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"title": "After 20 Years of Blaps, The Mekanix Thrive on Willpower and Alignment",
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"content": "\u003cp>The computer screen displays photos of rap luminaries. On a nearby wall hang news articles, vinyl records and memorabilia from the likes of Shock G and Tupac Shakur.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the East Oakland studio of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kennytweedofthemekanix/?hl=en\">Kenny Tweed \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/4rax_of_themekanix/?hl=en\">4Rax\u003c/a>, who during a recent visit sat in office chairs around a large, custom-made rug bearing the name of their production duo: \u003ca href=\"https://www.themekanix.com/\">The Mekanix\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may seem like a humble setting for such an influential duo. For more than 20 years, The Mekanix have made blap after blap after blap, casting their name into the debate over the most prolific production team from the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Summarizing their winning formula, 4rAx says, simply, “Everything is about alignment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Two men pose for a photo while sitting on bar stools in a music studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13991415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With more than 20 years of production credits to their name, The Mekanix are one of the most prolific production duos to ever come from the Bay Area. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout their career, despite health concerns, technological shifts and the ups-and-downs of the music industry, The Mekanix have maintained their sound and honed their craft. Driven by an ambition to see the Bay properly represented, they consistently show what can be done with the bare essentials of 808s and willpower.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been together for more than 20 years,” says 4rAx, laughing as he adds that such a milestone is rare for people in “regular relationships,” he says, “let alone business.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mentored by the best\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed and 4rax may have come into the game from different angles, but they complimented one another immediately.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed is the son of jazz musician Kenny “Big Kenny” Tullis. A multitalented instrumentalist who focused mainly on the saxophone, he would gig around the Bay, and even did shows with Tower of Power. “He instilled music in me,” says Tweed of his father, who encouraged him to play the drums, piano and trumpet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed was also childhood friends with Keak Da Sneak, and gravitated toward hip-hop. Spice 1 and RBL Posse spoke to his heart, but it was Too Short who really left his mark — until one day, when Tweed forgot to take a Short tape out of his dad’s cassette player.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Pops] fully supported me in being a musician,” says Tweed, “but he just didn’t want that playing in his house.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU5vM4VSB3A\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Years later, Tweed’s residence would become a hit factory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you pulled up to High Street and Fairfax,” 4rAx says of Kenny’s home studio, “you would’ve thought somebody was out there selling bricks.” There were all kinds of cars and walks of life, a who’s-who of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When me and Tweed hooked up,” 4rAx reflects, “I had the door open to the industry through Shock G and Money B,” the two Digital Underground founders he refers to as “ambassadors of hip-hop.” 4rAx, who came from a family of auto mechanics in Chicago, fell in love with hip-hop before moving to the Bay as a young teen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once he touched the soil, he explored every aspect of the culture. A visual artist and barber, he was also part of a duo named Funky From Birth. They soon crossed paths fellow dance duo Razzle Dazzle (who’d appeared in Digital Underground’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsjggc5jHM\">Humpty Dance\u003c/a>” video), and 4rAx became a backup dancer for the late actor, rapper and former Digital Underground member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13968340/saafir-dead-oakland-rapper-dies-at-54\">Saafir\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, 4rax befriended the late East Oakland rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbRZIVAxuc\">Plan B\u003c/a> and legendary graffiti artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10141391/dream-but-dont-sleep-remembering-mike-dream-francisco\">Mike “Dream” Francisco\u003c/a>. They’d all hang out at the Shirtique store in the Hilltop Mall, where Dream airbrushed shirts. And “once or twice,” 4rAx recalls, “they had me DJ a backyard party for them, off cassettes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Matriculating through “the crazy labyrinth” that led to a career in music, 4rAx held tight to his ambition of becoming a DJ. Through Digital Underground, he was introduced to producers and audio equipment. “And now I’m around turntables,” he says, “and I’m nice!” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sure enough, when D.U.’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Fuze\">DJ Fuze\u003c/a> took some time away from the crew, 4rAx stepped up.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"680\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13918716\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">4rAx and Kenny Tweed of The Mekanix perform at Hiero Day on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Linking with J. Stalin in the 2000s\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kenny Tweed and 4rAx first combined forces at the turn of the millennium, working on a project for an artist named IRS and then later for the collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKfzciL6b1bqjoRl8Sx0zhwWDSCXxpLO-\">Hittaz on the Payroll\u003c/a>. But it was the debut project for an artist from West Oakland that solidified them as a production duo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One day,” says 4rAx, recalling a studio session at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegrillstudios.com/\">The Grill Studios\u003c/a> in Emeryville, “we were mixing on some shit, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jstalinlivewire/?hl=en\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> came in and heard us playing some beats.” Young, brash, still one foot in the streets and fresh off of a record deal that had fallen through, Stalin started rapping. “We stopped the session,” 4rAx exclaims. They left the studio where they were mixing, went to a different studio and made the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccVrkvUrdE\">So Cold\u003c/a>,” the first track for Stalin’s standout 2006 project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4bTvgOTzn4bUumADOocbPp\">On Behalf of The Streets\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was a Toys R Us commercial,” says 4rAx of Stalin’s innocent-sounding tone that masked malicious lyrics. “He turned it into some street shit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/rZQmO20BSaw?si=ixsbvRdZ8-RCzy1V\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to creating a staple sound with West Oakland’s Stalin, The Mekanix have produced tracks for local stars like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/philthyrichfod/?hl=en\">Philthy Rich\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/3rdworldlilblood/?hl=en\">Lil Blood\u003c/a>, as well as Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Their latest project \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3hVMJZALxqruV9EeyERQ8W\">Under The Hood 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which dropped earlier this year, features Keak Da Sneak, Nef The Pharaoh, Kamaiyah and E-40, in addition to Devin The Dude, Icewear Vezzo, Suga Free, Mozzy and Scarface. (Years after his dad banned Too Short’s music from Tweed’s childhood home, the album also has — you guessed it — Too Short.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s this mix of names, nationally known artists and local hood legends alike, that exemplifies The Mekanix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s intentional,” says Tweed. “We want to put together dope collaborations that haven’t been done before,” he says, “and we just want to keep making it better and better, and bigger and bigger.