felt awkward for being late, and it was the only logical thing to do in a moment of “neurodivergent panic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989009\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00702_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Poppy Liu does the splits while holding onto LaKeith Stanfield at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The evening’s wild antics mixed with heady political philosophy mirrored the tone and pacing of \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> itself, which follows an all-woman shoplifting ring, the Velvet Gang, who resell designer clothes from high-end Bay Area stores to make ends meet and provide a community service of “fashion-forward (f)ilanthropy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boosters, Corvette (Keke Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie), get caught up in a rivalry with the elitist, foul-mouthed fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore), and eventually join forces with retail worker Violeta (Eiza Gonzalez) and Chinese garment worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) for an epic scheme that defies the laws of physics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988896\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988896\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x879.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x70.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x338.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x675.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_03_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x900.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Keke Palmer, Poppy Liu and Taylour Paige in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boots Riley, who spent decades as a frontline community organizer and political rapper before becoming a filmmaker, has never been shy about the bold aims of his art: “We need a mass, militant radical labor movement,” he told KQED on the red carpet. And although worker organizing is an explicit theme in \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, Riley makes its union politics go down easy with skillful comedic pacing, technicolor visuals and the boosters’ runway-worthy looks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The gags don’t stop throughout the film’s taut 105-minute run time. In the opening scene, Corvette seemingly propositions a guy for sex by asking his shoe size and then flips it into a sales pitch for discounted footwear. Bolstered by a soundtrack of boings and whoops from Tune-Yards, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> excels in physical comedy. Corvette’s \u003cem>Tom and Jerry\u003c/em>-esque standoff with Christie Smith and her minions gets more bizarre at each turn until it culminates in a reveal as freaky as the one in Riley’s 2018 film \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13988897\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13988897\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2000x974.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-160x78.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-1536x748.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/I-LOVE-BOOSTERS_Still_01_Cropped_Courtesy-of-NEON-2048x998.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Keke Palmer star in ‘I Love Boosters.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of NEON)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is Riley’s sophomore feature, and his sci-fi imagination feels bigger here, as does his ambition to inject the story with references to Marxist philosophy. Dialectical materialism, a theory of conflict between opposing forces and its ability to drive change, underpins some of the wackiest elements of the movie. Some viewers might find the film’s monologues about it burdensome, but I left with the urge to watch the film at least three more times to truly unpack it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13989012\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13989012\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/260428-iloveboostersredcarpet00768_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley, director of the movie ‘I Love Boosters,’ prepares to shake hands with someone at a red carpet event for the movie, ‘I Love Boosters’ near the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland on April 28, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Whether you’ve taken poli-sci classes or not, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> makes you feel, on a visceral level, the power of ordinary people coming together against a powerful, exploitive few. The Oakland audience — which included notable artists like comedian W. Kamau Bell and actor Jamal Trulove — jeered at the film’s fake conservative news clips (one featured a low-income woman arguing for the right to pay more in rent) and cheered emphatically as picket signs went up on screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> gets its wide release on May 22, much hand-wringing about the morality of stealing will undoubtedly ensue. But whether you agree with the boosters’ tactics is beside the point. As LaKeith Stanfield put it in the post-screening Q&A, the film is really all about “this social issue that I think that we’re having trouble with, which is unity.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The ‘I Love Boosters’ Trailer Is Here and It’s as Wild as You’d Expect",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley’s\u003c/a> upcoming film \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is due out May 22, and the trailer for the film just dropped. Fortunately, it includes all the clever dialogue, exaggerated body suits and subversion of capitalism we’ve come to expect and love from the Oakland filmmaker behind \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">Sorry to Bother You\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939974/boots-riley-is-directing-the-future\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starring Keke Palmer, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> follows a “Velvet Gang” of women who steal high-end fashion from stores and resell it at lower prices. “It’s like a community service,” explains Naomi Ackie in the trailer. (Demi Moore, as fashion designer Christie Smith, has different view: “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a cast that includes Lakeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Taylour Paige, Eiza González and Will Poulter, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is set in the Bay Area. The Bay Bridge is seen prominently in the trailer, as are various storefronts on Oakland’s International Blvd., near 35th and 45th — including Friends Market, Santa Clara Appliances, Angie’s Fashion and Taqueria La Gran Chiquita.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch the trailer below. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnfTmSAnS3c\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley’s\u003c/a> upcoming film \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is due out May 22, and the trailer for the film just dropped. Fortunately, it includes all the clever dialogue, exaggerated body suits and subversion of capitalism we’ve come to expect and love from the Oakland filmmaker behind \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">Sorry to Bother You\u003c/a>\u003c/em> and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939974/boots-riley-is-directing-the-future\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Starring Keke Palmer, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> follows a “Velvet Gang” of women who steal high-end fashion from stores and resell it at lower prices. “It’s like a community service,” explains Naomi Ackie in the trailer. (Demi Moore, as fashion designer Christie Smith, has different view: “They take my shit, and sell it to their low-class, urban bitches.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a cast that includes Lakeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Taylour Paige, Eiza González and Will Poulter, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is set in the Bay Area. The Bay Bridge is seen prominently in the trailer, as are various storefronts on Oakland’s International Blvd., near 35th and 45th — including Friends Market, Santa Clara Appliances, Angie’s Fashion and Taqueria La Gran Chiquita.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Watch the trailer below. \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/rnfTmSAnS3c'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rnfTmSAnS3c'\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": "\u003cp>Fresh off the success of his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939974/boots-riley-is-directing-the-future\">world-beating\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/arts/television/im-a-virgo-review.html\">critically acclaimed\u003c/a> television series \u003cem>I’m a Virgo\u003c/em>, Oakland filmmaker Boots Riley has \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2024/10/keke-palmer-demi-moore-lakeith-stanfield-naomi-ackie-boots-riley-i-love-boosters-neon-1236109749/\">announced details\u003c/a> about his newest film project, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley first teased the movie \u003ca href=\"https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/5/23/boots-rileys-i-love-boosters-set-to-star-keke-palmer\">back in May\u003c/a>, when he first gave word that Neon would produce his new film starring Keke Palmer as Corvette, the leader of a ring of female shoplifters called the Velvet Gang. In the movie, the crew of “boosters” goes up against a cutthroat fashion maven. [aside postid='arts_13939974']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2024/10/keke-palmer-demi-moore-lakeith-stanfield-naomi-ackie-boots-riley-i-love-boosters-neon-1236109749/\">Deadline\u003c/a> reports additional details about \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, including the rest of what is shaping up to be a dream team of an ensemble cast: In addition to Palmer (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916536/jordan-peele-subverts-expectations-again-with-nope\">\u003cem>Nope\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), the film will also feature \u003cem>the \u003c/em>Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie \u003cem>(I Wanna Dance With\u003c/em> \u003cem>Somebody\u003c/em>) and previous Riley collaborator LaKeith Stanfield, whose breakout role was in Riley’s 2018 debut, the anti-capitalist masterpiece \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">Sorry to Bother You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An activist, MC and all around multihyphenate in addition to his burgeoning film career, Riley hasn’t been shy about weighing in on what he perceives to be a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxdu9v8vb6e/?img_index=5\">fake ‘crime wave’ narrative\u003c/a>” in Oakland — largely centered on a rise in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bipping\">bipping\u003c/a>” and non-violent retail theft — that has been weaponized against Black folks and other people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans of Riley’s work will have to wait until the film’s release to see what insight it offers into the politicization of those narratives, but a quick listen to this 2006 song by Riley’s band, The Coup — also called “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/geY-ydeYb4M?si=BqjuBdAXGv7l5YVD\">I Love Boosters\u003c/a>!” — can give some glimpse into his sensibility:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>For some of y’all folks, this stuff might faze ya / This ain’t the way the society raised ya / But most of it was made by children in Asia / The stores make money off of very low wages / The next time you see two women running out the Gap / With arms full of clothes still strapped to the rack / Once they jump in the car, hit the gas and scat / If you have to say something, just stand and clap\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is set to begin filming later this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/geY-ydeYb4M?si=BqjuBdAXGv7l5YVD\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fresh off the success of his \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13939974/boots-riley-is-directing-the-future\">world-beating\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/22/arts/television/im-a-virgo-review.html\">critically acclaimed\u003c/a> television series \u003cem>I’m a Virgo\u003c/em>, Oakland filmmaker Boots Riley has \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2024/10/keke-palmer-demi-moore-lakeith-stanfield-naomi-ackie-boots-riley-i-love-boosters-neon-1236109749/\">announced details\u003c/a> about his newest film project, \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riley first teased the movie \u003ca href=\"https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/5/23/boots-rileys-i-love-boosters-set-to-star-keke-palmer\">back in May\u003c/a>, when he first gave word that Neon would produce his new film starring Keke Palmer as Corvette, the leader of a ring of female shoplifters called the Velvet Gang. In the movie, the crew of “boosters” goes up against a cutthroat fashion maven. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2024/10/keke-palmer-demi-moore-lakeith-stanfield-naomi-ackie-boots-riley-i-love-boosters-neon-1236109749/\">Deadline\u003c/a> reports additional details about \u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em>, including the rest of what is shaping up to be a dream team of an ensemble cast: In addition to Palmer (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916536/jordan-peele-subverts-expectations-again-with-nope\">\u003cem>Nope\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), the film will also feature \u003cem>the \u003c/em>Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie \u003cem>(I Wanna Dance With\u003c/em> \u003cem>Somebody\u003c/em>) and previous Riley collaborator LaKeith Stanfield, whose breakout role was in Riley’s 2018 debut, the anti-capitalist masterpiece \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar\">Sorry to Bother You\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An activist, MC and all around multihyphenate in addition to his burgeoning film career, Riley hasn’t been shy about weighing in on what he perceives to be a “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxdu9v8vb6e/?img_index=5\">fake ‘crime wave’ narrative\u003c/a>” in Oakland — largely centered on a rise in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bipping\">bipping\u003c/a>” and non-violent retail theft — that has been weaponized against Black folks and other people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fans of Riley’s work will have to wait until the film’s release to see what insight it offers into the politicization of those narratives, but a quick listen to this 2006 song by Riley’s band, The Coup — also called “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/geY-ydeYb4M?si=BqjuBdAXGv7l5YVD\">I Love Boosters\u003c/a>!” — can give some glimpse into his sensibility:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>For some of y’all folks, this stuff might faze ya / This ain’t the way the society raised ya / But most of it was made by children in Asia / The stores make money off of very low wages / The next time you see two women running out the Gap / With arms full of clothes still strapped to the rack / Once they jump in the car, hit the gas and scat / If you have to say something, just stand and clap\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>I Love Boosters\u003c/em> is set to begin filming later this fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filmmaker Boots Riley has a knack for being in the middle of major events– local, national or worldwide. Hell, he’s even tapped into the future. As we begin a new year, who better to talk to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bootsriley/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Boots Riley\u003c/a> released \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649510/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>I’m a Virgo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a seven-part television miniseries centered on the tale of a 13-foot tall Black man from Oakland. The main character, Cootie, is rudely awakened to the ways of the world, and its perception of him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Behind the scenes in Hollywood,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933709/boots-riley-hollywood-strikes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Boots stood alongside Writers Guild of America union members\u003c/a> as they took to the picket lines protesting for better wages and job security, amongst other things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home in Oakland, Boots has been working with local filmmakers to develop a hub for people interested in learning more about the industry, it’s called \u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cinemama\u003c/a>. But his community work didn’t stop there, as \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BootsRiley/status/1706484617757565138?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boots also pounded the pavement\u003c/a> in an effort to separate the truth from the falsehoods around the supposed connections between crime and the closure of local businesses. And then he got online to provide \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxdu9v8vb6e/?img_index=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some clarity on the Town’s “crime wave.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939981\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13939981\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley wears a signature hat and holds a mic as he stands on stage at the Oakland Museum of California during an event honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley wears a signature hat and holds a mic as he stands on stage at the Oakland Museum of California during an event honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On August 11th of last year, Boots was honored for his work as the lead MC for the hip-hop collective \u003ca href=\"https://thisisthecoup.com/\">The Coup\u003c/a> during a celebration for hip-hop’s 50th birthday. And a few weeks later, Boots and a number of people who identify as Jewish took to Oakland’s federal building \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2023/11/14/jewish-protest-oakland-ceasefire-gaza/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in protest of the Israel Defense Forces indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From global issues to community conflicts, Boots has had a foot in a number of the major current events of the past year, and he says he’s not done yet. So we’re kicking off 2024 by talking to someone who has their finger on the pulse of the culture, and a hand in directing the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3657928300&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Open the door 2024, let’s get it started, man! Happy new year, ya’ll! Hope you all are well, and warm. Many blessings on this new campaign. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Welcome to Rightnowish, I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw. We’re getting this year started by talking to someone who had a wild 2023.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year, Oakland filmmaker, organizer and MC, Boots Riley got active! He created a sci-fi show called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m A Virgo\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s about a 13-foot tall Black man from East Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And behind the scenes, Boots stood alongside members of the Writers Guild of America as they protested for major changes that’ll benefit the work that they do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boots \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">also\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> talked to business owners in Oakland about commerce, violence and how it’s all being portrayed in the media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This week, we discuss community, the art of storytelling, and some of the more oppressive elements in our society– in the unique way that only Boots can:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley,\u003c/strong> in clip: uh, what do you call a bass player without a girlfriend?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> uhh…I don’t\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots:\u003c/strong> Homeless!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> [Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley:\u003c/strong> And that’s because there’s some truth in that!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Comin’ in hot, right after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in 2023, you dropped this magnificent series, \u003cem>I’m A Virgo,\u003c/em> a show about a 13 foot Black man from Oakland and how society responded to him. It’s been a few months… The first thing that jumped out at me from watching the series is symbolism. And I’m wondering, did your symbolism ever go over people’s heads?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The symbolism that I use is pretty overt. It’s pretty like, you know, hits you in the head. Critiques I see is like, “that was too much or this was…” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know I, I try to make art that’s a little unsettling at times, right? That can even be repulsive a little bit so that, you know, I want to bring you into a world and then push you back a little to where you like, “whoa, what’s going on?” Hopefully, I’m not- I don’t push you back too far to where you don’t re-engage. But to me, um, that is part of like, the art being more honest where you know it’s a piece of art and it is not just the world as it is.\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That makes sense that’s the purpose of art, of education, of entertainment, is to take people out of their world, expose them to something that would then drop them back off, but, new enlightened with a new kind of mind frame. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I experienced that in watching \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, you know, where I’m familiar with stories of giants from ancient times but I had never conceived of a giant in the neighborhood where I spent time growing up, the Dubs. And being like “oh wait, hold on, mind blown!” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so that was that was an example of the symbolism that I saw. I guess in some ways we were kind of giants because of how society treated us… like we were weird. You know, like, we stood out in the crowds, if you will. Did you have any personal experiences that inform the show or the characters in it?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think that’s the only way to be an artist is if your personal life influences it. So, when I write like every character is me, but me with certain parameters, like I’d been through these experiences, you know, it’s a way that that I can make the characters more human, right? So… or every character is a piece of me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That makes perfect sense, it’s all coming from your mind, so yeah, it has to be you that pours into it\u003c/span>\u003cb>.\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And you pour heavily into the Oakland bucket in this series. And there’s references both to the Dubs as I mentioned as well as the Lower Bottoms, there’s sideshows, there’s music. There’s people who even remind me of folks from the Town. How has the community received this series?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having something so specifically about Oakland, not only, you know, is something that [stutter] people from Oakland feel excited about, but even if someone’s not from Oakland or has never been, it makes it feel more fantastical, actually, because you have some real things to ground it and so everything else feels more special.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Audio from I’m A Virgo Clip\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[door creaking open]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: What the hell is wrong with you coming in…? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: Shh– What are you thinking? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: What? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: What do you mean, what?! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: It’s a word attempting to specifically locate the object of one’s inquiry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Boy, I wish I was eight foot taller. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: Have you been listening to me? Have I been wasting my breath? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: You can’t waste or save it because it comes out either way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Man, this dude is crazy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: You do not appreciate what we put aside to keep you safe, to keep you fed, to become the man that you are! I gave up- \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: What, Bing Bang burgers? hmm? Ya’ll used to eat bing bang burgers! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Yes, I did. I did eat Bing Bang burgers. But I stopped. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: Okay. How about subwoofers then, huh? You guys always play music from these tiny little speakers so you basically kept one of the greatest inventions from me! It moves through your body like, like waves, okay and it sings to your bones! And you can feel the ground and the sky at the same time! As if, as if, as if you’re the thing that’s keeping it together, you know? I’m 19! And I heard bass for the first time? That’s abuse! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The surrealism definitely makes you feel detached from the experience of being in Oakland. You know like, I could say that, ‘That would never really happen.’ And also the things that really are reference points are like, okay, I know what he’s going for. I know what this is a reference to. And so that’s the balance. Is that intentional?\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I always say, I think the more specific you are, the more universal you are… Often the way film is made these days, because it’s kind of done on a production line sort of thing, everything is any-place-USA. Okay, they’re supposed to be in Ohio, but they’re filming in Vancouver… And everything becomes devoid of the specificity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Beyond the work that you’ve done that’s flourished on the screen you’ve been heavily involved with work happening behind the scenes. 