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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Guapdad 4000 isn’t your prototypical rapper. For starters, the West Oakland artist is part of the Marvel Universe’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> soundtrack, something he’s proud about as a comic head.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I’m a huge Marvel fan and it was the first Asian American movie. I knew they was finna go crazy,” he says. “I was juiced. Especially to champion my Filipino side as a part of that. And it takes place in the Bay? Not even Thanos could snap me out of that.” [aside postid='arts_13902470']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you don’t know Guap, he’s an essential player in the Bay Area’s latest wave of Filipino American artists who’ve taken over the scene with their eclectically unparalleled vibrancy. You can’t talk about Bay Area music in 2021 without mentioning him or the “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SeZHOqSsZA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">same squad, same squad\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” of Fil Ams from here, including H.E.R, Ruby Ibarra, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924828/rocky-rivera-ruckus-magazine-hyphy-movement-hip-hop\">Rocky Rivera\u003c/a>, P-Lo, Kuya Beats and Saweetie, to name a a few. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Saweetie has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9446648/saweetie-tap-in-top-10-rb-hip-hop-songs-chart\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">two chart-topping singles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a McDonald’s meal with her name on it. P-Lo \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899945/how-the-bay-area-reshaped-a-classic-soundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">produced “About That Time,”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the most-streamed song from this summer’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Space Jam: A New Legacy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> soundtrack, featuring verses from NBA All Star Damian Lillard, G-Eazy and White Dave. H.E.R won four Grammys and launched the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903394/photos-h-e-r-erykah-badu-and-other-rb-stars-shine-at-lights-on-festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lights On Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with nearly 6 million followers on Instagram. Rivera added “author” to her resume with the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894648/rapper-and-activist-rocky-rivera-embraces-growth-in-her-first-book-snakeskin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">publication of her debut book\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Ibarra is literally \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13887169/whats-on-your-ballot-ruby-ibarra-rapper-and-scientist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a scientist\u003c/a> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/community/asian-pacific-america/scientist-and-rapper-ruby-ibarra-on-asian-pacific-america/2580781/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">co-founded the Pinays Rising Scholarship Program\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And that’s just in the past few months.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This list doesn’t even include the unquantifiable amount of genuine community work, activism and representation each artist has provided throughout Northern California and beyond over their careers and lifetimes. It also doesn’t even touch on the OG Pinoys and Pinays who certainly paved the path for this ascendance to happen.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">H.E.R. performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A-Side: Chicken Adobo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My mother’s side is Filipino. My grandma is a short, 5’3” lady from Zambales in the Philippines. My grandfather is Black and was a merchant marine out there on a military base. They met and decided to move to Oakland and that’s how my roots started in the Bay,” Guap says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a relatable truth for many Bay Area locals, who’ve grown up here with mixed backgrounds and a fluid sense of self across the generations. Alongside his Fil Am peers, Guap is voicing his multi-ethnic experience in an idiosyncratic, hyphy-melodic way, narrating where he’s from and his journey navigating the world as a Black Pinoy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/1DaovaJgytE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With his popular single “Chicken Adobo” (a love song inspired by his lola’s cooking) and his feature on Thundercat’s “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/T2bcUZj6LAc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dragonball Durag\u003c/a>” (a tribute to the classic anime), Guap is constantly dropping hints about his Asian American upbringing and identity—though, most people admittedly don’t perceive him as Filipino upon initially seeing him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My direct portion is one-fourth Filipino,” he says. “I don’t use that mindstate though. I’m equal Black and Filipino. My lola raised me in a biracial household, cooking and speaking both languages. I went to an all-Filipino church for 15 years. I was immersed in the culture. Hella [stuff] in my upbringing comes straight from my Filipino side.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Guap’s style and albums are reflective of his modern Filipino upbringing in the Bay Area—which is to say, it’s not singularly limited. It’s multidimensional and authentic, an unapologetic fusion. And it’s helping to put Filipino Americans back on the map. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But he’s not alone. He just happens to be one \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQuajCfNBA8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alpha\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in this group of trendsetters. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13867199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13867199\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Saweetie performs at Rolling Loud 2018 in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saweetie performs at Rolling Loud 2018 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you look at every pillar in hip-hop that exists, all of ’em, it’s gonna be at least one Filipino in there that’s a legend,” Guapdad says. “Chad Hugo [from The Neptunes]. H.E.R. Qbert. Jabbawockeez. Over the years Filipinos have found ways to integrate themselves seamlessly. It’s global but it’s also bringing that back to a local scale.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In other words, they got roots.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>B-Side: Origins and Migrations\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With over 310,000 Filipino residents, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.asianjournal.com/usa/dateline-usa/pew-research-over-4-2m-filipino-americans-in-the-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the San Francisco Bay Area boasts the second-largest population of the diaspora in the United States\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Per capita, it’s among the most densely populated Filipino areas outside of the Philippines. It’s no surprise then that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21172993/filipino-neighborhood-san-francisco-destroyed-i-hotel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">there was once a Manilatown in San Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which blossomed from the 1920s through the 1970s until it was systematically dismantled and cannibalized as part of the “Manhattanization” of downtown’s Financial District. Starting in the 1950s, low-income Filipinos were evicted to make room for “a Wall Street of the West.” The story is just one chapter of the ongoing battle to maintain affordable housing in one of the world’s most expensive cities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/tcsdglJFT0M\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Filipinos have thrived along the Bay Area’s shorelines, allowing for many artists, activists and changemakers to emerge and collaboratively grow here—especially through the rebellion of hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We were raised by brown immigrants in America, but immigrants who were educated in American colonial systems,” says \u003ca href=\"https://barbarajanereyes.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barbara Jane Reyes\u003c/a>, a Manila-born poet and professor at the University of San Francisco. “Our parents’ aesthetic preferences were rooted in colonial whiteness. So seeing brown kids having a good time while listening to what we were told was the music of Black people seemed scary to them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By adopting hip-hop as a form of self expression, many Filipinos during the 1980s were able to create a sense of selfhood that might’ve otherwise felt trampled on or neglected by previous generations and institutional ideologies. [aside postid='arts_13812554']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But how exactly did so many Filipinos like Reyes, who grew up in the East Bay, and her family end up migrating to the San Francisco Bay Area—where they’ve been able to directly participate in hip-hop’s growth—to begin with? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The story spans centuries, but Reyes tells me there was a turning point in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/us-immigration-since-1965\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Immigration and Nationality Act\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In an effort to attract skilled labor, the law abolished discriminatory quotas that once prevented Asians and Pacific Islanders from entering the country after World War II. The decision might’ve been the most influential factor in allowing Filipino families to spread across California, forever changing the demographics of coastal North America.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We had migrant laborers who came to the territory of Hawai’i in 1905. Then laborers who came to the continental West Coast in the ’20s and ’30s,” says Professor Reyes. “Then World War II happened and there’s another wave of migration with [Filipino] Americans who enlist in the military, go to the Philippines to fight, and come back with war brides to the States and raise their families here. It wasn’t until ’65 til that all opened up more. And we’ve been here ever since.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Importantly, the 1965 Act was largely a result of monumental liberation efforts made during the Civil Rights, Chicano and United Farmworkers Movements. That unity among multi-ethnic, working-class communities foreshadowed an allyship that would eventually coalesce organically into hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It wasn’t about popular entertainment but had something to do with making cultural and political statements,” says Reyes. “Listening to hip-hop, I realized something else was happening that made me have to look at my parents’ colonial education and love for whiteness. Going to rap was part of that exploration of asking, ‘Why do you love whiteness so much and why is Blackness so scary to you?’ How do we find kinship in those communities?” [aside postid=\"arts_13895462']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the late 1980s, Filipinos had fully integrated themselves into Bay Area shipyards and city centers as military personnel and blue-collar workers. They also moved into suburbs and middle-class areas with access to college and professional careers in health, education and other fields. Their proliferation led to more intersectional involvement in Americanized cultures, such as\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.undiscoveredsf.com/blog/2019/7/13/a-look-back-at-filipino-american-rampb-music-of-the-1990s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> freestyle and R&B of the ’90s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With a visible community already established, and clearly growing, conditions led to the formation of tightly-connected enclaves in places like Fremont, Vallejo and, most famously, Daly City.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>C-Side: Spinning Records, Breaking Barriers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Filipinos have always been present in Bay Area hip-hop. Ever since the artform emerged as a vehicle for social justice and cultural empowerment, they’ve been among the most active participants in DJing, breakdancing, graffiti and MCing—from Daly City to Vallejo and back down to San Jose. Like many diverse immigrant diasporas who serendipitously arrive in the Golden State, Fil Ams have been a true staple in our neighborhoods, and their role in hip-hop is a reflection of that shared, liberating transcendence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My aunt, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hopclear.com/filipino-amerian-mom-goes-viral-for-being-an-awesome-dj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DJ Lady Ames\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, was one of the first Pinay DJs to come out of San Francisco. She went to Balboa High \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnDXp4lYuk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">during the ’80s while the mobile DJing scene was happening\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and she started a crew with her friends,” says Delrokz.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905237\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 512px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz.jpg 512w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Delrokz in his Hayward record shop, The Stacks. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del is a DJ and b-boy who has lived all over the “Yay Area,” but is currently posted up in downtown Hayward, where he owns his new record shop, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestacksrecordshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Stacks\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To be Filipina and have a whole crew of DJs, that was revolutionary at its time in the early ’80s,” he says. “They were an all Pinay group, The GoGos. There really weren’t that many women DJs getting attention back then. But I grew up around her and my uncles and that whole culture. It’s part of who I am.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del is the founder and organizer of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breakthebay/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Break the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an annual five-on-five breakdance competition that spins on principles of community, fun and “healthy competition.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s yet another manifestation of how the Filipino homies have not only been a part of the culture, but have pioneered spaces for others to be a part of the culture, too—regardless of gender or age.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del emphasizes that he is a second-generation Fil Am, whose mom immigrated from the islands at a very early age, and whose dad was born here. It’s an important detail to distinguish.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My parents listened to hip-hop,” he explains. “I had a different experience than someone who’s parents immigrated here directly. Hip-hop culture is so deep within the Filipino Bay Area because it’s been passed for so long. We also just have a lot of parties, so having good DJs makes a lot of sense for us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://vimeo.com/239151243\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To say Bay Area Filipinos have become good DJs is an understatement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Widely credited as the most innovative turntablists in modern hip-hop history, the Invisibl Skratch Piklz symbolize everything that Bay Area Filipinos have meant to the world of DJing. Their members—DJ QBert, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Apollo, Shortkut and D-Styles, to name some—have been dominant in global competitions such as the International Turntablist Federation battles since the ’80s. At one point, they received so many awards that other crews didn’t even show up to compete. By the late 90s, their members were frequently asked to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.mtv.com/news/tmaa3x/infamous-scratches-out-victory-in-us-dj-competition\">judges for the nation’s best DJ competitions\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.factmag.com/2016/09/08/invisibl-skratch-piklz-the-13th-floor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Underground hip-hip historian Laurent Fintoni\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-Hop and Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—lauded the Piklz as the original group who “invented the concept of a DJ band, elevated the turntablist art form to new technical and creative heights and helped drive technological innovation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Connecting five turntables to scratch, mix and fade all at once, live on stage? Yup. These Filipino DJs are known for popularizing that. Their craft went on to birth future groups in the genre of turntablism, such as The X-Ecutioners from New York City.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between the Piklz, DJ Lady Ames, Delrokz and so many other Filipino Americans from this time and place, DJing went from inside the garages of Daly City’s battling crews to a globally revolutionized way of life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10345320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10345320\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ QBert. \u003ccite>(Thud Rumble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>D-Side: Underground Legends\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve ever noticed “TDK” tagged on any Bay Area surface, then you’ve likely seen the work of Vogue and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13863999/dream-day-2019-celebrating-mike-dream-franciscos-50th-birthday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the late Mike Dream Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. They are—in the opinion of every Bay Area graffiti artist I know—two of the most iconic dudes to ever wield cans of aerosol. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that they’re Filipinos. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are a few more Pinoy names you may or may not have heard about who have helped to shape, or are currently shaping, Bay Area culture: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reyresurreccion/?hl=en\">Rey Resurrection\u003c/a>, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10445851/from-gangs-to-glory-bambus-political-hip-hop-for-the-people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bambu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Celskiii, Deeandroid, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dj_bitesize/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DJ Bitesize\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://dothebay.com/artists/knuckle-neck-tribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Knuckle Neck Tribe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And who can forget one of the most influential sound architects of the entire hyphy movement?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dustin “Nump” Perfetto is a 707 product who has been inside studios with everyone’s favorite musicians, from E-40 to Green Day. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924042/nump-hyphy-i-gott-grapes-interview\">He operated as the recording engineer\u003c/a> on countless albums from that glorious era in Bay Area music history, including \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rick Rock Presents Federation: The Album\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which features the timeless anthem, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/oe7ohnlZhBc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hyphy\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Filipinos play a major part behind the scenes but it hasn’t always been as popular for us to be mainstream,” Perfetto says. “I won’t stop ’til we get that respect.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13887463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13887463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"Ruby Ibarra in an East Bay park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ruby Ibarra. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By promoting his pride in launching his own clothing line, Gorillapino, and collaborating with former and current Fil Am artists (including Ruby Ibarra on her incisive 2017 album, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://pinoyhiphopsuperstar.com/ruby-ibarra-circa-91-album-review/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CIRCA91\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which includes extensive verses in Tagalog) Perfetto personifies the undying grit and collective strength of the Fil Am hip hop community that has always been \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccm73eJo2_U\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Going Off”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the Bay.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003ca href=\"https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-story-of-lapu-lapu-the-legendary-filipino-hero/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lapulapu\u003c/a> is the original Filipino warrior who cut off Magellan’s head when they tried to conquer us,” Perfetto says. “That’s the energy I move with. That’s who we are.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Translation: Filipinos stand united for anything they believe in. And local history underscores how they’ve always utilized the powers of music and community for good.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/xOrYbSM1ArI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Perfetto and the rest of these artists making waves out here can definitely wreck microphones, but they can just as easily build across communities to reach audiences of any background. More than anything, they represent how the Bay is a soil of innovation and solidarity—how we’re all building towards communal celebration.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We have a lot of similarities with other cultures,” Guapdad reminds me. “It’s just something we need to celebrate more.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Guapdad, Saweetie and some of today's best-known Bay Area artists rep their Filipino heritage, continuing a tradition going back to the '80s.",
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"title": "A New Generation of Filipino Hip-Hop Builds On a Deep Bay Area Legacy | KQED",
"description": "Guapdad, Saweetie and some of today's best-known Bay Area artists rep their Filipino heritage, continuing a tradition going back to the '80s.",
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"headline": "A New Generation of Filipino Hip-Hop Builds On a Deep Bay Area Legacy",
"datePublished": "2021-10-26T16:28:51-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Guapdad 4000 isn’t your prototypical rapper. For starters, the West Oakland artist is part of the Marvel Universe’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> soundtrack, something he’s proud about as a comic head.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I’m a huge Marvel fan and it was the first Asian American movie. I knew they was finna go crazy,” he says. “I was juiced. Especially to champion my Filipino side as a part of that. And it takes place in the Bay? Not even Thanos could snap me out of that.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you don’t know Guap, he’s an essential player in the Bay Area’s latest wave of Filipino American artists who’ve taken over the scene with their eclectically unparalleled vibrancy. You can’t talk about Bay Area music in 2021 without mentioning him or the “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SeZHOqSsZA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">same squad, same squad\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">” of Fil Ams from here, including H.E.R, Ruby Ibarra, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924828/rocky-rivera-ruckus-magazine-hyphy-movement-hip-hop\">Rocky Rivera\u003c/a>, P-Lo, Kuya Beats and Saweetie, to name a a few. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Saweetie has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/9446648/saweetie-tap-in-top-10-rb-hip-hop-songs-chart\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">two chart-topping singles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a McDonald’s meal with her name on it. P-Lo \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13899945/how-the-bay-area-reshaped-a-classic-soundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">produced “About That Time,”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the most-streamed song from this summer’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Space Jam: A New Legacy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> soundtrack, featuring verses from NBA All Star Damian Lillard, G-Eazy and White Dave. H.E.R won four Grammys and launched the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13903394/photos-h-e-r-erykah-badu-and-other-rb-stars-shine-at-lights-on-festival\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lights On Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with nearly 6 million followers on Instagram. Rivera added “author” to her resume with the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13894648/rapper-and-activist-rocky-rivera-embraces-growth-in-her-first-book-snakeskin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">publication of her debut book\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Ibarra is literally \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13887169/whats-on-your-ballot-ruby-ibarra-rapper-and-scientist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a scientist\u003c/a> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/community/asian-pacific-america/scientist-and-rapper-ruby-ibarra-on-asian-pacific-america/2580781/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">co-founded the Pinays Rising Scholarship Program\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And that’s just in the past few months.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This list doesn’t even include the unquantifiable amount of genuine community work, activism and representation each artist has provided throughout Northern California and beyond over their careers and lifetimes. It also doesn’t even touch on the OG Pinoys and Pinays who certainly paved the path for this ascendance to happen.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13903463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/D7A5910-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">H.E.R. performs at Lights On Festival at Concord Pavilion on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A-Side: Chicken Adobo\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My mother’s side is Filipino. My grandma is a short, 5’3” lady from Zambales in the Philippines. My grandfather is Black and was a merchant marine out there on a military base. They met and decided to move to Oakland and that’s how my roots started in the Bay,” Guap says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a relatable truth for many Bay Area locals, who’ve grown up here with mixed backgrounds and a fluid sense of self across the generations. Alongside his Fil Am peers, Guap is voicing his multi-ethnic experience in an idiosyncratic, hyphy-melodic way, narrating where he’s from and his journey navigating the world as a Black Pinoy.\u003c/span>\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/1DaovaJgytE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/1DaovaJgytE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With his popular single “Chicken Adobo” (a love song inspired by his lola’s cooking) and his feature on Thundercat’s “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/T2bcUZj6LAc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dragonball Durag\u003c/a>” (a tribute to the classic anime), Guap is constantly dropping hints about his Asian American upbringing and identity—though, most people admittedly don’t perceive him as Filipino upon initially seeing him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My direct portion is one-fourth Filipino,” he says. “I don’t use that mindstate though. I’m equal Black and Filipino. My lola raised me in a biracial household, cooking and speaking both languages. I went to an all-Filipino church for 15 years. I was immersed in the culture. Hella [stuff] in my upbringing comes straight from my Filipino side.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Guap’s style and albums are reflective of his modern Filipino upbringing in the Bay Area—which is to say, it’s not singularly limited. It’s multidimensional and authentic, an unapologetic fusion. And it’s helping to put Filipino Americans back on the map. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But he’s not alone. He just happens to be one \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQuajCfNBA8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Alpha\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in this group of trendsetters. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13867199\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13867199\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Saweetie performs at Rolling Loud 2018 in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/09/Saweetie-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saweetie performs at Rolling Loud 2018 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“If you look at every pillar in hip-hop that exists, all of ’em, it’s gonna be at least one Filipino in there that’s a legend,” Guapdad says. “Chad Hugo [from The Neptunes]. H.E.R. Qbert. Jabbawockeez. Over the years Filipinos have found ways to integrate themselves seamlessly. It’s global but it’s also bringing that back to a local scale.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In other words, they got roots.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>B-Side: Origins and Migrations\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With over 310,000 Filipino residents, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.asianjournal.com/usa/dateline-usa/pew-research-over-4-2m-filipino-americans-in-the-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the San Francisco Bay Area boasts the second-largest population of the diaspora in the United States\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Per capita, it’s among the most densely populated Filipino areas outside of the Philippines. It’s no surprise then that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21172993/filipino-neighborhood-san-francisco-destroyed-i-hotel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">there was once a Manilatown in San Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which blossomed from the 1920s through the 1970s until it was systematically dismantled and cannibalized as part of the “Manhattanization” of downtown’s Financial District. Starting in the 1950s, low-income Filipinos were evicted to make room for “a Wall Street of the West.” The story is just one chapter of the ongoing battle to maintain affordable housing in one of the world’s most expensive cities. \u003c/span>\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/tcsdglJFT0M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/tcsdglJFT0M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, Filipinos have thrived along the Bay Area’s shorelines, allowing for many artists, activists and changemakers to emerge and collaboratively grow here—especially through the rebellion of hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We were raised by brown immigrants in America, but immigrants who were educated in American colonial systems,” says \u003ca href=\"https://barbarajanereyes.