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That urgency is rooted in something that happened in 2019. Their most recent project, a follow-up to their 2016 album \u003cem>Under the Hood\u003c/em>, almost didn’t happen at all.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Everything got blurry’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everything that went on with me,” 4rAx reflects, “they can’t even find it in my body no more. It was fucking the weirdest shit ever, bro.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2019 4rAx found himself experiencing headaches and dizziness. Six months of doctor’s visits and lab tests yielded no results. “Then,” he says, “one day I was watching TV and my eyes… everything got blurry.” At the emergency room, medics found an immense amount of pressure on his brain. He wound up getting surgery — if he hadn’t, doctors told him, there was a chance he would have gone blind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The following year, as COVID-19 spread across the globe and 4rAx was reeling from his medical condition, Kenny Tweed’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, in spring of 2021, 4rAx’s mentor from Digital Underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896256/digital-undergrounds-shock-g-an-oakland-hip-hop-icon-dies-at-57\">Shock G passed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg\" alt=\"Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta. Shock G died Thursday at age 57.\" class=\"wp-image-13896258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A dark cloud fell over the production duo, recalls 4rAx. Then his immune system was compromised, and things only got worse. “I had to be intubated,” says 4rAx, who was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He spent 26 days in a coma. When he emerged, he learned that Tweed’s father had succumbed to cancer. 4rAx left the hospital in shambles. “I lost all my muscle mass,” he recalls. “I couldn’t walk, so I’m on a walker, plus a breathing apparatus.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Worst of all, he says, is that through the whole ordeal, he never got a conclusive answer as to what caused his initial ailment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s 2026, and now I barely have any doctor appointments,” says 4rAx. “I’m not on any medicine. But they don’t know what the fuck happened, bro. And it doesn’t sit well with me because it could happen again.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep showing up \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>4rAx credits his workout routine for still being alive today, plus his belief in “staying ready before you have to get ready.” Both 4rAx and Tweed are brawny guys with regular workout schedules. Their devotion to health, making music and supporting the culture is almost spiritual.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"One man in a red shirt stands in the foreground while a man in a black shirt stands in the distance. \" class=\"wp-image-13991417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kenny Tweed and 4rAx of The Mekanix in front of their East Oakland studio. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was a Christian Youth Fellowship president,” 4rAx says with a laugh, noting that it didn’t last long. Kenny Tweed adds that his father was also “heavy into The Word.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whatever seeds were sown in those early years, both producers took the morality of scripture and applied it to what they’re doing with music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Giving praise to the powers that be, 4rAx says, “It’s a bigger play going on that we have no idea about. … You just got to keep showing up, and trying to be your best self in the moment, so that eventually it grows and becomes exactly what it’s supposed to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The duo are currently at work on a documentary about the rich lineage of music producers from the Bay, in which they’ll be included. In addition to making more music, selling merch and beat kits, they’re also keen on teaching and mentoring the Bay Area’s next generation of music makers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m gonna go ahead and say it,” declares 4rAx, tipping his hand and showing the production duo’s cards. “One of our next projects is called \u003cem>Alignment\u003c/em>,” he says, noting how much of his life has been kismet. “I can’t make this shit up.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Two men pose for a photo while sitting on bar stools in a music studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13991415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With more than 20 years of production credits to their name, The Mekanix are one of the most prolific production duos to ever come from the Bay Area.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Two men pose for a photo while sitting on bar stools in a music studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13991415\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With more than 20 years of production credits to their name, The Mekanix are one of the most prolific production duos to ever come from the Bay Area.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Throughout their career, despite health concerns, technological shifts and the ups-and-downs of the music industry, The Mekanix have maintained their sound and honed their craft. Driven by an ambition to see the Bay properly represented, they consistently show what can be done with the bare essentials of 808s and willpower.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Throughout their career, despite health concerns, technological shifts and the ups-and-downs of the music industry, The Mekanix have maintained their sound and honed their craft. Driven by an ambition to see the Bay properly represented, they consistently show what can be done with the bare essentials of 808s and willpower.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’ve been together for more than 20 years,” says 4rAx, laughing as he adds that such a milestone is rare for people in “regular relationships,” he says, “let alone business.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We’ve been together for more than 20 years,” says 4rAx, laughing as he adds that such a milestone is rare for people in “regular relationships,” he says, “let alone business.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Mentored by the best",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tweed and 4rax may have come into the game from different angles, but they complimented one another immediately.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tweed and 4rax may have come into the game from different angles, but they complimented one another immediately.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tweed is the son of jazz musician Kenny “Big Kenny” Tullis. A multitalented instrumentalist who focused mainly on the saxophone, he would gig around the Bay, and even did shows with Tower of Power. “He instilled music in me,” says Tweed of his father, who encouraged him to play the drums, piano and trumpet.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tweed is the son of jazz musician Kenny “Big Kenny” Tullis. A multitalented instrumentalist who focused mainly on the saxophone, he would gig around the Bay, and even did shows with Tower of Power. “He instilled music in me,” says Tweed of his father, who encouraged him to play the drums, piano and trumpet.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Tweed was also childhood friends with Keak Da Sneak, and gravitated toward hip-hop. Spice 1 and RBL Posse spoke to his heart, but it was Too Short who really left his mark — until one day, when Tweed forgot to take a Short tape out of his dad’s cassette player.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Tweed was also childhood friends with Keak Da Sneak, and gravitated toward hip-hop. Spice 1 and RBL Posse spoke to his heart, but it was Too Short who really left his mark — until one day, when Tweed forgot to take a Short tape out of his dad’s cassette player.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“[Pops] fully supported me in being a musician,” says Tweed, “but he just didn’t want that playing in his house.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“[Pops] fully supported me in being a musician,” says Tweed, “but he just didn’t want that playing in his house.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU5vM4VSB3A\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU5vM4VSB3A\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Years later, Tweed’s residence would become a hit factory.