2023 saw a number of major labor movements. One of them, more notable ones, was in Hollywood, the writers strike. I wanted to know your perspective on what the agreement from the writers strike. What do you think came out of the writers strike in the agreement?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> There were significant gains made around AI and things that they didn’t think we could get, that people said we couldn’t get. There were gains made around residuals, around streaming, significant gains that we wouldn’t have gotten at all without a strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the wins was, uh, what we talk about as “transparency.“\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At first it was with reruns. We keep playing your thing, more people see it. and they’re making more money with it. So you get more, you get more back end. With streaming they’re making more money than they did the other way and they’re also having to pay out much less. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">so the idea was like, hey, if you have a TV show or a movie that a lot of people are watching, you should get something extra on top of that. But there was never a way because they never told anybody those numbers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was won on the WGA side was the idea that they will share the numbers with WGA representatives who will then collect fees for the writers based on that and distribute it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The other unprecedented things: demanding the amount of people employed on a show. So they, we have these “writers room minimums” you know, is like saying you’ve got to hire at least this many people at this level. That sort of thinking is one where it’s saying like, ‘You’re making all this money. Share it more with us. Make this a safer job to have,’ you know, financially safer job to have by employing more people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The strikes happening in Hollywood have been part of this movement of the working class, moving to the left and becoming more militant and more radical in many areas.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The folks that are making more and don’t really need the strike, in case of the writers and showrunners and the big stars with SAG, some of the big directors. They’re striking on behalf of the folks that are at the bottom rungs. Right? And there’s a radical solidarity that’s happening in those cases.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Similarly, we see those things happening with stuff like the UPS strike where they were all willing to go on strike: the full timers were going on… they were going to go on strike on behalf of the part timers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think, those are the things that people are gleaning that people sticking together, you know, even when they feel like, ‘okay, this is not necessarily benefiting me as much directly right now.’ They understand that that strength grows and benefits them in more significant ways… later.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the intersection of entertainment and economic justice in Oakland, you’re doing work with an org called “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cinemama\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” Can you tell us about the organization and what the big goal is?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are there are some filmmakers from around the Bay Area. And we started talking about how a lot of filmmakers will be in the Bay Area working in their cubbyholes and not knowing each other are around and end up moving to L.A. because they think that there’s more opportunities for them there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another reason that people move from here that are artists or are filmmakers is because the rent is so damn high. So there’s a couple of things. One, we want to create \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">actual\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> spaces for filmmakers in the East Bay, specifically in Oakland, to be able to work together if they need if they want to meet each other, show their work, and also develop themselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re working to get a screening room and connect it with a social space of some kind, whether that’s a cafe or bar or something like that, and have these spaces, but to also advocate for things that will make there be able to be more space for people to be artists.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All those actions are stimulating the artistic community, like clear across the board, and as well as like, stimulating the economy…I know that Oakland as a whole has been on your radar. The work that you do, we both work in the community. There’s been- long been an issue of violence, I put “violence” in air quotes. And I make like a horizontal sign because in my mind, violence is horizontal. It’s not just the violent act. It’s also the things that put people in position to take acts. And I was following some work that you were doing, where you were looking at this rise of “violence” in Oakland and how it’s been communicated in the media. And I’m wondering from your perspective, how can you combat both the misinformation and the violence?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When you look at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/12871\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CDC statistics of homicides, 1950,\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “Black on Black murder” was 50% more than it was around these ages at times. It went up steadily till the year 1970 where it was 75% more than it is in these days. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since then, there’s been this bumpy road down. It’s gone up and down, but it’s been the more- the curve of it has been down. Times when violence has gone down, it’s been because pay has gone up. It’s been because of of all these things that you might call “social justice,” quality of life, where people don’t have to hustle as much.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When the quarantine happened, many people, including myself, called out that if you have a quarantine, you have people not being able to work and not getting paid. People are going to have to get money from somewhere.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if you wanted to reduce the violence, you have a bigger shot at reducing violence by supporting, uh, supporting labor movements that are striking to raise wages, and striking, as WGA did, to expand hiring.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Fed to other financial gurus recommended recently that there be a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">5% lay off to raise unemployment \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">because the raise in unemployment causes a desperation in which people will accept lower pay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They say this out in the open. It sounds crazy. They say this and they did it, they did it: 5% across a whole bunch of industries after these recommendations came down.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, that desperation that causes people to accept lower pay is a desperation that will also cause them to be like, ‘I can steal a laptop.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also, there’s an organization called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.neighborstogetheroakland.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Neighbors Together Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, putting out this idea that the crime rate has risen. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/despite-neighborhood-spikes-violent-crime-oakland-decline/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s gone down for two years since 2021\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, apparently, and it only went up for a couple of years before that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is funded by a woman who is heir to the Bay Alarm Company who’s also a major real estate developer. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the same group that is calling, that is saying we need more police because there’s higher crime are also the ones who lobby to end the eviction moratorium, kicking families out onto the street. They’re also the same ones who are complaining that homeless people are in Oakland and trying to get them swept off of Wood Street!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, you have a real estate developer and an alarm company heiress who funds a neighborhood organization to kick people out onto the street, say there shouldn’t be homeless here, say that there’s too much crime and everybody should be locked up because all of these things benefit further gentrifying Oakland. And they benefit a narrative that says poverty is only coming from these choices people are making. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You went on a bit of investigative reporting spree, in the summer of 2023. The connections that you just pointed out, is that some of which stumbled across when you were looking at businesses that were saying that they were going on strike because of the ‘rise in crime?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s a whole even separate thing but yes, when a group, I forget the name of the group, said that… \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/more-than-200-oakland-businesses-plan-to-strike-on-tuesday-demand-public-safety-resources?taid=650e6930a284870001102f81&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">that businesses in Oakland were going on strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">First they started claiming that Oakland businesses were shutting down because of crime. There’s been no proof that more businesses have shut down at a faster rate than they have ever been shutting down. Restaurants open and they shut down. That’s just how things happen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You have folks like Target who opened up these experimental things to compete with CVS, and they were small things, they didn’t work and they didn’t work across the country and they shut them down. But here’s the thing is, they’ve been used as political fodder.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Somebody, you know, shutting down will be like, ‘Oh, my business didn’t work because people didn’t come to it. And I think it’s ‘cause of crime in Oakland.’ That’s not a fact. That’s just them saying that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anyway, so they started saying, okay, these businesses are going on a 1 day strike against the crime, the rising in “crime” in Oakland. They kept saying 200 businesses, 200 businesses, and they wouldn’t say which businesses. And the couple of businesses, they said, at first, weren’t going on strike. And then one of them said they were going to open up two hours later in response to that. Another one that said that they were going on strike, they never were open on that day of the week anyway.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So then there was a… I don’t remember what publication but they, they showed a list of, uh, of businesses that were provided by this group saying they were all going on strike and I just called them up. And, you know, uh, all except for one had said either they didn’t- had never heard of it or they had never heard of it, they weren’t going on strike and they were mad that their name was being used for that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2023/09/27/strike-oakland-business-closure-protest/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was fake!\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But so it goes along with this this narrative and there’s very \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">little\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> journalism being done against the narrative. So, so much of the narrative about crime is ‘whatever the police say’ is said as fact, like as if they have no motivations that are political. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Journalists should qualify that this is what the police are saying and put that in context of everything else that’s going on. We know… way more than enough about the history of police and specifically the history of the Oakland Police Department, themselves. So much so, that I actually… people think of me as fearless but I’m afraid of saying some of this stuff because some people get killed!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’ve touched on a number of things, like everything from economic disparities to entertainment, mass organizing, misinformation. I’m thinking about 2024 and what’s to come everything from: it’s an election year to multiple wars going on overseas. I’ll ask you this: Is there anything that you’re specifically looking forward to in 2024, as it relates to your work?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Boots Riley:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m really hopeful about this strike wave that’s happening. A lot of the strike wave has been from places that were otherwise unorganized. They didn’t have a union. And often people organizing without the help of any traditional union and sometimes joining the traditional unions, sometimes joining less traditional unions. But that is also making the larger traditional unions more militant. And radicals that are inside of those places kind of coming to the fore. And so there’s a lot of possibility.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know\u003c/span>\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">average everyday people saying, ‘well, can you really do something? You know, like, is that possible?’ And the truth is that if you can organize and shut an industry down, you can demand all sorts of things and get get it because you’re making them choose between no profit and less profit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb style=\"font-size: 16px\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Boots! Thank you, you clearly are a busy guy, thank you for taking time to talk. Good luck in the new year, and we are looking forward to the next production!\u003c/span>\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley:\u003c/strong> I’ll be shooting another movie in March. I’ll just say this: it’s about a group of professional shoplifters who find a device called the “situational accelerator.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For all of you listening out there, do yourself a favor and follow Boots on social media, you can find him on any platform under his name Boots Riley, and Riley is spelled R-I-L-E-Y. And check out his films and his music too!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was produced by Marisol Medina-Cadena \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sheree Bishop is our production intern. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beale is our engineer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support provided by Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, Ugur Dursun, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We, at the Rightnowish team, are looking forward to bringing you some dope stories this year. And all that we ask in return is that you drop a comment, rate the show, tell a friend or share an episode with a colleague! Thank you in advance. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED Production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\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>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\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>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filmmaker Boots Riley has a knack for being in the middle of major events– local, national or worldwide. Hell, he’s even tapped into the future. As we begin a new year, who better to talk to?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bootsriley/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Boots Riley\u003c/a> released \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13649510/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>I’m a Virgo\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, a seven-part television miniseries centered on the tale of a 13-foot tall Black man from Oakland. The main character, Cootie, is rudely awakened to the ways of the world, and its perception of him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Behind the scenes in Hollywood,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933709/boots-riley-hollywood-strikes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Boots stood alongside Writers Guild of America union members\u003c/a> as they took to the picket lines protesting for better wages and job security, amongst other things.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back home in Oakland, Boots has been working with local filmmakers to develop a hub for people interested in learning more about the industry, it’s called \u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cinemama\u003c/a>. But his community work didn’t stop there, as \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BootsRiley/status/1706484617757565138?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boots also pounded the pavement\u003c/a> in an effort to separate the truth from the falsehoods around the supposed connections between crime and the closure of local businesses. And then he got online to provide \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxdu9v8vb6e/?img_index=5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some clarity on the Town’s “crime wave.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939981\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13939981\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley wears a signature hat and holds a mic as he stands on stage at the Oakland Museum of California during an event honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/dsc06742-copy.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley wears a signature hat and holds a mic as he stands on stage at the Oakland Museum of California during an event honoring the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On August 11th of last year, Boots was honored for his work as the lead MC for the hip-hop collective \u003ca href=\"https://thisisthecoup.com/\">The Coup\u003c/a> during a celebration for hip-hop’s 50th birthday. And a few weeks later, Boots and a number of people who identify as Jewish took to Oakland’s federal building \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2023/11/14/jewish-protest-oakland-ceasefire-gaza/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in protest of the Israel Defense Forces indiscriminate bombing of civilians in Gaza.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From global issues to community conflicts, Boots has had a foot in a number of the major current events of the past year, and he says he’s not done yet. So we’re kicking off 2024 by talking to someone who has their finger on the pulse of the culture, and a hand in directing the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3657928300&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Open the door 2024, let’s get it started, man! Happy new year, ya’ll! Hope you all are well, and warm. Many blessings on this new campaign. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Welcome to Rightnowish, I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw. We’re getting this year started by talking to someone who had a wild 2023.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year, Oakland filmmaker, organizer and MC, Boots Riley got active! He created a sci-fi show called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m A Virgo\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s about a 13-foot tall Black man from East Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And behind the scenes, Boots stood alongside members of the Writers Guild of America as they protested for major changes that’ll benefit the work that they do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boots \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">also\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> talked to business owners in Oakland about commerce, violence and how it’s all being portrayed in the media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This week, we discuss community, the art of storytelling, and some of the more oppressive elements in our society– in the unique way that only Boots can:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley,\u003c/strong> in clip: uh, what do you call a bass player without a girlfriend?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> uhh…I don’t\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots:\u003c/strong> Homeless!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> [Laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley:\u003c/strong> And that’s because there’s some truth in that!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Comin’ in hot, right after this. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in 2023, you dropped this magnificent series, \u003cem>I’m A Virgo,\u003c/em> a show about a 13 foot Black man from Oakland and how society responded to him. It’s been a few months… The first thing that jumped out at me from watching the series is symbolism. And I’m wondering, did your symbolism ever go over people’s heads?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The symbolism that I use is pretty overt. It’s pretty like, you know, hits you in the head. Critiques I see is like, “that was too much or this was…” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know I, I try to make art that’s a little unsettling at times, right? That can even be repulsive a little bit so that, you know, I want to bring you into a world and then push you back a little to where you like, “whoa, what’s going on?” Hopefully, I’m not- I don’t push you back too far to where you don’t re-engage. But to me, um, that is part of like, the art being more honest where you know it’s a piece of art and it is not just the world as it is.\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That makes sense that’s the purpose of art, of education, of entertainment, is to take people out of their world, expose them to something that would then drop them back off, but, new enlightened with a new kind of mind frame. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I experienced that in watching \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, you know, where I’m familiar with stories of giants from ancient times but I had never conceived of a giant in the neighborhood where I spent time growing up, the Dubs. And being like “oh wait, hold on, mind blown!” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so that was that was an example of the symbolism that I saw. I guess in some ways we were kind of giants because of how society treated us… like we were weird. You know, like, we stood out in the crowds, if you will. Did you have any personal experiences that inform the show or the characters in it?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think that’s the only way to be an artist is if your personal life influences it. So, when I write like every character is me, but me with certain parameters, like I’d been through these experiences, you know, it’s a way that that I can make the characters more human, right? So… or every character is a piece of me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That makes perfect sense, it’s all coming from your mind, so yeah, it has to be you that pours into it\u003c/span>\u003cb>.\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And you pour heavily into the Oakland bucket in this series. And there’s references both to the Dubs as I mentioned as well as the Lower Bottoms, there’s sideshows, there’s music. There’s people who even remind me of folks from the Town. How has the community received this series?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having something so specifically about Oakland, not only, you know, is something that [stutter] people from Oakland feel excited about, but even if someone’s not from Oakland or has never been, it makes it feel more fantastical, actually, because you have some real things to ground it and so everything else feels more special.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Audio from I’m A Virgo Clip\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[door creaking open]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: What the hell is wrong with you coming in…? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: Shh– What are you thinking? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: What? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: What do you mean, what?! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: It’s a word attempting to specifically locate the object of one’s inquiry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Boy, I wish I was eight foot taller. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: Have you been listening to me? Have I been wasting my breath? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: You can’t waste or save it because it comes out either way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Man, this dude is crazy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mom: You do not appreciate what we put aside to keep you safe, to keep you fed, to become the man that you are! I gave up- \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: What, Bing Bang burgers? hmm? Ya’ll used to eat bing bang burgers! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dad: Yes, I did. I did eat Bing Bang burgers. But I stopped. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cootie: Okay. How about subwoofers then, huh? You guys always play music from these tiny little speakers so you basically kept one of the greatest inventions from me! It moves through your body like, like waves, okay and it sings to your bones! And you can feel the ground and the sky at the same time! As if, as if, as if you’re the thing that’s keeping it together, you know? I’m 19! And I heard bass for the first time? That’s abuse! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The surrealism definitely makes you feel detached from the experience of being in Oakland. You know like, I could say that, ‘That would never really happen.’ And also the things that really are reference points are like, okay, I know what he’s going for. I know what this is a reference to. And so that’s the balance. Is that intentional?\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I always say, I think the more specific you are, the more universal you are… Often the way film is made these days, because it’s kind of done on a production line sort of thing, everything is any-place-USA. Okay, they’re supposed to be in Ohio, but they’re filming in Vancouver… And everything becomes devoid of the specificity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Beyond the work that you’ve done that’s flourished on the screen you’ve been heavily involved with work happening behind the scenes. 