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Barbara Jane Reyes\u003c/a>, a Manila-born poet and professor at the University of San Francisco. “Our parents’ aesthetic preferences were rooted in colonial whiteness. So seeing brown kids having a good time while listening to what we were told was the music of Black people seemed scary to them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By adopting hip-hop as a form of self expression, many Filipinos during the 1980s were able to create a sense of selfhood that might’ve otherwise felt trampled on or neglected by previous generations and institutional ideologies. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But how exactly did so many Filipinos like Reyes, who grew up in the East Bay, and her family end up migrating to the San Francisco Bay Area—where they’ve been able to directly participate in hip-hop’s growth—to begin with? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The story spans centuries, but Reyes tells me there was a turning point in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/us-immigration-since-1965\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Immigration and Nationality Act\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In an effort to attract skilled labor, the law abolished discriminatory quotas that once prevented Asians and Pacific Islanders from entering the country after World War II. The decision might’ve been the most influential factor in allowing Filipino families to spread across California, forever changing the demographics of coastal North America.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We had migrant laborers who came to the territory of Hawai’i in 1905. Then laborers who came to the continental West Coast in the ’20s and ’30s,” says Professor Reyes. “Then World War II happened and there’s another wave of migration with [Filipino] Americans who enlist in the military, go to the Philippines to fight, and come back with war brides to the States and raise their families here. It wasn’t until ’65 til that all opened up more. And we’ve been here ever since.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Importantly, the 1965 Act was largely a result of monumental liberation efforts made during the Civil Rights, Chicano and United Farmworkers Movements. That unity among multi-ethnic, working-class communities foreshadowed an allyship that would eventually coalesce organically into hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It wasn’t about popular entertainment but had something to do with making cultural and political statements,” says Reyes. “Listening to hip-hop, I realized something else was happening that made me have to look at my parents’ colonial education and love for whiteness. Going to rap was part of that exploration of asking, ‘Why do you love whiteness so much and why is Blackness so scary to you?’ How do we find kinship in those communities?” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the late 1980s, Filipinos had fully integrated themselves into Bay Area shipyards and city centers as military personnel and blue-collar workers. They also moved into suburbs and middle-class areas with access to college and professional careers in health, education and other fields. Their proliferation led to more intersectional involvement in Americanized cultures, such as\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.undiscoveredsf.com/blog/2019/7/13/a-look-back-at-filipino-american-rampb-music-of-the-1990s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> freestyle and R&B of the ’90s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With a visible community already established, and clearly growing, conditions led to the formation of tightly-connected enclaves in places like Fremont, Vallejo and, most famously, Daly City.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>C-Side: Spinning Records, Breaking Barriers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Filipinos have always been present in Bay Area hip-hop. Ever since the artform emerged as a vehicle for social justice and cultural empowerment, they’ve been among the most active participants in DJing, breakdancing, graffiti and MCing—from Daly City to Vallejo and back down to San Jose. Like many diverse immigrant diasporas who serendipitously arrive in the Golden State, Fil Ams have been a true staple in our neighborhoods, and their role in hip-hop is a reflection of that shared, liberating transcendence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My aunt, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hopclear.com/filipino-amerian-mom-goes-viral-for-being-an-awesome-dj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DJ Lady Ames\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, was one of the first Pinay DJs to come out of San Francisco. She went to Balboa High \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnDXp4lYuk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">during the ’80s while the mobile DJing scene was happening\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and she started a crew with her friends,” says Delrokz.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905237\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 512px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905237\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz.jpg 512w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/delrokz-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Delrokz in his Hayward record shop, The Stacks. \u003ccite>(Alan Chazaro)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del is a DJ and b-boy who has lived all over the “Yay Area,” but is currently posted up in downtown Hayward, where he owns his new record shop, \u003ca href=\"https://www.thestacksrecordshop.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Stacks\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“To be Filipina and have a whole crew of DJs, that was revolutionary at its time in the early ’80s,” he says. “They were an all Pinay group, The GoGos. There really weren’t that many women DJs getting attention back then. But I grew up around her and my uncles and that whole culture. It’s part of who I am.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del is the founder and organizer of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/breakthebay/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Break the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, an annual five-on-five breakdance competition that spins on principles of community, fun and “healthy competition.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s yet another manifestation of how the Filipino homies have not only been a part of the culture, but have pioneered spaces for others to be a part of the culture, too—regardless of gender or age.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Del emphasizes that he is a second-generation Fil Am, whose mom immigrated from the islands at a very early age, and whose dad was born here. It’s an important detail to distinguish.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“My parents listened to hip-hop,” he explains. “I had a different experience than someone who’s parents immigrated here directly. Hip-hop culture is so deep within the Filipino Bay Area because it’s been passed for so long. We also just have a lot of parties, so having good DJs makes a lot of sense for us.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To say Bay Area Filipinos have become good DJs is an understatement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Widely credited as the most innovative turntablists in modern hip-hop history, the Invisibl Skratch Piklz symbolize everything that Bay Area Filipinos have meant to the world of DJing. Their members—DJ QBert, Mixmaster Mike, DJ Apollo, Shortkut and D-Styles, to name some—have been dominant in global competitions such as the International Turntablist Federation battles since the ’80s. At one point, they received so many awards that other crews didn’t even show up to compete. By the late 90s, their members were frequently asked to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.mtv.com/news/tmaa3x/infamous-scratches-out-victory-in-us-dj-competition\">judges for the nation’s best DJ competitions\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.factmag.com/2016/09/08/invisibl-skratch-piklz-the-13th-floor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Underground hip-hip historian Laurent Fintoni\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-Hop and Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—lauded the Piklz as the original group who “invented the concept of a DJ band, elevated the turntablist art form to new technical and creative heights and helped drive technological innovation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Connecting five turntables to scratch, mix and fade all at once, live on stage? Yup. These Filipino DJs are known for popularizing that. Their craft went on to birth future groups in the genre of turntablism, such as The X-Ecutioners from New York City.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between the Piklz, DJ Lady Ames, Delrokz and so many other Filipino Americans from this time and place, DJing went from inside the garages of Daly City’s battling crews to a globally revolutionized way of life.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10345320\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10345320\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/01/QBertMain-400x225.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">DJ QBert. \u003ccite>(Thud Rumble)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>D-Side: Underground Legends\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you’ve ever noticed “TDK” tagged on any Bay Area surface, then you’ve likely seen the work of Vogue and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13863999/dream-day-2019-celebrating-mike-dream-franciscos-50th-birthday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the late Mike Dream Francisco\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. They are—in the opinion of every Bay Area graffiti artist I know—two of the most iconic dudes to ever wield cans of aerosol. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You shouldn’t be surprised to learn that they’re Filipinos. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here are a few more Pinoy names you may or may not have heard about who have helped to shape, or are currently shaping, Bay Area culture: \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reyresurreccion/?hl=en\">Rey Resurrection\u003c/a>, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10445851/from-gangs-to-glory-bambus-political-hip-hop-for-the-people\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bambu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Celskiii, Deeandroid, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dj_bitesize/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DJ Bitesize\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, and the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://dothebay.com/artists/knuckle-neck-tribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Knuckle Neck Tribe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And who can forget one of the most influential sound architects of the entire hyphy movement?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dustin “Nump” Perfetto is a 707 product who has been inside studios with everyone’s favorite musicians, from E-40 to Green Day. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924042/nump-hyphy-i-gott-grapes-interview\">He operated as the recording engineer\u003c/a> on countless albums from that glorious era in Bay Area music history, including \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rick Rock Presents Federation: The Album\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which features the timeless anthem, “\u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/oe7ohnlZhBc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hyphy\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Filipinos play a major part behind the scenes but it hasn’t always been as popular for us to be mainstream,” Perfetto says. “I won’t stop ’til we get that respect.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13887463\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13887463\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_.jpg\" alt=\"Ruby Ibarra in an East Bay park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/10/RubyIbarra.MAIN_-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ruby Ibarra. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By promoting his pride in launching his own clothing line, Gorillapino, and collaborating with former and current Fil Am artists (including Ruby Ibarra on her incisive 2017 album, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://pinoyhiphopsuperstar.com/ruby-ibarra-circa-91-album-review/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">CIRCA91\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which includes extensive verses in Tagalog) Perfetto personifies the undying grit and collective strength of the Fil Am hip hop community that has always been \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccm73eJo2_U\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Going Off”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for the Bay.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“\u003ca href=\"https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/the-story-of-lapu-lapu-the-legendary-filipino-hero/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lapulapu\u003c/a> is the original Filipino warrior who cut off Magellan’s head when they tried to conquer us,” Perfetto says. “That’s the energy I move with. That’s who we are.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Translation: Filipinos stand united for anything they believe in. And local history underscores how they’ve always utilized the powers of music and community for good.\u003c/span>\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/xOrYbSM1ArI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/xOrYbSM1ArI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Perfetto and the rest of these artists making waves out here can definitely wreck microphones, but they can just as easily build across communities to reach audiences of any background. More than anything, they represent how the Bay is a soil of innovation and solidarity—how we’re all building towards communal celebration.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We have a lot of similarities with other cultures,” Guapdad reminds me. “It’s just something we need to celebrate more.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Boba, Chè and ABGs: A San Jose Local's Guide to Vietnamese Drinks",
"headTitle": "Boba, Chè and ABGs: A San Jose Local’s Guide to Vietnamese Drinks | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904916\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Two Vietnamese milk tea drinks, a pastry and a spiky green durian fruit spread out on a countertop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dzui’s, in San Jose, is one of the few Bay Area shops that specializes in durian drinks. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>San Jose: The Bay Area’s Great Immigrant Food City\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/sanjosefood\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring San Jose’s wonderfully diverse immigrant food scene. A new installment will post each weekday from Oct. 20–29. \u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]E[/dropcap]very article written about Vietnamese food in America reads like the beginning of an Asian American studies paper. And that’s fair: Food can’t be truly understood without getting into history and politics. The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War created a pathway for the first large wave of Vietnamese immigration into the states. Hundreds of thousands of refugees wound up landing in cities such as New Orleans, Houston and San Jose, the last of which is home to the Bay Area’s biggest concentration of Vietnamese Americans. In fact, San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population of any city in the country—over 100,000, according to the 2010 census. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It should come as no surprise, then, that the city is also home to the best Vietnamese food that Northern California has to offer. Even Vietnamese people from San Francisco, Stockton and Sacramento often make the long journey for a taste. Savvy out-of-town readers have already seen the listicles featuring San Jose’s best phở\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">or\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">bánh mì. But what’s spoken of less frequently is the city’s sprawling, vibrant Vietnamese drinks scene—an ever-evolving landscape of colorful, icy sweet soups layered with mung beans and pandan jelly, fresh-pressed sugarcane juice and distinctly Vietnamese takes on boba and coffee. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While some drinks are traditional, others are new innovations popularized by Vietnamese American youth. In many ways, the entire chè and boba scene speaks not only to what Vietnamese culture in San Jose is, but also where it’s going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After all, if wine can be Napa’s thing, why can’t Vietnamese beverages be San Jose’s?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Milk Tea and Boba\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, boba’s omnipresence is a distinctive characteristic of the Bay Area. Cruising through San Jose, you get the impression that there are more boba shops than Starbucks. San Jose is the so-called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/g5p44x/it-was-a-cultural-reset-a-short-history-of-the-abg-aesthetic\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asian Baby Girl \u003c/span>\u003c/a>(ABG) \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">capital of the Bay, after all, and big, colorful boba drinks are the accessory of choice for this particular subculture, alongside acrylic nails and lash extensions. While Taiwanese boba culture tends to dominate the discussion, in San Jose you’ll find a whole universe of Vietnamese takes on the cult drink. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904914\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904914\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Colorful boba drinks on a table lit with purplish-pink light.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pekoe is known for its colorful boba drinks, as well as its clubby, neon-lit atmosphere. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These boba shops take the Taiwanese boba canon—your classic milk teas with tapioca pearls—and build on that foundation by adding Vietnamese ingredients. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://7leavescafe.com/drink\">\u003cb>7 Leaves Cafe\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a good example of this approach. The local chain’s\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first Northern California location is in the sleepy suburban neighborhood of Berryessa, the less widely recognized Vietnamese ethnoburb within San Jose. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though the cafe serves the standard milk tea flavors of black, jasmine, and taro that you expect at any other boba shop, its standout items draw on distinctly Vietnamese influences. There’s mung bean milk tea, “herbal tea” (pandan, chrysanthemum and raw cane sugar) and, the student favorite, Vietnamese coffee. Fortunately, the hour-long waits from 7 Leaves’ debut have tapered off as the chain settled into the city, with three locations that act as popular hubs for midday caffeine boosts and hours-long study sessions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“San Jose is the so-called Asian Baby Girl capital of the Bay, after all, and big, colorful boba drinks are the accessory of choice for this particular subculture.”[/pullquote]To immerse yourself in San Jose’s Vietnamese youth culture (or one aspect of it, anyway), head over to \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://pekoeteabar.com/\">Pekoe Tea Bar\u003c/a>. \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With its white leather couches, vibey dimmed lighting and neon LED strips, Pekoe embodies last decade’s Asian American raver revival and San Jose \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/style/cheugy.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cheugy\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. During its heyday in the mid-2010s, you couldn’t make it to the register without swarms of teenagers and 20-somethings huddling around modded cars and vape circles. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Young Asian Americans stand in line to order boba inside a shop with ornate light fixtures.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vietnamese boba scene at shops like Pekoe is driven by Asian American teens and 20somethings. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The menu captures the aforementioned subculture’s casual geekery and tendency toward questionably appropriative hip-hop references, with drink names such as “Mario and Lui-lychee” and “I’m in Luv with the Coco.” Pekoe offers a cocktail style menu, pairing teas, flavorings and toppings that are meant to complement one another. “Pretty in Pink” features a strawberry-infused jasmine milk tea with heart-shaped strawberry jelly and boba, resulting in an adorable pink drink that, believe it or not, tastes like vape juice—in a good way. For an earthier drink, “Yung Mung-y” combines jasmine tea with “natural mung bean” and coconut pudding. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If your curiosity won’t let you decide between two menu options, Pekoe offers split cups. The drinks run sweeter than most, so ask for less sweetness than your usual order. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Chè\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chè is a category that covers an endless variety of desserts that can be hot or cold, savory or sweet, solid or soupy, chewy or smooth, fresh or cooked. It’s a maximalist dessert with no limitations. One popular iteration is chè ba màu, recognized for its striking tri-color layers of red bean, mung bean and pandan jelly topped with coconut milk and shaved ice. Another is chè thái, a canned-fruit cocktail—of jackfruit, lychee, grass jelly, water chestnut and coconut flesh—that’s reminiscent of ambrosia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area’s most recognizable chè shop, \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://www.drinkbambu.com/\">BAMBU Dessert & Drinks\u003c/a>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">originated in San Jose, first opening in Berryessa in 2008. Since then, the chain has expanded to 15 stores serving Vietnamese enclaves as far away as Sacramento and Stockton, but the San Jose mothership is still worth a visit for an efficient and reliable pitstop while eating your way through the Eastside scene. The menu offers all the greatest hits of the icy variety of chè, though the shop also serves a host of flavored milk teas, fruit teas and coffees for those who prefer less texture. Drink your way through the shop’s preset chè options, or pick your favorite ingredients to create your own combination. When in doubt, the classic chè ba màu (#10 on the menu) is a dependable option.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Soy-Based Drinks\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Vietnam, freshly made soy milk is often served alongside street food and deli entrees. While American soy milk does its best to neutralize itself, waiting to be paired with coffee or utilized in baking, Asian soy milk is a delightful treat all on its own. It’s meant to taste like soy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905047\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905047\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A woman holds a soy pudding drink dotted with boba, pandan and shaved ice.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Soyful’s icy soy pudding drinks are a delightful hybrid of boba, soy and chè. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To enjoy Vietnamese soy milk in its purest form, head to \u003c/span>\u003cb>Hung Vuong Tofu\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905293/vietnamese-tofu-capital-san-jose\">soy- and tofu-focused deli\u003c/a> tucked in an unpretentious strip mall in Berryessa. Snake around the floating isle of imported snacks and prepared food trays to land at the shop’s fridge, with its nostalgic red, yellow and blue stripes. Inside, you’ll find bottles and jugs of freshly pressed soy milk available in four options: unsweetened, sweetened, pandan and matcha. Older patrons gravitate toward the unsweetened version, but the matcha flavor sells out quickly due to the younger crowd. If you’ve only had mass-produced soy milk from the supermarket, be prepared for a completely different sensation: a refreshing, subtly sweet silken tofu taste with a full mouthfeel. They don’t use preservatives here, so finish your drink within one to two days of opening.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For those seeking a more contemporary take on the genre, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/soyfuldesserts/?hl=en\">\u003cb>Soyful Desserts\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the ultimate lovechild of boba, chè and soy. Though the shop’s core options are Hong Kong-style milk teas (and at least one of its founders \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/soyfuldesserts/about/?ref=page_internal\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">hails from Hong Kong\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">), Soyful is best known for its soy pudding drinks. The tender, slurpable ginger syrup–dowsed tofu is layered with your toppings of choice. I recommend the pandan jelly, basil seeds, and of course boba. To really lean into the shop’s chè\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">side, opt for red beans as well. The soy pudding drinks are all accompanied by crushed ice—the kind that’s fun to stab with your straw and easy to drink.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Durian Drinks\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Jose is also one of the only places in America where even lesser known Vietnamese drinks are able to cultivate a devoted following. One such drink can be found at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Dzuis-Cakes-Desserts-771574152953969/\">\u003cb>Dzui’s Cakes and Desserts\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In 2017, Dzui Thai decided to open his namesake storefront in Eastside San Jose, building on the legacy of his family’s successful bakery which has operated in Vietnam for nearly 40 years. The shop specializes in pillowy durian crepe cakes and bánh mì muối ớt (grilled bread with spicy seasoning), but it’s also known for offering hard-to-find beverages like corn milk, mung bean milk and, especially, a variety of durian drinks—all made with super-fresh ingredients.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905049\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905049\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A line of customers stands in front of the display case waiting to order inside of Dzui's dessert shop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At Dzui’s, customers can get a durian crepe cakes to go with their durian milk tea. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dzui’s signature “á đù”rian (a pun on Vietnamese for “motherfucker”) milk tea originally featured fresh, high-quality durian chunks. Thai noticed that customers were either thrilled or repulsed by the contentious fruit in its purest form. It is durian, after all. To those less familiar, it’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">allegedly\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> offensive and reeks of onions (or worse). To its championing lovers, it’s an aromatic blend of perfume and—OK fine—garlic. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Determined to adapt his signature drink to be friendlier to his new stateside market, Thai landed on a housemade durian pudding. The resulting product invites durian amateurs to familiarize themselves with the fruit’s complicated custardy notes. The pudding sits atop a salted cheese foam with fragrant jasmine tea, resulting in an alchemic blend of savory and sweet. Durian lovers can rest assured that fresh durian chunks are available for a worthwhile extra $1.50.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"large\" align=\"right\"]“Customers were either thrilled or repulsed by the contentious fruit in its purest form. It is durian, after all.”[/pullquote]“I wanted to stand out,” Thai says of his durian desserts and drinks. “There’s a lot of Vietnamese business around here. Why not try it? You can’t find it anywhere else.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Sugarcane Juice\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Californians have a reputation for being particularly health conscious, so it’s surprising that Vietnamese juices and smoothies haven’t taken the state by storm yet. One of the more popular options is fresh sugarcane juice, and the definitive sugarcane juicery in town is\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nkfreshjuice/?hl=en\">\u003cb>Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905050\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905050\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu’s bright, tropical storefront is located inside the Grand Century mall food court. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Located in the food court of the Grand Century Shopping mall—\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/a/mofad-city-guides/san-jose-vietnamese-restaurants\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one of two almost exclusively Vietnamese malls in San Jose\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu is all about transparency and simplicity. Literally. Customers get to watch their order made from scratch right in front of them, explains Ron Kwok, the son of the company’s founder. Whole sugarcane sticks are run through an industrial press, with a filter that catches the inedible fibers, yielding a pure, refreshing cup of juice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each menu option is an exhaustive list of the ingredients that go into that drink. In other words, the sugarcane juice only contains sugarcane, unless you decide to add fresh or preserved fruit (which you should!). Fresh-pressed sugarcane with a squeeze of kumquat is the most popular option, with bright citrus notes balancing out the sugarcane’s natural sweetness.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905051\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905051\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Two cups of iced sugarcane juice on a mall food court tabletop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fresh-pressed sugarcane drinks at Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu don’t have any added sugar or water. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Coffee\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s no talking about Vietnamese beverages without mentioning coffee. In the U.S., cà phê sữa đá, or Vietnamese iced coffee, sits in the hall of fame next to phở and bánh mì\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In San Jose, you don’t have to drive very far from wherever you are to find that bold and delicious bitter cup of robusta sweetened with condensed milk. Most boba shops in town even offer it alongside their milk and fruit tea options. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until recently, though, cà phê sữa đá was usually tucked at the end of bánh mì shop and restaurant menus rather than featured as a standalone product in its own right. “Vietnamese coffee shops” usually referred to late-night haunts for men to drink cà phê, chain-smoke, watch sports, play cards, buy lottery tickets and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ocregister.com/2009/05/21/sexy-cafes-are-little-saigons-twist-on-hooters-2/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">generously tip bikini-clad servers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, there’s a younger generation of Vietnamese Americans eager to expand upon the existing cà phê\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">scene and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://imbibemagazine.com/ca-phe-culture-a-vietnamese-coffee-movement-is-brewing-across-america/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">close the gap on more recent trends in third wave coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905052\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905052\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A barista in a face mask prepares an espresso drink.