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Years later, Tweed’s residence would become a hit factory.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If you pulled up to High Street and Fairfax,” 4rAx says of Kenny’s home studio, “you would’ve thought somebody was out there selling bricks.” There were all kinds of cars and walks of life, a who’s-who of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, he says.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If you pulled up to High Street and Fairfax,” 4rAx says of Kenny’s home studio, “you would’ve thought somebody was out there selling bricks.” There were all kinds of cars and walks of life, a who’s-who of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, he says.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“When me and Tweed hooked up,” 4rAx reflects, “I had the door open to the industry through Shock G and Money B,” the two Digital Underground founders he refers to as “ambassadors of hip-hop.” 4rAx, who came from a family of auto mechanics in Chicago, fell in love with hip-hop before moving to the Bay as a young teen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“When me and Tweed hooked up,” 4rAx reflects, “I had the door open to the industry through Shock G and Money B,” the two Digital Underground founders he refers to as “ambassadors of hip-hop.” 4rAx, who came from a family of auto mechanics in Chicago, fell in love with hip-hop before moving to the Bay as a young teen.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Once he touched the soil, he explored every aspect of the culture. A visual artist and barber, he was also part of a duo named Funky From Birth. They soon crossed paths fellow dance duo Razzle Dazzle (who’d appeared in Digital Underground’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsjggc5jHM\">Humpty Dance\u003c/a>” video), and 4rAx became a backup dancer for the late actor, rapper and former Digital Underground member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13968340/saafir-dead-oakland-rapper-dies-at-54\">Saafir\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Once he touched the soil, he explored every aspect of the culture. A visual artist and barber, he was also part of a duo named Funky From Birth. They soon crossed paths fellow dance duo Razzle Dazzle (who’d appeared in Digital Underground’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsjggc5jHM\">Humpty Dance\u003c/a>” video), and 4rAx became a backup dancer for the late actor, rapper and former Digital Underground member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13968340/saafir-dead-oakland-rapper-dies-at-54\">Saafir\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Around the same time, 4rax befriended the late East Oakland rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbRZIVAxuc\">Plan B\u003c/a> and legendary graffiti artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10141391/dream-but-dont-sleep-remembering-mike-dream-francisco\">Mike “Dream” Francisco\u003c/a>. They’d all hang out at the Shirtique store in the Hilltop Mall, where Dream airbrushed shirts. And “once or twice,” 4rAx recalls, “they had me DJ a backyard party for them, off cassettes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Around the same time, 4rax befriended the late East Oakland rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbRZIVAxuc\">Plan B\u003c/a> and legendary graffiti artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10141391/dream-but-dont-sleep-remembering-mike-dream-francisco\">Mike “Dream” Francisco\u003c/a>. They’d all hang out at the Shirtique store in the Hilltop Mall, where Dream airbrushed shirts. And “once or twice,” 4rAx recalls, “they had me DJ a backyard party for them, off cassettes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Matriculating through “the crazy labyrinth” that led to a career in music, 4rAx held tight to his ambition of becoming a DJ. Through Digital Underground, he was introduced to producers and audio equipment. “And now I’m around turntables,” he says, “and I’m nice!” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Matriculating through “the crazy labyrinth” that led to a career in music, 4rAx held tight to his ambition of becoming a DJ. Through Digital Underground, he was introduced to producers and audio equipment. “And now I’m around turntables,” he says, “and I’m nice!” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sure enough, when D.U.’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Fuze\">DJ Fuze\u003c/a> took some time away from the crew, 4rAx stepped up.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sure enough, when D.U.’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Fuze\">DJ Fuze\u003c/a> took some time away from the crew, 4rAx stepped up.\u003c/p>\n"
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13918716\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">4rAx and Kenny Tweed of The Mekanix perform at Hiero Day on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13918716\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">4rAx and Kenny Tweed of The Mekanix perform at Hiero Day on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Linking with J. Stalin in the 2000s",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Linking with J. Stalin in the 2000s\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Kenny Tweed and 4rAx first combined forces at the turn of the millennium, working on a project for an artist named IRS and then later for the collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKfzciL6b1bqjoRl8Sx0zhwWDSCXxpLO-\">Hittaz on the Payroll\u003c/a>. But it was the debut project for an artist from West Oakland that solidified them as a production duo.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Kenny Tweed and 4rAx first combined forces at the turn of the millennium, working on a project for an artist named IRS and then later for the collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKfzciL6b1bqjoRl8Sx0zhwWDSCXxpLO-\">Hittaz on the Payroll\u003c/a>. But it was the debut project for an artist from West Oakland that solidified them as a production duo.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“One day,” says 4rAx, recalling a studio session at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegrillstudios.com/\">The Grill Studios\u003c/a> in Emeryville, “we were mixing on some shit, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jstalinlivewire/?hl=en\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> came in and heard us playing some beats.” Young, brash, still one foot in the streets and fresh off of a record deal that had fallen through, Stalin started rapping. “We stopped the session,” 4rAx exclaims. They left the studio where they were mixing, went to a different studio and made the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccVrkvUrdE\">So Cold\u003c/a>,” the first track for Stalin’s standout 2006 project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4bTvgOTzn4bUumADOocbPp\">On Behalf of The Streets\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“One day,” says 4rAx, recalling a studio session at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegrillstudios.com/\">The Grill Studios\u003c/a> in Emeryville, “we were mixing on some shit, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jstalinlivewire/?hl=en\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> came in and heard us playing some beats.” Young, brash, still one foot in the streets and fresh off of a record deal that had fallen through, Stalin started rapping. “We stopped the session,” 4rAx exclaims. They left the studio where they were mixing, went to a different studio and made the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccVrkvUrdE\">So Cold\u003c/a>,” the first track for Stalin’s standout 2006 project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4bTvgOTzn4bUumADOocbPp\">On Behalf of The Streets\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was a Toys R Us commercial,” says 4rAx of Stalin’s innocent-sounding tone that masked malicious lyrics. “He turned it into some street shit.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It was a Toys R Us commercial,” says 4rAx of Stalin’s innocent-sounding tone that masked malicious lyrics. “He turned it into some street shit.