2023 saw a number of major labor movements. One of them, more notable ones, was in Hollywood, the writers strike. I wanted to know your perspective on what the agreement from the writers strike. What do you think came out of the writers strike in the agreement?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> There were significant gains made around AI and things that they didn’t think we could get, that people said we couldn’t get. There were gains made around residuals, around streaming, significant gains that we wouldn’t have gotten at all without a strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the wins was, uh, what we talk about as “transparency.“\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At first it was with reruns. We keep playing your thing, more people see it. and they’re making more money with it. So you get more, you get more back end. With streaming they’re making more money than they did the other way and they’re also having to pay out much less. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">so the idea was like, hey, if you have a TV show or a movie that a lot of people are watching, you should get something extra on top of that. But there was never a way because they never told anybody those numbers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was won on the WGA side was the idea that they will share the numbers with WGA representatives who will then collect fees for the writers based on that and distribute it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The other unprecedented things: demanding the amount of people employed on a show. So they, we have these “writers room minimums” you know, is like saying you’ve got to hire at least this many people at this level. That sort of thinking is one where it’s saying like, ‘You’re making all this money. Share it more with us. Make this a safer job to have,’ you know, financially safer job to have by employing more people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The strikes happening in Hollywood have been part of this movement of the working class, moving to the left and becoming more militant and more radical in many areas.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The folks that are making more and don’t really need the strike, in case of the writers and showrunners and the big stars with SAG, some of the big directors. They’re striking on behalf of the folks that are at the bottom rungs. Right? And there’s a radical solidarity that’s happening in those cases.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Similarly, we see those things happening with stuff like the UPS strike where they were all willing to go on strike: the full timers were going on… they were going to go on strike on behalf of the part timers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think, those are the things that people are gleaning that people sticking together, you know, even when they feel like, ‘okay, this is not necessarily benefiting me as much directly right now.’ They understand that that strength grows and benefits them in more significant ways… later.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the intersection of entertainment and economic justice in Oakland, you’re doing work with an org called “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cinemama\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.” Can you tell us about the organization and what the big goal is?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are there are some filmmakers from around the Bay Area. And we started talking about how a lot of filmmakers will be in the Bay Area working in their cubbyholes and not knowing each other are around and end up moving to L.A. because they think that there’s more opportunities for them there.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another reason that people move from here that are artists or are filmmakers is because the rent is so damn high. So there’s a couple of things. One, we want to create \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">actual\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> spaces for filmmakers in the East Bay, specifically in Oakland, to be able to work together if they need if they want to meet each other, show their work, and also develop themselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re working to get a screening room and connect it with a social space of some kind, whether that’s a cafe or bar or something like that, and have these spaces, but to also advocate for things that will make there be able to be more space for people to be artists.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All those actions are stimulating the artistic community, like clear across the board, and as well as like, stimulating the economy…I know that Oakland as a whole has been on your radar. The work that you do, we both work in the community. There’s been- long been an issue of violence, I put “violence” in air quotes. And I make like a horizontal sign because in my mind, violence is horizontal. It’s not just the violent act. It’s also the things that put people in position to take acts. And I was following some work that you were doing, where you were looking at this rise of “violence” in Oakland and how it’s been communicated in the media. And I’m wondering from your perspective, how can you combat both the misinformation and the violence?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When you look at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/12871\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CDC statistics of homicides, 1950,\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “Black on Black murder” was 50% more than it was around these ages at times. It went up steadily till the year 1970 where it was 75% more than it is in these days. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since then, there’s been this bumpy road down. It’s gone up and down, but it’s been the more- the curve of it has been down. Times when violence has gone down, it’s been because pay has gone up. It’s been because of of all these things that you might call “social justice,” quality of life, where people don’t have to hustle as much.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When the quarantine happened, many people, including myself, called out that if you have a quarantine, you have people not being able to work and not getting paid. People are going to have to get money from somewhere.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So if you wanted to reduce the violence, you have a bigger shot at reducing violence by supporting, uh, supporting labor movements that are striking to raise wages, and striking, as WGA did, to expand hiring.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Fed to other financial gurus recommended recently that there be a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">5% lay off to raise unemployment \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">because the raise in unemployment causes a desperation in which people will accept lower pay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They say this out in the open. It sounds crazy. They say this and they did it, they did it: 5% across a whole bunch of industries after these recommendations came down.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, that desperation that causes people to accept lower pay is a desperation that will also cause them to be like, ‘I can steal a laptop.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Also, there’s an organization called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.neighborstogetheroakland.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Neighbors Together Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, putting out this idea that the crime rate has risen. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/despite-neighborhood-spikes-violent-crime-oakland-decline/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s gone down for two years since 2021\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, apparently, and it only went up for a couple of years before that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is funded by a woman who is heir to the Bay Alarm Company who’s also a major real estate developer. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the same group that is calling, that is saying we need more police because there’s higher crime are also the ones who lobby to end the eviction moratorium, kicking families out onto the street. They’re also the same ones who are complaining that homeless people are in Oakland and trying to get them swept off of Wood Street!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, you have a real estate developer and an alarm company heiress who funds a neighborhood organization to kick people out onto the street, say there shouldn’t be homeless here, say that there’s too much crime and everybody should be locked up because all of these things benefit further gentrifying Oakland. And they benefit a narrative that says poverty is only coming from these choices people are making. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You went on a bit of investigative reporting spree, in the summer of 2023. The connections that you just pointed out, is that some of which stumbled across when you were looking at businesses that were saying that they were going on strike because of the ‘rise in crime?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s a whole even separate thing but yes, when a group, I forget the name of the group, said that… \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/more-than-200-oakland-businesses-plan-to-strike-on-tuesday-demand-public-safety-resources?taid=650e6930a284870001102f81&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">that businesses in Oakland were going on strike.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">First they started claiming that Oakland businesses were shutting down because of crime. There’s been no proof that more businesses have shut down at a faster rate than they have ever been shutting down. Restaurants open and they shut down. That’s just how things happen.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You have folks like Target who opened up these experimental things to compete with CVS, and they were small things, they didn’t work and they didn’t work across the country and they shut them down. But here’s the thing is, they’ve been used as political fodder.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Somebody, you know, shutting down will be like, ‘Oh, my business didn’t work because people didn’t come to it. And I think it’s ‘cause of crime in Oakland.’ That’s not a fact. That’s just them saying that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anyway, so they started saying, okay, these businesses are going on a 1 day strike against the crime, the rising in “crime” in Oakland. They kept saying 200 businesses, 200 businesses, and they wouldn’t say which businesses. And the couple of businesses, they said, at first, weren’t going on strike. And then one of them said they were going to open up two hours later in response to that. Another one that said that they were going on strike, they never were open on that day of the week anyway.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So then there was a… I don’t remember what publication but they, they showed a list of, uh, of businesses that were provided by this group saying they were all going on strike and I just called them up. And, you know, uh, all except for one had said either they didn’t- had never heard of it or they had never heard of it, they weren’t going on strike and they were mad that their name was being used for that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2023/09/27/strike-oakland-business-closure-protest/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was fake!\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But so it goes along with this this narrative and there’s very \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">little\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> journalism being done against the narrative. So, so much of the narrative about crime is ‘whatever the police say’ is said as fact, like as if they have no motivations that are political. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Journalists should qualify that this is what the police are saying and put that in context of everything else that’s going on. We know… way more than enough about the history of police and specifically the history of the Oakland Police Department, themselves. So much so, that I actually… people think of me as fearless but I’m afraid of saying some of this stuff because some people get killed!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’ve touched on a number of things, like everything from economic disparities to entertainment, mass organizing, misinformation. I’m thinking about 2024 and what’s to come everything from: it’s an election year to multiple wars going on overseas. I’ll ask you this: Is there anything that you’re specifically looking forward to in 2024, as it relates to your work?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Boots Riley:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m really hopeful about this strike wave that’s happening. A lot of the strike wave has been from places that were otherwise unorganized. They didn’t have a union. And often people organizing without the help of any traditional union and sometimes joining the traditional unions, sometimes joining less traditional unions. But that is also making the larger traditional unions more militant. And radicals that are inside of those places kind of coming to the fore. And so there’s a lot of possibility.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know\u003c/span>\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">average everyday people saying, ‘well, can you really do something? You know, like, is that possible?’ And the truth is that if you can organize and shut an industry down, you can demand all sorts of things and get get it because you’re making them choose between no profit and less profit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb style=\"font-size: 16px\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Boots! Thank you, you clearly are a busy guy, thank you for taking time to talk. Good luck in the new year, and we are looking forward to the next production!\u003c/span>\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Boots Riley:\u003c/strong> I’ll be shooting another movie in March. I’ll just say this: it’s about a group of professional shoplifters who find a device called the “situational accelerator.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For all of you listening out there, do yourself a favor and follow Boots on social media, you can find him on any platform under his name Boots Riley, and Riley is spelled R-I-L-E-Y. And check out his films and his music too!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was produced by Marisol Medina-Cadena \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sheree Bishop is our production intern. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beale is our engineer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support provided by Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, Ugur Dursun, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We, at the Rightnowish team, are looking forward to bringing you some dope stories this year. And all that we ask in return is that you drop a comment, rate the show, tell a friend or share an episode with a colleague! Thank you in advance. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED Production.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\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>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“W\u003c/span>hat drew me into hip-hop,” said Tariq Trotter, widely known as Black Thought of the legendary Roots crew, “was that it was, you know, spoken in a language that, you know, people who were 30, 40, 50 years old didn’t understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">Trotter was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211025998/tariq-trotter-black-thought-the-roots-questlove-upcycled-self\">in conversation with NPR’s Tonya Mosely\u003c/a> as the two discussed Trotter’s new memoir, \u003cem>The Upcycled Self\u003c/em>. The book charts his path both as an artist and an individual; it includes heavy details about his life, including the murders of both his parents, as well a fire he set in his house at the age of six. Trotter, now 52, is clear about his personal maturation process, and how the culture of hip-hop has grown as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter appreciates the many subgenres within hip-hop, even if he doesn’t understand them; and that’s because he’s not supposed to. The popular sound of today, drill music, isn’t made for people his age. Trotter, who will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityboxoffice.com/ordertickets.asp?p=13941\">in discussion with Jelani Cobb at San Francisco’s City Arts & Lectures\u003c/a> on Saturday, Feb. 24, concluded his point by telling Mosely, “We’ve become our parents and grandparents at this point, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939084\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13939084\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre 3000 attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 VIP dinner at Chateau Marmont on Nov. 16, 2023 in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the celebration of what’s widely regarded as hip-hop’s 50th anniversary year comes to an end, I’m waiting for someone to make one of those montages that plays at the end of a movie. You know, where they show a sepia-colored portrait of each prominent character, overlaid with a couple lines about what eventually came of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the cheesy music starts, the first image could be of OutKast, the famed Atlanta duo who showed the world that you can rhyme about Cadillacs and spaceships in the same breath. André 3000, who made his mark at the 1995 Source Awards (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyxaYc9F48Y\">the south got something to say\u003c/a>”), is now a world-traveling flutist who dropped a full-length jazz album. Meanwhile, his former partner in rhyme, Big Boi, a renowned lyricist and actor who played the role of a dope dealer named Marcus in the hit movie \u003cem>ATL\u003c/em>, has become \u003ca href=\"https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-09-29/213913/big-boi-trends-as-stunned-fans-marvel-over-his-owl-collection/\">an owler\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the collective that birthed OutKast, the Dungeon Family, have also gone on to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw\">notable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://beats-rhymes-lists.com/facts/future-originally-member-atlanta-dungeon-family/\">things\u003c/a>. Just a few years after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/03/26/596988606/killer-mike-apologizes-for-interview-with-nra-claims-it-was-misused\">controversial interview with the NRA\u003c/a>, and forming an odd-couple partnership with Senator Bernie Sanders during his 2020 presidential run, lyricist Killer Mike dropped Michael, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year. Even at the big age of 48, folks can still rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13828022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13828022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Killer Mike performing in Atlanta in 2017. \u003ccite>(David A. Smith/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Speaking of old heads from Atlanta who can still gas a track: Ludacris has entered the chat. In addition to co-starring in the Christmas film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5608166/\">Dashing Through The Snow\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, creating a charming children’s show called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.karmasworld.com/p/1\">Karma’s World\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, and doing \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3WaUZhvjK4\">commercials for State Farm Insurance\u003c/a>, at age 46 Luda is reportedly \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/ludacris-to-release-new-music-2024-after-taking-step-back-8405825\">working on an album\u003c/a> for 2024. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoL-fnvAlAq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\">He still has bars\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone is doing well with maturation. Again in Atlanta, rapper T.I.’s life has become a bit of a walking reality show. Despite his large vocabulary and investment in \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/atlanta-rapper-ti-celebrates-opening-his-first-affordable-housing-development/5IYPKMYWTJB33KHSZX3VK6XHN4/\">real estate properties\u003c/a>, T.I., who at the age of 43 recently announced an impending double album and subsequent \u003ca href=\"https://allrapnews.com/news/t-i-to-retire-from-rap-with-final-double-album-featuring-nba-youngboy/\">retirement from rap\u003c/a>, has been the butt of jokes about \u003ca href=\"https://globalnews.ca/news/6214889/ti-daughter-hymen-controversy/\">family issues\u003c/a>. Most recently, the King of the South had to deal with a \u003ca href=\"https://theshaderoom.com/settin-things-straight-t-i-addresses-viral-scuffle-with-son-king-harris/\">recorded altercation with his son\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13923938']Speaking of hip-hop icons and domestic disputes: Diddy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After changing his name again, this time to “Brother Love,” and dropping an album titled \u003cem>The Love Album: Off the Grid\u003c/em>, it’s become extremely apparent that 54 year-old Diddy, real name Sean Combs, is the polar opposite of love. Just days after being \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213684443/lawsuit-accuses-sean-diddy-combs-of-trafficking-sexual-assault-and-abuse\">sued by musician and former girlfriend Cassie\u003c/a> for trafficking, rape, assault and more, Combs settled the case out of court, expeditiously. A few days later, Combs, who recently stepped down as Chairman of Revolt TV, was served with additional lawsuits from different women who alleged similar crimes. \u003cem>More money, more problems\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the topic of people involved in the mid-’90s East Coast / West Coast beef and the law: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202716171/tupac-shakur-killing-duane-davis-indicted\">Duane “Keffe D” Davis\u003c/a> is now in prison for charges related to the murder of Tupac Shakur after his arrest earlier this fall. Just a few months later, in an unrelated but relevant story, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937563/tupac-shakur-way-oakland-street-renaming\">Tupac Shakur’s name was immortalized\u003c/a> during a street naming ceremony in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCYT3T3UBdw\">the city he got his game from\u003c/a>, Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sign for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ is unveiled during a renaming ceremony in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Late last year, the City of Oakland also unveiled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922616/too-short-way-street-sign-unveiled-oakland\">a street sign recognizing 57 year-old Too Short’s contributions\u003c/a> to the culture in front of his alma mater, Fremont High School. Additionally, while dropping an album, releasing a cookbook, and selling enough liquor to sink a ship, 56 year-old entrepreneur \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936776/e-40-gets-the-key-to-the-city-of-vallejo-and-a-street-named-in-his-honor\">E-40 got a part of Magazine Street in Vallejo named in his honor\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staying in the Bay, the Hieroglyphics crew’s Souls of Mischief, who three decades ago famously predicted that they’d be chillin’ until the clock strikes infinity, are doing a lot more than just chillin’. They initially set out to do 93 shows this year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their song “93 ’Til Infinity.” As of today, they’ve done 117 shows across multiple continents, and they’ve also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932471/souls-of-mischief-freestyle-93-til-infinity\">recorded new verses over the “93 ’Til Infinity” instrumental\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/04/17/177326079/this-was-1993-20-years-ago-i-heard-the-perfect-rap-song\">the class of ’93\u003c/a> from Oakland, 52 year-old Boots Riley, has been on a run. His 2023 TV series about a giant Black man from East Oakland, \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>, has been nominated for multiple awards. Behind the scenes, Boots has continued to point out injustices in our society, with a focus on the predatory nature of capitalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13933475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a very tall hat speaks in to a set of microphones at a podium in an outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley speaks at the 2023 Writers Guild Of America Strike: Rally And March at Pan Pacific Park on June 21, 2023 in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the subject of early ’90s West Coast MCs who once used their music to give the middle finger to Uncle Sam before turning to film, there’s Ice Cube. The good news is that Cube, the 54 year-old founder of the Big3 basketball league, is still making music and movies, just as he did three decades ago. The bad news? \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/ice-cube-tucker-carlson-interview-many-fans-disappointed-1234775390/\">He’s also giving tours of the hood to conservative white folks\u003c/a>. Then again, that’s kind of what mainstream “gangsta rappers” have always done, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Politics hasn’t always been the most welcoming arena for hip-hop artists, but just this past week, 53 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/1215901880/queen-latifah-billy-crystal-and-others-celebrated-at-kennedy-center-honors\">Queen Latifah\u003c/a> received praise from President Joe Biden as she became the first female rap artist to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While we’re awarding artists who’ve done the work and then some, let’s talk about the ever-influential \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/missy-elliott?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsburBhCIARIsAExmsu7TtF4zNeILr0texP3h8TsAue-XEitgt7gIgGsbddEAcVvheVatO24aAokcEALw_wcB\">Missy Elliott\u003c/a>, who at the age of 52 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. (68 year-old DJ Kool Herc, a founding father of hip-hop, joined her as a 2023 inductee.