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Academic Coffee is known for its pandan lattes, which are inspired by a popular Vietnamese snack. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When husband-and-wife duo Frank and Kathy Nguyen opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.academiccoffee.com/\">\u003cb>Academic Coffee\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2017, they began with a straightforward, no-frills espresso focused menu—nothing especially Vietnamese about it. About a year into operating, though, Frank began experimenting with a housemade pandan syrup. The result was the shop’s iconic pandan lattes and cold brews. Inspired by the classic childhood snack, bánh kẹp\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(pandan waffle), the pandan drink’s flavor lands between a vanilla and coconut latte. Don’t expect your coffee to be green, as the cafe opts to skip out on dyes.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Academic Coffee provides an option for Vietnamese-inspired espresso drinks, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kasamacaphe.com/\">\u003cstrong>Kasama Ca Phe\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> focuses on the classic cà phê itself. Childhood friends Erik Quiocho and Kevin Ho Nguyen developed their love for cà phê sữa đá when they’d have it as a casual after-school treat while grabbing phở. As the third wave coffee movement hit the Bay Area, the duo saw an opportunity to educate coffee enthusiasts on Vietnamese beans, labor and brewing methods. Thus came \u003c/span>Kasama Ca Phe\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a pop-up concept that has halted during the pandemic and shifted to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kasamacaphe/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">growler pick-ups only\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13904861,arts_13904835,arts_13905293' label='More San Jose Food']“We didn’t want to just go off the radar,” explains Quiocho, “There was a lot we wanted to do and a story we wanted to tell. We decided the best way to do it was curbside pickup.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pair also increased their focus on online engagement. At the start of the shelter-in-place ordinance of 2020, they hosted an online workshop teaching participants how to brew a “proper” cup of cà phê trứng, or egg coffee. The Northern Vietnamese hot coffee drink is slowly becoming more widely available in the U.S.—though it’s still relatively hard to find in the Bay Area, especially outside of San Jose. To make cà phê trứng, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/blogs/news/vietnamese-coffee-phin-filter-stainless-steel\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">phin-brewed coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is topped with a custard-like foam made from whipped egg yolks and condensed milk. The drink embodies the pop-up’s methodical approach to coffee, as well as its founders’ commitment to introducing customers to new-to-them Vietnamese coffee offerings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And unlike more old school Vietnamese coffee spots, Kasama Ca Phe is vegan-friendly too, offering cà phê sữa dừa đá, or coconut coffee, which utilizes Thai coconut condensed milk. All drinks use Nguyen Coffee Supply beans,\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/pages/about-us\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a Brooklyn-based roaster best known for their single-origin, direct-trade Vietnamese coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905053\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905053\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A hand reaching out to a cup of coffee decorated with elegant latte art.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coffee shops like Academic Coffee—whose latte is pictured here—bridge the gap between third wave trends and Vietnamese coffee culture. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s a quickly growing diasporic coffee movement of young Vietnamese Americans who are eager to reclaim Vietnam’s robusta bean, often deemed inferior to arabica beans in terms of flavor and quality, and push back against Eurocentric coffee standards. Kasama Ca Phe proudly represents San Jose in this new wave. And Quiocho and Nguyen aren’t done yet: They have their sights set out on creating their own organic condensed milk, and plan to open their own storefront in San Jose in the near future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“San Jose’s always on this come-up moment. A lot of other folks in the South Bay feel it too. Times are changing,” Quiocho says. “As San Jose continues to grow, we want to help champion the coffee scene out here. Do it for the hometown.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cem>Jacquelyn Tran is a San Jose–raised, Berkeley-based researcher and writer. She does not identify as an ABG but did write her college thesis on the subculture. Follow her on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jjjjacq\">@jjjjacq\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904916\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Two Vietnamese milk tea drinks, a pastry and a spiky green durian fruit spread out on a countertop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/001_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dzui’s, in San Jose, is one of the few Bay Area shops that specializes in durian drinks. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>San Jose: The Bay Area’s Great Immigrant Food City\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/sanjosefood\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring San Jose’s wonderfully diverse immigrant food scene. A new installment will post each weekday from Oct. 20–29. \u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">E\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>very article written about Vietnamese food in America reads like the beginning of an Asian American studies paper. And that’s fair: Food can’t be truly understood without getting into history and politics. The United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War created a pathway for the first large wave of Vietnamese immigration into the states. Hundreds of thousands of refugees wound up landing in cities such as New Orleans, Houston and San Jose, the last of which is home to the Bay Area’s biggest concentration of Vietnamese Americans. In fact, San Jose has the largest Vietnamese population of any city in the country—over 100,000, according to the 2010 census. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It should come as no surprise, then, that the city is also home to the best Vietnamese food that Northern California has to offer. Even Vietnamese people from San Francisco, Stockton and Sacramento often make the long journey for a taste. Savvy out-of-town readers have already seen the listicles featuring San Jose’s best phở\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">or\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">bánh mì. But what’s spoken of less frequently is the city’s sprawling, vibrant Vietnamese drinks scene—an ever-evolving landscape of colorful, icy sweet soups layered with mung beans and pandan jelly, fresh-pressed sugarcane juice and distinctly Vietnamese takes on boba and coffee. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While some drinks are traditional, others are new innovations popularized by Vietnamese American youth. In many ways, the entire chè and boba scene speaks not only to what Vietnamese culture in San Jose is, but also where it’s going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After all, if wine can be Napa’s thing, why can’t Vietnamese beverages be San Jose’s?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Milk Tea and Boba\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, boba’s omnipresence is a distinctive characteristic of the Bay Area. Cruising through San Jose, you get the impression that there are more boba shops than Starbucks. San Jose is the so-called \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/g5p44x/it-was-a-cultural-reset-a-short-history-of-the-abg-aesthetic\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asian Baby Girl \u003c/span>\u003c/a>(ABG) \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">capital of the Bay, after all, and big, colorful boba drinks are the accessory of choice for this particular subculture, alongside acrylic nails and lash extensions. While Taiwanese boba culture tends to dominate the discussion, in San Jose you’ll find a whole universe of Vietnamese takes on the cult drink. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904914\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13904914\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Colorful boba drinks on a table lit with purplish-pink light.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/017_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pekoe is known for its colorful boba drinks, as well as its clubby, neon-lit atmosphere. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These boba shops take the Taiwanese boba canon—your classic milk teas with tapioca pearls—and build on that foundation by adding Vietnamese ingredients. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://7leavescafe.com/drink\">\u003cb>7 Leaves Cafe\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a good example of this approach. The local chain’s\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first Northern California location is in the sleepy suburban neighborhood of Berryessa, the less widely recognized Vietnamese ethnoburb within San Jose. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though the cafe serves the standard milk tea flavors of black, jasmine, and taro that you expect at any other boba shop, its standout items draw on distinctly Vietnamese influences. There’s mung bean milk tea, “herbal tea” (pandan, chrysanthemum and raw cane sugar) and, the student favorite, Vietnamese coffee. Fortunately, the hour-long waits from 7 Leaves’ debut have tapered off as the chain settled into the city, with three locations that act as popular hubs for midday caffeine boosts and hours-long study sessions.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>To immerse yourself in San Jose’s Vietnamese youth culture (or one aspect of it, anyway), head over to \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://pekoeteabar.com/\">Pekoe Tea Bar\u003c/a>. \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With its white leather couches, vibey dimmed lighting and neon LED strips, Pekoe embodies last decade’s Asian American raver revival and San Jose \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/29/style/cheugy.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">cheugy\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. During its heyday in the mid-2010s, you couldn’t make it to the register without swarms of teenagers and 20-somethings huddling around modded cars and vape circles. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Young Asian Americans stand in line to order boba inside a shop with ornate light fixtures.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/020_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Vietnamese boba scene at shops like Pekoe is driven by Asian American teens and 20somethings. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The menu captures the aforementioned subculture’s casual geekery and tendency toward questionably appropriative hip-hop references, with drink names such as “Mario and Lui-lychee” and “I’m in Luv with the Coco.” Pekoe offers a cocktail style menu, pairing teas, flavorings and toppings that are meant to complement one another. “Pretty in Pink” features a strawberry-infused jasmine milk tea with heart-shaped strawberry jelly and boba, resulting in an adorable pink drink that, believe it or not, tastes like vape juice—in a good way. For an earthier drink, “Yung Mung-y” combines jasmine tea with “natural mung bean” and coconut pudding. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If your curiosity won’t let you decide between two menu options, Pekoe offers split cups. The drinks run sweeter than most, so ask for less sweetness than your usual order. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Chè\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chè is a category that covers an endless variety of desserts that can be hot or cold, savory or sweet, solid or soupy, chewy or smooth, fresh or cooked. It’s a maximalist dessert with no limitations. One popular iteration is chè ba màu, recognized for its striking tri-color layers of red bean, mung bean and pandan jelly topped with coconut milk and shaved ice. Another is chè thái, a canned-fruit cocktail—of jackfruit, lychee, grass jelly, water chestnut and coconut flesh—that’s reminiscent of ambrosia.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area’s most recognizable chè shop, \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003ca href=\"https://www.drinkbambu.com/\">BAMBU Dessert & Drinks\u003c/a>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">originated in San Jose, first opening in Berryessa in 2008. Since then, the chain has expanded to 15 stores serving Vietnamese enclaves as far away as Sacramento and Stockton, but the San Jose mothership is still worth a visit for an efficient and reliable pitstop while eating your way through the Eastside scene. The menu offers all the greatest hits of the icy variety of chè, though the shop also serves a host of flavored milk teas, fruit teas and coffees for those who prefer less texture. Drink your way through the shop’s preset chè options, or pick your favorite ingredients to create your own combination. When in doubt, the classic chè ba màu (#10 on the menu) is a dependable option.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Soy-Based Drinks\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Vietnam, freshly made soy milk is often served alongside street food and deli entrees. While American soy milk does its best to neutralize itself, waiting to be paired with coffee or utilized in baking, Asian soy milk is a delightful treat all on its own. It’s meant to taste like soy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905047\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905047\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A woman holds a soy pudding drink dotted with boba, pandan and shaved ice.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/016_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Soyful’s icy soy pudding drinks are a delightful hybrid of boba, soy and chè. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To enjoy Vietnamese soy milk in its purest form, head to \u003c/span>\u003cb>Hung Vuong Tofu\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13905293/vietnamese-tofu-capital-san-jose\">soy- and tofu-focused deli\u003c/a> tucked in an unpretentious strip mall in Berryessa. Snake around the floating isle of imported snacks and prepared food trays to land at the shop’s fridge, with its nostalgic red, yellow and blue stripes. Inside, you’ll find bottles and jugs of freshly pressed soy milk available in four options: unsweetened, sweetened, pandan and matcha. Older patrons gravitate toward the unsweetened version, but the matcha flavor sells out quickly due to the younger crowd. If you’ve only had mass-produced soy milk from the supermarket, be prepared for a completely different sensation: a refreshing, subtly sweet silken tofu taste with a full mouthfeel. They don’t use preservatives here, so finish your drink within one to two days of opening.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For those seeking a more contemporary take on the genre, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/soyfuldesserts/?hl=en\">\u003cb>Soyful Desserts\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is the ultimate lovechild of boba, chè and soy. Though the shop’s core options are Hong Kong-style milk teas (and at least one of its founders \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/soyfuldesserts/about/?ref=page_internal\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">hails from Hong Kong\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">), Soyful is best known for its soy pudding drinks. The tender, slurpable ginger syrup–dowsed tofu is layered with your toppings of choice. I recommend the pandan jelly, basil seeds, and of course boba. To really lean into the shop’s chè\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">side, opt for red beans as well. The soy pudding drinks are all accompanied by crushed ice—the kind that’s fun to stab with your straw and easy to drink.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Durian Drinks\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Jose is also one of the only places in America where even lesser known Vietnamese drinks are able to cultivate a devoted following. One such drink can be found at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Dzuis-Cakes-Desserts-771574152953969/\">\u003cb>Dzui’s Cakes and Desserts\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. In 2017, Dzui Thai decided to open his namesake storefront in Eastside San Jose, building on the legacy of his family’s successful bakery which has operated in Vietnam for nearly 40 years. The shop specializes in pillowy durian crepe cakes and bánh mì muối ớt (grilled bread with spicy seasoning), but it’s also known for offering hard-to-find beverages like corn milk, mung bean milk and, especially, a variety of durian drinks—all made with super-fresh ingredients.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905049\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905049\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A line of customers stands in front of the display case waiting to order inside of Dzui's dessert shop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/005_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">At Dzui’s, customers can get a durian crepe cakes to go with their durian milk tea. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dzui’s signature “á đù”rian (a pun on Vietnamese for “motherfucker”) milk tea originally featured fresh, high-quality durian chunks. Thai noticed that customers were either thrilled or repulsed by the contentious fruit in its purest form. It is durian, after all. To those less familiar, it’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">allegedly\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> offensive and reeks of onions (or worse). To its championing lovers, it’s an aromatic blend of perfume and—OK fine—garlic. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Determined to adapt his signature drink to be friendlier to his new stateside market, Thai landed on a housemade durian pudding. The resulting product invites durian amateurs to familiarize themselves with the fruit’s complicated custardy notes. The pudding sits atop a salted cheese foam with fragrant jasmine tea, resulting in an alchemic blend of savory and sweet. Durian lovers can rest assured that fresh durian chunks are available for a worthwhile extra $1.50.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I wanted to stand out,” Thai says of his durian desserts and drinks. “There’s a lot of Vietnamese business around here. Why not try it? You can’t find it anywhere else.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Sugarcane Juice\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Californians have a reputation for being particularly health conscious, so it’s surprising that Vietnamese juices and smoothies haven’t taken the state by storm yet. One of the more popular options is fresh sugarcane juice, and the definitive sugarcane juicery in town is\u003c/span> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nkfreshjuice/?hl=en\">\u003cb>Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905050\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905050\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/007_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu’s bright, tropical storefront is located inside the Grand Century mall food court. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Located in the food court of the Grand Century Shopping mall—\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/a/mofad-city-guides/san-jose-vietnamese-restaurants\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one of two almost exclusively Vietnamese malls in San Jose\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu is all about transparency and simplicity. Literally. Customers get to watch their order made from scratch right in front of them, explains Ron Kwok, the son of the company’s founder. Whole sugarcane sticks are run through an industrial press, with a filter that catches the inedible fibers, yielding a pure, refreshing cup of juice. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Each menu option is an exhaustive list of the ingredients that go into that drink. In other words, the sugarcane juice only contains sugarcane, unless you decide to add fresh or preserved fruit (which you should!). Fresh-pressed sugarcane with a squeeze of kumquat is the most popular option, with bright citrus notes balancing out the sugarcane’s natural sweetness.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905051\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905051\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"Two cups of iced sugarcane juice on a mall food court tabletop.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/010_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fresh-pressed sugarcane drinks at Nuoc Mia Ninh Kieu don’t have any added sugar or water. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cb>Coffee\u003c/b>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s no talking about Vietnamese beverages without mentioning coffee. In the U.S., cà phê sữa đá, or Vietnamese iced coffee, sits in the hall of fame next to phở and bánh mì\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In San Jose, you don’t have to drive very far from wherever you are to find that bold and delicious bitter cup of robusta sweetened with condensed milk. Most boba shops in town even offer it alongside their milk and fruit tea options. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until recently, though, cà phê sữa đá was usually tucked at the end of bánh mì shop and restaurant menus rather than featured as a standalone product in its own right. “Vietnamese coffee shops” usually referred to late-night haunts for men to drink cà phê, chain-smoke, watch sports, play cards, buy lottery tickets and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ocregister.com/2009/05/21/sexy-cafes-are-little-saigons-twist-on-hooters-2/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">generously tip bikini-clad servers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, there’s a younger generation of Vietnamese Americans eager to expand upon the existing cà phê\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">scene and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://imbibemagazine.com/ca-phe-culture-a-vietnamese-coffee-movement-is-brewing-across-america/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">close the gap on more recent trends in third wave coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905052\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905052\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A barista in a face mask prepares an espresso drink.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/023_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Academic Coffee is known for its pandan lattes, which are inspired by a popular Vietnamese snack. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When husband-and-wife duo Frank and Kathy Nguyen opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.academiccoffee.com/\">\u003cb>Academic Coffee\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2017, they began with a straightforward, no-frills espresso focused menu—nothing especially Vietnamese about it. About a year into operating, though, Frank began experimenting with a housemade pandan syrup. The result was the shop’s iconic pandan lattes and cold brews. Inspired by the classic childhood snack, bánh kẹp\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">(pandan waffle), the pandan drink’s flavor lands between a vanilla and coconut latte. Don’t expect your coffee to be green, as the cafe opts to skip out on dyes.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Academic Coffee provides an option for Vietnamese-inspired espresso drinks, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kasamacaphe.com/\">\u003cstrong>Kasama Ca Phe\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> focuses on the classic cà phê itself. Childhood friends Erik Quiocho and Kevin Ho Nguyen developed their love for cà phê sữa đá when they’d have it as a casual after-school treat while grabbing phở. As the third wave coffee movement hit the Bay Area, the duo saw an opportunity to educate coffee enthusiasts on Vietnamese beans, labor and brewing methods. Thus came \u003c/span>Kasama Ca Phe\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a pop-up concept that has halted during the pandemic and shifted to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kasamacaphe/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">growler pick-ups only\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We didn’t want to just go off the radar,” explains Quiocho, “There was a lot we wanted to do and a story we wanted to tell. We decided the best way to do it was curbside pickup.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pair also increased their focus on online engagement. At the start of the shelter-in-place ordinance of 2020, they hosted an online workshop teaching participants how to brew a “proper” cup of cà phê trứng, or egg coffee. The Northern Vietnamese hot coffee drink is slowly becoming more widely available in the U.S.—though it’s still relatively hard to find in the Bay Area, especially outside of San Jose. To make cà phê trứng, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/blogs/news/vietnamese-coffee-phin-filter-stainless-steel\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">phin-brewed coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is topped with a custard-like foam made from whipped egg yolks and condensed milk. The drink embodies the pop-up’s methodical approach to coffee, as well as its founders’ commitment to introducing customers to new-to-them Vietnamese coffee offerings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And unlike more old school Vietnamese coffee spots, Kasama Ca Phe is vegan-friendly too, offering cà phê sữa dừa đá, or coconut coffee, which utilizes Thai coconut condensed milk. All drinks use Nguyen Coffee Supply beans,\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://nguyencoffeesupply.com/pages/about-us\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a Brooklyn-based roaster best known for their single-origin, direct-trade Vietnamese coffee\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13905053\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13905053\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg\" alt=\"A hand reaching out to a cup of coffee decorated with elegant latte art.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1667\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/025_KQED100321_VietnameseSJDrinks_AndriaLo-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coffee shops like Academic Coffee—whose latte is pictured here—bridge the gap between third wave trends and Vietnamese coffee culture. \u003ccite>(Andria Lo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s a quickly growing diasporic coffee movement of young Vietnamese Americans who are eager to reclaim Vietnam’s robusta bean, often deemed inferior to arabica beans in terms of flavor and quality, and push back against Eurocentric coffee standards. Kasama Ca Phe proudly represents San Jose in this new wave. And Quiocho and Nguyen aren’t done yet: They have their sights set out on creating their own organic condensed milk, and plan to open their own storefront in San Jose in the near future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“San Jose’s always on this come-up moment. A lot of other folks in the South Bay feel it too. Times are changing,” Quiocho says. “As San Jose continues to grow, we want to help champion the coffee scene out here. Do it for the hometown.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cem>Jacquelyn Tran is a San Jose–raised, Berkeley-based researcher and writer. She does not identify as an ABG but did write her college thesis on the subculture. Follow her on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jjjjacq\">@jjjjacq\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Bay Area Ghostwriter Behind Hip-Hop's Biggest Names Takes Center Stage",