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/rZQmO20BSaw?si=ixsbvRdZ8-RCzy1V\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://youtu.be/rZQmO20BSaw?si=ixsbvRdZ8-RCzy1V\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to creating a staple sound with West Oakland’s Stalin, The Mekanix have produced tracks for local stars like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/philthyrichfod/?hl=en\">Philthy Rich\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/3rdworldlilblood/?hl=en\">Lil Blood\u003c/a>, as well as Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Their latest project \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3hVMJZALxqruV9EeyERQ8W\">Under The Hood 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which dropped earlier this year, features Keak Da Sneak, Nef The Pharaoh, Kamaiyah and E-40, in addition to Devin The Dude, Icewear Vezzo, Suga Free, Mozzy and Scarface. (Years after his dad banned Too Short’s music from Tweed’s childhood home, the album also has — you guessed it — Too Short.)\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In addition to creating a staple sound with West Oakland’s Stalin, The Mekanix have produced tracks for local stars like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/philthyrichfod/?hl=en\">Philthy Rich\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/3rdworldlilblood/?hl=en\">Lil Blood\u003c/a>, as well as Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Their latest project \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3hVMJZALxqruV9EeyERQ8W\">Under The Hood 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which dropped earlier this year, features Keak Da Sneak, Nef The Pharaoh, Kamaiyah and E-40, in addition to Devin The Dude, Icewear Vezzo, Suga Free, Mozzy and Scarface. (Years after his dad banned Too Short’s music from Tweed’s childhood home, the album also has — you guessed it — Too Short.)\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s this mix of names, nationally known artists and local hood legends alike, that exemplifies The Mekanix.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s this mix of names, nationally known artists and local hood legends alike, that exemplifies The Mekanix.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s intentional,” says Tweed. “We want to put together dope collaborations that haven’t been done before,” he says, “and we just want to keep making it better and better, and bigger and bigger.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s intentional,” says Tweed. “We want to put together dope collaborations that haven’t been done before,” he says, “and we just want to keep making it better and better, and bigger and bigger.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That urgency is rooted in something that happened in 2019. Their most recent project, a follow-up to their 2016 album \u003cem>Under the Hood\u003c/em>, almost didn’t happen at all.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That urgency is rooted in something that happened in 2019. Their most recent project, a follow-up to their 2016 album \u003cem>Under the Hood\u003c/em>, almost didn’t happen at all.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "‘Everything got blurry’",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Everything got blurry’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Everything that went on with me,” 4rAx reflects, “they can’t even find it in my body no more. It was fucking the weirdest shit ever, bro.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In 2019 4rAx found himself experiencing headaches and dizziness. Six months of doctor’s visits and lab tests yielded no results. “Then,” he says, “one day I was watching TV and my eyes… everything got blurry.” At the emergency room, medics found an immense amount of pressure on his brain. He wound up getting surgery — if he hadn’t, doctors told him, there was a chance he would have gone blind.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In 2019 4rAx found himself experiencing headaches and dizziness. Six months of doctor’s visits and lab tests yielded no results. “Then,” he says, “one day I was watching TV and my eyes… everything got blurry.” At the emergency room, medics found an immense amount of pressure on his brain. He wound up getting surgery — if he hadn’t, doctors told him, there was a chance he would have gone blind.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The following year, as COVID-19 spread across the globe and 4rAx was reeling from his medical condition, Kenny Tweed’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, in spring of 2021, 4rAx’s mentor from Digital Underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896256/digital-undergrounds-shock-g-an-oakland-hip-hop-icon-dies-at-57\">Shock G passed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The following year, as COVID-19 spread across the globe and 4rAx was reeling from his medical condition, Kenny Tweed’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, in spring of 2021, 4rAx’s mentor from Digital Underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896256/digital-undergrounds-shock-g-an-oakland-hip-hop-icon-dies-at-57\">Shock G passed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg\" alt=\"Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta. Shock G died Thursday at age 57.\" class=\"wp-image-13896258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A dark cloud fell over the production duo, recalls 4rAx. Then his immune system was compromised, and things only got worse. “I had to be intubated,” says 4rAx, who was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A dark cloud fell over the production duo, recalls 4rAx. Then his immune system was compromised, and things only got worse. “I had to be intubated,” says 4rAx, who was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He spent 26 days in a coma. When he emerged, he learned that Tweed’s father had succumbed to cancer. 4rAx left the hospital in shambles. “I lost all my muscle mass,” he recalls. “I couldn’t walk, so I’m on a walker, plus a breathing apparatus.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Worst of all, he says, is that through the whole ordeal, he never got a conclusive answer as to what caused his initial ailment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He spent 26 days in a coma. When he emerged, he learned that Tweed’s father had succumbed to cancer. 4rAx left the hospital in shambles. “I lost all my muscle mass,” he recalls. “I couldn’t walk, so I’m on a walker, plus a breathing apparatus.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Worst of all, he says, is that through the whole ordeal, he never got a conclusive answer as to what caused his initial ailment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s 2026, and now I barely have any doctor appointments,” says 4rAx. “I’m not on any medicine. But they don’t know what the fuck happened, bro. And it doesn’t sit well with me because it could happen again.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It’s 2026, and now I barely have any doctor appointments,” says 4rAx. “I’m not on any medicine. But they don’t know what the fuck happened, bro. And it doesn’t sit well with me because it could happen again.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"attrs": {
"text": "Keep showing up",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep showing up \u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>4rAx credits his workout routine for still being alive today, plus his belief in “staying ready before you have to get ready.” Both 4rAx and Tweed are brawny guys with regular workout schedules. Their devotion to health, making music and supporting the culture is almost spiritual.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>4rAx credits his workout routine for still being alive today, plus his belief in “staying ready before you have to get ready.” Both 4rAx and Tweed are brawny guys with regular workout schedules. Their devotion to health, making music and supporting the culture is almost spiritual.\u003c/p>\n"