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13915629\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13915629\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up of a Black woman's face with colorful eyeliner, as she sings into a microphone\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1020x687.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1536x1035.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-2048x1380.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1920x1294.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauryn Hill has written about feeling pressured to choose between her career and motherhood. \u003ccite>(Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite the revelation that Fugees member \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1172368058/former-fugees-musician-pras-michel-found-guilty-of-10-criminal-charges\">Pras was once a federal agent\u003c/a>, that didn’t stop 48 year-old Lauryn Hill and the crew from reuniting for a few shows around the country, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/lauryn-hill-oakland-concert-18467645.php\">including one last month in Oakland\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are veteran artists doing completely unforeseen things, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.xxlmag.com/redman-licensed-skydiver/\">Redman (age 53) becoming a licensed skydiver\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/twista-raps-overnight-celebrity-over-gun-shots\">Twista (age 50) teaching firearm safety and rapping to the sound of bullets flying\u003c/a> at a shooting range. And then there are artists continuing what they’ve been doing, just at a higher level. Method Man is a certified actor who still periodically drops a verse here and there, and at the age of 52 \u003ca href=\"https://www.menshealth.com/health/a44665280/method-man-hip-hop-50-interview/\">moonlights as a sex symbol\u003c/a>. Lil Kim, who at 49 has her own claim as a sex symbol, just \u003ca href=\"https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/queen-bee_4--lil-kim\">penned a memoir\u003c/a> that’s set to release next year. Texas OG Bun B, a 50 year-old who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCSP5yNLQk\">knows his way around the kitchen\u003c/a>, has opened a restaurant called \u003ca href=\"https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/food/2023/06/07/453856/bun-bs-trill-burgers-launches-first-brick-and-mortar-location-in-houston/\">Trill Burgers\u003c/a>. The ever-fashionable megaproducer Pharrell, who doesn’t age despite government records showing he’s 50, is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/style/louis-vuitton-menswear-pharrell-williams-louis-vuittons.html\">designing for Louis Vuitton\u003c/a>. And 53 year-old MC Lyte, whose voice dropped rock-heavy flows when hip-hop was in its nascent form and has since gone on to host award shows, is now using her voice to talk to the \u003ca href=\"https://afrotech.com/mc-lyte-supporting-black-girls-in-tech/\">next generation of Black girls interested in coding\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13932398\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13932398\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rakim performs at Blue Note Jazz Festival on Sunday, July 30, 2023. \u003ccite>(Eric Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Let’s take a second to pause, and acknowledge the many hip-hop artists who’ve died at a young age due to poor health. And follow that by celebrating and supporting the legends who are living, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/gallery/paid-in-full-foundations-inaugural-hip-hop-grandmaster-awards-rakim-nas-1234814725/\">Scarface (53) and Rakim (55)\u003c/a>, who both recently received healthcare benefits and financial support from the Paid in Full Foundation. Health concerns for our aging icons are also part of the reason folks’ ears perked up when 52 year-old Snoop Dogg posted on social media that he’s “done with smoke.” And, because he’s Snoop, we weren’t surprised when the news turned out to be a commercial for \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/snoop-dogg-not-giving-up-weed-announces-collaboration-with-smokeless-fire-pit-brand-8404736\">a smoke-free fire pit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13934874']In this 50th year of hip-hop, we’re grateful to see the resolution of feuds between artists. \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/camron-mase-sign-talk-show-deal-1234782595/\">Ma$e (48) and Cam’ron (47) reunited\u003c/a> and created “It Is What It Is,” a talk show that’s full of laughs and insight on current events. North Carolina’s hip-hop duo Little Brother recently released a documentary film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_LQmpx5l-E\">May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, highlighting their friendship’s trajectory. And on the more romantic side of reunions, Nelly and Ashanti got back together, and are expecting their first child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a good segue to the news that at the age of 48, the first woman to go platinum as a rap artist, Da Brat, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ajc.com/life/radiotvtalk-blog/da-brat-amazed-and-grateful-for-baby-son-at-age-48/QLNVH4K4I5FWRLJ6FDTNEQAMVU/\">just gave birth to a baby boy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13939085\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk.jpg 1400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juvenile performs with Mannie Fresh and an all-star band at the NPR offices in a Tiny Desk Concert. \u003ccite>(Catie Dull/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Neither could we have imagined that at the age 45, Trina, Ms. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsPwwphxrg\">Whoop-whoop, pull over, that ass is too fat\u003c/a>,” would be performing at the offices of National Public Radio. Nor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kes2P4IC2bQ\">Mr. Back That Azz Up\u003c/a>, a.k.a. Juvenile (48), for that matter. But yes, both happened this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-century since hip-hop started and there are many reasons to rejoice, despite some of the unsavory news. As fans, we’re appreciative that the catalogs of Young Jeezy and De La Soul are now on streaming sites. And we’re equally appreciative that there’s new music from the likes of J.Cole, Lil Wayne and Nas, who at age 50, has dropped multiple award-winning albums in the past five years and had a resurrection unlike anyone else in the game—with the possible exception of Black Thought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Tariq Trotter isn’t rocking as a part of the house band for \u003cem>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon\u003c/em>, he’s writing off-Broadway plays and acting in films. But don’t think for a second he can’t spit a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA\">scorching freestyle\u003c/a>, too. He’s dropped verses on projects with younger rappers that show he hasn’t lost a step. And he’s put out a few highly acclaimed projects over the past couple years — arguably some of his best work — with music that speaks to middle-aged hip-hop heads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13840236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13840236\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583.jpg\" alt=\"Black Thought plays Hiero Day in Oakland on Monday, September 3, 2018.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-520x346.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black Thought plays Hiero Day in Oakland on Monday, September 3, 2018. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During his interview with NPR, Black Thought talked about maturing, and that he feels more comfortable sharing more intimate details of his life. “As artists, there’s a dance, there’s a negotiation that takes place,” Trotter told Mosely. “But it’s the sort of thing that I was holding on to for the right moment — you know what I mean? For when it made the most sense. And that’s right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that right there is all the more reason to appreciate the aging process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/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>Black Thought appears in discussion with Jelani Cobb on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Sydney Goldstein Theatre in San Francisco as part of City Arts & Lectures. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityboxoffice.com/ordertickets.asp?p=13941\">Details and ticket info here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“W\u003c/span>hat drew me into hip-hop,” said Tariq Trotter, widely known as Black Thought of the legendary Roots crew, “was that it was, you know, spoken in a language that, you know, people who were 30, 40, 50 years old didn’t understand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-13833985\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_-160x184.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/05/OGPenn.Cap_.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">Trotter was \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/07/1211025998/tariq-trotter-black-thought-the-roots-questlove-upcycled-self\">in conversation with NPR’s Tonya Mosely\u003c/a> as the two discussed Trotter’s new memoir, \u003cem>The Upcycled Self\u003c/em>. The book charts his path both as an artist and an individual; it includes heavy details about his life, including the murders of both his parents, as well a fire he set in his house at the age of six. Trotter, now 52, is clear about his personal maturation process, and how the culture of hip-hop has grown as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trotter appreciates the many subgenres within hip-hop, even if he doesn’t understand them; and that’s because he’s not supposed to. The popular sound of today, drill music, isn’t made for people his age. Trotter, who will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityboxoffice.com/ordertickets.asp?p=13941\">in discussion with Jelani Cobb at San Francisco’s City Arts & Lectures\u003c/a> on Saturday, Feb. 24, concluded his point by telling Mosely, “We’ve become our parents and grandparents at this point, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939084\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13939084\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Andre.3000-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andre 3000 attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 VIP dinner at Chateau Marmont on Nov. 16, 2023 in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the celebration of what’s widely regarded as hip-hop’s 50th anniversary year comes to an end, I’m waiting for someone to make one of those montages that plays at the end of a movie. You know, where they show a sepia-colored portrait of each prominent character, overlaid with a couple lines about what eventually came of their lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the cheesy music starts, the first image could be of OutKast, the famed Atlanta duo who showed the world that you can rhyme about Cadillacs and spaceships in the same breath. André 3000, who made his mark at the 1995 Source Awards (“\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyxaYc9F48Y\">the south got something to say\u003c/a>”), is now a world-traveling flutist who dropped a full-length jazz album. Meanwhile, his former partner in rhyme, Big Boi, a renowned lyricist and actor who played the role of a dope dealer named Marcus in the hit movie \u003cem>ATL\u003c/em>, has become \u003ca href=\"https://www.revolt.tv/article/2022-09-29/213913/big-boi-trends-as-stunned-fans-marvel-over-his-owl-collection/\">an owler\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of the collective that birthed OutKast, the Dungeon Family, have also gone on to \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4jf6rtyuw\">notable\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://beats-rhymes-lists.com/facts/future-originally-member-atlanta-dungeon-family/\">things\u003c/a>. Just a few years after a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/03/26/596988606/killer-mike-apologizes-for-interview-with-nra-claims-it-was-misused\">controversial interview with the NRA\u003c/a>, and forming an odd-couple partnership with Senator Bernie Sanders during his 2020 presidential run, lyricist Killer Mike dropped Michael, one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year. Even at the big age of 48, folks can still rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13828022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13828022\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/gettyimages-632359900_wide-75cfc86b44dfbaea982eba0457af104c57871411-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Killer Mike performing in Atlanta in 2017. \u003ccite>(David A. Smith/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Speaking of old heads from Atlanta who can still gas a track: Ludacris has entered the chat. In addition to co-starring in the Christmas film \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5608166/\">Dashing Through The Snow\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, creating a charming children’s show called \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.karmasworld.com/p/1\">Karma’s World\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, and doing \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3WaUZhvjK4\">commercials for State Farm Insurance\u003c/a>, at age 46 Luda is reportedly \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/ludacris-to-release-new-music-2024-after-taking-step-back-8405825\">working on an album\u003c/a> for 2024. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoL-fnvAlAq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\">He still has bars\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not everyone is doing well with maturation. Again in Atlanta, rapper T.I.’s life has become a bit of a walking reality show. Despite his large vocabulary and investment in \u003ca href=\"https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/atlanta/atlanta-rapper-ti-celebrates-opening-his-first-affordable-housing-development/5IYPKMYWTJB33KHSZX3VK6XHN4/\">real estate properties\u003c/a>, T.I., who at the age of 43 recently announced an impending double album and subsequent \u003ca href=\"https://allrapnews.com/news/t-i-to-retire-from-rap-with-final-double-album-featuring-nba-youngboy/\">retirement from rap\u003c/a>, has been the butt of jokes about \u003ca href=\"https://globalnews.ca/news/6214889/ti-daughter-hymen-controversy/\">family issues\u003c/a>. Most recently, the King of the South had to deal with a \u003ca href=\"https://theshaderoom.com/settin-things-straight-t-i-addresses-viral-scuffle-with-son-king-harris/\">recorded altercation with his son\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Speaking of hip-hop icons and domestic disputes: Diddy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After changing his name again, this time to “Brother Love,” and dropping an album titled \u003cem>The Love Album: Off the Grid\u003c/em>, it’s become extremely apparent that 54 year-old Diddy, real name Sean Combs, is the polar opposite of love. Just days after being \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213684443/lawsuit-accuses-sean-diddy-combs-of-trafficking-sexual-assault-and-abuse\">sued by musician and former girlfriend Cassie\u003c/a> for trafficking, rape, assault and more, Combs settled the case out of court, expeditiously. A few days later, Combs, who recently stepped down as Chairman of Revolt TV, was served with additional lawsuits from different women who alleged similar crimes. \u003cem>More money, more problems\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the topic of people involved in the mid-’90s East Coast / West Coast beef and the law: \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/09/29/1202716171/tupac-shakur-killing-duane-davis-indicted\">Duane “Keffe D” Davis\u003c/a> is now in prison for charges related to the murder of Tupac Shakur after his arrest earlier this fall. Just a few months later, in an unrelated but relevant story, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937563/tupac-shakur-way-oakland-street-renaming\">Tupac Shakur’s name was immortalized\u003c/a> during a street naming ceremony in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCYT3T3UBdw\">the city he got his game from\u003c/a>, Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-27-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The sign for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ is unveiled during a renaming ceremony in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Late last year, the City of Oakland also unveiled \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922616/too-short-way-street-sign-unveiled-oakland\">a street sign recognizing 57 year-old Too Short’s contributions\u003c/a> to the culture in front of his alma mater, Fremont High School. Additionally, while dropping an album, releasing a cookbook, and selling enough liquor to sink a ship, 56 year-old entrepreneur \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936776/e-40-gets-the-key-to-the-city-of-vallejo-and-a-street-named-in-his-honor\">E-40 got a part of Magazine Street in Vallejo named in his honor\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staying in the Bay, the Hieroglyphics crew’s Souls of Mischief, who three decades ago famously predicted that they’d be chillin’ until the clock strikes infinity, are doing a lot more than just chillin’. They initially set out to do 93 shows this year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their song “93 ’Til Infinity.” As of today, they’ve done 117 shows across multiple continents, and they’ve also \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932471/souls-of-mischief-freestyle-93-til-infinity\">recorded new verses over the “93 ’Til Infinity” instrumental\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another member of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2013/04/17/177326079/this-was-1993-20-years-ago-i-heard-the-perfect-rap-song\">the class of ’93\u003c/a> from Oakland, 52 year-old Boots Riley, has been on a run. His 2023 TV series about a giant Black man from East Oakland, \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>, has been nominated for multiple awards. Behind the scenes, Boots has continued to point out injustices in our society, with a focus on the predatory nature of capitalism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13933475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13933475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person in a very tall hat speaks in to a set of microphones at a podium in an outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/08/230818-BOOTS-RILEY-Getty-MM-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley speaks at the 2023 Writers Guild Of America Strike: Rally And March at Pan Pacific Park on June 21, 2023 in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the subject of early ’90s West Coast MCs who once used their music to give the middle finger to Uncle Sam before turning to film, there’s Ice Cube. The good news is that Cube, the 54 year-old founder of the Big3 basketball league, is still making music and movies, just as he did three decades ago. The bad news? \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/ice-cube-tucker-carlson-interview-many-fans-disappointed-1234775390/\">He’s also giving tours of the hood to conservative white folks\u003c/a>. Then again, that’s kind of what mainstream “gangsta rappers” have always done, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Politics hasn’t always been the most welcoming arena for hip-hop artists, but just this past week, 53 year-old \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/1215901880/queen-latifah-billy-crystal-and-others-celebrated-at-kennedy-center-honors\">Queen Latifah\u003c/a> received praise from President Joe Biden as she became the first female rap artist to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While we’re awarding artists who’ve done the work and then some, let’s talk about the ever-influential \u003ca href=\"https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/missy-elliott?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsburBhCIARIsAExmsu7TtF4zNeILr0texP3h8TsAue-XEitgt7gIgGsbddEAcVvheVatO24aAokcEALw_wcB\">Missy Elliott\u003c/a>, who at the age of 52 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. (68 year-old DJ Kool Herc, a founding father of hip-hop, joined her as a 2023 inductee.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13915629\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13915629\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A close-up of a Black woman's face with colorful eyeliner, as she sings into a microphone\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1725\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-800x539.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1020x687.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-768x518.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1536x1035.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-2048x1380.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/06/GettyImages-57095278-1920x1294.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauryn Hill has written about feeling pressured to choose between her career and motherhood. \u003ccite>(Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite the revelation that Fugees member \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/04/26/1172368058/former-fugees-musician-pras-michel-found-guilty-of-10-criminal-charges\">Pras was once a federal agent\u003c/a>, that didn’t stop 48 year-old Lauryn Hill and the crew from reuniting for a few shows around the country, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/lauryn-hill-oakland-concert-18467645.php\">including one last month in Oakland\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are veteran artists doing completely unforeseen things, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.xxlmag.com/redman-licensed-skydiver/\">Redman (age 53) becoming a licensed skydiver\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/a/jaelaniturnerwilliams/twista-raps-overnight-celebrity-over-gun-shots\">Twista (age 50) teaching firearm safety and rapping to the sound of bullets flying\u003c/a> at a shooting range. And then there are artists continuing what they’ve been doing, just at a higher level. Method Man is a certified actor who still periodically drops a verse here and there, and at the age of 52 \u003ca href=\"https://www.menshealth.com/health/a44665280/method-man-hip-hop-50-interview/\">moonlights as a sex symbol\u003c/a>. Lil Kim, who at 49 has her own claim as a sex symbol, just \u003ca href=\"https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/queen-bee_4--lil-kim\">penned a memoir\u003c/a> that’s set to release next year. Texas OG Bun B, a 50 year-old who \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMCSP5yNLQk\">knows his way around the kitchen\u003c/a>, has opened a restaurant called \u003ca href=\"https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/food/2023/06/07/453856/bun-bs-trill-burgers-launches-first-brick-and-mortar-location-in-houston/\">Trill Burgers\u003c/a>. The ever-fashionable megaproducer Pharrell, who doesn’t age despite government records showing he’s 50, is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/18/style/louis-vuitton-menswear-pharrell-williams-louis-vuittons.html\">designing for Louis Vuitton\u003c/a>. And 53 year-old MC Lyte, whose voice dropped rock-heavy flows when hip-hop was in its nascent form and has since gone on to host award shows, is now using her voice to talk to the \u003ca href=\"https://afrotech.com/mc-lyte-supporting-black-girls-in-tech/\">next generation of Black girls interested in coding\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13932398\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13932398\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Rakim-2-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rakim performs at Blue Note Jazz Festival on Sunday, July 30, 2023. \u003ccite>(Eric Arnold)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Let’s take a second to pause, and acknowledge the many hip-hop artists who’ve died at a young age due to poor health. And follow that by celebrating and supporting the legends who are living, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/gallery/paid-in-full-foundations-inaugural-hip-hop-grandmaster-awards-rakim-nas-1234814725/\">Scarface (53) and Rakim (55)\u003c/a>, who both recently received healthcare benefits and financial support from the Paid in Full Foundation. Health concerns for our aging icons are also part of the reason folks’ ears perked up when 52 year-old Snoop Dogg posted on social media that he’s “done with smoke.” And, because he’s Snoop, we weren’t surprised when the news turned out to be a commercial for \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/snoop-dogg-not-giving-up-weed-announces-collaboration-with-smokeless-fire-pit-brand-8404736\">a smoke-free fire pit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In this 50th year of hip-hop, we’re grateful to see the resolution of feuds between artists. \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/camron-mase-sign-talk-show-deal-1234782595/\">Ma$e (48) and Cam’ron (47) reunited\u003c/a> and created “It Is What It Is,” a talk show that’s full of laughs and insight on current events. North Carolina’s hip-hop duo Little Brother recently released a documentary film, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_LQmpx5l-E\">May the Lord Watch: The Little Brother Story\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, highlighting their friendship’s trajectory. And on the more romantic side of reunions, Nelly and Ashanti got back together, and are expecting their first child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a good segue to the news that at the age of 48, the first woman to go platinum as a rap artist, Da Brat, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ajc.com/life/radiotvtalk-blog/da-brat-amazed-and-grateful-for-baby-son-at-age-48/QLNVH4K4I5FWRLJ6FDTNEQAMVU/\">just gave birth to a baby boy\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You never thought that hip-hop would take it this far.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13939085\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13939085\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1400\" height=\"787\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk.jpg 1400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/12/Juvenile.TinyDesk-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juvenile performs with Mannie Fresh and an all-star band at the NPR offices in a Tiny Desk Concert. \u003ccite>(Catie Dull/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Neither could we have imagined that at the age 45, Trina, Ms. “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvsPwwphxrg\">Whoop-whoop, pull over, that ass is too fat\u003c/a>,” would be performing at the offices of National Public Radio. Nor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kes2P4IC2bQ\">Mr. Back That Azz Up\u003c/a>, a.k.a. Juvenile (48), for that matter. But yes, both happened this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-century since hip-hop started and there are many reasons to rejoice, despite some of the unsavory news. As fans, we’re appreciative that the catalogs of Young Jeezy and De La Soul are now on streaming sites. And we’re equally appreciative that there’s new music from the likes of J.Cole, Lil Wayne and Nas, who at age 50, has dropped multiple award-winning albums in the past five years and had a resurrection unlike anyone else in the game—with the possible exception of Black Thought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Tariq Trotter isn’t rocking as a part of the house band for \u003cem>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon\u003c/em>, he’s writing off-Broadway plays and acting in films. But don’t think for a second he can’t spit a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA\">scorching freestyle\u003c/a>, too. He’s dropped verses on projects with younger rappers that show he hasn’t lost a step. And he’s put out a few highly acclaimed projects over the past couple years — arguably some of his best work — with music that speaks to middle-aged hip-hop heads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13840236\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13840236\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583.jpg\" alt=\"Black Thought plays Hiero Day in Oakland on Monday, September 3, 2018.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/MG_9583-520x346.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Black Thought plays Hiero Day in Oakland on Monday, September 3, 2018. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During his interview with NPR, Black Thought talked about maturing, and that he feels more comfortable sharing more intimate details of his life. “As artists, there’s a dance, there’s a negotiation that takes place,” Trotter told Mosely. “But it’s the sort of thing that I was holding on to for the right moment — you know what I mean? For when it made the most sense. And that’s right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that right there is all the more reason to appreciate the aging process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/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>Black Thought appears in discussion with Jelani Cobb on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Sydney Goldstein Theatre in San Francisco as part of City Arts & Lectures. \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityboxoffice.com/ordertickets.asp?p=13941\">Details and ticket info here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Oakland Filmmaker Boots Riley on Hollywood Strikes ‘Radicalizing’ Creative Class",