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"content": "\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=KQINC6949430749\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/msjanehandcock/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jane Handcock\u003c/a> has written for some of the top names in music, and now it’s her turn to step into the limelight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s an R&B vocalist from Richmond, who has penned songs for the likes of Kelly Rowland, Rick Ross, \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Teddy Riley and Tyrese. A few years ago she was working closely with \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/jane-handcock/sets/raphael-saadiq-presents-jane\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raphael Saadiq\u003c/a>. And lately, she’s been rocking the stage more, dropping songs as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://bio.site/grandnationxl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Grand Nationxl\u003c/a> collective, and producing solo projects. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While Jane got her start singing in East Bay churches, she’s since relocated to Los Angeles where she’s on the verge of releasing new work under the guidance of the legendary Snoop Dogg. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week, we discuss how Jane is handling the pivot from being “the most known unknown” ghostwriter out here, to being a star in her own right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jane Handcock - Nina's Blues | GC Presents: The Box\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mwza9j0xqmg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\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>\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>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904814\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ is rockin' a yellow Spongebob hoody and some shorts as he's posted on a park bench at Pittsburg's City Park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Born in Oakland, Infamous TAZ and his family soon moved Pittsburg, part of a two-decade shift in Bay Area demographics. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“I\u003c/span> was born up in Deep East Oakland / The world knows us for hyphy and ridin’ in scrapers, yokin,’” raps \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/infamoustaz_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Infamous TAZ\u003c/a> on “Home Town,” the final song of a six-track EP he dropped last month, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/09u6QRp5xy7a4kpIM8HS8K\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Negus In The Sun\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\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\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later in that same reflective verse, TAZ opens up about his father’s drug addiction and his mother’s decision to move the family out of the Town. “We moved in with my auntie, she stayed up in Pittsburg / It used to be a suburb where the rich folks stayed reserved / Just like our ancestors, we thought moving would make us better off/ Until we saw the suburbs transform like Decepticons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s rapping about the changing demographics of the Bay Area. And he’s doing so from lived experience. TAZ is one of many, specifically working-class Black folks, who’ve relocated to the Delta, the Central Valley or out of state, but still call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2000, Oakland’s overall population has grown by 33,000 people, but the percentage of African Americans has dropped from 35.7% to 23.8%. A smaller percentage of a larger number of people–something that often gets overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel, just down Highway 4, is the city of Antioch, where two decades ago the population was just over 90,000 people, with Black folks making up 9.7%. According to the latest census, “the Yoc” now has a total population of more than 111,000, of which African Americans account for 21.5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2000, nearby Pittsburg had a total population of over 56,000 folks, of which nearly 19% were African American. Now Pittsburg has grown to over 72,000 residents, and 15.4% are African American.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ, a graduate of Pittsburg High School’s class of 2015, has seen it all unfold. So, a couple weeks ago, I pulled up to the far East Bay to see Pittsburg and Antioch through his eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904815\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904815\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ cracks a smile as he sits on the staircase in front of his old apartments in Pittsburg.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ on the staircase in front of his old apartments in Pittsburg. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>AZ points to the Riverstone Apartments on Sycamore Drive, his first home after moving from Oakland. A little further down, in the parking lot of a small shopping center, sits a makeshift memorial for a homicide victim. This area is where a lot of drama occurs, TAZ tells me, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/18/the-highest-crime-area-of-antioch-feds-appear-to-be-focusing-on-antiochs-sycamore-corridor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news reports of federal agents\u003c/a> focusing on that area confirm it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The difference is,” TAZ says to me, “you gotta \u003cem>find\u003c/em> trouble out here. In Oakland, it’ll find you.” He and his family moved out here to escape it. But that didn’t exactly happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the day, his brother had long locs, was into turf dancing, and wore airbrushed T-shirts. “He had to fight his way home just off the strength that he was from Oakland,” TAZ tells me, as we bend corners through the neighborhood. The beef has since died down, but when he first moved here, TAZ says, “there was a war going on between Oakland and Pittsburg.”[aside postID='arts_13865533']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds that during those early years, people would do dirt in the Town or the City and then hide out in Pittsburg or Antioch—his brother included.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ, who has an older sister as well, is the youngest in the family. Because of that fact, he was often protected. But there’s only so much sheltering available when there’s drama inside the house too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We park inside of the Villa Serena apartments on E. Leland Road: “Apartment 209, that’s it,” TAZ says. This is where TAZ realized the economic situation that his family faced; a realization that catapulted him into adulthood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He paints a picture for me of what went on in the house—dice games with money on the floor, weed smoke in the air, ashes on the table, shotgun under the bed, glock under the couch. Essentially, it was a trap house, he says, except it wasn’t abandoned. His family lived there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was days when my mom was crying because she didn’t have rent money,” TAZ recalls. “My brother was selling drugs to make money to keep us in here.” The juxtaposition of activity inside the house versus what was going on outside messed with his teenaged head. “Outside, I was in Pittsburg. But inside I was in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Music became an escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904817\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904817\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ takes a sip of a beverage as he posts in front of Angelo's, a store around the corner from his old high school. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ takes a sip of a beverage as he posts in front of Angelo’s, a store around the corner from his old high school. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a kid he was deeply into hip-hop, but not the hip-hop of the time. When Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane were hot in the early 2000s, he was listening to the Fat Boys and the Funky 4 + 1. Known for beatboxing, TAZ rocked Gazelle-styled shades and fat laces in his kicks. He even developed a New York accent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m out here,” TAZ says, pointing to the ground we’re standing on. “I’m telling you I’m from East Oakland. And I’m talking like I’m from New York.” He laughs at the confusion. “Na, B, I’m really from out here!”[aside postID='arts_13851806']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He got deeper into writing raps, publishing his first project while in high school. After class, he’d post up in front of Angelo’s Pizza & Wings & Mini Market to sell pot and freestyle with other students and folks from the neighborhood. And while he hung out with seedy crowds, he never got in trouble with the law—something he credits to his family, his own moral compass, and getting into theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his senior year he landed a role in a hip-hop musical, playing a gangsta. “It helped me reenact everything I had seen over the years, and it put me around positive people,” TAZ tells me, taking a swig of lemonade. Suddenly, he didn’t have to dumb himself down anymore. He could freely discuss poetry, spirituality and chakras. He also saw a lane to pursue his dream of being an entertainer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, he got deeper into acting, even doing out-of-state shows—including one at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904816\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904816\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ and Angelo, owner of Angelo's Pizza and Wings, share a moment. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ and Angelo, owner of Angelo’s Pizza and Wings, share a moment. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside of school, he pushed his music, which led him back to Oakland. He got connected with United Roots and the Urban Peace Movement’s \u003ca href=\"https://urbanpeacemovement.org/programs/determination/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Determination Black male mentorship program\u003c/a>, where he met mentors Adimu Madyun (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WolfHawkJaguar\u003c/a>) and the late Dr. Prince White.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ watched Dr. Prince White’s efforts to free \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Supporters-of-ex-Oakland-football-star-want-11260039.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dajon Ford\u003c/a> from Santa Rita Jail, where he had been sitting for four years awaiting trial. When Ford was released, TAZ says, it one of the most remarkable things he’s ever seen. “I never saw a group of brothers get a Black man out of jail,” says TAZ. “That made me believe in (Dr. Prince White) a whole ‘nother way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Dr. Prince White \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandnorth.net/2018/09/04/remembering-the-social-justice-advocate-dr-prince-white/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">passed unexpectedly\u003c/a> in 2018 from a rare medical condition. “When he passed, it was deep for me. It felt like that moment when niggas lost prominent leaders in the ’60s,” TAZ laments. “That’s why I had to give him that shoutout on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_--5ZeZ-Raw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No Peace\u003c/a>” … I felt like everyone who fights for peace ends up dying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_%E2%80%935ZeZ-Raw\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_–5ZeZ-Raw\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>round the same time, TAZ started running with a peer named \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851806/sitting-at-the-right-hand-of-president-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leo Mercer\u003c/a>, who helped him reconnect with Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was away from Oakland for so many years that everyone I knew in Oakland was either dead, in jail, or they moved out,” TAZ says. “So he got me reacquainted with the Oakland scene as it is now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Pittsburg, TAZ looked at Oakland the same way some Black folks in America look at the continent of Africa. Constantly questioning how his life would’ve been if he’d been raised out there. “To me, Oakland was the motherland,” he says as he sits in the passenger seat. “Especially after I learned about the Panthers.”[aside label='Also See' link1='https://www.theroot.com/oakland-makes-everything-black-blacker-1832718298,Oakland Makes Everything Black, Blacker']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once disconnected from the heartbeat of the Bay, TAZ now spends plenty of time in Oakland. He’s a regular at community events and underground shows. “Now that I’m acquainted with Oakland and Pittsburg, I get the same feeling,” TAZ says, letting out a laugh of frustration. “I gotta get out of the Bay!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s true. Like \u003ca href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/576496-more-than-half-of-bay-area-residents-plan-to-leave-permanently-poll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many Bay Area residents,\u003c/a> TAZ wants to leave his hometown—or hometowns—for a place where the cost of living isn’t as expensive and career opportunities are vast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s working on it. He’s dropped two albums in the past 18 months, has done more shows out of state, and is doing weekly freestyles on Instagram, calling them #TazForceTuesdays. He’s pushing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says the glimmers of success he’s had so far are God’s way of showing him that he’s headed down the right path—wherever it might lead next.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904814\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904814\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ is rockin' a yellow Spongebob hoody and some shorts as he's posted on a park bench at Pittsburg's City Park.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02551.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Born in Oakland, Infamous TAZ and his family soon moved Pittsburg, part of a two-decade shift in Bay Area demographics. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">“I\u003c/span> was born up in Deep East Oakland / The world knows us for hyphy and ridin’ in scrapers, yokin,’” raps \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/infamoustaz_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Infamous TAZ\u003c/a> on “Home Town,” the final song of a six-track EP he dropped last month, \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/09u6QRp5xy7a4kpIM8HS8K\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Negus In The Sun\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\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\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later in that same reflective verse, TAZ opens up about his father’s drug addiction and his mother’s decision to move the family out of the Town. “We moved in with my auntie, she stayed up in Pittsburg / It used to be a suburb where the rich folks stayed reserved / Just like our ancestors, we thought moving would make us better off/ Until we saw the suburbs transform like Decepticons.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s rapping about the changing demographics of the Bay Area. And he’s doing so from lived experience. TAZ is one of many, specifically working-class Black folks, who’ve relocated to the Delta, the Central Valley or out of state, but still call Oakland home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2000, Oakland’s overall population has grown by 33,000 people, but the percentage of African Americans has dropped from 35.7% to 23.8%. A smaller percentage of a larger number of people–something that often gets overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other side of the Caldecott Tunnel, just down Highway 4, is the city of Antioch, where two decades ago the population was just over 90,000 people, with Black folks making up 9.7%. According to the latest census, “the Yoc” now has a total population of more than 111,000, of which African Americans account for 21.5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2000, nearby Pittsburg had a total population of over 56,000 folks, of which nearly 19% were African American. Now Pittsburg has grown to over 72,000 residents, and 15.4% are African American.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ, a graduate of Pittsburg High School’s class of 2015, has seen it all unfold. So, a couple weeks ago, I pulled up to the far East Bay to see Pittsburg and Antioch through his eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904815\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904815\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ cracks a smile as he sits on the staircase in front of his old apartments in Pittsburg.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02564.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ on the staircase in front of his old apartments in Pittsburg. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>AZ points to the Riverstone Apartments on Sycamore Drive, his first home after moving from Oakland. A little further down, in the parking lot of a small shopping center, sits a makeshift memorial for a homicide victim. This area is where a lot of drama occurs, TAZ tells me, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/18/the-highest-crime-area-of-antioch-feds-appear-to-be-focusing-on-antiochs-sycamore-corridor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">news reports of federal agents\u003c/a> focusing on that area confirm it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The difference is,” TAZ says to me, “you gotta \u003cem>find\u003c/em> trouble out here. In Oakland, it’ll find you.” He and his family moved out here to escape it. But that didn’t exactly happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the day, his brother had long locs, was into turf dancing, and wore airbrushed T-shirts. “He had to fight his way home just off the strength that he was from Oakland,” TAZ tells me, as we bend corners through the neighborhood. The beef has since died down, but when he first moved here, TAZ says, “there was a war going on between Oakland and Pittsburg.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He adds that during those early years, people would do dirt in the Town or the City and then hide out in Pittsburg or Antioch—his brother included.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ, who has an older sister as well, is the youngest in the family. Because of that fact, he was often protected. But there’s only so much sheltering available when there’s drama inside the house too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We park inside of the Villa Serena apartments on E. Leland Road: “Apartment 209, that’s it,” TAZ says. This is where TAZ realized the economic situation that his family faced; a realization that catapulted him into adulthood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He paints a picture for me of what went on in the house—dice games with money on the floor, weed smoke in the air, ashes on the table, shotgun under the bed, glock under the couch. Essentially, it was a trap house, he says, except it wasn’t abandoned. His family lived there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was days when my mom was crying because she didn’t have rent money,” TAZ recalls. “My brother was selling drugs to make money to keep us in here.” The juxtaposition of activity inside the house versus what was going on outside messed with his teenaged head. “Outside, I was in Pittsburg. But inside I was in Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Music became an escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904817\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904817\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ takes a sip of a beverage as he posts in front of Angelo's, a store around the corner from his old high school. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02547.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ takes a sip of a beverage as he posts in front of Angelo’s, a store around the corner from his old high school. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a kid he was deeply into hip-hop, but not the hip-hop of the time. When Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane were hot in the early 2000s, he was listening to the Fat Boys and the Funky 4 + 1. Known for beatboxing, TAZ rocked Gazelle-styled shades and fat laces in his kicks. He even developed a New York accent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m out here,” TAZ says, pointing to the ground we’re standing on. “I’m telling you I’m from East Oakland. And I’m talking like I’m from New York.” He laughs at the confusion. “Na, B, I’m really from out here!”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He got deeper into writing raps, publishing his first project while in high school. After class, he’d post up in front of Angelo’s Pizza & Wings & Mini Market to sell pot and freestyle with other students and folks from the neighborhood. And while he hung out with seedy crowds, he never got in trouble with the law—something he credits to his family, his own moral compass, and getting into theatre.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his senior year he landed a role in a hip-hop musical, playing a gangsta. “It helped me reenact everything I had seen over the years, and it put me around positive people,” TAZ tells me, taking a swig of lemonade. Suddenly, he didn’t have to dumb himself down anymore. He could freely discuss poetry, spirituality and chakras. He also saw a lane to pursue his dream of being an entertainer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While at Los Medanos College in Pittsburg, he got deeper into acting, even doing out-of-state shows—including one at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13904816\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13904816\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Infamous TAZ and Angelo, owner of Angelo's Pizza and Wings, share a moment. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/10/DSC02542.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Infamous TAZ and Angelo, owner of Angelo’s Pizza and Wings, share a moment. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Outside of school, he pushed his music, which led him back to Oakland. He got connected with United Roots and the Urban Peace Movement’s \u003ca href=\"https://urbanpeacemovement.org/programs/determination/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Determination Black male mentorship program\u003c/a>, where he met mentors Adimu Madyun (\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/wolfhawkjaguar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WolfHawkJaguar\u003c/a>) and the late Dr. Prince White.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TAZ watched Dr. Prince White’s efforts to free \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Supporters-of-ex-Oakland-football-star-want-11260039.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dajon Ford\u003c/a> from Santa Rita Jail, where he had been sitting for four years awaiting trial. When Ford was released, TAZ says, it one of the most remarkable things he’s ever seen. “I never saw a group of brothers get a Black man out of jail,” says TAZ. “That made me believe in (Dr. Prince White) a whole ‘nother way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Dr. Prince White \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandnorth.net/2018/09/04/remembering-the-social-justice-advocate-dr-prince-white/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">passed unexpectedly\u003c/a> in 2018 from a rare medical condition. “When he passed, it was deep for me. It felt like that moment when niggas lost prominent leaders in the ’60s,” TAZ laments. “That’s why I had to give him that shoutout on “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_--5ZeZ-Raw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No Peace\u003c/a>” … I felt like everyone who fights for peace ends up dying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_%E2%80%935ZeZ-Raw\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_–5ZeZ-Raw\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span>round the same time, TAZ started running with a peer named \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13851806/sitting-at-the-right-hand-of-president-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Leo Mercer\u003c/a>, who helped him reconnect with Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was away from Oakland for so many years that everyone I knew in Oakland was either dead, in jail, or they moved out,” TAZ says. “So he got me reacquainted with the Oakland scene as it is now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Pittsburg, TAZ looked at Oakland the same way some Black folks in America look at the continent of Africa. Constantly questioning how his life would’ve been if he’d been raised out there. “To me, Oakland was the motherland,” he says as he sits in the passenger seat. “Especially after I learned about the Panthers.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once disconnected from the heartbeat of the Bay, TAZ now spends plenty of time in Oakland. He’s a regular at community events and underground shows. “Now that I’m acquainted with Oakland and Pittsburg, I get the same feeling,” TAZ says, letting out a laugh of frustration. “I gotta get out of the Bay!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s true. Like \u003ca href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/576496-more-than-half-of-bay-area-residents-plan-to-leave-permanently-poll\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">many Bay Area residents,\u003c/a> TAZ wants to leave his hometown—or hometowns—for a place where the cost of living isn’t as expensive and career opportunities are vast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s working on it. He’s dropped two albums in the past 18 months, has done more shows out of state, and is doing weekly freestyles on Instagram, calling them #TazForceTuesdays. He’s pushing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he says the glimmers of success he’s had so far are God’s way of showing him that he’s headed down the right path—wherever it might lead next.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Say Aye Aye for the Bay With Oakland Rapper Capolow",
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"content": "\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=KQINC4118051049\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>East Oakland’s Capolow is a rapper on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known for his high-energy anthem songs and his catchy “aye-aye!” ad lib, Capolow’s music is ringing bells in the Bay Area and beyond. He made an album called “Oakland Nights” with Kamaiyah, and has made tracks with E-40, ALLBLACK, and Nef The Pharaoh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But before he was a rapper – ten years ago – Capolow was one of the students in my class at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was one of 20 students, all African American men. The class was all about brotherhood and developing the critical thinking they’d need as young Black men in America. It was part of Oakland Unified School District’s African American Male Achievement Department (now called \u003ca href=\"https://www.ousd.org/equity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Office of Equity\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, my former student Capolow has seen some highs and lows. The once fresh faced kid who rocked a high-top fade and loved dancing is now covered in tattoos, has spent time incarcerated, and is scheduled to perform at Rolling Loud later this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between his popular uplifting party anthems, Capolow has some tracks that cut deep; that duality is just part of being a Black man in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode of Rightnowish, I’m checking in with Capolow on his journey and his music.\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>\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>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The ups and downs of a rap star on the rise, who happens to be this columnists former student.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\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=KQINC4118051049\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>East Oakland’s Capolow is a rapper on the rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known for his high-energy anthem songs and his catchy “aye-aye!” ad lib, Capolow’s music is ringing bells in the Bay Area and beyond. He made an album called “Oakland Nights” with Kamaiyah, and has made tracks with E-40, ALLBLACK, and Nef The Pharaoh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But before he was a rapper – ten years ago – Capolow was one of the students in my class at Oakland Tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was one of 20 students, all African American men. The class was all about brotherhood and developing the critical thinking they’d need as young Black men in America. It was part of Oakland Unified School District’s African American Male Achievement Department (now called \u003ca href=\"https://www.ousd.org/equity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Office of Equity\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since then, my former student Capolow has seen some highs and lows. The once fresh faced kid who rocked a high-top fade and loved dancing is now covered in tattoos, has spent time incarcerated, and is scheduled to perform at Rolling Loud later this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Between his popular uplifting party anthems, Capolow has some tracks that cut deep; that duality is just part of being a Black man in America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode of Rightnowish, I’m checking in with Capolow on his journey and his music.\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>\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>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Celebs Mostly Interpreted ‘America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ as ‘Glamping,’ at the 2021 Met Gala",
"headTitle": "Celebs Mostly Interpreted ‘America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ as ‘Glamping,’ at the 2021 Met Gala | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>When the Met Gala provides celebrities and designers with a clear-cut theme, the results tend to be stunning. Think 2018’s \u003ci>Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination\u003c/i> with its spectacular plays on religious iconography. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/met-gala-2018-rihanna-pope-hat.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rihanna wore a pearl-encrusted pope hat!\u003c/a>) Or 2019’s \u003ci>Camp: Notes on Fashion\u003c/i> with its unabashedly kitsch and kooky couture experiments. (Like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WuC-kUe6c0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lady Gaga’s iconic hot pink striptease\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last night’s Met Gala was guided only by the phrase (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2021/in-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exhibition title\u003c/a>) \u003ci>In America: A Lexicon of Fashion\u003c/i>. And its vagueness was evident all over the red carpet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billie Eilish took the opportunity to run straight towards old-school Hollywood glamour in a divine Oscar de la Renta gown. “I’m so excited. I have butterflies,” Eilish told E! News. “I couldn’t be happier.” Same, Billie. Same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902996\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-800x564.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-800x564.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1020x719.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-768x541.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1536x1083.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-2048x1444.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1920x1354.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Billie Eilish came as a heavenly goddess. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Emily Ratajkowski took that “lexicon” and read it as vamp, in Vera Wang:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903002\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-800x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-768x615.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-2048x1639.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Ratajkowski in her form-fitting lacy Vera Wang gown. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few people embraced the “America” part of the theme. Like Debbie Harry in her flag stripes and blue denim:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903003\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debbie Harry, stunning as ever, in her all-American Zac Posen ensemble. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And Pharrell Williams and his wife Helen Lasichanh, who did a matching leather cowboy thing:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903009\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chanel meets ‘Bonanza’. Yee-haw! \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But if I’d have had to guess what the theme of the evening was last night, I’d have said \u003ci>Glamping: Survivalist-Wear For a Post-COVID World\u003c/i>. Nowhere was this more visible than in the ensembles of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s RiRi in her black, survivalist Balenciaga sleeping bag, and A$AP in a high-end grandma quilt made by ERL. (Every time I eat outdoors at night in San Francisco, I will dream of the warmth contained in both of these outfits.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902997\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902997\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-800x716.jpg\" alt=\"(L-R) A$AP Rocky and Rihanna.\" width=\"800\" height=\"716\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-800x716.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1020x914.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-160x143.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-768x688.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1536x1376.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-2048x1834.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1920x1720.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 1 and Cozy 2. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Whoopi Goldberg showed up in a Valentino getup, working hard to get an invite to the Rihanna and A$AP campgrounds, in this raincoat-cum-sleeping bag:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902998\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902998\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-800x1132.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1132\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-800x1132.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1020x1444.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-160x226.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-768x1087.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1085x1536.jpg 1085w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1447x2048.jpg 1447w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1920x2718.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-scaled.jpg 1809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Whoopi Goldberg in her Valentino ruffled duvet. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Normani—also in Valentino—was on hand to demonstrate how to don a sleeping bag and shoulder pillows, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> make it sexy:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903011\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1920x2881.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Normani: You wouldn’t lose this dress on a mountainside at night. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Janet Mock, also in Valentino, was on the exact same page:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903025\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1920x2881.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 3. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Presumably in that photo, she’s eyeing up Tessa Thompson, who came dressed in Iris Van Herpen, as the most alluring campfire in all of history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903000\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1920x2880.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tessa Thompson being straight fire in a short red cocktail dress with cowboy accessories. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like RiRi, A$AP, Whoopi and Normani, Lil Nas X arrived as posh bedding…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903019\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903019\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 4. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pulled a fast one by transforming, first, into an C-3PO campfire lunchbox…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903022\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-800x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"547\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1536x1050.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-2048x1400.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1920x1312.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shazam! \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before revealing himself as a sneaky little snake invader! And yes, actually, come hiss at us, you slinky love muffin:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903013\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903013\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lil Nas X slithering on up to RiRi’s campgrounds. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dan Levy cared not about nearby snakes, for he chose to fully embrace his inner survivalist, in a LOEWE outfit that combined pajamas, hiking boots, some floatation devices, and—actual genius!—maps. (Why didn’t anyone else think of that?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Levy: The floofiest survivalist in all the land. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Finally, of course, no camping trip would be complete without something terrifying lurking in the shadows. And last night, Balenciaga dressed Kim Kardashian as that one dark patch behind that tree over there, that might just be a shadow, but also might well be a serial killer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903010\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-800x529.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-800x529.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1020x675.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-2048x1355.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1920x1271.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kim Kardashian in an outfit even scarier than that flowery Givenchy couch cover she wore in 2013. \u003ccite>(ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until 2022, fashion fans!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Sleeping bag couture was embraced by Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Janet Mock and more...",