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"srcset": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"One man in a red shirt stands in the foreground while a man in a black shirt stands in the distance. \" class=\"wp-image-13991417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kenny Tweed and 4rAx of The Mekanix in front of their East Oakland studio. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"One man in a red shirt stands in the foreground while a man in a black shirt stands in the distance. \" class=\"wp-image-13991417\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kenny Tweed and 4rAx of The Mekanix in front of their East Oakland studio. \u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I was a Christian Youth Fellowship president,” 4rAx says with a laugh, noting that it didn’t last long. Kenny Tweed adds that his father was also “heavy into The Word.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I was a Christian Youth Fellowship president,” 4rAx says with a laugh, noting that it didn’t last long. Kenny Tweed adds that his father was also “heavy into The Word.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Whatever seeds were sown in those early years, both producers took the morality of scripture and applied it to what they’re doing with music.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Whatever seeds were sown in those early years, both producers took the morality of scripture and applied it to what they’re doing with music.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Giving praise to the powers that be, 4rAx says, “It’s a bigger play going on that we have no idea about. … You just got to keep showing up, and trying to be your best self in the moment, so that eventually it grows and becomes exactly what it’s supposed to be.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Giving praise to the powers that be, 4rAx says, “It’s a bigger play going on that we have no idea about. … You just got to keep showing up, and trying to be your best self in the moment, so that eventually it grows and becomes exactly what it’s supposed to be.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The duo are currently at work on a documentary about the rich lineage of music producers from the Bay, in which they’ll be included. In addition to making more music, selling merch and beat kits, they’re also keen on teaching and mentoring the Bay Area’s next generation of music makers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The duo are currently at work on a documentary about the rich lineage of music producers from the Bay, in which they’ll be included. In addition to making more music, selling merch and beat kits, they’re also keen on teaching and mentoring the Bay Area’s next generation of music makers.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m gonna go ahead and say it,” declares 4rAx, tipping his hand and showing the production duo’s cards. “One of our next projects is called \u003cem>Alignment\u003c/em>,” he says, noting how much of his life has been kismet. “I can’t make this shit up.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I’m gonna go ahead and say it,” declares 4rAx, tipping his hand and showing the production duo’s cards. “One of our next projects is called \u003cem>Alignment\u003c/em>,” he says, noting how much of his life has been kismet. “I can’t make this shit up.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "For 20 years, the Oakland production duo has helped define the sound of Bay Area rap — and they're not done yet.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The computer screen displays photos of rap luminaries. On a nearby wall hang news articles, vinyl records and memorabilia from the likes of Shock G and Tupac Shakur.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This is the East Oakland studio of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kennytweedofthemekanix/?hl=en\">Kenny Tweed \u003c/a>and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/4rax_of_themekanix/?hl=en\">4Rax\u003c/a>, who during a recent visit sat in office chairs around a large, custom-made rug bearing the name of their production duo: \u003ca href=\"https://www.themekanix.com/\">The Mekanix\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It may seem like a humble setting for such an influential duo. For more than 20 years, The Mekanix have made blap after blap after blap, casting their name into the debate over the most prolific production team from the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Summarizing their winning formula, 4rAx says, simply, “Everything is about alignment.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Two men pose for a photo while sitting on bar stools in a music studio.\" class=\"wp-image-13991415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2164-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With more than 20 years of production credits to their name, The Mekanix are one of the most prolific production duos to ever come from the Bay Area. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Throughout their career, despite health concerns, technological shifts and the ups-and-downs of the music industry, The Mekanix have maintained their sound and honed their craft. Driven by an ambition to see the Bay properly represented, they consistently show what can be done with the bare essentials of 808s and willpower.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been together for more than 20 years,” says 4rAx, laughing as he adds that such a milestone is rare for people in “regular relationships,” he says, “let alone business.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mentored by the best\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed and 4rax may have come into the game from different angles, but they complimented one another immediately.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed is the son of jazz musician Kenny “Big Kenny” Tullis. A multitalented instrumentalist who focused mainly on the saxophone, he would gig around the Bay, and even did shows with Tower of Power. “He instilled music in me,” says Tweed of his father, who encouraged him to play the drums, piano and trumpet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Tweed was also childhood friends with Keak Da Sneak, and gravitated toward hip-hop. Spice 1 and RBL Posse spoke to his heart, but it was Too Short who really left his mark — until one day, when Tweed forgot to take a Short tape out of his dad’s cassette player.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“[Pops] fully supported me in being a musician,” says Tweed, “but he just didn’t want that playing in his house.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/YU5vM4VSB3A'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/YU5vM4VSB3A'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Years later, Tweed’s residence would become a hit factory.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If you pulled up to High Street and Fairfax,” 4rAx says of Kenny’s home studio, “you would’ve thought somebody was out there selling bricks.” There were all kinds of cars and walks of life, a who’s-who of the Bay Area hip-hop scene, he says.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“When me and Tweed hooked up,” 4rAx reflects, “I had the door open to the industry through Shock G and Money B,” the two Digital Underground founders he refers to as “ambassadors of hip-hop.” 4rAx, who came from a family of auto mechanics in Chicago, fell in love with hip-hop before moving to the Bay as a young teen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Once he touched the soil, he explored every aspect of the culture. A visual artist and barber, he was also part of a duo named Funky From Birth. They soon crossed paths fellow dance duo Razzle Dazzle (who’d appeared in Digital Underground’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBsjggc5jHM\">Humpty Dance\u003c/a>” video), and 4rAx became a backup dancer for the late actor, rapper and former Digital Underground member \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13968340/saafir-dead-oakland-rapper-dies-at-54\">Saafir\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Around the same time, 4rax befriended the late East Oakland rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQbRZIVAxuc\">Plan B\u003c/a> and legendary graffiti artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/10141391/dream-but-dont-sleep-remembering-mike-dream-francisco\">Mike “Dream” Francisco\u003c/a>. They’d all hang out at the Shirtique store in the Hilltop Mall, where Dream airbrushed shirts. And “once or twice,” 4rAx recalls, “they had me DJ a backyard party for them, off cassettes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Matriculating through “the crazy labyrinth” that led to a career in music, 4rAx held tight to his ambition of becoming a DJ. Through Digital Underground, he was introduced to producers and audio equipment. “And now I’m around turntables,” he says, “and I’m nice!” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sure enough, when D.U.’s \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Fuze\">DJ Fuze\u003c/a> took some time away from the crew, 4rAx stepped up.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"680\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13918716\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/The-Mekanix-perform-at-Hiero-Day-on-Monday-Sept.-6-2022.-001-Estefany-Gonzalez.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">4rAx and Kenny Tweed of The Mekanix perform at Hiero Day on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. (Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Linking with J. Stalin in the 2000s\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Kenny Tweed and 4rAx first combined forces at the turn of the millennium, working on a project for an artist named IRS and then later for the collective \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKfzciL6b1bqjoRl8Sx0zhwWDSCXxpLO-\">Hittaz on the Payroll\u003c/a>. But it was the debut project for an artist from West Oakland that solidified them as a production duo.