"headTitle": "Oakland Filmmaker Boots Riley on Hollywood Strikes ‘Radicalizing’ Creative Class | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>We’re nearing the four-month mark for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/writers-strike\">writer’s strike\u003c/a>, and it’s been more than a month since the \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/story-arc/sag-aftra-strike/\">actors joined them\u003c/a>. Oakland filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a> has been a labor advocate and activist since his teen years, and he shared his perspective with KQED’s Rachael Myrow. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11956178']\u003cstrong>What would you say is the mood now on the picket lines, all these months out?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Striking — although there’s a downside to it, [because] you are risking something, you are sacrificing something — there’s community that is built, and that can be fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You know, I was a baby reporter the last time that the writers went out on strike (2007-2008). I remember there being a lot more dissension within the ranks, people questioning union leadership. It really strikes me this time around that you don’t see that. You see people really in lock step with leadership. It’s like everyone sort of agrees that this is existential.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah. Well, there are two things. One, [in] 2011, we had a movement that swept across the US called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886461/the-legacy-of-the-occupy-movement-10-years-later\">Occupy movement\u003c/a>, and it was in every single town and city — 99% against the 1%. So you had that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, by the time this strike came out, there had been 3,000 \u003ca href=\"https://paydayreport.com/payday-interactive-strike-tracker/\">strikes and work stoppages\u003c/a> in the United States since 2020 [according to the crowdfunded labor publication \u003ca href=\"https://paydayreport.com/payday-interactive-strike-tracker/\">Payday Report\u003c/a>]. Basically, that makes us in the middle of the biggest strike wave that the US has seen since the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>But this is not your grandma’s \u003ca href=\"https://amptp.org/aboutus.html\">AMPTP\u003c/a> [Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers]. [The biggest companies the organization represents are] half, at this point, if not more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956178/its-now-or-never-writers-and-actors-see-conflict-with-big-tech-as-existential\">Big Tech\u003c/a>…\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re carrying that same ethos over to the entertainment business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='forum_2010101893314']\u003cstrong>Any one of these companies has more money at its fingertips than many nation states. They’ve got deep pockets, and they also have binders full of lawyers. You’re a musician. You’ve probably watched what’s happened with Spotify. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893314/how-musicians-are-navigating-streaming-algorithms-ai-and-automation\">They just ate the musicians’ lunch\u003c/a>. You get these royalty checks for 0.00036 cents, for a year.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is terrible what streaming is doing. It’s also not that far off from how people were getting paid in the 1990s and before. Think about how many times somebody played your album, and the radio played it, and that you were only getting maybe 50 cents to a dollar for every album, if you got anything from that. It’s all capitalism. There wasn’t this shining time when everything was great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That being said, the way that it could be handled is the same way Charlie Chaplin and them created the first Screen Actors Guild [\u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-artists-created#\">United Artists Corporation\u003c/a>]. If all the big artists that had stuff about to come out this year withheld all that stuff, and worked together, they could make it better for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So I know it’s always dangerous to read a crystal ball. What does your gut tell you about where especially the WGA’s fight is going?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the Writers Guild knows that, if they come away from — I’m saying “they.” I’m in the Writers Guild, I’m in the DGA and I’m actually also in SAG — but I think the writer leadership knows that if they go on a strike this long and come back with very minimal gains, that it discourages people from striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right' citation='Boots Riley']As someone who has spent a lifetime making culture trying to put out a class analysis, I see now some of what I’m doing is redundant, because everybody is already there. [/pullquote] On the other hand, AMPTP, they’ll easily still make billions of dollars and still have all their stuff if they gave into everything that the WGA wanted. Their reason for not wanting to do it and, and is ideological, an overarching view of how capitalism should and shouldn’t work who controls our world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This strike is diffusing all of the smoke screen that they had, right? What it’s doing is radicalizing all of their workers. So they [the AMPTP] really need to settle the strikes as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As someone who has spent a lifetime making culture trying to put out a class analysis, I see now some of what I’m doing is redundant, because everybody is already there. Folks [who] had this idea that we’re in a different kind of capitalism once you’re in the tech world? AMPTP and what they’re doing with this strike is destroying all of that.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>We’re nearing the four-month mark for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/writers-strike\">writer’s strike\u003c/a>, and it’s been more than a month since the \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/story-arc/sag-aftra-strike/\">actors joined them\u003c/a>. Oakland filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/boots-riley\">Boots Riley\u003c/a> has been a labor advocate and activist since his teen years, and he shared his perspective with KQED’s Rachael Myrow. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This conversation has been edited for clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What would you say is the mood now on the picket lines, all these months out?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Striking — although there’s a downside to it, [because] you are risking something, you are sacrificing something — there’s community that is built, and that can be fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You know, I was a baby reporter the last time that the writers went out on strike (2007-2008). I remember there being a lot more dissension within the ranks, people questioning union leadership. It really strikes me this time around that you don’t see that. You see people really in lock step with leadership. It’s like everyone sort of agrees that this is existential.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yeah. Well, there are two things. One, [in] 2011, we had a movement that swept across the US called the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101886461/the-legacy-of-the-occupy-movement-10-years-later\">Occupy movement\u003c/a>, and it was in every single town and city — 99% against the 1%. So you had that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, by the time this strike came out, there had been 3,000 \u003ca href=\"https://paydayreport.com/payday-interactive-strike-tracker/\">strikes and work stoppages\u003c/a> in the United States since 2020 [according to the crowdfunded labor publication \u003ca href=\"https://paydayreport.com/payday-interactive-strike-tracker/\">Payday Report\u003c/a>]. Basically, that makes us in the middle of the biggest strike wave that the US has seen since the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>But this is not your grandma’s \u003ca href=\"https://amptp.org/aboutus.html\">AMPTP\u003c/a> [Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers]. [The biggest companies the organization represents are] half, at this point, if not more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956178/its-now-or-never-writers-and-actors-see-conflict-with-big-tech-as-existential\">Big Tech\u003c/a>…\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re carrying that same ethos over to the entertainment business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Any one of these companies has more money at its fingertips than many nation states. They’ve got deep pockets, and they also have binders full of lawyers. You’re a musician. You’ve probably watched what’s happened with Spotify. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893314/how-musicians-are-navigating-streaming-algorithms-ai-and-automation\">They just ate the musicians’ lunch\u003c/a>. You get these royalty checks for 0.00036 cents, for a year.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is terrible what streaming is doing. It’s also not that far off from how people were getting paid in the 1990s and before. Think about how many times somebody played your album, and the radio played it, and that you were only getting maybe 50 cents to a dollar for every album, if you got anything from that. It’s all capitalism. There wasn’t this shining time when everything was great.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That being said, the way that it could be handled is the same way Charlie Chaplin and them created the first Screen Actors Guild [\u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-artists-created#\">United Artists Corporation\u003c/a>]. If all the big artists that had stuff about to come out this year withheld all that stuff, and worked together, they could make it better for everybody.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>So I know it’s always dangerous to read a crystal ball. What does your gut tell you about where especially the WGA’s fight is going?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think the Writers Guild knows that, if they come away from — I’m saying “they.” I’m in the Writers Guild, I’m in the DGA and I’m actually also in SAG — but I think the writer leadership knows that if they go on a strike this long and come back with very minimal gains, that it discourages people from striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> On the other hand, AMPTP, they’ll easily still make billions of dollars and still have all their stuff if they gave into everything that the WGA wanted. Their reason for not wanting to do it and, and is ideological, an overarching view of how capitalism should and shouldn’t work who controls our world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This strike is diffusing all of the smoke screen that they had, right? What it’s doing is radicalizing all of their workers. So they [the AMPTP] really need to settle the strikes as quickly as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As someone who has spent a lifetime making culture trying to put out a class analysis, I see now some of what I’m doing is redundant, because everybody is already there. Folks [who] had this idea that we’re in a different kind of capitalism once you’re in the tech world? AMPTP and what they’re doing with this strike is destroying all of that.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13930965\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13930965\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"a white man and a woman pose on a rock in front of a lake\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square.jpg 1976w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nate Brenner and Merrill Garbus are Tune-Yards, whose experimental indie pop sets the tone for Boots Riley’s new show, ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pooneh Ghana)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Given the many delightfully strange elements packed into \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1687838246775907&usg=AOvVaw1djNgiIIFJwO-81Fyq3ZsQ\">\u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Boots Riley’s 2018 directorial debut, one could be forgiven for overlooking its musical score. But from start to finish, the vocal-looped compositions created by Tune-Yards (Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner) play a key role in bringing Riley’s surreal version of Oakland to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13836455']The same is true in \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>, Riley’s new series for Amazon Prime, which debuted on June 23 to rave reviews. The story, which follows a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old named Cootie (Jharrel Jerome) as he first discovers life outside his house, spans tones and genres; the plot contains elements of a superhero story, a heist movie, a romance, a buddy movie — there’s even an animated show-within-the-show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s consistent is the score, which works subtly but powerfully, almost as its own character. No one in modern pop music uses vocals as an instrument quite the way Tune-Yards does. Garbus’ voice surrounds the viewer, becoming a siren, then percussion; it’s layered into a Greek chorus; its timbre shifts nimbly with the show’s mood. The effect here is expansive — it adds weight to the storyline’s central tragedy, brings a light sweetness to Cootie’s experience of falling in love, and imbues action scenes with a colorful, off-kilter urgency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYfpWY330mM\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Virgo\u003c/em> also seems to confirm that Tune-Yards has become the house band for the Boots Riley cinematic universe — the Danny Elfman to his Tim Burton, if you will — which means we can likely expect more from the partnership in years to come. (Riley has said he thinks of \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> as tracks No. 1 and 2 in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/boots-riley-interview-im-a-virgo-anti-capitalist-revolution-amazon-prime-1234772623/\">seven- or eight-track “cinematic album.”\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Garbus and Brenner work on material for a new Tune-Yards record, the score to \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> should be released on vinyl later this year. We called them up to hear more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emma Silvers: How did you and Boots meet? Were you fans of each other’s work first?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> I believe \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabbylalamusic/?hl=en\">Gabby [La La]\u003c/a>, his wife, liked Tune-Yards, and showed him some of our music. And then maybe he saw us at Stern Grove? But the first time we really met was New Year’s Eve 2012, when he opened for Erykah Badu at the Fox. His energy when he performed was just unbelievable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus: \u003c/strong>[His son] Django was only a couple months old at the time, and he was like, wearing him, with the little headphones on, hanging out between sets at the Fox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13927554']I grew up on the East Coast, so I only knew of the Coup peripherally, but once I started listening it was just completely up my alley. Coming from where I come from — my grandparents kind of hovered around the communism of New York Jews in the ’40s and ’50s, and I have a background in a lot of the stuff that I was hearing in the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Had you ever scored a film before \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>? How did that part of your partnership begin?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> He was like “I’m making a movie, and I want you to do the music. Can I send you the screenplay?” A lot of times when people say they want Tune-Yards to score something, they mean they want us to write “Bizness” over again, or they want us to write “Water Fountain” over again. But with Boots, I had a feeling he was like, “No, I want all the weird of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Honestly, it sounded too amazing to ever be made into a movie. But I was like, sure, I’ll make some weird music. So we started demoing and recording, and we’d meet at Awaken Cafe and just talk. He wanted a lot of my vocals, and I was using a lot of this harmonizer pedal I was into at that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no, we had never scored a film before. If you had asked me before if I wanted to, I probably would have been like “Ha! Sure.” But — maybe because I didn’t go to school for music — it always seemed out of the realm of possibility for me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtsDLj7g_oF/?hl=en\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was your process like for the \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> score?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> We had a lot of time before they even started filming, on both \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>. We uploaded probably 100 demos to a SoundCloud, and he was still writing the script while he was listening to those. So he’d be like, ‘Oh, that was cool, you guys sent me that thing and I changed the script to fit it.’ I think he also wound up playing demos for the cast as they were shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Boots is really clear about the sounds in his head, including instrumentation. When he told us the concept of the show, I was like ‘Oh, do you want superhero music?’ and he was like ‘No, I don’t. Here is what I want.’ And he gave us a couple references that were wildly different than what I ever would have conceived of: carillon bells; the 1956 Japanese film\u003cem> Street of Shame\u003c/em>, with music by [avant-garde composer] Toshiro Mayuzumi; \u003cem>Cape Fear\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> Throughout the process he’d text us at, like, midnight on a Sunday, being like “Check this out! I don’t want it to sound \u003cem>like\u003c/em> this, but maybe have a similar vibe…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13931048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-800x534.jpeg\" alt=\"a man and a woman in a music studio, the woman is wearing headphones and sitting at a computer and giving a thumbs up\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563.jpeg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tune-Yards at their studio, working on the score for ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pete Lee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Having a really strong melody was important to him. He didn’t want it to be abstract music. But he also didn’t want it to be repetitive, like in \u003cem>White Lotus\u003c/em> where you hear the theme over and over again and you can’t get it out of your head … so a lot of the intuition about how to be musicians scoring a television show went out the window. As it did with \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>. We’d be like “Well, typically in movie scores they do this…” and he’d be like, “Erase that from your mind! I don’t want to do typical movie music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> Also, he remembers \u003cem>everything\u003c/em>. He’d come over, like, two nights a week after our kid went to bed, and we’d play him something, and he’d give us notes. “OK, what if we tried a tambourine on this one?” And then we’d have a million things to do, and he’s busy, but four weeks later he’d be like “Let’s hear that tambourine.” He’s always throwing out so many ideas, you think he can’t possibly be keeping track of all of them. But he is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CtkKuRkyH8U/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This show is set in a surreal version of Oakland. Were you consciously thinking about the sound of the Town when you were writing this score?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> I think about Oakland and Oakland music traditions all the time, with the discomfort and self-consciousness of not growing up here, having moved here in 2009. I think Nate and Boots share a lot more of the George Clinton and Bootsy [Collins] thing, Nate grew up listening to that music. But I came to the Coup late, I came to E-40 late. I grew up on the East Coast with New York hip-hop and, like, Dave Matthews Band, the music of suburban Connecticut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is all to say, with the exception of the our very first record, all our albums — the music that has really made Tune-Yards Tune-Yards — has been when I’ve lived in Oakland, and it’s \u003cem>always\u003c/em> me trying to figure myself out here, myself as a white person here. I almost want to say “as an expat.”[aside postid='arts_13894750']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this show, though, I thought a lot about wanting to honor the fact that he asked \u003cem>us\u003c/em> to do this, he wanted Tune-Yards music. So we’re gonna do Tune-Yards music, knowing that Oakland is being filtered through us. Or maybe we’re being filtered through Oakland. Also, the references he gave us were so out there — like, from a Japanese film from the ’50s. If he wanted music that came from Oakland, he knows how to do that. But he wanted the world. He wants everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931049\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13931049\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-800x534.jpeg\" alt=\"a woman sitting on the floor and a man sitting on a couch in a music studio\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705.jpeg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merrill Garbus and Boots Riley, working on the score for ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pete Lee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were there any particularly challenging scenes or elements?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Definitely the psychic theater [a few segments in which Jones, an organizer played by Kara Young, delivers monologues about capitalism]. The last one is like seven and a half minutes of a character breaking down the exploitative and racist nature of capitalism. It really needs the music to help an audience stick around for that — even though Kara’s acting is amazing, and it’s extremely dynamic. But that’s another problem: how do you use music to move it along and also not get in the way of the dialogue?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpagmvYZKRc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Those scenes are so wild to watch — for me, there was an element of “I can’t believe this is real, that this is going to be on a TV show distributed by Amazon.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> It’s definitely the first time I’ve seen an organizer as the main character in a TV show. There are just so many things [in this show that] we haven’t seen in mainstream culture. But there are organizers all over this country. And now someone could see that and think, ‘Oh, I want to do that in my community. I’ve never seen it before.’ It feels really instructive of how to use art in a way that can tap into people’s imaginations, open them up to different futures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll just say I hope this continues to be the time in our lives where we get to keep working with Boots Riley. \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> was a big change for me, and how I related to music. I think that indie pop, Pitchfork-y world of the mid-2000s that Tune-Yards came up in — I started to feel kind of constricted as an artist, as a creator. And it’s so satisfying to see Boots kind of bloom in pop culture at this particular moment in time. Just to be around him and be part of his creative universe has really opened my mind … It’s reinvigorated my sense of curiosity and inventiveness and wanting to do things that have never been done before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We worked harder on \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> than we have in a really long time, up late at night after our kid went to bed. Even just the amount of music that we wrote … it was all super intense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner: \u003c/strong>It’s one of those where, when you’re in the middle of it, you’re like, oh, we need a vacation as soon as this is over. But then when it’s over you’re like … what am I doing? And you just want to be working on it again.\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>\u003cem>‘I’m A Virgo’ is streaming now on Amazon Prime. Tune-Yards is scheduled to perform at Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma on Aug. 22 and at the Center for the Arts in Grass Valley on Aug. 23; \u003ca href=\"https://tune-yards.com/tourdates/\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Oakland indie pop duo discusses their score for the rapper-activist-filmmaker's wild new show, 'I'm A Virgo.'",