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"title": "Celebs Mostly Interpreted ‘America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ as ‘Glamping,’ at the 2021 Met Gala | KQED",
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"headline": "Celebs Mostly Interpreted ‘America: A Lexicon of Fashion’ as ‘Glamping,’ at the 2021 Met Gala",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When the Met Gala provides celebrities and designers with a clear-cut theme, the results tend to be stunning. Think 2018’s \u003ci>Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination\u003c/i> with its spectacular plays on religious iconography. (\u003ca href=\"https://www.thecut.com/2018/05/met-gala-2018-rihanna-pope-hat.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rihanna wore a pearl-encrusted pope hat!\u003c/a>) Or 2019’s \u003ci>Camp: Notes on Fashion\u003c/i> with its unabashedly kitsch and kooky couture experiments. (Like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WuC-kUe6c0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lady Gaga’s iconic hot pink striptease\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last night’s Met Gala was guided only by the phrase (and \u003ca href=\"https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2021/in-america\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exhibition title\u003c/a>) \u003ci>In America: A Lexicon of Fashion\u003c/i>. And its vagueness was evident all over the red carpet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billie Eilish took the opportunity to run straight towards old-school Hollywood glamour in a divine Oscar de la Renta gown. “I’m so excited. I have butterflies,” Eilish told E! News. “I couldn’t be happier.” Same, Billie. Same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902996\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-800x564.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"564\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-800x564.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1020x719.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-160x113.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-768x541.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1536x1083.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-2048x1444.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340169495-1920x1354.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Billie Eilish came as a heavenly goddess. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Emily Ratajkowski took that “lexicon” and read it as vamp, in Vera Wang:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903002\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-800x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-768x615.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-2048x1639.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340147917-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Emily Ratajkowski in her form-fitting lacy Vera Wang gown. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few people embraced the “America” part of the theme. Like Debbie Harry in her flag stripes and blue denim:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903003\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903003\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340160855-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Debbie Harry, stunning as ever, in her all-American Zac Posen ensemble. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And Pharrell Williams and his wife Helen Lasichanh, who did a matching leather cowboy thing:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903009\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903009\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340168467-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chanel meets ‘Bonanza’. Yee-haw! \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But if I’d have had to guess what the theme of the evening was last night, I’d have said \u003ci>Glamping: Survivalist-Wear For a Post-COVID World\u003c/i>. Nowhere was this more visible than in the ensembles of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s RiRi in her black, survivalist Balenciaga sleeping bag, and A$AP in a high-end grandma quilt made by ERL. (Every time I eat outdoors at night in San Francisco, I will dream of the warmth contained in both of these outfits.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902997\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902997\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-800x716.jpg\" alt=\"(L-R) A$AP Rocky and Rihanna.\" width=\"800\" height=\"716\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-800x716.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1020x914.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-160x143.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-768x688.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1536x1376.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-2048x1834.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340176852-1920x1720.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 1 and Cozy 2. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Whoopi Goldberg showed up in a Valentino getup, working hard to get an invite to the Rihanna and A$AP campgrounds, in this raincoat-cum-sleeping bag:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902998\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902998\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-800x1132.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1132\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-800x1132.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1020x1444.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-160x226.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-768x1087.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1085x1536.jpg 1085w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1447x2048.jpg 1447w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-1920x2718.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340150934-scaled.jpg 1809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Whoopi Goldberg in her Valentino ruffled duvet. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Normani—also in Valentino—was on hand to demonstrate how to don a sleeping bag and shoulder pillows, \u003cem>and\u003c/em> make it sexy:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903011\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-1920x2881.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340156770-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Normani: You wouldn’t lose this dress on a mountainside at night. \u003ccite>(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Janet Mock, also in Valentino, was on the exact same page:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903025\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903025\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-1920x2881.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340157987-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 3. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Presumably in that photo, she’s eyeing up Tessa Thompson, who came dressed in Iris Van Herpen, as the most alluring campfire in all of history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903000\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903000\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-800x1200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1020x1530.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-1920x2880.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340146962-scaled.jpg 1706w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tessa Thompson being straight fire in a short red cocktail dress with cowboy accessories. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like RiRi, A$AP, Whoopi and Normani, Lil Nas X arrived as posh bedding…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903019\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903019\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131424-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cozy 4. \u003ccite>(Theo Wargo/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pulled a fast one by transforming, first, into an C-3PO campfire lunchbox…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903022\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903022\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-800x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"547\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-800x547.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1020x697.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1536x1050.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-2048x1400.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340131427-1920x1312.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shazam! \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before revealing himself as a sneaky little snake invader! And yes, actually, come hiss at us, you slinky love muffin:\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903013\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903013\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340130135-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lil Nas X slithering on up to RiRi’s campgrounds. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dan Levy cared not about nearby snakes, for he chose to fully embrace his inner survivalist, in a LOEWE outfit that combined pajamas, hiking boots, some floatation devices, and—actual genius!—maps. (Why didn’t anyone else think of that?)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903048\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903048\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1340154032-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan Levy: The floofiest survivalist in all the land. \u003ccite>(Mike Coppola/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Finally, of course, no camping trip would be complete without something terrifying lurking in the shadows. And last night, Balenciaga dressed Kim Kardashian as that one dark patch behind that tree over there, that might just be a shadow, but also might well be a serial killer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13903010\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13903010\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-800x529.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-800x529.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1020x675.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-768x508.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1536x1016.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-2048x1355.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/GettyImages-1235256182-1920x1271.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kim Kardashian in an outfit even scarier than that flowery Givenchy couch cover she wore in 2013. \u003ccite>(ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until 2022, fashion fans!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "10-years-of-soy-raka-a-look-back-with-panamanian-hip-hop-duo-los-rakas",
"title": "10 Years of 'Soy Raka': A Look Back With Panamanian Hip-Hop Duo Los Rakas",
"publishDate": 1631580560,
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"headTitle": "10 Years of ‘Soy Raka’: A Look Back With Panamanian Hip-Hop Duo Los Rakas | KQED",
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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\">A\u003c/span> Los Rakas banner hung above the crowd last Friday night as the Grammy-nominated duo took the stage at the New Parish. It had been two years since Raka Dun and Raka Rich last performed in Oakland, and they were ready for the hometown love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the release of Los Rakas’ first project, \u003ca href=\"https://losrakas.bandcamp.com/album/chancletas-y-camisetas-bordada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Chancletas Y Camisetas Bordada\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsncI2j2fk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Soy Raka\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902918\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902918\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich wears a turquoise jogging suit and a hat as he performs in front of a crowd at New Parish in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich performs at the New Parish in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Los Rakas were joined onstage with performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Baby Gas,\u003c/a> who celebrated a birthday over the weekend; \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cocopeila/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coco Peila\u003c/a>, who recently “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIx_7KJV_1Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pretty Girls\u003c/a>“; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/allhailtheqing/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Qing Qi\u003c/a>, who was joined by members of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/putangclanofficial/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pu-Tang Clan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were also a bunch of folks in the crowd who’ve followed \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/losrakas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Rakas\u003c/a> since before their debut EP. I’m one of them. After meeting Dun and Rico in 2004 through the nonprofit Youth Movement Records, I’ve followed their career, captured photos of them, and watched them grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two hungry young creatives I met almost two decades ago, who stood out as Oakland-based Afro-Latino hip-hop artists, have grown to leverage their identity and become widely accepted and appreciated in the Bay Area and beyond. Now in their mid-30s, the hip-hop veterans are even seeing their influence on a new generation coming up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902919\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Dun and Do D.A.T. pose for a photo during a performance at SF State (circa 2005). \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Dun and Do D.A.T. pose for a photo during a performance at SF State, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">L\u003c/span>os Rakas’ story goes further back than the early 2000s. It starts with their family’s roots in Panama, and involves the support of the artistic community of the greater Oakland-Bay Area. Along the way, they’ve been featured on the soundtrack to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/news/fifa-14-soundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FIFA 14\u003c/a>, appeared on the popular podcast \u003ci>Loud\u003c/i>, had multiple songs reach the top iTunes charts, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11546388/culture-cue-los-rakas-what-does-it-mean-to-bring-the-raka-party-to-the-white-house\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">performed at the White House\u003c/a>, and met Mýa on the red carpet for the Grammys—a career highlight for Rico, who watched her videos on the California Music Channel as a kid. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before traveling the world and letting audiences know “Soy Raka,” they got their start in music working under the tutelage of two late Bay Area luminaries. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902920\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902920\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich performing at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland (circa 2013). \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich performs at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland, circa 2013. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You remember who was the first artist who gave us a chance in the Bay Area?” Dun asks Rico during a three-way phone call a few weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Jacka,” says Rico, citing a studio session which led to the track “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ldBrEyTn9M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gangsta\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raka Dun says to think back a little further. “It was Zion-I.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of artists embraced Los Rakas in their early days, despite being somewhat of an anomaly—Black men who speak Spanish as their first language. But it was Zion-I, Dun says, who put them front and center. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time Zion-I would perform,” says Raka Dun, “they’d throw us on the stage at the end to freestyle. A lot of people were recognizing us because of that. Zion-I, Steve, Zumbi was our first big collaboration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902921\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902921\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"The late Baba Zumbi of Zion-I with Raka Rich and Raka Dun at a video shoot for 'Human Being,' in 2012. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The late Baba Zumbi of Zion-I with Raka Rich and Raka Dun at a video shoot for ‘Human Being’ in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Los Rakas’ first tour was with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thegrouch/\">The Grouch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/brotheraliisblind/\">Brother Ali\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealeligh/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eligh\u003c/a>. They soon learned that tour time wasn’t a party—it was work. And their job wasn’t just performing, it was getting to know people and selling merchandise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, their logo is arguably more popular than their music. “Sometimes people would miss our shows because we were the opener,” says Raka Dun. “But they’d buy the merch.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The duo’s logo was partially inspired by the \u003ca href=\"https://uproxx.com/music/hieroglyphics-logo-underground-hip-hop/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Hiero logo\u003c/a>, which they saw everywhere. To develop it, they met with a guy named Daniel Walker at \u003ca href=\"http://filthydripped.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Filthy Dripped\u003c/a> in Berkeley and worked through various iterations, ultimately incorporating Oakland, Panama and a little bit of Mexico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902922\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902922\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"A fan flicks a lighter during Raka Dun's performance at the New Parish on Friday evening. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fan flicks a lighter during Raka Dun’s performance at the New Parish on Sept. 10, 2021. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Rico suggested adding the smile to cancel the stereotype about Rakas being from the hood and being angry,” says Dun. Just like their name reclaims the term “Raka” (short for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11546388/culture-cue-los-rakas-what-does-it-mean-to-bring-the-raka-party-to-the-white-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rakataka\u003c/a>,” a derogatory term for someone from the ghetto), the duo wanted to work the same energy into their logo. “Just because you’re from the ghetto doesn’t mean that you’re always angry,” says Rico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the character’s huge smile is one tiny gold tooth that symbolizes a gigantic cultural connection. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902975\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 160px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo-160x141.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"141\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-13902975\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo-160x141.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Rakas’ logo.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a Panamanian thing,” says Dun of the singular gold tooth. “My mom had one, my dad had one, Rico’s mom… Rico’s dad had eight!” he says with a laugh, before Rico picks up where Dun left off. “My grandpa had one, my grandma had one, my great grandmother had two, like Turk, from Cash Money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the duo met Tupac’s brother, Mopreme Shakur, he told them that he got his singular gold tooth in Panama. As West Coast American rap fans from the Latin American country, their minds were blown. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting life in the Bay Area during the early years of the 21st century, the group added glasses without the lenses as a nod to Mac Dre. And the final addition: a hat with the ear flaps. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We chose that because it was this Mexican program called \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229889/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Chavo Del Ocho\u003c/a>,” says Rico, noting how the main character would don similar headwear. “So when I came out here to the states and I saw those hats, I’d cop them every time.” When Rico and Dun went back to Panama to promote their single “Mi Barrio,” everyone asked him about the hat, so it was looped in the image of Los Rakas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902923\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902923\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich (center in the grey hoodie) stands with a number of young artists outside of East Oakland's Youth Uprising (circa 2005). \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich (at center, in the grey hoodie) stands with a number of young artists outside of East Oakland’s Youth Uprising, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n many ways the logo speaks to Los Rakas’ balanced identity while beating the pavement and hitting stages with bilingual lyrics about both politics and partying—and performing in front of crowds who largely only speak English. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent episode of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885060/loud-podcast-highlights-the-history-of-reggaeton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Forum\u003c/a>, the duo discussed the popularity of reggaeton and its origins rooted in the children of Jamaican laborers working on the Panama Canal. They also mentioned that English speaking crowds in the states take to their music despite the language barrier, with the prevailing sentiment being “I don’t know what they’re saying, but it sounds good.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico tells me that he’s proud of that. After all, he and Dun, blood cousins born in Panama who moved to the states separately during their adolescence, grew up listening to all kinds of music in languages they didn’t speak, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902924\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 160px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-160x249.jpg\" alt=\"The Los Rakas medallion sits on Raka Duns white shirt as he performs at the Life Is Living Festival in West Oakland circa 2013)\" width=\"160\" height=\"249\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-13902924\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-160x249.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-800x1247.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-1020x1590.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-768x1197.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-986x1536.jpg 986w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-1314x2048.jpg 1314w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389.jpg 1388w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Dun performs at the Life Is Living Festival in West Oakland, circa 2013. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When they started on this musical journey, Rico says Oakland’s hip-hop community wasn’t feeling Spanish music. Raka Dun says they had to adapt, especially because they were working with the likes of The Jacka, J. Stalin, and Zumbi from Zion-I.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, being in the Bay, they weren’t getting too many reggaeton beats; this, again, was in the thick of the Hyphy era. “We had to hop on whatever we could hop on,” says Rico. “That’s how we became \u003ci>Los Rakas\u003c/i>.” The combination of Panamanian influence and Bay Area energy made them unique. And it resonated with people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’d have people that’d come up to us, rap the whole verse, and be like, ‘I don’t even speak Spanish. I’m learning Spanish through your music,’” says Rico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks ago the group got \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LosRakas/status/1423347834133237762/photo/1\">a message\u003c/a> from a fan who said he used to watch YouTube videos of them as a kid. Over a decade later he was rejoicing in the fact that they’re still rocking. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tweet, it makes me feel good, man,” says Dun. “That’s what we do it for. That’s the type of message that keeps us motivated. This dude saying that we changed his life, he’s giving us the flowers. We do this first of all because we love it. And then it’s for the people, we want to make sure we give the people good music just like our favorite artists gave us timeless music. And sometimes this shit gets hard. We’re artists who don’t have the numbers, we got the respect, we’ve influenced lots of artists, but we don’t have millions of streams on our music, so stuff like that keeps us really motivated. We’re getting to the people.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico adds that they see the success of similar music today, and they know they played a significant part in pioneering the sound that’s popular right now. “To see how far it’s gotten, it’s bittersweet,” says Rico, thinking about how the pioneers of rap aren’t living how they should be living, given what they’ve done for the culture. “We been out here for 16 years. Grinding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the grind doesn’t stop. Now it’s time to cultivate the next generation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXSOxEV49s\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXSOxEV49s\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the time since their 2019 album, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/losrakas/sets/manes-de-negocio-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manes De Negocio\u003c/a>, \u003c/em>the duo have released a series of solo tracks. The list includes Raka Dun’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbtnB57D5Lg&feature=emb_title\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Como Yo\u003c/a>” and Raka Rich’s “Comuna 13,” which features an 18 year-old emcee named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/el_jonky_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Jonky\u003c/a>, who Rico met during a recent trip to Colombia. “I went out there on a two-week trip, and ended up staying three months,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico says he was hooked by the food and the vibes, and wasn’t looking to do any music. But after meeting El Jonky and his crew, he saw something familiar in the young artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was hungry. He reminded me of a lil Dun-Dun back when he was with the Black Lion Crew,” he says, referencing Raka Dun’s early days as an artist. After hearing El Jonky rap, Rico followed him on social media and eventually hit him up to stop by the studio. It was a big move for both parties—as Rico points out, studio time in the poverty-stricken community is a rarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a way, after 17 years, working with El Jonky proved to be a full-circle moment. To be able to make that happen for a younger version of themselves shows Los Rakas’ status as young OGs in the game—giving back to the African diaspora, like Panama and Oakland gave to them.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "10 Years of 'Soy Raka': A Look Back With Panamanian Hip-Hop Duo Los Rakas | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">A\u003c/span> Los Rakas banner hung above the crowd last Friday night as the Grammy-nominated duo took the stage at the New Parish. It had been two years since Raka Dun and Raka Rich last performed in Oakland, and they were ready for the hometown love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The show celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the release of Los Rakas’ first project, \u003ca href=\"https://losrakas.bandcamp.com/album/chancletas-y-camisetas-bordada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003ci>Chancletas Y Camisetas Bordada\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which features the anthem “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsncI2j2fk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Soy Raka\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902918\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902918\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich wears a turquoise jogging suit and a hat as he performs in front of a crowd at New Parish in Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02432.