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One day,” says 4rAx, recalling a studio session at \u003ca href=\"https://www.thegrillstudios.com/\">The Grill Studios\u003c/a> in Emeryville, “we were mixing on some shit, and then \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jstalinlivewire/?hl=en\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> came in and heard us playing some beats.” Young, brash, still one foot in the streets and fresh off of a record deal that had fallen through, Stalin started rapping. “We stopped the session,” 4rAx exclaims. They left the studio where they were mixing, went to a different studio and made the song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LccVrkvUrdE\">So Cold\u003c/a>,” the first track for Stalin’s standout 2006 project, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4bTvgOTzn4bUumADOocbPp\">On Behalf of The Streets\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was a Toys R Us commercial,” says 4rAx of Stalin’s innocent-sounding tone that masked malicious lyrics. “He turned it into some street shit.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\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/rZQmO20BSaw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rZQmO20BSaw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to creating a staple sound with West Oakland’s Stalin, The Mekanix have produced tracks for local stars like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/philthyrichfod/?hl=en\">Philthy Rich\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/3rdworldlilblood/?hl=en\">Lil Blood\u003c/a>, as well as Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg. Their latest project \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/3hVMJZALxqruV9EeyERQ8W\">Under The Hood 2\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, which dropped earlier this year, features Keak Da Sneak, Nef The Pharaoh, Kamaiyah and E-40, in addition to Devin The Dude, Icewear Vezzo, Suga Free, Mozzy and Scarface. (Years after his dad banned Too Short’s music from Tweed’s childhood home, the album also has — you guessed it — Too Short.)\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s this mix of names, nationally known artists and local hood legends alike, that exemplifies The Mekanix.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s intentional,” says Tweed. “We want to put together dope collaborations that haven’t been done before,” he says, “and we just want to keep making it better and better, and bigger and bigger.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That urgency is rooted in something that happened in 2019. Their most recent project, a follow-up to their 2016 album \u003cem>Under the Hood\u003c/em>, almost didn’t happen at all.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Everything got blurry’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Everything that went on with me,” 4rAx reflects, “they can’t even find it in my body no more. It was fucking the weirdest shit ever, bro.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In 2019 4rAx found himself experiencing headaches and dizziness. Six months of doctor’s visits and lab tests yielded no results. “Then,” he says, “one day I was watching TV and my eyes… everything got blurry.” At the emergency room, medics found an immense amount of pressure on his brain. He wound up getting surgery — if he hadn’t, doctors told him, there was a chance he would have gone blind.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The following year, as COVID-19 spread across the globe and 4rAx was reeling from his medical condition, Kenny Tweed’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Soon after, in spring of 2021, 4rAx’s mentor from Digital Underground \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13896256/digital-undergrounds-shock-g-an-oakland-hip-hop-icon-dies-at-57\">Shock G passed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1020\" height=\"638\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg\" alt=\"Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta. Shock G died Thursday at age 57.\" class=\"wp-image-13896258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1020x638.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-800x500.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-768x480.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG-1536x960.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/04/ShockG.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Shock G of Digital Underground performs during the BET Hip Hop Awards in 2010 in Atlanta. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A dark cloud fell over the production duo, recalls 4rAx. Then his immune system was compromised, and things only got worse. “I had to be intubated,” says 4rAx, who was subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He spent 26 days in a coma. When he emerged, he learned that Tweed’s father had succumbed to cancer. 4rAx left the hospital in shambles. “I lost all my muscle mass,” he recalls. “I couldn’t walk, so I’m on a walker, plus a breathing apparatus.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Worst of all, he says, is that through the whole ordeal, he never got a conclusive answer as to what caused his initial ailment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It’s 2026, and now I barely have any doctor appointments,” says 4rAx. “I’m not on any medicine. But they don’t know what the fuck happened, bro. And it doesn’t sit well with me because it could happen again.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Keep showing up \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>4rAx credits his workout routine for still being alive today, plus his belief in “staying ready before you have to get ready.” Both 4rAx and Tweed are brawny guys with regular workout schedules. Their devotion to health, making music and supporting the culture is almost spiritual.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"One man in a red shirt stands in the foreground while a man in a black shirt stands in the distance. \" class=\"wp-image-13991417\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-scaled.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/IMG_2181-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kenny Tweed and 4rAx of The Mekanix in front of their East Oakland studio. (Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I was a Christian Youth Fellowship president,” 4rAx says with a laugh, noting that it didn’t last long. Kenny Tweed adds that his father was also “heavy into The Word.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Whatever seeds were sown in those early years, both producers took the morality of scripture and applied it to what they’re doing with music.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Giving praise to the powers that be, 4rAx says, “It’s a bigger play going on that we have no idea about. … You just got to keep showing up, and trying to be your best self in the moment, so that eventually it grows and becomes exactly what it’s supposed to be.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The duo are currently at work on a documentary about the rich lineage of music producers from the Bay, in which they’ll be included. In addition to making more music, selling merch and beat kits, they’re also keen on teaching and mentoring the Bay Area’s next generation of music makers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m gonna go ahead and say it,” declares 4rAx, tipping his hand and showing the production duo’s cards. “One of our next projects is called \u003cem>Alignment\u003c/em>,” he says, noting how much of his life has been kismet. “I can’t make this shit up.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "too-short-blow-the-whistle-20-year-anniversary",