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"title": "How Tune-Yards Became the House Band for the Boots Riley Cinematic Universe | KQED",
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"headline": "How Tune-Yards Became the House Band for the Boots Riley Cinematic Universe",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13930965\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13930965\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"a white man and a woman pose on a rock in front of a lake\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square-1920x1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/tuneyards.square.jpg 1976w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nate Brenner and Merrill Garbus are Tune-Yards, whose experimental indie pop sets the tone for Boots Riley’s new show, ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pooneh Ghana)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Given the many delightfully strange elements packed into \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.kqed.org/arts/13836455/in-sorry-to-bother-you-an-alternate-universe-oakland-is-still-true-and-familiar&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1687838246775907&usg=AOvVaw1djNgiIIFJwO-81Fyq3ZsQ\">\u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Boots Riley’s 2018 directorial debut, one could be forgiven for overlooking its musical score. But from start to finish, the vocal-looped compositions created by Tune-Yards (Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner) play a key role in bringing Riley’s surreal version of Oakland to life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The same is true in \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>, Riley’s new series for Amazon Prime, which debuted on June 23 to rave reviews. The story, which follows a 13-foot-tall 19-year-old named Cootie (Jharrel Jerome) as he first discovers life outside his house, spans tones and genres; the plot contains elements of a superhero story, a heist movie, a romance, a buddy movie — there’s even an animated show-within-the-show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s consistent is the score, which works subtly but powerfully, almost as its own character. No one in modern pop music uses vocals as an instrument quite the way Tune-Yards does. Garbus’ voice surrounds the viewer, becoming a siren, then percussion; it’s layered into a Greek chorus; its timbre shifts nimbly with the show’s mood. The effect here is expansive — it adds weight to the storyline’s central tragedy, brings a light sweetness to Cootie’s experience of falling in love, and imbues action scenes with a colorful, off-kilter urgency.\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/DYfpWY330mM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/DYfpWY330mM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Virgo\u003c/em> also seems to confirm that Tune-Yards has become the house band for the Boots Riley cinematic universe — the Danny Elfman to his Tim Burton, if you will — which means we can likely expect more from the partnership in years to come. (Riley has said he thinks of \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> as tracks No. 1 and 2 in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/boots-riley-interview-im-a-virgo-anti-capitalist-revolution-amazon-prime-1234772623/\">seven- or eight-track “cinematic album.”\u003c/a>)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Garbus and Brenner work on material for a new Tune-Yards record, the score to \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> should be released on vinyl later this year. We called them up to hear more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Emma Silvers: How did you and Boots meet? Were you fans of each other’s work first?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> I believe \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/gabbylalamusic/?hl=en\">Gabby [La La]\u003c/a>, his wife, liked Tune-Yards, and showed him some of our music. And then maybe he saw us at Stern Grove? But the first time we really met was New Year’s Eve 2012, when he opened for Erykah Badu at the Fox. His energy when he performed was just unbelievable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus: \u003c/strong>[His son] Django was only a couple months old at the time, and he was like, wearing him, with the little headphones on, hanging out between sets at the Fox.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>I grew up on the East Coast, so I only knew of the Coup peripherally, but once I started listening it was just completely up my alley. Coming from where I come from — my grandparents kind of hovered around the communism of New York Jews in the ’40s and ’50s, and I have a background in a lot of the stuff that I was hearing in the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Had you ever scored a film before \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>? How did that part of your partnership begin?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> He was like “I’m making a movie, and I want you to do the music. Can I send you the screenplay?” A lot of times when people say they want Tune-Yards to score something, they mean they want us to write “Bizness” over again, or they want us to write “Water Fountain” over again. But with Boots, I had a feeling he was like, “No, I want all the weird of you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Honestly, it sounded too amazing to ever be made into a movie. But I was like, sure, I’ll make some weird music. So we started demoing and recording, and we’d meet at Awaken Cafe and just talk. He wanted a lot of my vocals, and I was using a lot of this harmonizer pedal I was into at that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But no, we had never scored a film before. If you had asked me before if I wanted to, I probably would have been like “Ha! Sure.” But — maybe because I didn’t go to school for music — it always seemed out of the realm of possibility for me.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What was your process like for the \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> score?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> We had a lot of time before they even started filming, on both \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> and \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>. We uploaded probably 100 demos to a SoundCloud, and he was still writing the script while he was listening to those. So he’d be like, ‘Oh, that was cool, you guys sent me that thing and I changed the script to fit it.’ I think he also wound up playing demos for the cast as they were shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Boots is really clear about the sounds in his head, including instrumentation. When he told us the concept of the show, I was like ‘Oh, do you want superhero music?’ and he was like ‘No, I don’t. Here is what I want.’ And he gave us a couple references that were wildly different than what I ever would have conceived of: carillon bells; the 1956 Japanese film\u003cem> Street of Shame\u003c/em>, with music by [avant-garde composer] Toshiro Mayuzumi; \u003cem>Cape Fear\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> Throughout the process he’d text us at, like, midnight on a Sunday, being like “Check this out! I don’t want it to sound \u003cem>like\u003c/em> this, but maybe have a similar vibe…”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13931048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-800x534.jpeg\" alt=\"a man and a woman in a music studio, the woman is wearing headphones and sitting at a computer and giving a thumbs up\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/vrgo_s1_ut_100_221024_leepet-00563.jpeg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tune-Yards at their studio, working on the score for ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pete Lee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Having a really strong melody was important to him. He didn’t want it to be abstract music. But he also didn’t want it to be repetitive, like in \u003cem>White Lotus\u003c/em> where you hear the theme over and over again and you can’t get it out of your head … so a lot of the intuition about how to be musicians scoring a television show went out the window. As it did with \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>. We’d be like “Well, typically in movie scores they do this…” and he’d be like, “Erase that from your mind! I don’t want to do typical movie music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner:\u003c/strong> Also, he remembers \u003cem>everything\u003c/em>. He’d come over, like, two nights a week after our kid went to bed, and we’d play him something, and he’d give us notes. “OK, what if we tried a tambourine on this one?” And then we’d have a million things to do, and he’s busy, but four weeks later he’d be like “Let’s hear that tambourine.” He’s always throwing out so many ideas, you think he can’t possibly be keeping track of all of them. But he is.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This show is set in a surreal version of Oakland. Were you consciously thinking about the sound of the Town when you were writing this score?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> I think about Oakland and Oakland music traditions all the time, with the discomfort and self-consciousness of not growing up here, having moved here in 2009. I think Nate and Boots share a lot more of the George Clinton and Bootsy [Collins] thing, Nate grew up listening to that music. But I came to the Coup late, I came to E-40 late. I grew up on the East Coast with New York hip-hop and, like, Dave Matthews Band, the music of suburban Connecticut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is all to say, with the exception of the our very first record, all our albums — the music that has really made Tune-Yards Tune-Yards — has been when I’ve lived in Oakland, and it’s \u003cem>always\u003c/em> me trying to figure myself out here, myself as a white person here. I almost want to say “as an expat.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With this show, though, I thought a lot about wanting to honor the fact that he asked \u003cem>us\u003c/em> to do this, he wanted Tune-Yards music. So we’re gonna do Tune-Yards music, knowing that Oakland is being filtered through us. Or maybe we’re being filtered through Oakland. Also, the references he gave us were so out there — like, from a Japanese film from the ’50s. If he wanted music that came from Oakland, he knows how to do that. But he wanted the world. He wants everything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931049\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705.jpeg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13931049\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-800x534.jpeg\" alt=\"a woman sitting on the floor and a man sitting on a couch in a music studio\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-1020x680.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/iav-1705.jpeg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Merrill Garbus and Boots Riley, working on the score for ‘I’m A Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Pete Lee)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Were there any particularly challenging scenes or elements?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> Definitely the psychic theater [a few segments in which Jones, an organizer played by Kara Young, delivers monologues about capitalism]. The last one is like seven and a half minutes of a character breaking down the exploitative and racist nature of capitalism. It really needs the music to help an audience stick around for that — even though Kara’s acting is amazing, and it’s extremely dynamic. But that’s another problem: how do you use music to move it along and also not get in the way of the dialogue?\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/lpagmvYZKRc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/lpagmvYZKRc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Those scenes are so wild to watch — for me, there was an element of “I can’t believe this is real, that this is going to be on a TV show distributed by Amazon.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Merrill Garbus:\u003c/strong> It’s definitely the first time I’ve seen an organizer as the main character in a TV show. There are just so many things [in this show that] we haven’t seen in mainstream culture. But there are organizers all over this country. And now someone could see that and think, ‘Oh, I want to do that in my community. I’ve never seen it before.’ It feels really instructive of how to use art in a way that can tap into people’s imaginations, open them up to different futures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll just say I hope this continues to be the time in our lives where we get to keep working with Boots Riley. \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> was a big change for me, and how I related to music. I think that indie pop, Pitchfork-y world of the mid-2000s that Tune-Yards came up in — I started to feel kind of constricted as an artist, as a creator. And it’s so satisfying to see Boots kind of bloom in pop culture at this particular moment in time. Just to be around him and be part of his creative universe has really opened my mind … It’s reinvigorated my sense of curiosity and inventiveness and wanting to do things that have never been done before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We worked harder on \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em> than we have in a really long time, up late at night after our kid went to bed. Even just the amount of music that we wrote … it was all super intense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Nate Brenner: \u003c/strong>It’s one of those where, when you’re in the middle of it, you’re like, oh, we need a vacation as soon as this is over. But then when it’s over you’re like … what am I doing? And you just want to be working on it again.\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>\u003cem>‘I’m A Virgo’ is streaming now on Amazon Prime. Tune-Yards is scheduled to perform at Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma on Aug. 22 and at the Center for the Arts in Grass Valley on Aug. 23; \u003ca href=\"https://tune-yards.com/tourdates/\">details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The headlines are all about AI these days — most recently with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/04/23/drake-the-weeknd-ai-song-sarlin-acostanr-contd-vpx.cnn\">an “AI Drake” song\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/DanteTheDon/status/1652371178403536898\">Biggie version of Nas’ “NY State of Mind.”\u003c/a> Both have gone viral and reintroduced a running debate about the dangers and \u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3vmn/heart-on-my-sleeve-ai-music-drake-the-weeknd-lawyer-explains\">legal implications\u003c/a> of artificial intelligence. One thing is painfully clear: it’s not going away anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I grew up along Highway 101, on the northern edge of Silicon Valley — just one exit away from where Google’s Mountain View campus would eventually sprout, and only a few miles from Facebook’s headquarters in East Palo Alto. I won’t lie — my lifelong proximity to every tech trend has made me skeptical, if not resistant, to the latest technologies.[aside postid='arts_13928057']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when my wife started messing around with \u003ca href=\"https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-the-controversy-surrounding-chatgpt-really-tells-us/443735\">OpenAI’s controversial ChatGPT\u003c/a> on her new phone, I surprised myself when I asked her to engage the hyper-algorithmic platform to answer what I thought was a basic question:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are the best Bay Area rap albums?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep down, I was curious if the decades I’d spent digging through crates, listening to cassettes, burning CDs, freestyling in the back of parked cars and on corners, doing graffiti, attending hip-hop events, reading about the subject, taking college courses about the genre, discussing the craft with artists and religiously streaming the newest talents on today’s apps would compare to the almighty knowledge of ChatGPT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what it spit out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ironically, A.I. approves of funky homosapiens\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before listing what it deemed the best 10 Bay Area albums, ChatGPT opened with a preamble: “The San Francisco Bay Area has been an important hub for hip hop since the early days of the genre, and has produced some of the most innovative and influential rap albums of all time.” Truer words have never been typed by a non-corporeal cloud.[aside postid='arts_13927692']Though the list in its entirety had some disastrous flubs (more on those later), I was impressed by the specificity of the suggestions. This isn’t just a beginner’s list that any bozo might posit at trivia night in a desperate attempt to appear knowledgeable. It actually offers some gems, worthy of consideration for any true Bay Area hip-hop head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the highlights from OpenAI’s suggestions, as they randomly populated my screen:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJc2NYwHjw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ci>‘93 Til Infinity\u003c/i> by Souls of Mischief\u003c/strong>. Classic record, no pushback here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>Deltron 3030\u003c/i> by Deltron 3030\u003c/strong>. To be fair, I’m not sure this is considered a strictly “Bay Area rap” album. It’s a collaboration between two Bay Area legends and a Canadian, and is as much a science fiction odyssey as it is rap. But sure. We’ll toss it in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13928552\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13928552\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg\" alt=\"a black cassette tape that reads 'The Coup, The EP' in white letters\" width=\"600\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879-160x99.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Coup’s 1991 EP. \u003ccite>(via Discogs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>The Coup\u003c/i> by The Coup\u003c/strong>. Of all the Coup’s releases, ChatGPT picked this obscure, cassette-only 1991 EP — technically not an album — released decades before the group’s frontman and Town activist, Boots Riley, pursued an alternative career as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13831773/boots-riley-receives-sundance-vanguard-award\">a dope filmmaker\u003c/a> who premiered his latest script, \u003ci>I’m A Virgo\u003c/i>, at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13926757/2023-sffilm-festival-bay-area-guide\">this year’s SFFILM\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>Hyphy Hitz\u003c/i>\u003c/strong>. A sweep-kick compilation of Bay Area hyphy anthems featuring The Federation, Keak Da Sneak and The Team. Looks like it came from the bargain bin at Walmart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13928542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13928542\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg\" alt=\"an album cover that reads 'The Jacka Presents the artist records The A.R. Street Album, with four young Black men in black and white t-shirts posing against a white wall\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cover of ‘The Jacka Presents The Artist Records – The A.R Street Album.’ Kind of a surprising choice in the context of the rest of The Jacka’s catalogue, but we’ll take it. \u003ccite>(The Artist Records/SMC Entertainment )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>The Jacka Presents: \u003c/i>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>The A.R. Street Album by The Jacka\u003c/strong>.\u003c/em> A 2012 label showcase that features Bay Area mainstays like Husalah and Fed-X. An odd selection, though ChatGPT did respectfully note Jacka’s passing in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgiqoLpwSc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ci>I\u003c/i>\u003ci>n A Major Way\u003c/i> by E-40\u003c/strong>. My personal favorite here, and still among the most-played CDs in my outdated stick-shift vehicle to this day. (I told you, I don’t fully trust automation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall: a couple miscalculations, but it represents the diversity of the region’s soundscape. You get a mandatory Hyphy compilation from the early aughts; a bit of darkly synthesized mobb music from the early ’90s; a taste of the East Bay’s weird, underground flavors; political credos from a group of revolutionaries; and the soundtrack of a street legend, murdered in his prime. That’s a solid encapsulation of what makes Bay Area rap so prolific and multifaceted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, if you didn’t know that a non-human compiled this list, it probably wouldn’t arouse any suspicion that it was churned out by a computer. What would absolutely be a red flag, though, is the remaining four albums.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A.I. inevitably misinterprets and misinforms\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anyone worth their salt in hip-hop knows that regional pride is one of the most beautiful and sacred aspects of the culture. You would never catch a New York-bred rapper repping Chicago, and you wouldn’t label a Southern rapper’s music as representative of the Midwestern experience. It’s practically hip-hop law to flex your area code; to misinterpret or overlook these regional distinctions is definitely a violation of hip-hop’s territorial ethos.[aside postid='arts_13924042']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So to put Public Enemy (a pioneering East Coast group), Aceyalone (a distinguished L.A. lyricist recently nominated for a Grammy), Dr. Dre (is there anyone, besides Snoop, who is more representative of L.A.?), and Arrested Development (an Atlanta-bred collective) on a Bay Area rap list is alarmingly off-base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the credit of ChatGPT, it provides context for its choices, and that’s where its failures got especially interesting. It’s where the cultural layers became nuanced, and where ChatGPT — whose parent company, OpenAI, is based in San Francisco — failed to distinguish literal information from regional common sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the bot’s Ultron-esque index, Public Enemy’s \u003ci>Fear of a Black Planet \u003c/i>was recorded in Sausalito; Aceyalone’s \u003ci>All Balls Don’t Bounce\u003c/i> was recorded in Berkeley; Dr. Dre’s \u003ci>The Chronic \u003c/i>features “Bay Area artists like Too $hort, MC Ren and Eazy-E”; and Arrested Developments’ \u003ci>3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of… \u003c/i>was recorded in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And none of that is true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public Enemy recorded \u003ci>Black Planet\u003c/i> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.spin.com/2015/04/public-enemy-fear-of-a-black-planet-chuck-d-interview-1990/\">Green Street Recording Studios in New York’s SoHo\u003c/a>. Aceyalone did his thing at \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/2896429-Aceyalone-All-Balls-Dont-Bounce\">Kitchen Sync Studios in Hollywood\u003c/a>. Dr. Dre and his crew of Compton (not Bay Area) rappers laid it down at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles, while Too $hort doesn’t appear anywhere on the project. And Arrested Development, the group that always reps the South? \u003ca href=\"https://lifeoftherecord.com/arrested-development/\">They recorded their debut in, you guessed it, the South\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’re maybe wondering how the hell ChatGPT got it \u003ci>that\u003c/i> wrong: In what parallel multiverse does Long Island become Sausalito? Why would a group that helped put ATL on the map suddenly switch coasts and record in Frisco?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if these albums had been recorded in the Bay, would they be considered foundational to the legacy of Bay Area rap, and representative of our region’s unique vibe? I’d vote no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My weekend dabbles with ChatGPT — the highly-touted, highly-automated information generator that can’t yet distinguish cultural fabrics because it is, obviously, \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-body-to-understand-the-world-why-chatgpt-and-other-language-ais-dont-know-what-theyre-saying-201280\">lacking a sensory connection to our world\u003c/a> — once again reminded me what I’d already sensed. Tech is cool, but it will never be able to replace the grains of our fullest, most intuitive humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe that’s because ChatGPT has never danced to Mac Dre or The Whole Damn Yey at a house party in Oakland or San Jose. And let’s hope it never does.\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 fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The headlines are all about AI these days — most recently with \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2023/04/23/drake-the-weeknd-ai-song-sarlin-acostanr-contd-vpx.cnn\">an “AI Drake” song\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/DanteTheDon/status/1652371178403536898\">Biggie version of Nas’ “NY State of Mind.”