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich performs at the New Parish in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Los Rakas were joined onstage with performances from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babygas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Baby Gas,\u003c/a> who celebrated a birthday over the weekend; \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cocopeila/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Coco Peila\u003c/a>, who recently “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIx_7KJV_1Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pretty Girls\u003c/a>“; and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/allhailtheqing/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Qing Qi\u003c/a>, who was joined by members of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/putangclanofficial/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pu-Tang Clan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were also a bunch of folks in the crowd who’ve followed \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/losrakas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Rakas\u003c/a> since before their debut EP. I’m one of them. After meeting Dun and Rico in 2004 through the nonprofit Youth Movement Records, I’ve followed their career, captured photos of them, and watched them grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two hungry young creatives I met almost two decades ago, who stood out as Oakland-based Afro-Latino hip-hop artists, have grown to leverage their identity and become widely accepted and appreciated in the Bay Area and beyond. Now in their mid-30s, the hip-hop veterans are even seeing their influence on a new generation coming up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902919\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902919\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Dun and Do D.A.T. pose for a photo during a performance at SF State (circa 2005). \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4114-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Dun and Do D.A.T. pose for a photo during a performance at SF State, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">L\u003c/span>os Rakas’ story goes further back than the early 2000s. It starts with their family’s roots in Panama, and involves the support of the artistic community of the greater Oakland-Bay Area. Along the way, they’ve been featured on the soundtrack to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ea.com/games/fifa/news/fifa-14-soundtrack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FIFA 14\u003c/a>, appeared on the popular podcast \u003ci>Loud\u003c/i>, had multiple songs reach the top iTunes charts, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11546388/culture-cue-los-rakas-what-does-it-mean-to-bring-the-raka-party-to-the-white-house\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">performed at the White House\u003c/a>, and met Mýa on the red carpet for the Grammys—a career highlight for Rico, who watched her videos on the California Music Channel as a kid. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before traveling the world and letting audiences know “Soy Raka,” they got their start in music working under the tutelage of two late Bay Area luminaries. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902920\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902920\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich performing at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland (circa 2013). \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04535-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich performs at the Life is Living festival in West Oakland, circa 2013. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You remember who was the first artist who gave us a chance in the Bay Area?” Dun asks Rico during a three-way phone call a few weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Jacka,” says Rico, citing a studio session which led to the track “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ldBrEyTn9M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gangsta\u003c/a>.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raka Dun says to think back a little further. “It was Zion-I.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lot of artists embraced Los Rakas in their early days, despite being somewhat of an anomaly—Black men who speak Spanish as their first language. But it was Zion-I, Dun says, who put them front and center. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every time Zion-I would perform,” says Raka Dun, “they’d throw us on the stage at the end to freestyle. A lot of people were recognizing us because of that. Zion-I, Steve, Zumbi was our first big collaboration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902921\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902921\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"The late Baba Zumbi of Zion-I with Raka Rich and Raka Dun at a video shoot for 'Human Being,' in 2012. \" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC01816-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The late Baba Zumbi of Zion-I with Raka Rich and Raka Dun at a video shoot for ‘Human Being’ in 2012. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Los Rakas’ first tour was with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thegrouch/\">The Grouch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/brotheraliisblind/\">Brother Ali\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealeligh/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eligh\u003c/a>. They soon learned that tour time wasn’t a party—it was work. And their job wasn’t just performing, it was getting to know people and selling merchandise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, their logo is arguably more popular than their music. “Sometimes people would miss our shows because we were the opener,” says Raka Dun. “But they’d buy the merch.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The duo’s logo was partially inspired by the \u003ca href=\"https://uproxx.com/music/hieroglyphics-logo-underground-hip-hop/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Hiero logo\u003c/a>, which they saw everywhere. To develop it, they met with a guy named Daniel Walker at \u003ca href=\"http://filthydripped.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Filthy Dripped\u003c/a> in Berkeley and worked through various iterations, ultimately incorporating Oakland, Panama and a little bit of Mexico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902922\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902922\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"A fan flicks a lighter during Raka Dun's performance at the New Parish on Friday evening. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC02374.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fan flicks a lighter during Raka Dun’s performance at the New Parish on Sept. 10, 2021. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Rico suggested adding the smile to cancel the stereotype about Rakas being from the hood and being angry,” says Dun. Just like their name reclaims the term “Raka” (short for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11546388/culture-cue-los-rakas-what-does-it-mean-to-bring-the-raka-party-to-the-white-house\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rakataka\u003c/a>,” a derogatory term for someone from the ghetto), the duo wanted to work the same energy into their logo. “Just because you’re from the ghetto doesn’t mean that you’re always angry,” says Rico. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the character’s huge smile is one tiny gold tooth that symbolizes a gigantic cultural connection. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902975\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 160px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo-160x141.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"141\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-13902975\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo-160x141.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/losrakaslogo.jpg 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Rakas’ logo.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a Panamanian thing,” says Dun of the singular gold tooth. “My mom had one, my dad had one, Rico’s mom… Rico’s dad had eight!” he says with a laugh, before Rico picks up where Dun left off. “My grandpa had one, my grandma had one, my great grandmother had two, like Turk, from Cash Money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the duo met Tupac’s brother, Mopreme Shakur, he told them that he got his singular gold tooth in Panama. As West Coast American rap fans from the Latin American country, their minds were blown. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reflecting life in the Bay Area during the early years of the 21st century, the group added glasses without the lenses as a nod to Mac Dre. And the final addition: a hat with the ear flaps. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We chose that because it was this Mexican program called \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0229889/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Chavo Del Ocho\u003c/a>,” says Rico, noting how the main character would don similar headwear. “So when I came out here to the states and I saw those hats, I’d cop them every time.” When Rico and Dun went back to Panama to promote their single “Mi Barrio,” everyone asked him about the hat, so it was looped in the image of Los Rakas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902923\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902923\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Raka Rich (center in the grey hoodie) stands with a number of young artists outside of East Oakland's Youth Uprising (circa 2005). \" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/IMG_4115-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Rich (at center, in the grey hoodie) stands with a number of young artists outside of East Oakland’s Youth Uprising, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n many ways the logo speaks to Los Rakas’ balanced identity while beating the pavement and hitting stages with bilingual lyrics about both politics and partying—and performing in front of crowds who largely only speak English. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a recent episode of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885060/loud-podcast-highlights-the-history-of-reggaeton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">KQED Forum\u003c/a>, the duo discussed the popularity of reggaeton and its origins rooted in the children of Jamaican laborers working on the Panama Canal. They also mentioned that English speaking crowds in the states take to their music despite the language barrier, with the prevailing sentiment being “I don’t know what they’re saying, but it sounds good.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico tells me that he’s proud of that. After all, he and Dun, blood cousins born in Panama who moved to the states separately during their adolescence, grew up listening to all kinds of music in languages they didn’t speak, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902924\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 160px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-160x249.jpg\" alt=\"The Los Rakas medallion sits on Raka Duns white shirt as he performs at the Life Is Living Festival in West Oakland circa 2013)\" width=\"160\" height=\"249\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-13902924\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-160x249.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-800x1247.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-1020x1590.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-768x1197.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-986x1536.jpg 986w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389-1314x2048.jpg 1314w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/DSC04508-scaled-e1631554228389.jpg 1388w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raka Dun performs at the Life Is Living Festival in West Oakland, circa 2013. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When they started on this musical journey, Rico says Oakland’s hip-hop community wasn’t feeling Spanish music. Raka Dun says they had to adapt, especially because they were working with the likes of The Jacka, J. Stalin, and Zumbi from Zion-I.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, being in the Bay, they weren’t getting too many reggaeton beats; this, again, was in the thick of the Hyphy era. “We had to hop on whatever we could hop on,” says Rico. “That’s how we became \u003ci>Los Rakas\u003c/i>.” The combination of Panamanian influence and Bay Area energy made them unique. And it resonated with people. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’d have people that’d come up to us, rap the whole verse, and be like, ‘I don’t even speak Spanish. I’m learning Spanish through your music,’” says Rico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks ago the group got \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/LosRakas/status/1423347834133237762/photo/1\">a message\u003c/a> from a fan who said he used to watch YouTube videos of them as a kid. Over a decade later he was rejoicing in the fact that they’re still rocking. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tweet, it makes me feel good, man,” says Dun. “That’s what we do it for. That’s the type of message that keeps us motivated. This dude saying that we changed his life, he’s giving us the flowers. We do this first of all because we love it. And then it’s for the people, we want to make sure we give the people good music just like our favorite artists gave us timeless music. And sometimes this shit gets hard. We’re artists who don’t have the numbers, we got the respect, we’ve influenced lots of artists, but we don’t have millions of streams on our music, so stuff like that keeps us really motivated. We’re getting to the people.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico adds that they see the success of similar music today, and they know they played a significant part in pioneering the sound that’s popular right now. “To see how far it’s gotten, it’s bittersweet,” says Rico, thinking about how the pioneers of rap aren’t living how they should be living, given what they’ve done for the culture. “We been out here for 16 years. Grinding.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the grind doesn’t stop. Now it’s time to cultivate the next generation. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXSOxEV49s\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxXSOxEV49s\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">I\u003c/span>n the time since their 2019 album, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/losrakas/sets/manes-de-negocio-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manes De Negocio\u003c/a>, \u003c/em>the duo have released a series of solo tracks. The list includes Raka Dun’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbtnB57D5Lg&feature=emb_title\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Como Yo\u003c/a>” and Raka Rich’s “Comuna 13,” which features an 18 year-old emcee named \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/el_jonky_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Jonky\u003c/a>, who Rico met during a recent trip to Colombia. “I went out there on a two-week trip, and ended up staying three months,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rico says he was hooked by the food and the vibes, and wasn’t looking to do any music. But after meeting El Jonky and his crew, he saw something familiar in the young artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was hungry. He reminded me of a lil Dun-Dun back when he was with the Black Lion Crew,” he says, referencing Raka Dun’s early days as an artist. After hearing El Jonky rap, Rico followed him on social media and eventually hit him up to stop by the studio. It was a big move for both parties—as Rico points out, studio time in the poverty-stricken community is a rarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in a way, after 17 years, working with El Jonky proved to be a full-circle moment. To be able to make that happen for a younger version of themselves shows Los Rakas’ status as young OGs in the game—giving back to the African diaspora, like Panama and Oakland gave to them.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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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\">A\u003c/span>ugust 2021 was a lot. The return to in-class learning. The COVID vaccine debates. The massive fires, big earthquakes and huge storms. And the music. Thank the powers that be for the music.\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\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar dropped one verse and smoked your top five rappers, Kanye West took off that goofy red hat and dropped an album, Aaliyah’s discography finally became available on streaming platforms, and The Lox got their flowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, meanwhile, music headlines were overshadowed by the unexplained series of events that led to the death of\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901310/baba-zumbi-zion-i-dies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Zion I’s Baba Zumbi\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I tested positive for COVID on the same day that Zumbi, a talented artist and friend who I’d seen two months prior at my best friend’s birthday party, was involved in a mysterious conflict at Alta Bates Hospital. While overcoming a case of COVID, Zumbi reportedly became involved in a physical altercation with hospital staff. Berkeley police responded. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901310/baba-zumbi-zion-i-dies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zumbi ended up dead\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent a week-plus quarantining and staring at my phone—scrolling, contemplating current events and critically thinking about what it all means—you know, in the larger context of this “freedom” we’re all inherently pursuing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, thank God for music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All my time has been focused on my freedom now,” says Ms. Lauryn Hill, opening her verse on the track “Nobody” from Nas’ latest project \u003ci>King’s Disease II\u003c/i>. The album, a follow up to Nas’ 2020 Grammy-winning \u003ci>King’s Disease\u003c/i>, dropped the first week of the month and quickly topped Billboard’s hip-hop charts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ms. Hill’s extended barrage of bars on “Nobody” are packed with quotable lines, but nothing spoke to me like the idea of spending every second engaged in the process of emancipation. “Focused on my freedom now.” What an idea. Now I can’t stop thinking: \u003ci>shit, I wanna spend my time focusing on my freedom, too\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, in a lot of ways, my time is spent indirectly paying for continued oppression.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=234OiGtOvII\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">E\u003c/span>xactly 20 years ago, Nas was in a dispute with Jay-Z that would be well-documented in a Summer Jam performance, multiple interviews, and of course music—starting with Jay’s “The Takeover,” featured on Jay-Z’s album \u003ci>The Blueprint\u003c/i>, which dropped Sept. 11, 2001. We all know what else happened that day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was a first-year high school student, living in a small apartment in South Berkeley and attending the Athenian College Preparatory School, 45 minutes away in the town of Danville. A scholarship offered to me through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.abetterchance.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Better Chance\u003c/a> program landed me at school in one of the wealthiest places in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every morning I’d get on a big ‘ole Twinkie bus at Berkeley BART and pursue a \u003ci>better chance\u003c/i> of getting out of the hood, going to college, and eventually finding freedom. Between my taped-up Sony headphones and beneath my tightly wrapped durag, my big head bobbled on the back of the bus—I don’t know what I was bumping, but I can tell you that my brain was already brewing up ways to break bondage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wanted freedom. Economic freedom, specifically. I was told that academia was the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That first month of school, I got real familiar with the connection between my oppression locally and the oppression of people around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13901531']In response to how our friends and neighbors with roots in the Middle East were being treated post-9/11, I worked with my schoolmates, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/amis_umi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Agzja Carey\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/norah-alyami-5a385511/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norah Alyami\u003c/a>, to organize a rally in front of Oakland’s City Hall. The keynote speaker was \u003ca href=\"https://www.daveyd.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Davey D\u003c/a>, a journalist I knew from his KMEL days, and who I’d grow to admire and even mimic in his ability to mix hip-hop, politics, and the fight for freedom into one conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two decades later, life has evolved. Davey is a person I can call with hard journalism questions—I literally did just a few days ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nas is seeing great success as of late; he even has a classic instrumental in a\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSzRrJQHnQ0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Tiffany and Co. advertisement\u003c/a>… but he’s still overshadowed (for better \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901650/that-beyonce-jay-z-and-basquiat-ad-for-tiffanys-does-have-some-upsides-you-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">or for worse\u003c/a>) by Jay-Z, who along with Beyoncé was also featured by the same high-end jewelry company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And earlier this month, as the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda forces gained control of Kabul, it became clear that our 20-year war effort, launched after 9/11, had failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched the news clips of people running toward large moving jets, even clinging on as the planes took off—just to fall to their deaths. It was reported that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/human-remains-plane-departing-afghanistan/#:~:text=Human%20remains%20were%20found%20in,clamoring%20to%20get%20on%20board.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">human remains were found\u003c/a> in the wheel well of one of the airplanes. For me, it was further clarification of what had been long suspected: this country’s “war on terrorism,” its sacrifice of both civilians and civil liberties, had been pointless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I broke from my anger-inducing news intake to experiment with my COVID-driven lack of taste. I ate cloves of garlic whole and lemons with the rind still on, just for kicks. I couldn’t read my books, so I balanced my intake of important headlines with clips of crate-mountain conquerors falling to their doom for the whole internet to see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when all else failed, I revisited classic hip-hop albums as an escape. Scarface’s \u003ci>The Fix\u003c/i>, Snoop Dogg’s \u003ci>The Last Meal\u003c/i>, tracks from Foxy Brown’s \u003ci>Broken Silence\u003c/i> and Curren$y’s \u003ci>Pilot Talk\u003c/i> trilogy. I dug up the lesser-known Nas and Lauryn Hill track, “It Wasn’t You,” as well as the staple “If I Ruled The World”—another song about the pursuit of freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlp-IIG9ApU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The alone time ate at me. How confined am I? Is my freedom found solely in music? Even then, I pay streaming services or take in unwanted advertisements to taste my source of liberation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How has my push toward freedom led to further oppression? How much have I given to big business? How much revenue have I generated for millionaires with adverse views? Hell, how much have I personally contributed to this country’s war efforts?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was in high school when our government started the longest war in this nation’s history. I entered the workforce shortly thereafter. Every legal dollar I’ve ever earned has been taxed and, in one way or another, used as fuel in this war machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many guns have I indirectly purchased? How many were distributed in Black and brown communities overseas? How many have ended up back in my own neighborhood?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many cops’ salaries have I contributed to? How many of those cops have harassed me, pulled over people I know for no reason, or killed someone who looks like me?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are the unforeseen byproducts of working toward what I perceive as financial freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/CPBy3rqh3z0/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>his is far from a complaint. I know the significance of being an African American person who gets paid to read and write. I write about artists, creators of color, working-class folks, and disenfranchised Black Americans who have whole bloodlines full of family who were deemed unworthy of the right to read, write, and pursue freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I write about them; I write about us. But I’m still not free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“… focused on my freedom now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>August, Black August, is a time we look to honor those who’ve radically committed themselves to the pursuit of freedom. It encompasses Marcus Garvey’s birthdate, Nat Turner’s rebellion, The Haitian Revolution, and George Jackson’s death, as well as the date that Dr. Huey P. Newton was killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day, Aug. 22, the site where Dr. Newton is set to be honored with a bust created by Dana King \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS676K9r03y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was defaced.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no freedom, not even in death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August has been rough. There have been a couple of deaths in my inner circle and some unnecessary family drama. I’ve spent ample time reflecting on the nonsense I’ve traversed in my pursuit of freedom. And I’ve gotten wrapped in the pessimism that comes with the potential of dealing with COVID-19 and its variants for another six months, another year, maybe more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My hope for economic, political, or any other substantive form of freedom has turned bleak. I don’t think it’s coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more music is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every Thursday I look forward to new music dropping. After a week of working and inching slowly forward without finding the freedom I’d been told about, at least there’s music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I celebrated every track \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rexxliferaj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a> dropped this summer, got juiced when I saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS5e3UFlBfz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a> in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, and while I despise the NFL, I love that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLhzBtlEhm/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stunnaman 02\u003c/a> is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS5Mpt5p8K_/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">providing the soundtrack\u003c/a> for the region’s remaining pro football team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest I’ve ever been to liberation is within the confines of my headphones. I choose what music I’m going to ride to before I put on my seatbelt. There’s hardly a moment where my house is silent, even if it’s just some instrumentals playing softly in the other room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I need music all the time. Every moment is focused on my freedom.\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\">A\u003c/span>ugust 2021 was a lot. The return to in-class learning. The COVID vaccine debates. The massive fires, big earthquakes and huge storms. And the music. Thank the powers that be for the music.\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\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kendrick Lamar dropped one verse and smoked your top five rappers, Kanye West took off that goofy red hat and dropped an album, Aaliyah’s discography finally became available on streaming platforms, and The Lox got their flowers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, meanwhile, music headlines were overshadowed by the unexplained series of events that led to the death of\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901310/baba-zumbi-zion-i-dies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Zion I’s Baba Zumbi\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I tested positive for COVID on the same day that Zumbi, a talented artist and friend who I’d seen two months prior at my best friend’s birthday party, was involved in a mysterious conflict at Alta Bates Hospital. While overcoming a case of COVID, Zumbi reportedly became involved in a physical altercation with hospital staff. Berkeley police responded. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901310/baba-zumbi-zion-i-dies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zumbi ended up dead\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent a week-plus quarantining and staring at my phone—scrolling, contemplating current events and critically thinking about what it all means—you know, in the larger context of this “freedom” we’re all inherently pursuing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Again, thank God for music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All my time has been focused on my freedom now,” says Ms. Lauryn Hill, opening her verse on the track “Nobody” from Nas’ latest project \u003ci>King’s Disease II\u003c/i>. The album, a follow up to Nas’ 2020 Grammy-winning \u003ci>King’s Disease\u003c/i>, dropped the first week of the month and quickly topped Billboard’s hip-hop charts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ms. Hill’s extended barrage of bars on “Nobody” are packed with quotable lines, but nothing spoke to me like the idea of spending every second engaged in the process of emancipation. “Focused on my freedom now.” What an idea. Now I can’t stop thinking: \u003ci>shit, I wanna spend my time focusing on my freedom, too\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unfortunately, in a lot of ways, my time is spent indirectly paying for continued oppression.\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/234OiGtOvII'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/234OiGtOvII'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\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\">E\u003c/span>xactly 20 years ago, Nas was in a dispute with Jay-Z that would be well-documented in a Summer Jam performance, multiple interviews, and of course music—starting with Jay’s “The Takeover,” featured on Jay-Z’s album \u003ci>The Blueprint\u003c/i>, which dropped Sept. 11, 2001. We all know what else happened that day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was a first-year high school student, living in a small apartment in South Berkeley and attending the Athenian College Preparatory School, 45 minutes away in the town of Danville. A scholarship offered to me through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.abetterchance.