"title": "‘Blow the Whistle’ is 20 Years Old — and Keeps Going On and On",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>On March 3, 2006, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a> dropped “Blow The Whistle,” an addictive comeback single from the Oakland legend that to this day is played at nearly every block party and club night in the Bay Area. Despite never cracking the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it’s had enough staying power to become a nationwide classic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here, in an excerpt from her upcoming book \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://sf-music-week.squarespace.com/calendar/music-book-club-studio-aurora-and-fault-radio-present-tamara-palmers-bay-area-rap-mixtape-book-release-party-and-movie-night\">Bay Area Rap Mixtape\u003c/a>\u003cem>, music writer \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetamarapalmer.com/\">Tamara Palmer\u003c/a> recalls the song’s video shoot in Oakland, and the new world it heralded. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/CBJtzEKetBM?si=NWSzz8Z7cLKoeCKS\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]F[/dropcap]our days after a riotous visit to San Quentin with KMEL and Messy Marv, I was on the phone with Too Short, conducting an interview about the Black Panthers for MTV News. At the end of the call, he invited me to the “Blow the Whistle” video shoot, taking place the next day in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d like to say that I responded with cool nonchalance. But according to the blog post I wrote when I got home, I said, “REALLY? CAN I?!?!?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, 20 years since its release in March 2006, “Blow The Whistle” is a beloved and iconic Bay Area party and sports anthem. Short’s catalog is deep, but “Blow The Whistle” is the song of his that most people know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Produced by Lil Jon, who once told me about bumping Too Short tracks while driving around in high school, “Blow The Whistle” was recorded in Atlanta and Miami and landed as part of a multi-year crunk hitmaking streak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987149\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A clapperboard at the video shoot for Too Short’s ‘Blow the Whistle’ at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first day of the video shoot took place at Mingles Martini & Champagne Lounge, a nightclub near Jack London Square. As I stood in line and stared at the train tracks across the street, two kids behind me recalled witnessing a graphic killing outside the club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The environment outside Mingles on that early afternoon included a van of youngsters who pulled up, filmed a video to a short but rowdy song — something about “Dead! Beat! Dead! Beat!” — and then peeled off as fast as they came. The Team’s Clyde Carson passed out cans of his new Grapple (grape-apple) flavored Hyphy energy drink. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally got inside, I quickly met two women who I felt immediate care from, and for: legendary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951122/d-ray-bay-area-hip-hop-photographer\">Bay Area rap photographer D-Ray\u003c/a> and rapper OOO (Omolara Odofin). The energy in the room was very masculine, to put it mildly, yet they both clocked my awkwardness and took me under their wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short (center) at the video shoot for ‘Blow the Whistle’ at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Director Bernard Gourley was fresh off of directing his childhood friend E-40’s brilliant “Tell Me When to Go” video, which was shot in black and white. The Turf Feinz were there, ready to dance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent nine and a half hours inside Mingles, allowed to take photos without a flash. It was one of the most enjoyable observational experiences ever. At one point, I sat directly behind the camera, on the floor, as the main dance scenes were filmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are three secrets from the “Blow The Whistle” music video: Short wore a “Love Is for Suckers” shirt, the nightclub scene was filmed during the afternoon, and the “DJ” didn’t actually have any equipment in front of him — he was air DJing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=arts_13927349 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/that_s_my_word_____featured_image__3_-1536x864.png']So much has changed since that night in 2006. Following an accidental fatal shooting of a pregnant woman outside the club, and two additional incidents of gun violence in 2006, Mingles would permanently close six months later. Sadly, Gourley, the video’s director, died in a car accident in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet “Blow the Whistle” has endured, as well as some of its video’s stars. Last year, Kendrick Lamar incorporated the Turf Feinz into his 2025 Super Bowl performance in New Orleans — a true moment of Bay Area pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]B[/dropcap]y May of 2006, Short was sensitive to criticism that he’d co-opted hyphy culture, but he insisted that he had a more important goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to be a guiding light to these youngsters,” he told me, during an interview about the crunk and hyphy movements for Atlanta’s weekly paper \u003cem>Creative Loafing\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m like, ‘Man, don’t make the wrong decisions,’” he said. “‘Don’t sign stupid contracts, don’t let nobody else get your money and jack it off.’ I’m thinking like that. Don’t turn the hyphy into a dance that comes and goes. Turn this into a business that supports families and kids and generations. It’s somebody’s kids going to go to college because of crunk music. Somebody’s kids are gonna get a trust fund because of crunk, you know what I’m saying? Let’s do that with the hyphy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987150\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young attendee at Too Short’s ‘Blow the Whistle’ video shoot at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the next five years — until Messy Marv leaked his number and it changed — I annoyed Short by texting him every time I reviewed a concert where the DJ played “Blow the Whistle” — Janet Jackson, say, or Bell Biv DeVoe. It’s still an out-of-town DJ’s way of checking in with the Bay and paying respect. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2013, I was visiting NYC when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10517260/growing-up-deprived-in-east-oakland\">Youth Uprising\u003c/a>’s Jacky Johnson invited me to Short’s guest appearance on \u003cem>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Short had a five-minute rehearsal of the song with The Roots before the show. Tuba Gooding Jr. took care of the bassline, and Black Thought freestyled over the top. Though the rehearsal was brief, Short and The Roots performed with the ease of longtime collaborators. “I never practice before the show,” Short said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re really not that short!” Fallon said to Short, as the show began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The song brought the TV audience to its feet, a full seven years after “Blow the Whistle” dropped. And now, 20 years later, its relevance keeps going on and on. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A book release party for Tamara Palmer’s ‘Bay Area Rap Mixtape’ takes place Sunday, March 1 at Studio Aurora (302 Valencia St., San Francisco). Admission is free; \u003ca href=\"https://sf-music-week.squarespace.com/calendar/music-book-club-studio-aurora-and-fault-radio-present-tamara-palmers-bay-area-rap-mixtape-book-release-party-and-movie-night\">more event details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Tamara Palmer recalls Too Short's video shoot in Oakland, and the makings of a Bay Area classic.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>On March 3, 2006, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/too-short\">Too Short\u003c/a> dropped “Blow The Whistle,” an addictive comeback single from the Oakland legend that to this day is played at nearly every block party and club night in the Bay Area. Despite never cracking the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it’s had enough staying power to become a nationwide classic.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Here, in an excerpt from her upcoming book \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://sf-music-week.squarespace.com/calendar/music-book-club-studio-aurora-and-fault-radio-present-tamara-palmers-bay-area-rap-mixtape-book-release-party-and-movie-night\">Bay Area Rap Mixtape\u003c/a>\u003cem>, music writer \u003ca href=\"https://www.thetamarapalmer.com/\">Tamara Palmer\u003c/a> recalls the song’s video shoot in Oakland, and the new world it heralded. \u003c/em>\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/CBJtzEKetBM'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/CBJtzEKetBM'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">F\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>our days after a riotous visit to San Quentin with KMEL and Messy Marv, I was on the phone with Too Short, conducting an interview about the Black Panthers for MTV News. At the end of the call, he invited me to the “Blow the Whistle” video shoot, taking place the next day in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’d like to say that I responded with cool nonchalance. But according to the blog post I wrote when I got home, I said, “REALLY? CAN I?!?!?