\u003c/a> Both have gone viral and reintroduced a running debate about the dangers and \u003ca href=\"https://www.vice.com/en/article/4a3vmn/heart-on-my-sleeve-ai-music-drake-the-weeknd-lawyer-explains\">legal implications\u003c/a> of artificial intelligence. One thing is painfully clear: it’s not going away anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I grew up along Highway 101, on the northern edge of Silicon Valley — just one exit away from where Google’s Mountain View campus would eventually sprout, and only a few miles from Facebook’s headquarters in East Palo Alto. I won’t lie — my lifelong proximity to every tech trend has made me skeptical, if not resistant, to the latest technologies.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So when my wife started messing around with \u003ca href=\"https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/what-the-controversy-surrounding-chatgpt-really-tells-us/443735\">OpenAI’s controversial ChatGPT\u003c/a> on her new phone, I surprised myself when I asked her to engage the hyper-algorithmic platform to answer what I thought was a basic question:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What are the best Bay Area rap albums?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep down, I was curious if the decades I’d spent digging through crates, listening to cassettes, burning CDs, freestyling in the back of parked cars and on corners, doing graffiti, attending hip-hop events, reading about the subject, taking college courses about the genre, discussing the craft with artists and religiously streaming the newest talents on today’s apps would compare to the almighty knowledge of ChatGPT.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s what it spit out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Ironically, A.I. approves of funky homosapiens\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before listing what it deemed the best 10 Bay Area albums, ChatGPT opened with a preamble: “The San Francisco Bay Area has been an important hub for hip hop since the early days of the genre, and has produced some of the most innovative and influential rap albums of all time.” Truer words have never been typed by a non-corporeal cloud.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Though the list in its entirety had some disastrous flubs (more on those later), I was impressed by the specificity of the suggestions. This isn’t just a beginner’s list that any bozo might posit at trivia night in a desperate attempt to appear knowledgeable. It actually offers some gems, worthy of consideration for any true Bay Area hip-hop head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are the highlights from OpenAI’s suggestions, as they randomly populated my screen:\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/fXJc2NYwHjw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/fXJc2NYwHjw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ci>‘93 Til Infinity\u003c/i> by Souls of Mischief\u003c/strong>. Classic record, no pushback here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>Deltron 3030\u003c/i> by Deltron 3030\u003c/strong>. To be fair, I’m not sure this is considered a strictly “Bay Area rap” album. It’s a collaboration between two Bay Area legends and a Canadian, and is as much a science fiction odyssey as it is rap. But sure. We’ll toss it in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13928552\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13928552\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg\" alt=\"a black cassette tape that reads 'The Coup, The EP' in white letters\" width=\"600\" height=\"373\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879.jpg 600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/R-4580478-1368992589-6879-160x99.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Coup’s 1991 EP. \u003ccite>(via Discogs)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>The Coup\u003c/i> by The Coup\u003c/strong>. Of all the Coup’s releases, ChatGPT picked this obscure, cassette-only 1991 EP — technically not an album — released decades before the group’s frontman and Town activist, Boots Riley, pursued an alternative career as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13831773/boots-riley-receives-sundance-vanguard-award\">a dope filmmaker\u003c/a> who premiered his latest script, \u003ci>I’m A Virgo\u003c/i>, at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13926757/2023-sffilm-festival-bay-area-guide\">this year’s SFFILM\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>Hyphy Hitz\u003c/i>\u003c/strong>. A sweep-kick compilation of Bay Area hyphy anthems featuring The Federation, Keak Da Sneak and The Team. Looks like it came from the bargain bin at Walmart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13928542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13928542\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg\" alt=\"an album cover that reads 'The Jacka Presents the artist records The A.R. Street Album, with four young Black men in black and white t-shirts posing against a white wall\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/ab67616d0000b2737cce383225f743beac4c5bb2-160x160.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The cover of ‘The Jacka Presents The Artist Records – The A.R Street Album.’ Kind of a surprising choice in the context of the rest of The Jacka’s catalogue, but we’ll take it. \u003ccite>(The Artist Records/SMC Entertainment )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ci>The Jacka Presents: \u003c/i>\u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>The A.R. Street Album by The Jacka\u003c/strong>.\u003c/em> A 2012 label showcase that features Bay Area mainstays like Husalah and Fed-X. An odd selection, though ChatGPT did respectfully note Jacka’s passing in 2015.\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/SkgiqoLpwSc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/SkgiqoLpwSc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003ci>I\u003c/i>\u003ci>n A Major Way\u003c/i> by E-40\u003c/strong>. My personal favorite here, and still among the most-played CDs in my outdated stick-shift vehicle to this day. (I told you, I don’t fully trust automation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall: a couple miscalculations, but it represents the diversity of the region’s soundscape. You get a mandatory Hyphy compilation from the early aughts; a bit of darkly synthesized mobb music from the early ’90s; a taste of the East Bay’s weird, underground flavors; political credos from a group of revolutionaries; and the soundtrack of a street legend, murdered in his prime. That’s a solid encapsulation of what makes Bay Area rap so prolific and multifaceted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, if you didn’t know that a non-human compiled this list, it probably wouldn’t arouse any suspicion that it was churned out by a computer. What would absolutely be a red flag, though, is the remaining four albums.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A.I. inevitably misinterprets and misinforms\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Anyone worth their salt in hip-hop knows that regional pride is one of the most beautiful and sacred aspects of the culture. You would never catch a New York-bred rapper repping Chicago, and you wouldn’t label a Southern rapper’s music as representative of the Midwestern experience. It’s practically hip-hop law to flex your area code; to misinterpret or overlook these regional distinctions is definitely a violation of hip-hop’s territorial ethos.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So to put Public Enemy (a pioneering East Coast group), Aceyalone (a distinguished L.A. lyricist recently nominated for a Grammy), Dr. Dre (is there anyone, besides Snoop, who is more representative of L.A.?), and Arrested Development (an Atlanta-bred collective) on a Bay Area rap list is alarmingly off-base.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To the credit of ChatGPT, it provides context for its choices, and that’s where its failures got especially interesting. It’s where the cultural layers became nuanced, and where ChatGPT — whose parent company, OpenAI, is based in San Francisco — failed to distinguish literal information from regional common sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the bot’s Ultron-esque index, Public Enemy’s \u003ci>Fear of a Black Planet \u003c/i>was recorded in Sausalito; Aceyalone’s \u003ci>All Balls Don’t Bounce\u003c/i> was recorded in Berkeley; Dr. Dre’s \u003ci>The Chronic \u003c/i>features “Bay Area artists like Too $hort, MC Ren and Eazy-E”; and Arrested Developments’ \u003ci>3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of… \u003c/i>was recorded in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And none of that is true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Public Enemy recorded \u003ci>Black Planet\u003c/i> at \u003ca href=\"https://www.spin.com/2015/04/public-enemy-fear-of-a-black-planet-chuck-d-interview-1990/\">Green Street Recording Studios in New York’s SoHo\u003c/a>. Aceyalone did his thing at \u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/2896429-Aceyalone-All-Balls-Dont-Bounce\">Kitchen Sync Studios in Hollywood\u003c/a>. Dr. Dre and his crew of Compton (not Bay Area) rappers laid it down at Death Row Studios in Los Angeles, while Too $hort doesn’t appear anywhere on the project. And Arrested Development, the group that always reps the South? \u003ca href=\"https://lifeoftherecord.com/arrested-development/\">They recorded their debut in, you guessed it, the South\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’re maybe wondering how the hell ChatGPT got it \u003ci>that\u003c/i> wrong: In what parallel multiverse does Long Island become Sausalito? Why would a group that helped put ATL on the map suddenly switch coasts and record in Frisco?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if these albums had been recorded in the Bay, would they be considered foundational to the legacy of Bay Area rap, and representative of our region’s unique vibe? I’d vote no.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My weekend dabbles with ChatGPT — the highly-touted, highly-automated information generator that can’t yet distinguish cultural fabrics because it is, obviously, \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/it-takes-a-body-to-understand-the-world-why-chatgpt-and-other-language-ais-dont-know-what-theyre-saying-201280\">lacking a sensory connection to our world\u003c/a> — once again reminded me what I’d already sensed. Tech is cool, but it will never be able to replace the grains of our fullest, most intuitive humanity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe that’s because ChatGPT has never danced to Mac Dre or The Whole Damn Yey at a house party in Oakland or San Jose. And let’s hope it never does.\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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"slug": "2023-sffilm-festival-bay-area-guide",
"title": "Five Extremely Bay Area Things to See at the 2023 SFFILM Festival",
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"content": "\u003cp>The 66th \u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/\">San Francisco International Film Festival\u003c/a> is back for a fully in-person celebration of cinema, with 96 public programs spread across theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, April 13–23. While there’s plenty to be excited about — numerous world premieres, a free screening of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/community-screening-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/\">Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret\u003c/a>\u003c/i> (RSVPs required!), playwright Celine Song’s lovely looking \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/centerpiece-past-lives/\">Past Lives\u003c/a>\u003c/i> — we’re most proud of the strong Bay Area showing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve got feature films from local filmmakers, documentaries about our musical and political legends and the first four episodes of what’s sure to be the weirdest show on Amazon. Here’s your guide to five extremely Bay Area screenings to seek out when festival tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926767\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926767\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER.jpg\" alt=\"Young Black man with short hair against blurry background\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-800x502.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-1020x640.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-768x482.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-1536x964.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Stephen Curry in a still from Pete Nicks’ ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/opening-night-stephen-curry-underrated/\">Stephen Curry: Underrated\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 13, 6:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>April 13, 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s no surprise Pete Nicks’ latest documentary is this year’s opening night film. After focusing on a trio of Oakland institutions with \u003ci>The Waiting Room\u003c/i> (Highland Hospital), \u003ci>The Force\u003c/i> (the Oakland Police Department), and \u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> (Oakland High School), he’s turned his lens on another kind of local icon: Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry. The film mingles the 2021–22 season (when Curry led the team to his fourth ring) with footage from his early days at Davidson College, along with off-court footage of everyday life for a routinely dismissed yet consistently impressive basketball superstar. Nicks and producer Ryan Coogler will be present at both screenings, and depending on how the rest of this rocky season goes, we may hope there are no Warriors in attendance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926768\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926768\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photo of woman in striped shirt playing guitar in front of mic\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-1536x960.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle and Karen O’Connor’s ‘Joan Baez I Am A Noise.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/joan-baez-i-am-a-noise/\">Joan Baez I Am a Noise\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>April 18, 5 p.m. at Castro Theatre\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joan Baez is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and activist, but the Palo Alto High grad has always meant something special to the Bay. This documentary from directors Miri Navasky, Karen O’Connor and Maeve O’Boyle combines music, oral history and archival footage for a non-linear approach to the folk singer’s multi-faceted career. Interspersed with scenes from Baez’s 2018-2019 Fare Thee Well Tour is a narrative that traces her rise to stardom in her early 20s, collaborations with Bob Dylan and other formative relationships, and her prolific activism, beginning with anti-Vietnam War protests and carrying through to the fight for LGBTQ rights and the Occupy movement. Here, too, are more intimate, complex stories about her nuclear family, of which Baez is the last living member. The singer and longtime Woodside resident is expected to be in attendance alongside the film’s directors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926766\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926766\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photo of two men and one Asian woman in front of blackboard covered in names\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-800x589.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-1020x751.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-768x565.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-1536x1130.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Rooth Tang’s ‘Rally.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/rally/\">Rally\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 21, 5:30 p.m. at CGV 3, San Francisco\u003cbr>\nApril 23, 12 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s high time for a Rose Pak documentary, especially given the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11094253/rose-pak-chinatown-dynamo-opened-doors-for-asians\">divisive reputation of the late powerbroker\u003c/a> — she preferred the title of “community organizer” — in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Director Rooth Tang covers Pak’s early days as an immigrant, \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i> journalist and activist before she assumed the role of “atypical kingmaker” and fierce advocate for the local Chinese communities. With that role came questions of her ties to the Chinese government, as well as accusations of corruption and bullying. Her impact on the local landscape (look no further than the finally open Central Subway, one of her causes) is part of a complex and necessary story about the inner workings of San Francisco politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926764\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926764\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Grid of nine stills of families on couches and at tables\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stills from W. Kamau Bell’s ‘1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/1000-me-growing-up-mixed-creating-things-southern-afternoon/\">1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 22, 12 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>W. Kamau Bell brings a very personal story to the screen in this hourlong documentary. Starting with his own kids, Bell talks to Bay Area children growing up in mixed-race families, giving young people a chance to lead their own conversations about race. Billed as “tender,” “charming” and “timely,” \u003ci>1000% Me\u003c/i> does a rare thing at a moment when the entire country seems focused on the well-being of children: it lets them speak for themselves about the highs and lows of dealing with the outside forces that seek to define them. As a bonus, the film will be paired with two family-minded shorts: \u003ci>Creating Things\u003c/i>, about filmmaker Bryan Simpson and his brother revisiting their father’s art; and \u003ci>Southern Afternoon\u003c/i>, Tian Lan’s short drama about a Uyghur father who suspects his teenager has received a love letter, but first needs to decipher the Chinese characters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926765\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926765\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920.jpg\" alt=\"A giant Black man with locs sits on front steps in purple outfit\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Boots Riley’s television show ‘I’m a Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/im-a-virgo/\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 23, 6 p.m. at CGV 3, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>April 23, 7:30 p.m. at CGV 2, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Boots Riley’s \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> had its California premiere as the SFFILM Festival’s 2018 centerpiece, one theater wasn’t big enough to contain the hometown enthusiasm: the film screened to boisterous, sold-out crowds on both sides of the Bay, at the Castro and Grand Lake theaters, on the same night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>I’m a Virgo\u003c/i>, the Coup frontman-and-activist-turned-filmmaker’s first foray into streaming television, promises to be even bigger. It centers around a 13-foot-tall man named Cootie (Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome, \u003ci>When They See Us\u003c/i>) who’s coming of age in Oakland, making friends and enemies, and learning about romance, revolution and sideshow stunts along the way. The series, which was shot in Oakland and New Orleans (dressed up as Oakland), garnered serious buzz at South By Southwest, but an SFFILM closing-night premiere is special in a different way — Riley has a long relationship with the organization, and was an SFFILM Filmmaker-In-Residence when he began developing his debut. He’ll be in attendance for a Q&A.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926791\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926791\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Young Black woman lays on hood of car leaning against windshield\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Savanah Leaf’s ‘Earth Mama,’ starring Tia Nomore. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Briefly Noted\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/earth-mama/\">Earth Mama\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 14, 8 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003cbr>\nApril 15, 6 p.m. at CGV 3\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDirected by newcomer (and former Olympian) Savanah Leaf, this feature stars local musician \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925905/tia-nomore-earth-mama-a24-savanah-leaf\">Tia Nomore\u003c/a> as a single mother in Oakland navigating the foster care system as she prepares for the birth of another child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mel Novikoff Award: Firelight Media and \u003ci>The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 15, 3:15 p.m. at CGV 2\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis screening of Stanley Nelson’s incredible 2015 doc helps celebrate Firelight Media, founded by Nelson and Marcia Smith in 1998, which backs filmmakers of color through labs, fellowships and film funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/fremont/\">Fremont\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 22, 3 p.m. at CGV 2\u003cbr>\nApril 23, 3 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nFilmed in lush black and white, Babak Jalali’s narrative film centers on a former U.S. military translator who now lives in the title city’s Afghan community, writing fortune cookies and adjusting to life in the American suburbs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/home-is-a-hotel/\">Home is a Hotel\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 22, 12:45 p.m. at CGV 3\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis documentary from Kevin Duncan Wong, Tod Sills and Kar Yin Tham visits the diverse residents of San Francisco’s cramped, noisy and often vermin-filled SROs. Not unhoused but not well-housed, the film’s participants show just how complicated the city’s housing situation really is.\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 fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Your 2023 SFFILM Festival Guide: Extremely Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The 66th \u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/\">San Francisco International Film Festival\u003c/a> is back for a fully in-person celebration of cinema, with 96 public programs spread across theaters in San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, April 13–23. While there’s plenty to be excited about — numerous world premieres, a free screening of \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/community-screening-are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret/\">Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret\u003c/a>\u003c/i> (RSVPs required!), playwright Celine Song’s lovely looking \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/centerpiece-past-lives/\">Past Lives\u003c/a>\u003c/i> — we’re most proud of the strong Bay Area showing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ve got feature films from local filmmakers, documentaries about our musical and political legends and the first four episodes of what’s sure to be the weirdest show on Amazon. Here’s your guide to five extremely Bay Area screenings to seek out when festival tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926767\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926767\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER.jpg\" alt=\"Young Black man with short hair against blurry background\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1205\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-800x502.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-1020x640.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-768x482.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/STEPHEN-CURRY_2_COVER-1536x964.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Stephen Curry in a still from Pete Nicks’ ‘Stephen Curry: Underrated.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/opening-night-stephen-curry-underrated/\">Stephen Curry: Underrated\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 13, 6:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>April 13, 9:30 p.m. at Grand Lake Theater\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s no surprise Pete Nicks’ latest documentary is this year’s opening night film. After focusing on a trio of Oakland institutions with \u003ci>The Waiting Room\u003c/i> (Highland Hospital), \u003ci>The Force\u003c/i> (the Oakland Police Department), and \u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> (Oakland High School), he’s turned his lens on another kind of local icon: Golden State Warrior Stephen Curry. The film mingles the 2021–22 season (when Curry led the team to his fourth ring) with footage from his early days at Davidson College, along with off-court footage of everyday life for a routinely dismissed yet consistently impressive basketball superstar. Nicks and producer Ryan Coogler will be present at both screenings, and depending on how the rest of this rocky season goes, we may hope there are no Warriors in attendance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926768\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926768\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photo of woman in striped shirt playing guitar in front of mic\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/JOAN-BAEZ_1-1536x960.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle and Karen O’Connor’s ‘Joan Baez I Am A Noise.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/joan-baez-i-am-a-noise/\">Joan Baez I Am a Noise\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>April 18, 5 p.m. at Castro Theatre\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joan Baez is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter and activist, but the Palo Alto High grad has always meant something special to the Bay. This documentary from directors Miri Navasky, Karen O’Connor and Maeve O’Boyle combines music, oral history and archival footage for a non-linear approach to the folk singer’s multi-faceted career. Interspersed with scenes from Baez’s 2018-2019 Fare Thee Well Tour is a narrative that traces her rise to stardom in her early 20s, collaborations with Bob Dylan and other formative relationships, and her prolific activism, beginning with anti-Vietnam War protests and carrying through to the fight for LGBTQ rights and the Occupy movement. Here, too, are more intimate, complex stories about her nuclear family, of which Baez is the last living member. The singer and longtime Woodside resident is expected to be in attendance alongside the film’s directors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926766\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926766\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Black-and-white photo of two men and one Asian woman in front of blackboard covered in names\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-800x589.