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Better Chance\u003c/a> program landed me at school in one of the wealthiest places in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every morning I’d get on a big ‘ole Twinkie bus at Berkeley BART and pursue a \u003ci>better chance\u003c/i> of getting out of the hood, going to college, and eventually finding freedom. Between my taped-up Sony headphones and beneath my tightly wrapped durag, my big head bobbled on the back of the bus—I don’t know what I was bumping, but I can tell you that my brain was already brewing up ways to break bondage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wanted freedom. Economic freedom, specifically. I was told that academia was the way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That first month of school, I got real familiar with the connection between my oppression locally and the oppression of people around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In response to how our friends and neighbors with roots in the Middle East were being treated post-9/11, I worked with my schoolmates, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/amis_umi/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Agzja Carey\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/norah-alyami-5a385511/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Norah Alyami\u003c/a>, to organize a rally in front of Oakland’s City Hall. The keynote speaker was \u003ca href=\"https://www.daveyd.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Davey D\u003c/a>, a journalist I knew from his KMEL days, and who I’d grow to admire and even mimic in his ability to mix hip-hop, politics, and the fight for freedom into one conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two decades later, life has evolved. Davey is a person I can call with hard journalism questions—I literally did just a few days ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nas is seeing great success as of late; he even has a classic instrumental in a\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CSzRrJQHnQ0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Tiffany and Co. advertisement\u003c/a>… but he’s still overshadowed (for better \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901650/that-beyonce-jay-z-and-basquiat-ad-for-tiffanys-does-have-some-upsides-you-know\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">or for worse\u003c/a>) by Jay-Z, who along with Beyoncé was also featured by the same high-end jewelry company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And earlier this month, as the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda forces gained control of Kabul, it became clear that our 20-year war effort, launched after 9/11, had failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I watched the news clips of people running toward large moving jets, even clinging on as the planes took off—just to fall to their deaths. It was reported that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/human-remains-plane-departing-afghanistan/#:~:text=Human%20remains%20were%20found%20in,clamoring%20to%20get%20on%20board.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">human remains were found\u003c/a> in the wheel well of one of the airplanes. For me, it was further clarification of what had been long suspected: this country’s “war on terrorism,” its sacrifice of both civilians and civil liberties, had been pointless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I broke from my anger-inducing news intake to experiment with my COVID-driven lack of taste. I ate cloves of garlic whole and lemons with the rind still on, just for kicks. I couldn’t read my books, so I balanced my intake of important headlines with clips of crate-mountain conquerors falling to their doom for the whole internet to see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when all else failed, I revisited classic hip-hop albums as an escape. Scarface’s \u003ci>The Fix\u003c/i>, Snoop Dogg’s \u003ci>The Last Meal\u003c/i>, tracks from Foxy Brown’s \u003ci>Broken Silence\u003c/i> and Curren$y’s \u003ci>Pilot Talk\u003c/i> trilogy. I dug up the lesser-known Nas and Lauryn Hill track, “It Wasn’t You,” as well as the staple “If I Ruled The World”—another song about the pursuit of freedom.\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/mlp-IIG9ApU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/mlp-IIG9ApU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The alone time ate at me. How confined am I? Is my freedom found solely in music? Even then, I pay streaming services or take in unwanted advertisements to taste my source of liberation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How has my push toward freedom led to further oppression? How much have I given to big business? How much revenue have I generated for millionaires with adverse views? Hell, how much have I personally contributed to this country’s war efforts?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was in high school when our government started the longest war in this nation’s history. I entered the workforce shortly thereafter. Every legal dollar I’ve ever earned has been taxed and, in one way or another, used as fuel in this war machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many guns have I indirectly purchased? How many were distributed in Black and brown communities overseas? How many have ended up back in my own neighborhood?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many cops’ salaries have I contributed to? How many of those cops have harassed me, pulled over people I know for no reason, or killed someone who looks like me?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are the unforeseen byproducts of working toward what I perceive as financial freedom.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 4.6875em;float: left;line-height: 0.733em;padding: 0.05em 0.1em 0 0;font-family: times, serif, georgia\">T\u003c/span>his is far from a complaint. I know the significance of being an African American person who gets paid to read and write. I write about artists, creators of color, working-class folks, and disenfranchised Black Americans who have whole bloodlines full of family who were deemed unworthy of the right to read, write, and pursue freedom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I write about them; I write about us. But I’m still not free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“… focused on my freedom now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>August, Black August, is a time we look to honor those who’ve radically committed themselves to the pursuit of freedom. It encompasses Marcus Garvey’s birthdate, Nat Turner’s rebellion, The Haitian Revolution, and George Jackson’s death, as well as the date that Dr. Huey P. Newton was killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day, Aug. 22, the site where Dr. Newton is set to be honored with a bust created by Dana King \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS676K9r03y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">was defaced.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no freedom, not even in death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August has been rough. There have been a couple of deaths in my inner circle and some unnecessary family drama. I’ve spent ample time reflecting on the nonsense I’ve traversed in my pursuit of freedom. And I’ve gotten wrapped in the pessimism that comes with the potential of dealing with COVID-19 and its variants for another six months, another year, maybe more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My hope for economic, political, or any other substantive form of freedom has turned bleak. I don’t think it’s coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But more music is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every Thursday I look forward to new music dropping. After a week of working and inching slowly forward without finding the freedom I’d been told about, at least there’s music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I celebrated every track \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rexxliferaj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a> dropped this summer, got juiced when I saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS5e3UFlBfz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ruby Ibarra\u003c/a> in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, and while I despise the NFL, I love that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CTLhzBtlEhm/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stunnaman 02\u003c/a> is \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CS5Mpt5p8K_/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">providing the soundtrack\u003c/a> for the region’s remaining pro football team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The closest I’ve ever been to liberation is within the confines of my headphones. I choose what music I’m going to ride to before I put on my seatbelt. There’s hardly a moment where my house is silent, even if it’s just some instrumentals playing softly in the other room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>After five years of silence, \u003ca href=\"https://isaiahrashad.lnk.to/thib\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaiah Rashad\u003c/a> returned with what will surely be considered one of the best rap albums of 2021: \u003cem>The House is Burning\u003c/em>. The project chronicles a search for hope after hitting rock bottom, with warm, nostalgic rhythms occasionally destabilized by lurching, gothic undertones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drawing on influences such as Three 6 Mafia, Outkast and his Top Dawg label mate Kendrick Lamar, Rashad wrote the album after several bad years of substance abuse and mental health issues that forced him to disappear from public life and eventually get clean. He writes with the sage perspective of someone who’s been to hell and back, finding beauty even amid these traumatic experiences, and managing to still have fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rashad performs at \u003ca href=\"https://www.axs.com/events/409353/isaiah-rashad-tickets?skin=warfield&src=AEGLIVE_WWRFLSFO022715VEN001\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Warfield in San Francisco on Oct. 7\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NMZ0MpaEuY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "George Horn, Essential Invisible Man of Bay Area Music, Dies at 87",
"headTitle": "George Horn, Essential Invisible Man of Bay Area Music, Dies at 87 | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Whether you love hip-hop, punk, modern jazz, jam bands, salsa or country music, George Horn’s fingerprints are all over your playlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the chief engineer at a succession of Bay Area studios, most importantly during a nearly three-decade tenure at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, Horn mastered thousands of albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Charles Mingus, MC Hammer, the Dead Kennedys, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rosemary Clooney and Santana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An unsurpassed master of the mysterious art of mastering, Horn died early Saturday morning at 87 from pulmonary hypertension exacerbated by COVID-19, according to brother-in-law William Stetler. Described by family and colleagues as an introverted, deeply private man, he launched his own independent mastering studio in 2008 after Concord Records acquired Fantasy’s vast catalogue of jazz labels. At his studio within the Fantasy Studios building, he and his last protégé, Anne-Marie Suenram, maintained the region’s only regularly working lathe for cutting vinyl records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902061\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-800x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"512\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902061\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-800x512.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-1020x653.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-768x491.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook.jpg 1263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Horn on the cover of ‘The Mastering Engineer’s Handbook’ (Thompson Course Technology); a recent photo in the studio. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Anne-Marie Suenram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A San Francisco native, Horn spent his teenage years building and repairing electronic devices. After working in broadcasting, he became chief engineer at a number of labels and studios, notably Columbia Records and Bill Putnam’s Coast Recorders Studios, before becoming chief engineer at Fantasy Studios in 1980. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process of mastering has long held a bit of mystique. Horn learned the craft in the 1960s, when mastering was a mechanical job that meant using a record lathe to etch grooves onto a lacquer or acetate disc—and when, simultaneously, the Bay Area became ground zero for a rock movement unleashed as folk, blues and bluegrass musicians plugged in electric instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='forum_2010101866567']In the digital age, the job of mastering means preparing any kind of audio for release—a more complicated job “that requires taking all these different tracks that may have been recorded in different studios with different engineers and making them sound like a coherent album,” said veteran Oakland audio engineer Myles Boisen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a science and an art. As a producer, you want a good mastering engineer to sprinkle their magic mastering dust on it,” Boisen added. “There are nuances they can do above and beyond what’s done in mixing, putting the final sheen on a project before it’s transmitted to the marketplace. Mastering is the last chance for a fresh set of ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"599\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902059\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums-160x159.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums-768x765.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nine of the thousands of albums mastered by George Horn. Albums spanning every genre came across Horn’s sharp ear for finishing touches.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Horn navigated the digital transition seamlessly, embracing the advent of compact discs and each subsequent sea change in the music business. At Fantasy, which owned a treasure trove of jazz recordings by epochal artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk, Horn and Fantasy colleague Joe Tarantino ushered classic albums by the labels Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, and Pablo into the digital age as part of a vast Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reissue series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, his major accomplishment was working on the OJC reissues, just a huge number of essential jazz records by Monk, Miles, Trane, and on and on,” Boisen said. “That earlier generation of compact discs didn’t always sound really good, but he took the time and care to make those CDs sound great.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As word of Horn’s passing spread on social media, numerous musicians and colleagues reached out to share stories about him. He may have been loath to talk about his life outside the studio, but in his circle, he was a quiet force who emanated respect for the artists entrusting him with their music. Nothing seemed to faze him, and when punk rock exploded in San Francisco, he became the go-to guy for mastering their records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902060\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Horn and Ralph Kaffel in the Fantasy Studios parking lot. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anne-Marie Suenram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He saw everything as a challenge, and he wanted to translate what people wanted,” said Jello Biafra, who started hiring Horn in the early 1980s for the Dead Kennedys. “Before long, he was also doing Flipper and all the stuff Subterranean put out, and of course the rest of the Alternative Tentacles releases too. I attended every single cut that he did, knowing I had somebody’s baby on the line. We had a lot of respect for each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among his fellow engineers, Horn was known for his versatility and exceptional ears. He imbued his artist-first sensibility in the select group of engineers he took under his wing. Gary Hobish, who runs A. Hammer Mastering and Digital Media in San Francisco, got his start under Horn at Fantasy in the early ’80s, where he learned that “in mastering, you have to be able to take on all comers,” Hobish said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“George was amazing at that. It seemed to me he didn’t feel it was his place to tell somebody how their record should sound. One day you’re doing a catalog cut of a classic Bill Evans recording from 1957 and the next day you’re doing a Flipper record or MX-80, something avant garde and intentionally harsh. I never saw a reaction or judgement either way. He knew he was contributing to an artistic scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901978\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901978\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-800x451.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-800x451.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1020x575.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1920x1082.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The lathe in George Horn’s studio that’s cut hundreds of albums.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When interest in vinyl came roaring back, Horn was uniquely placed to take on the new flow of work. He never got rid of his lathe, and he had a young set of ears to assist him. Anne-Marie Suenram, a classically trained vocalist and pianist, met Horn while interning at Fantasy Studios, and he welcomed her evident interest in the mastering process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As soon as my internship was over he started training me,” she said. “Within a year, he didn’t need to oversee me and he let me do a lot of the mastering and cutting. He was very good to me. When I was expecting my daughter, he would insist on doing anything with chemicals, and he was very supportive during maternity leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the immediate future, Suenram will continue operations at Horn’s studio in Berkeley, cutting records and mastering albums. She’ll also be talking about him, she knows, for years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He really was very much a background character,” Suenram says, “and I’d like people to know about him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Horn is survived by his wife of 20 years, Diane Mansfield. Services will take place graveside on Friday, Aug. 27, at 2:45pm, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. Due to COVID, no gathering will follow.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A legend in the mysterious art of mastering, Horn died on Saturday from complications related to COVID.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Whether you love hip-hop, punk, modern jazz, jam bands, salsa or country music, George Horn’s fingerprints are all over your playlist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the chief engineer at a succession of Bay Area studios, most importantly during a nearly three-decade tenure at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, Horn mastered thousands of albums by artists including Bob Dylan, Charles Mingus, MC Hammer, the Dead Kennedys, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, the Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Rosemary Clooney and Santana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An unsurpassed master of the mysterious art of mastering, Horn died early Saturday morning at 87 from pulmonary hypertension exacerbated by COVID-19, according to brother-in-law William Stetler. Described by family and colleagues as an introverted, deeply private man, he launched his own independent mastering studio in 2008 after Concord Records acquired Fantasy’s vast catalogue of jazz labels. At his studio within the Fantasy Studios building, he and his last protégé, Anne-Marie Suenram, maintained the region’s only regularly working lathe for cutting vinyl records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902061\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-800x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"512\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902061\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-800x512.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-1020x653.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook-768x491.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GeorgeHorn.Handbook.jpg 1263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Horn on the cover of ‘The Mastering Engineer’s Handbook’ (Thompson Course Technology); a recent photo in the studio. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Anne-Marie Suenram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A San Francisco native, Horn spent his teenage years building and repairing electronic devices. After working in broadcasting, he became chief engineer at a number of labels and studios, notably Columbia Records and Bill Putnam’s Coast Recorders Studios, before becoming chief engineer at Fantasy Studios in 1980. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The process of mastering has long held a bit of mystique. Horn learned the craft in the 1960s, when mastering was a mechanical job that meant using a record lathe to etch grooves onto a lacquer or acetate disc—and when, simultaneously, the Bay Area became ground zero for a rock movement unleashed as folk, blues and bluegrass musicians plugged in electric instruments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the digital age, the job of mastering means preparing any kind of audio for release—a more complicated job “that requires taking all these different tracks that may have been recorded in different studios with different engineers and making them sound like a coherent album,” said veteran Oakland audio engineer Myles Boisen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a science and an art. As a producer, you want a good mastering engineer to sprinkle their magic mastering dust on it,” Boisen added. “There are nuances they can do above and beyond what’s done in mixing, putting the final sheen on a project before it’s transmitted to the marketplace. Mastering is the last chance for a fresh set of ears.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"599\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13902059\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums-160x159.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Horn.Albums-768x765.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nine of the thousands of albums mastered by George Horn. Albums spanning every genre came across Horn’s sharp ear for finishing touches.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Horn navigated the digital transition seamlessly, embracing the advent of compact discs and each subsequent sea change in the music business. At Fantasy, which owned a treasure trove of jazz recordings by epochal artists such as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and Thelonious Monk, Horn and Fantasy colleague Joe Tarantino ushered classic albums by the labels Prestige, Riverside, Contemporary, and Pablo into the digital age as part of a vast Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reissue series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For me, his major accomplishment was working on the OJC reissues, just a huge number of essential jazz records by Monk, Miles, Trane, and on and on,” Boisen said. “That earlier generation of compact discs didn’t always sound really good, but he took the time and care to make those CDs sound great.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As word of Horn’s passing spread on social media, numerous musicians and colleagues reached out to share stories about him. He may have been loath to talk about his life outside the studio, but in his circle, he was a quiet force who emanated respect for the artists entrusting him with their music. Nothing seemed to faze him, and when punk rock exploded in San Francisco, he became the go-to guy for mastering their records.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13902060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-800x532.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13902060\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob-1536x1021.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George_and_rob.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">George Horn and Ralph Kaffel in the Fantasy Studios parking lot. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Anne-Marie Suenram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He saw everything as a challenge, and he wanted to translate what people wanted,” said Jello Biafra, who started hiring Horn in the early 1980s for the Dead Kennedys. “Before long, he was also doing Flipper and all the stuff Subterranean put out, and of course the rest of the Alternative Tentacles releases too. I attended every single cut that he did, knowing I had somebody’s baby on the line. We had a lot of respect for each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among his fellow engineers, Horn was known for his versatility and exceptional ears. He imbued his artist-first sensibility in the select group of engineers he took under his wing. Gary Hobish, who runs A. Hammer Mastering and Digital Media in San Francisco, got his start under Horn at Fantasy in the early ’80s, where he learned that “in mastering, you have to be able to take on all comers,” Hobish said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“George was amazing at that. It seemed to me he didn’t feel it was his place to tell somebody how their record should sound. One day you’re doing a catalog cut of a classic Bill Evans recording from 1957 and the next day you’re doing a Flipper record or MX-80, something avant garde and intentionally harsh. I never saw a reaction or judgement either way. He knew he was contributing to an artistic scene.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901978\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901978\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-800x451.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-800x451.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1020x575.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-768x433.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1536x866.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe-1920x1082.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/George-Horns-lathe.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The lathe in George Horn’s studio that’s cut hundreds of albums.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When interest in vinyl came roaring back, Horn was uniquely placed to take on the new flow of work. He never got rid of his lathe, and he had a young set of ears to assist him. Anne-Marie Suenram, a classically trained vocalist and pianist, met Horn while interning at Fantasy Studios, and he welcomed her evident interest in the mastering process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As soon as my internship was over he started training me,” she said. “Within a year, he didn’t need to oversee me and he let me do a lot of the mastering and cutting. He was very good to me. When I was expecting my daughter, he would insist on doing anything with chemicals, and he was very supportive during maternity leave.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the immediate future, Suenram will continue operations at Horn’s studio in Berkeley, cutting records and mastering albums. She’ll also be talking about him, she knows, for years to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He really was very much a background character,” Suenram says, “and I’d like people to know about him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Horn is survived by his wife of 20 years, Diane Mansfield. Services will take place graveside on Friday, Aug. 27, at 2:45pm, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma. Due to COVID, no gathering will follow.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-hip-hop-dance-legend-rennie-harris-came-to-pioneer-street-dance-theater",
"title": "How Hip-Hop Dance Legend Rennie Harris Came to Pioneer Street Dance Theater",
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"headTitle": "How Hip-Hop Dance Legend Rennie Harris Came to Pioneer Street Dance Theater | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeGdTT0--8KhVf4tLBAdplUY3Bl1iqKWC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>If Cities Could Dance\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is KQED Arts’ award-winning video series featuring dancers across the country who represent their city’s signature moves.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ICCD404C_Philadelphia_Rennie_Harris_Captions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Download English transcript.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before \u003cem>Hamilton\u003c/em> and hip-hop theater became mainstream, there was dancer and choreographer Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris, who helped pioneer the artform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, Harris founded the country’s first and longest running street dance theater company, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rhpm.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rennie Harris Puremovement\u003c/a> (RHPM). As choreographer and artistic director, he’s created celebrated works like “Rome and Jewels,” a recasting of \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> with rival gangs in his hometown of Philadelphia; “Facing Mekka,” an exploration of the global face of Islam; and “Funkedified,” a tribute to the funk music he came up dancing to in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901908\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-800x1025.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of Rennie Harris captured mid-jump.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1025\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-800x1025.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-1020x1306.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-160x205.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-768x984.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-1199x1536.jpg 1199w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dancer, choreographer, artistic director Rennie Harris. \u003ccite>(Bob Emmott)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the 1980s, funk morphed into hip-hop, and Harris became a well-known popper and danced with the crew The Scanner Boys. He performed on the country’s first hip-hop tour, The Fresh Festival, with Run DMC, Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, and Whodini. He also hosted the popular TV show \u003cem>One House Street\u003c/em>, which rivaled \u003cem>Club MTV\u003c/em> in ratings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901906\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901906\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-800x522.jpg\" alt=\"A hip-hop dance and dj crew in the 1980s featuring young male dancers performing on stage while the djs in the back get ready to play a record.\" width=\"800\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-800x522.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Scanner Boys, featuring Rennie Harris on the top left. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The eldest of seven kids raised by a single mom in North Philadelphia, Harris bounced around between life at home and the houses of his aunties and family friends. In his early solo work, he references experiences of being molested and growing up under the constant threat of violence. His approach to dance, even when creating work for concert stages, has always been about his own healing—a way for him “to see and feel God,” says Harris. With a through line in his work of spiritual enlightenment, he’s been dubbed the “High Priest of Hip-Hop” by \u003cem>Dance Magazine\u003c/em>, who recognized Harris with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dancemagazine.com/rennie-harris-2508392306.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">“Living Legends” award\u003c/a> in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Audiences and critics weren’t always so accepting, says Harris. In the early days of his company, “You had people picketing, and they would send police to our shows. They’d show up, verbatim, ‘I hear there’s some hip-hop here,’” he says. Officers would arrive prepared to break up fights. Instead, Harris’ stage manager would offer them seats to watch the show. “Their faces were like, ‘What?’ They didn’t get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901916\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-800x545.jpg\" alt=\"A still from a hip-hop theater production featuring several dancers on a stage of a theater with a big projection screen showing childhood photos of Rennie Harris.\" width=\"800\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-1020x695.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007.jpg 1586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from “Funkedified,” a Rennie Harris Puremovement Production. \u003ccite>(Courtesy New Victory Theater, powered by New 42)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before long, Harris would become a highly sought-after choreographer and artistic director, and RHPM toured globally after Harris was appointed a cultural ambassador for President Obama’s Dance Motion USA program. “For the first 20 years of the company, people had never seen anything like it—they’ve seen hip-hop in theater, the acrobatic entertainment part of it, but they hadn’t seen street dance used in an expressive way, with a narrative, abstractly,” he says. “We shifted their concept of what hip-hop or street dance was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901913\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-800x457.jpg\" alt=\"A still from a hip-hop theater performance that shows dancers and singers on a stage in front of an actor playing a priest.\" width=\"800\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-800x457.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-1020x583.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-160x91.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-768x439.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-1536x877.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003.jpg 1712w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from “LIFTED,” a Rennie Harris Puremovement Production. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bates Dance Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the years, San Francisco has proven to be a loyal audience for Harris and RHPM productions, with performances at Stern Grove Festival, the San Francisco International Hip-Hop Festival and YBCA. Bay Area audiences were first introduced to him in 1999 at Theater Artaud with “Rome and Jewels.” The story centers on rival street gangs battling for control of the city, and integrates the East and West Coast hip-hop wars that claimed the lives of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. “The title is a dig at the hip-hop community. ‘Rome’ is short for roaming. ‘Jewels’ is short for jewelry—roaming for jewelry,” says Harris of the show, which is being restaged for the 30th anniversary of RHMP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris recites the opening lines, written and performed by dancer Ozzie Jones. “‘BIG and Pac roam for jewels, but don’t we all? / We ain’t nobody until we a mural on somebody’s wall.’ I love that. If you’re really listening to what is being said, it’s prophetic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this If Cities Could Dance special release, Harris breaks down five major moments from his life.\u003cem> — Text by Kelly Whalen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ICYMI, also check out our Philadelphia house dance episode, in which Harris makes a cameo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet Philadelphia’s Soulful House Dancers | If Cities Could Dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/01dOePGSSw8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "How Hip-Hop Dance Legend Rennie Harris Came to Pioneer Street Dance Theater | KQED",
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"headline": "How Hip-Hop Dance Legend Rennie Harris Came to Pioneer Street Dance Theater",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeGdTT0--8KhVf4tLBAdplUY3Bl1iqKWC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>If Cities Could Dance\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>is KQED Arts’ award-winning video series featuring dancers across the country who represent their city’s signature moves.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ICCD404C_Philadelphia_Rennie_Harris_Captions.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Download English transcript.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before \u003cem>Hamilton\u003c/em> and hip-hop theater became mainstream, there was dancer and choreographer Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris, who helped pioneer the artform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, Harris founded the country’s first and longest running street dance theater company, \u003ca href=\"https://www.rhpm.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rennie Harris Puremovement\u003c/a> (RHPM). As choreographer and artistic director, he’s created celebrated works like “Rome and Jewels,” a recasting of \u003cem>Romeo and Juliet\u003c/em> with rival gangs in his hometown of Philadelphia; “Facing Mekka,” an exploration of the global face of Islam; and “Funkedified,” a tribute to the funk music he came up dancing to in the 1970s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901908\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901908\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-800x1025.jpg\" alt=\"Black and white photo of Rennie Harris captured mid-jump.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1025\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-800x1025.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-1020x1306.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-160x205.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-768x984.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1-1199x1536.jpg 1199w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieScarecrow_photobyiBobEmmott-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dancer, choreographer, artistic director Rennie Harris. \u003ccite>(Bob Emmott)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the 1980s, funk morphed into hip-hop, and Harris became a well-known popper and danced with the crew The Scanner Boys. He performed on the country’s first hip-hop tour, The Fresh Festival, with Run DMC, Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, and Whodini. He also hosted the popular TV show \u003cem>One House Street\u003c/em>, which rivaled \u003cem>Club MTV\u003c/em> in ratings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901906\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901906\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-800x522.jpg\" alt=\"A hip-hop dance and dj crew in the 1980s featuring young male dancers performing on stage while the djs in the back get ready to play a record.\" width=\"800\" height=\"522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-800x522.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-1020x666.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01-768x501.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/ScannerBoys_FAF1984_0374_edit_01.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Scanner Boys, featuring Rennie Harris on the top left. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Smithsonian Institution)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The eldest of seven kids raised by a single mom in North Philadelphia, Harris bounced around between life at home and the houses of his aunties and family friends. In his early solo work, he references experiences of being molested and growing up under the constant threat of violence. His approach to dance, even when creating work for concert stages, has always been about his own healing—a way for him “to see and feel God,” says Harris. With a through line in his work of spiritual enlightenment, he’s been dubbed the “High Priest of Hip-Hop” by \u003cem>Dance Magazine\u003c/em>, who recognized Harris with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.dancemagazine.com/rennie-harris-2508392306.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">“Living Legends” award\u003c/a> in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Audiences and critics weren’t always so accepting, says Harris. In the early days of his company, “You had people picketing, and they would send police to our shows. They’d show up, verbatim, ‘I hear there’s some hip-hop here,’” he says. Officers would arrive prepared to break up fights. Instead, Harris’ stage manager would offer them seats to watch the show. “Their faces were like, ‘What?’ They didn’t get it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901916\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-800x545.jpg\" alt=\"A still from a hip-hop theater production featuring several dancers on a stage of a theater with a big projection screen showing childhood photos of Rennie Harris.\" width=\"800\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-1020x695.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-768x523.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_05_20_13.Still007.jpg 1586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from “Funkedified,” a Rennie Harris Puremovement Production. \u003ccite>(Courtesy New Victory Theater, powered by New 42)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before long, Harris would become a highly sought-after choreographer and artistic director, and RHPM toured globally after Harris was appointed a cultural ambassador for President Obama’s Dance Motion USA program. “For the first 20 years of the company, people had never seen anything like it—they’ve seen hip-hop in theater, the acrobatic entertainment part of it, but they hadn’t seen street dance used in an expressive way, with a narrative, abstractly,” he says. “We shifted their concept of what hip-hop or street dance was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901913\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13901913\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-800x457.jpg\" alt=\"A still from a hip-hop theater performance that shows dancers and singers on a stage in front of an actor playing a priest.\" width=\"800\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-800x457.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-1020x583.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-160x91.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-768x439.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003-1536x877.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/RennieHarris_082421.00_17_40_22.Still003.jpg 1712w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from “LIFTED,” a Rennie Harris Puremovement Production. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Bates Dance Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over the years, San Francisco has proven to be a loyal audience for Harris and RHPM productions, with performances at Stern Grove Festival, the San Francisco International Hip-Hop Festival and YBCA. Bay Area audiences were first introduced to him in 1999 at Theater Artaud with “Rome and Jewels.” The story centers on rival street gangs battling for control of the city, and integrates the East and West Coast hip-hop wars that claimed the lives of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. “The title is a dig at the hip-hop community. ‘Rome’ is short for roaming. ‘Jewels’ is short for jewelry—roaming for jewelry,” says Harris of the show, which is being restaged for the 30th anniversary of RHMP.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harris recites the opening lines, written and performed by dancer Ozzie Jones. “‘BIG and Pac roam for jewels, but don’t we all? / We ain’t nobody until we a mural on somebody’s wall.’ I love that. If you’re really listening to what is being said, it’s prophetic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this If Cities Could Dance special release, Harris breaks down five major moments from his life.\u003cem> — Text by Kelly Whalen\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>ICYMI, also check out our Philadelphia house dance episode, in which Harris makes a cameo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet Philadelphia’s Soulful House Dancers | If Cities Could Dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/01dOePGSSw8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "R. Kelly and Britney TV Docs Tap Into 'Consequence Culture,' Not Cancel Culture",
"headTitle": "R. Kelly and Britney TV Docs Tap Into ‘Consequence Culture,’ Not Cancel Culture | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>As the trial of disgraced R&B superstar R. Kelly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901400/opinion-13-years-after-the-last-r-kelly-trial-the-culture-has-changed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">unfolds\u003c/a>, it’s tough to imagine reaching this moment without the 2019 Lifetime docuseries \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because the six-part project seemed to transform public opinion about the singer in an instant, with detailed, harrowing accounts from women who said Kelly spent decades pursuing underage girls for sex and maintaining abusive relationships. Kelly has denied the allegations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The public reaction—including prosecutors asking other potential victims to come forward and his longtime label, RCA, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/01/18/686641970/r-kelly-has-been-dropped-by-rca-records-billboard-reports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dissolving its working relationship\u003c/a> with him—was surprising because journalists had been reporting on similar allegations against the singer since the late 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But cultural critic and filmmaker dream hampton, an executive producer on \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em>, says this project hit the world in a crucial moment: Social media spread word quickly, a younger generation was less tolerant, and viewers were drawn in by the power of seeing a succession of survivors telling their stories directly to the camera.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“American history isn’t history until there’s a movie about it,” hampton says, wryly. “I was packaging \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em> for people who probably didn’t read beyond the headlines. … That’s what I thought I could bring to it. There’s something about a visual [of] someone unpacking their story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbjnkvxIoSI\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A new genre for new sensibilities\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Turns out, \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly \u003c/em>was one on a growing list of documentary projects challenging audiences to reconsider old controversies with fresh eyes, informed by the #MeToo movement’s revelations about harassment, assault and trauma. And those films could bring very tangible results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, FX and Hulu’s film \u003cem>The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears\u003c/em> jump-started public conversation about sexist, abusive media coverage of the pop star and the 2008 conservatorship that gave control of her finances to her father, Jamie Spears.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13892800']HBO’s four-part \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/02/21/969425823/allen-v-farrow-digs-deep-into-a-tale-of-celebrity-power-and-silence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em>\u003c/a> gave a detailed presentation of Dylan Farrow’s allegations from 1992 that her father, superstar director Woody Allen, molested her as a child (the filmmaker has denied those allegations). And HBO Max’s film \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/05/24/861630479/movie-review-on-the-record-with-russell-simmons-accusers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em>\u003c/a> debuted last year as a chilling account featuring several women who accused rap mogul Russell Simmons of sexual assault in incidents ranging back to the mid-1990s, which he has denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel these documentaries could only have been made now … because the standards of accountability have changed,” says Poh Si Teng, producer of the documentary \u003cem>St. Louis Superman \u003c/em>and an executive at the International Documentary Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The feedback from the web and social media platforms is so much faster, we are holding ourselves more accountable [as a society],” she adds. “In light of all the reckonings from the past year, especially after the murder of George Floyd and the pandemic, more and more filmmakers and participants are going to be bold. They’re going to be ready to speak now. … So these filmmakers can revisit all these old controversies [on] misogyny, conservatorship, child sexual abuse and rape in ways that they could not before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Reconsidering media bullying of Britney\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Samantha Stark, director of \u003cem>Framing Britney Spears\u003c/em>, says she originally planned to just reexamine past media coverage of the pop star. After seeing how “incredibly misogynistic” it all was—demonstrated by a clip in the film of an interviewer asking Spears about her breasts—Stark and her team realized many of the journalists who had reported these stories were male.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just had this idea: What if we try to find women to interview instead?” she says. “We got a completely different picture of her: a woman who was business-savvy, who even as a teenager contributed creatively to her work, who had the stamina of an Olympic athlete and knew what she was doing … someone with agency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the filmmakers discovered valid concerns about the fairness of Spears’ conservatorship, originally criticized by followers of the “Free Britney” movement. Suddenly, a fan uprising that some treated like a punchline was inspiring renewed public scrutiny. Most recently, Spears’ father has announced his intention to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">step down from the conservatorship\u003c/a>, but with no definitive timetable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wRN5muenY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stark says she thought about \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em> while making her film, because both projects centered on contentions that people found tough to believe because the alleged abuse was happening in plain sight. And both projects also pointed out the complicity of the general public, which often laughed at comedians’ jokes about Spears’ mental health or Kelly’s proclivities without considering the darker truths behind the punchlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m the same age as Britney, so when I was watching so much of the footage, I was reliving my [teenage years], when it was OK to bully people and shame them for being different,” says Stark, age 39. “It did feel like we weren’t ready for all these documentaries until now. We do, I think, listen to what women have to say more now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13899317']That’s an idea which resonates for Amy Ziering, co-director of both \u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em> and \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em> with longtime filmmaking partner Kirby Dick. Ziering says, when she was pitching potential distributors on their 2012 documentary about sexual assault in the military, \u003cem>The Invisible War\u003c/em>, she was told no one wanted to hear women’s stories—especially stories of women raped in the military.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, \u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em> has seven Emmy nominations and \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em> was part of HBO Max’s opening slate of original programs when the streaming platform launched in May 2020. These days, Ziering says, such films can perform a sort of pop culture jiu-jitsu—leveraging the celebrity that some stars have used to shield themselves to educate viewers, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Would anyone really care to watch a documentary about conservatorship … no, you watched because it was about Britney Spears,” she adds, saying \u003cem>Allen V. Farrow\u003c/em> dropped important information about how the court system treats custody cases and how allegations of incest are investigated. “What is lovely about these films is we get to capitalize on the culture of celebrity for good—not for marketing … but to actually enlighten people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Not all films have the same impact\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some critics say these films can be one-sided; Kelly, Allen and Simmons all declined requests to be interviewed for these projects and have denied the crimes they are accused of within them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And not every project can have the impact filmmakers anticipate. Drew Dixon, a former record company executive whose accounts of being raped by Russell Simmons and sexually harassed by well-known producer/executive L.A. Reid form the center of \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em>, says the film’s impact was blunted when media star Oprah Winfrey \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/movies/oprah-winfrey-russell-simmons-movie.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pulled out as an executive producer \u003c/a>in early 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost worse than if she’d never been involved … [it] left this shadow of confusion and doubt around the film,” says Dixon. “A lot of the powerful voices in the Black community that could have drawn attention to the discussion about Black women and our unique vulnerability to sexual violence didn’t happen. And frankly, I feel more isolated now than I did before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film, which also explores how Black women’s stories of harassment and assault may have been left out of the #MeToo movement, also faced criticism from some who viewed it as an attack on successful Black men. Both Dixon and \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em>‘s dream hampton noted that the subjects of their films still retain support among some Black people, wary of a white-dominated media system going after stars once considered admirable examples of Black achievement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13875370']Still, Dixon says she has no regrets about participating in the film. “A proliferation of documentaries that center survivors and move the spotlight away from the famous, accused, powerful people … that’s really critically important,” she adds.” That’s how we really humanize the experience and the pain and the real cost of sexual violence for the people who have experienced it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poh Si Teng of the International Documentary Association expects to see many more of these types of films produced, with a tangible impact on the public discourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not cancel culture,” she says, of the way some celebrities have seen their work sidelined after serious allegations. “It’s consequence culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=R.+Kelly+And+Britney+TV+Docs+Tap+Into+%27Consequence+Culture%2C%27+Not+Cancel+Culture&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>HBO’s four-part \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/02/21/969425823/allen-v-farrow-digs-deep-into-a-tale-of-celebrity-power-and-silence\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em>\u003c/a> gave a detailed presentation of Dylan Farrow’s allegations from 1992 that her father, superstar director Woody Allen, molested her as a child (the filmmaker has denied those allegations). And HBO Max’s film \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/05/24/861630479/movie-review-on-the-record-with-russell-simmons-accusers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em>\u003c/a> debuted last year as a chilling account featuring several women who accused rap mogul Russell Simmons of sexual assault in incidents ranging back to the mid-1990s, which he has denied.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel these documentaries could only have been made now … because the standards of accountability have changed,” says Poh Si Teng, producer of the documentary \u003cem>St. Louis Superman \u003c/em>and an executive at the International Documentary Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The feedback from the web and social media platforms is so much faster, we are holding ourselves more accountable [as a society],” she adds. “In light of all the reckonings from the past year, especially after the murder of George Floyd and the pandemic, more and more filmmakers and participants are going to be bold. They’re going to be ready to speak now. … So these filmmakers can revisit all these old controversies [on] misogyny, conservatorship, child sexual abuse and rape in ways that they could not before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Reconsidering media bullying of Britney\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Samantha Stark, director of \u003cem>Framing Britney Spears\u003c/em>, says she originally planned to just reexamine past media coverage of the pop star. After seeing how “incredibly misogynistic” it all was—demonstrated by a clip in the film of an interviewer asking Spears about her breasts—Stark and her team realized many of the journalists who had reported these stories were male.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We just had this idea: What if we try to find women to interview instead?” she says. “We got a completely different picture of her: a woman who was business-savvy, who even as a teenager contributed creatively to her work, who had the stamina of an Olympic athlete and knew what she was doing … someone with agency.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, the filmmakers discovered valid concerns about the fairness of Spears’ conservatorship, originally criticized by followers of the “Free Britney” movement. Suddenly, a fan uprising that some treated like a punchline was inspiring renewed public scrutiny. Most recently, Spears’ father has announced his intention to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13901212\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">step down from the conservatorship\u003c/a>, but with no definitive timetable.\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/n1wRN5muenY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/n1wRN5muenY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Stark says she thought about \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em> while making her film, because both projects centered on contentions that people found tough to believe because the alleged abuse was happening in plain sight. And both projects also pointed out the complicity of the general public, which often laughed at comedians’ jokes about Spears’ mental health or Kelly’s proclivities without considering the darker truths behind the punchlines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m the same age as Britney, so when I was watching so much of the footage, I was reliving my [teenage years], when it was OK to bully people and shame them for being different,” says Stark, age 39. “It did feel like we weren’t ready for all these documentaries until now. We do, I think, listen to what women have to say more now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That’s an idea which resonates for Amy Ziering, co-director of both \u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em> and \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em> with longtime filmmaking partner Kirby Dick. Ziering says, when she was pitching potential distributors on their 2012 documentary about sexual assault in the military, \u003cem>The Invisible War\u003c/em>, she was told no one wanted to hear women’s stories—especially stories of women raped in the military.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, \u003cem>Allen v. Farrow\u003c/em> has seven Emmy nominations and \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em> was part of HBO Max’s opening slate of original programs when the streaming platform launched in May 2020. These days, Ziering says, such films can perform a sort of pop culture jiu-jitsu—leveraging the celebrity that some stars have used to shield themselves to educate viewers, instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Would anyone really care to watch a documentary about conservatorship … no, you watched because it was about Britney Spears,” she adds, saying \u003cem>Allen V. Farrow\u003c/em> dropped important information about how the court system treats custody cases and how allegations of incest are investigated. “What is lovely about these films is we get to capitalize on the culture of celebrity for good—not for marketing … but to actually enlighten people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Not all films have the same impact\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Some critics say these films can be one-sided; Kelly, Allen and Simmons all declined requests to be interviewed for these projects and have denied the crimes they are accused of within them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And not every project can have the impact filmmakers anticipate. Drew Dixon, a former record company executive whose accounts of being raped by Russell Simmons and sexually harassed by well-known producer/executive L.A. Reid form the center of \u003cem>On the Record\u003c/em>, says the film’s impact was blunted when media star Oprah Winfrey \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/movies/oprah-winfrey-russell-simmons-movie.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pulled out as an executive producer \u003c/a>in early 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s almost worse than if she’d never been involved … [it] left this shadow of confusion and doubt around the film,” says Dixon. “A lot of the powerful voices in the Black community that could have drawn attention to the discussion about Black women and our unique vulnerability to sexual violence didn’t happen. And frankly, I feel more isolated now than I did before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film, which also explores how Black women’s stories of harassment and assault may have been left out of the #MeToo movement, also faced criticism from some who viewed it as an attack on successful Black men. Both Dixon and \u003cem>Surviving R. Kelly\u003c/em>‘s dream hampton noted that the subjects of their films still retain support among some Black people, wary of a white-dominated media system going after stars once considered admirable examples of Black achievement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, Dixon says she has no regrets about participating in the film. “A proliferation of documentaries that center survivors and move the spotlight away from the famous, accused, powerful people … that’s really critically important,” she adds.” That’s how we really humanize the experience and the pain and the real cost of sexual violence for the people who have experienced it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poh Si Teng of the International Documentary Association expects to see many more of these types of films produced, with a tangible impact on the public discourse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"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.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"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?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
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