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-1020x751.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-768x565.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/RALLY_1_1920-1536x1130.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Rooth Tang’s ‘Rally.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/rally/\">Rally\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 21, 5:30 p.m. at CGV 3, San Francisco\u003cbr>\nApril 23, 12 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s high time for a Rose Pak documentary, especially given the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11094253/rose-pak-chinatown-dynamo-opened-doors-for-asians\">divisive reputation of the late powerbroker\u003c/a> — she preferred the title of “community organizer” — in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Director Rooth Tang covers Pak’s early days as an immigrant, \u003ci>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/i> journalist and activist before she assumed the role of “atypical kingmaker” and fierce advocate for the local Chinese communities. With that role came questions of her ties to the Chinese government, as well as accusations of corruption and bullying. Her impact on the local landscape (look no further than the finally open Central Subway, one of her causes) is part of a complex and necessary story about the inner workings of San Francisco politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926764\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926764\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Grid of nine stills of families on couches and at tables\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/1000_-Me-Growing-Up-Mixed_07_1920-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stills from W. Kamau Bell’s ‘1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/1000-me-growing-up-mixed-creating-things-southern-afternoon/\">1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 22, 12 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>W. Kamau Bell brings a very personal story to the screen in this hourlong documentary. Starting with his own kids, Bell talks to Bay Area children growing up in mixed-race families, giving young people a chance to lead their own conversations about race. Billed as “tender,” “charming” and “timely,” \u003ci>1000% Me\u003c/i> does a rare thing at a moment when the entire country seems focused on the well-being of children: it lets them speak for themselves about the highs and lows of dealing with the outside forces that seek to define them. As a bonus, the film will be paired with two family-minded shorts: \u003ci>Creating Things\u003c/i>, about filmmaker Bryan Simpson and his brother revisiting their father’s art; and \u003ci>Southern Afternoon\u003c/i>, Tian Lan’s short drama about a Uyghur father who suspects his teenager has received a love letter, but first needs to decipher the Chinese characters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926765\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926765\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920.jpg\" alt=\"A giant Black man with locs sits on front steps in purple outfit\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/IMAVIRGO_3_1920-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Boots Riley’s television show ‘I’m a Virgo.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/im-a-virgo/\">I’m a Virgo\u003c/a>’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>April 23, 6 p.m. at CGV 3, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003cem>April 23, 7:30 p.m. at CGV 2, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Boots Riley’s \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> had its California premiere as the SFFILM Festival’s 2018 centerpiece, one theater wasn’t big enough to contain the hometown enthusiasm: the film screened to boisterous, sold-out crowds on both sides of the Bay, at the Castro and Grand Lake theaters, on the same night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>I’m a Virgo\u003c/i>, the Coup frontman-and-activist-turned-filmmaker’s first foray into streaming television, promises to be even bigger. It centers around a 13-foot-tall man named Cootie (Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome, \u003ci>When They See Us\u003c/i>) who’s coming of age in Oakland, making friends and enemies, and learning about romance, revolution and sideshow stunts along the way. The series, which was shot in Oakland and New Orleans (dressed up as Oakland), garnered serious buzz at South By Southwest, but an SFFILM closing-night premiere is special in a different way — Riley has a long relationship with the organization, and was an SFFILM Filmmaker-In-Residence when he began developing his debut. He’ll be in attendance for a Q&A.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13926791\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13926791\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920.jpg\" alt=\"Young Black woman lays on hood of car leaning against windshield\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/EARTH-MAMA_1_1920-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Savanah Leaf’s ‘Earth Mama,’ starring Tia Nomore. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SFFILM)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Briefly Noted\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/earth-mama/\">Earth Mama\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 14, 8 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003cbr>\nApril 15, 6 p.m. at CGV 3\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDirected by newcomer (and former Olympian) Savanah Leaf, this feature stars local musician \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13925905/tia-nomore-earth-mama-a24-savanah-leaf\">Tia Nomore\u003c/a> as a single mother in Oakland navigating the foster care system as she prepares for the birth of another child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Mel Novikoff Award: Firelight Media and \u003ci>The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 15, 3:15 p.m. at CGV 2\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis screening of Stanley Nelson’s incredible 2015 doc helps celebrate Firelight Media, founded by Nelson and Marcia Smith in 1998, which backs filmmakers of color through labs, fellowships and film funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/fremont/\">Fremont\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 22, 3 p.m. at CGV 2\u003cbr>\nApril 23, 3 p.m. at BAMPFA\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nFilmed in lush black and white, Babak Jalali’s narrative film centers on a former U.S. military translator who now lives in the title city’s Afghan community, writing fortune cookies and adjusting to life in the American suburbs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/event/home-is-a-hotel/\">Home is a Hotel\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ci>April 22, 12:45 p.m. at CGV 3\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis documentary from Kevin Duncan Wong, Tod Sills and Kar Yin Tham visits the diverse residents of San Francisco’s cramped, noisy and often vermin-filled SROs. Not unhoused but not well-housed, the film’s participants show just how complicated the city’s housing situation really is.\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": "\u003cp>On Wednesday night, filmmaker Pete Nicks sat next to me on stage at the Grand Lake Theatre after a screening of his new documentary, \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, and got personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> is the third in Nicks’ trilogy of films examining how people interface with public institutions, including acclaimed documentaries \u003cem>The Force\u003c/em>, about the Oakland Police Department, and \u003cem>The Waiting Room\u003c/em>, about the public healthcare system as shown through Highland Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both of those films come from lived experiences, he told me. But his inspiration for completing \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, about Oakland’s public schools system, was especially close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicks’ daughter Karina, an OUSD student who loved art, had worked at the very theater where the screening took place. Set to graduate with the class of 2020, she had long suffered from depression. She passed unexpectedly as the production of \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> was getting underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks holds the microphone as he discusses his film Homeroom.\" width=\"800\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1020x641.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-2048x1287.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1920x1206.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks discusses his film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Opening the post-screening discussion, Nicks honored his late daughter and pointed out some of Karina’s friends in the audience, letting everyone know that the film is dedicated to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> follows the lives of students at the city’s oldest pubic high school, Oakland High. It focuses in on the class of 2020, and students’ split attention between their phones and their teachers. The news of President Trump’s impeachment is background noise as students aim for higher scores on their SATs, and the celebration of a new year—a year the students had awaited their entire academic careers—is overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13901197']Between dealing with the impacts of gentrification and participating in mass protests following the extrajudicial executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the students attend pep rallies, football games and parties where they dance, red cups are lifted high. They take selfies, crack jokes and discuss pop culture during lunch. They live “normal” high school lives—save for all of the historically traumatic events of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Nicks, onstage with me were some of those students who star in the film: recent OUSD graduates Denilson Garibo, Jessica Ramos, and Dwayne Davis; as well as another former OUSD student, the musician and filmmaker Boots Riley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg\" alt=\"Dwayne Davis holds the microphone as he sits on a panel between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing the film Homeroom. \" width=\"800\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-2048x1324.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1920x1241.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dwayne Davis speaks on a panel, between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing Pete Nicks’ film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>My first question to the young folks on stage was, given how they’ve navigated one of the most memorable years on record, what could they teach other students about healing from the trauma that the educational experience can bring?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one way or another, they all mentioned taking agency, being involved in the decision making process, and taking action \u003cem>right now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extrapolating on that idea, Boots suggested that by simply telling your story, you’re offering something that wasn’t there before and inherently shifting the paradigm. Storytelling is a way to take agency and impact a wide audience, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley, wearing a crochet head piece and glasses, leans forward in his chair to discuss the film Homeroom during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.\" width=\"640\" height=\"813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-800x1016.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-768x975.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1210x1536.jpg 1210w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1613x2048.jpg 1613w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027.jpg 1890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley discusses the film ‘Homeroom’ during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The film, executive produced by Ryan Coogler’ Proximity Media and debuting on Hulu on Aug. 13, follows Boots’ \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em>as well as \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and other productions recently made in Oakland that have reached national audiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each of these stories adds to the ongoing saga of this complex town. It never gets old seeing community members, friends, and familiar faces on the big screen, just as it’s always fascinating to watch recent history retold, just months removed, and sitting in a room full of people who lived through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>‘s chronicling of June of 2020, when a large group of students and allies \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/06/11/de-fund-the-police-protesters-march-to-oakland-mayors-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marched to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house\u003c/a> to push for defunding the police and removing police from school campuses. As the film retold the events of that evening, including clips of Denilson Garibo leading a chant in front of the mayor’s house, Mayor Schaaf sat watching from a seat in front of me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the scene outside her house filled the theater’s large screen, she kind of threw her arms up, palms toward the sky, in a bit of playful gesture of surrender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu. )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we now know, despite increased spending on alternatives to policing and cuts to a proposed budget increase for police, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/06/25/oakland-2021-2023-budget-defund-police-alternatives-violence-prevention/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Oakland Police Department has not been defunded\u003c/a>. But the police have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">removed from the schools\u003c/a>, a decision the school board made in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By focusing on the battle to remove the police from schools—a presence that students say causes them to be mentally triggered—\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> gives voice to those pushing toward a healthier environment at public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that, the reason Nicks chose to do a trilogy on a hospital, a police force, and a public school becomes very apparent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the conclusion of the panel discussion, Pete Nicks explicitly told the audience that he believes the problems in our society are interconnected, and you can’t fix one without fixing the other. Most importantly, you can’t fix anything without addressing the root causes of the issue—and the best way to do that is through telling the story, in all of its nuances.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Wednesday night, filmmaker Pete Nicks sat next to me on stage at the Grand Lake Theatre after a screening of his new documentary, \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, and got personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Homeroom\u003c/i> is the third in Nicks’ trilogy of films examining how people interface with public institutions, including acclaimed documentaries \u003cem>The Force\u003c/em>, about the Oakland Police Department, and \u003cem>The Waiting Room\u003c/em>, about the public healthcare system as shown through Highland Hospital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Both of those films come from lived experiences, he told me. But his inspiration for completing \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>, about Oakland’s public schools system, was especially close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nicks’ daughter Karina, an OUSD student who loved art, had worked at the very theater where the screening took place. Set to graduate with the class of 2020, she had long suffered from depression. She passed unexpectedly as the production of \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> was getting underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901233\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901233\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks holds the microphone as he discusses his film Homeroom.\" width=\"800\" height=\"503\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-800x503.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1020x641.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-768x483.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1536x965.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-2048x1287.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_016-1920x1206.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks discusses his film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Opening the post-screening discussion, Nicks honored his late daughter and pointed out some of Karina’s friends in the audience, letting everyone know that the film is dedicated to her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> follows the lives of students at the city’s oldest pubic high school, Oakland High. It focuses in on the class of 2020, and students’ split attention between their phones and their teachers. The news of President Trump’s impeachment is background noise as students aim for higher scores on their SATs, and the celebration of a new year—a year the students had awaited their entire academic careers—is overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Between dealing with the impacts of gentrification and participating in mass protests following the extrajudicial executions of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, the students attend pep rallies, football games and parties where they dance, red cups are lifted high. They take selfies, crack jokes and discuss pop culture during lunch. They live “normal” high school lives—save for all of the historically traumatic events of last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Nicks, onstage with me were some of those students who star in the film: recent OUSD graduates Denilson Garibo, Jessica Ramos, and Dwayne Davis; as well as another former OUSD student, the musician and filmmaker Boots Riley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901234\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901234\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg\" alt=\"Dwayne Davis holds the microphone as he sits on a panel between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing the film Homeroom. \" width=\"800\" height=\"517\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-800x517.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1020x659.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-768x496.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1536x993.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-2048x1324.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_022-1920x1241.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dwayne Davis speaks on a panel, between Denilson Garibo and Jessica Ramos, discussing Pete Nicks’ film ‘Homeroom.’ \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>My first question to the young folks on stage was, given how they’ve navigated one of the most memorable years on record, what could they teach other students about healing from the trauma that the educational experience can bring?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In one way or another, they all mentioned taking agency, being involved in the decision making process, and taking action \u003cem>right now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Extrapolating on that idea, Boots suggested that by simply telling your story, you’re offering something that wasn’t there before and inherently shifting the paradigm. Storytelling is a way to take agency and impact a wide audience, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901237\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-13901237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg\" alt=\"Boots Riley, wearing a crochet head piece and glasses, leans forward in his chair to discuss the film Homeroom during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland.\" width=\"640\" height=\"813\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1020x1295.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-800x1016.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-160x203.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-768x975.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1210x1536.jpg 1210w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027-1613x2048.jpg 1613w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_027.jpg 1890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boots Riley discusses the film ‘Homeroom’ during a panel discussion at Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The film, executive produced by Ryan Coogler’ Proximity Media and debuting on Hulu on Aug. 13, follows Boots’ \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em>as well as \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and other productions recently made in Oakland that have reached national audiences.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each of these stories adds to the ongoing saga of this complex town. It never gets old seeing community members, friends, and familiar faces on the big screen, just as it’s always fascinating to watch recent history retold, just months removed, and sitting in a room full of people who lived through it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Take \u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em>‘s chronicling of June of 2020, when a large group of students and allies \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/06/11/de-fund-the-police-protesters-march-to-oakland-mayors-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">marched to Mayor Libby Schaaf’s house\u003c/a> to push for defunding the police and removing police from school campuses. As the film retold the events of that evening, including clips of Denilson Garibo leading a chant in front of the mayor’s house, Mayor Schaaf sat watching from a seat in front of me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the scene outside her house filled the theater’s large screen, she kind of threw her arms up, palms toward the sky, in a bit of playful gesture of surrender.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901238\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901238\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland's Grand Lake Theatre.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Homeroom_081121_004-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Pete Nicks and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf both wear masks as they share a moment in the lobby of Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. \u003ccite>(Craig Lee/ Hulu. )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As we now know, despite increased spending on alternatives to policing and cuts to a proposed budget increase for police, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/06/25/oakland-2021-2023-budget-defund-police-alternatives-violence-prevention/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Oakland Police Department has not been defunded\u003c/a>. But the police have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">removed from the schools\u003c/a>, a decision the school board made in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By focusing on the battle to remove the police from schools—a presence that students say causes them to be mentally triggered—\u003cem>Homeroom\u003c/em> gives voice to those pushing toward a healthier environment at public schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in that, the reason Nicks chose to do a trilogy on a hospital, a police force, and a public school becomes very apparent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the conclusion of the panel discussion, Pete Nicks explicitly told the audience that he believes the problems in our society are interconnected, and you can’t fix one without fixing the other. Most importantly, you can’t fix anything without addressing the root causes of the issue—and the best way to do that is through telling the story, in all of its nuances.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.barshiru.com/\">Bar Shiru\u003c/a> opened earlier this year in Oakland as the Bay Area’s first Japanese-style hi-fi bar, an acoustically treated space with a top-notch analog sound system, and on Sunday, Dec. 1 it’s the site of a listening party for the score to \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>, Boots Riley’s madcap, near-future film following an Oakland telemarketer’s sordid discoveries in the C-suite. The score, by local indie-rock group Tune-Yards and recently released on vinyl, will play in its entirety at Bar Shiru, along with DJ selections by members of the group and Riley himself. Keeping with Riley’s lifelong activism, and the pronounced political themes of his film and music, the listening party benefits Moms 4 Housing. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11787750/two-homeless-moms-occupy-vacant-house-to-protest-oakland-housing-crisis\">collective of largely homeless mothers\u003c/a> recently announced its un-permitted occupation of an empty, investor-owned property in West Oakland to protest the housing crisis. The listening party runs 2-10pm and there’s a $20 minimum suggested donation. \u003cem>—Sam Lefebvre\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"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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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"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",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"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",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
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