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, 20 years since its release in March 2006, “Blow The Whistle” is a beloved and iconic Bay Area party and sports anthem. Short’s catalog is deep, but “Blow The Whistle” is the song of his that most people know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Produced by Lil Jon, who once told me about bumping Too Short tracks while driving around in high school, “Blow The Whistle” was recorded in Atlanta and Miami and landed as part of a multi-year crunk hitmaking streak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987149\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_208-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A clapperboard at the video shoot for Too Short’s ‘Blow the Whistle’ at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The first day of the video shoot took place at Mingles Martini & Champagne Lounge, a nightclub near Jack London Square. As I stood in line and stared at the train tracks across the street, two kids behind me recalled witnessing a graphic killing outside the club.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The environment outside Mingles on that early afternoon included a van of youngsters who pulled up, filmed a video to a short but rowdy song — something about “Dead! Beat! Dead! Beat!” — and then peeled off as fast as they came. The Team’s Clyde Carson passed out cans of his new Grapple (grape-apple) flavored Hyphy energy drink. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I finally got inside, I quickly met two women who I felt immediate care from, and for: legendary \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951122/d-ray-bay-area-hip-hop-photographer\">Bay Area rap photographer D-Ray\u003c/a> and rapper OOO (Omolara Odofin). The energy in the room was very masculine, to put it mildly, yet they both clocked my awkwardness and took me under their wings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987152\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_192.1-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too Short (center) at the video shoot for ‘Blow the Whistle’ at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Director Bernard Gourley was fresh off of directing his childhood friend E-40’s brilliant “Tell Me When to Go” video, which was shot in black and white. The Turf Feinz were there, ready to dance. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent nine and a half hours inside Mingles, allowed to take photos without a flash. It was one of the most enjoyable observational experiences ever. At one point, I sat directly behind the camera, on the floor, as the main dance scenes were filmed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are three secrets from the “Blow The Whistle” music video: Short wore a “Love Is for Suckers” shirt, the nightclub scene was filmed during the afternoon, and the “DJ” didn’t actually have any equipment in front of him — he was air DJing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So much has changed since that night in 2006. Following an accidental fatal shooting of a pregnant woman outside the club, and two additional incidents of gun violence in 2006, Mingles would permanently close six months later. Sadly, Gourley, the video’s director, died in a car accident in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet “Blow the Whistle” has endured, as well as some of its video’s stars. Last year, Kendrick Lamar incorporated the Turf Feinz into his 2025 Super Bowl performance in New Orleans — a true moment of Bay Area pride.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">B\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>y May of 2006, Short was sensitive to criticism that he’d co-opted hyphy culture, but he insisted that he had a more important goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to be a guiding light to these youngsters,” he told me, during an interview about the crunk and hyphy movements for Atlanta’s weekly paper \u003cem>Creative Loafing\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m like, ‘Man, don’t make the wrong decisions,’” he said. “‘Don’t sign stupid contracts, don’t let nobody else get your money and jack it off.’ I’m thinking like that. Don’t turn the hyphy into a dance that comes and goes. Turn this into a business that supports families and kids and generations. It’s somebody’s kids going to go to college because of crunk music. Somebody’s kids are gonna get a trust fund because of crunk, you know what I’m saying? Let’s do that with the hyphy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13987150\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"766\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13987150\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/02/NY_254-768x575.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A young attendee at Too Short’s ‘Blow the Whistle’ video shoot at Mingles nightclub in Oakland in 2006. \u003ccite>(Tamara Palmer)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the next five years — until Messy Marv leaked his number and it changed — I annoyed Short by texting him every time I reviewed a concert where the DJ played “Blow the Whistle” — Janet Jackson, say, or Bell Biv DeVoe. It’s still an out-of-town DJ’s way of checking in with the Bay and paying respect. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May 2013, I was visiting NYC when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/10517260/growing-up-deprived-in-east-oakland\">Youth Uprising\u003c/a>’s Jacky Johnson invited me to Short’s guest appearance on \u003cem>Late Night with Jimmy Fallon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Short had a five-minute rehearsal of the song with The Roots before the show. Tuba Gooding Jr. took care of the bassline, and Black Thought freestyled over the top. Though the rehearsal was brief, Short and The Roots performed with the ease of longtime collaborators. “I never practice before the show,” Short said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re really not that short!” Fallon said to Short, as the show began.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The song brought the TV audience to its feet, a full seven years after “Blow the Whistle” dropped. And now, 20 years later, its relevance keeps going on and on. \u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>A book release party for Tamara Palmer’s ‘Bay Area Rap Mixtape’ takes place Sunday, March 1 at Studio Aurora (302 Valencia St., San Francisco). Admission is free; \u003ca href=\"https://sf-music-week.squarespace.com/calendar/music-book-club-studio-aurora-and-fault-radio-present-tamara-palmers-bay-area-rap-mixtape-book-release-party-and-movie-night\">more event details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In discussing this Saturday’s grand opening party for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hyphyburger/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hyphy Burger\u003c/a> in West Oakland, locally raised rapper\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943512/oakland-rapper-guap-on-his-black-and-filipino-roots-and-what-inspired-the-song-chicken-adobo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Guap (aka Guapdad 4000)\u003c/a> sounds like he’s describing the circus coming to town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got face paint for the kids, a photo booth, a jumper and horses,” he says. “And then we’ll roll in the cars, and the DJ starts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since its soft opening back in February, the burger-fries-and-shakes joint has had a constant line of patrons. Now, Guap and the team of local owners will celebrate the restaurant’s official grand opening with an expansion of the menu (with more burger options, including a pastrami burger and a veggie burger) and food giveaways for those who arrive early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Hyphy Burger is an ode to the term “the king of the super-duper-hyphy,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/keak-da-sneak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keak Da Sneak\u003c/a>, helped popularize — one that represents the hyperactive energy that brewed out of the inner city of the Bay Area and fueled a cultural phenomenon in the early aughts — today the burger shack on West Grand and Market stands as another local eatery gaining its footing in a churning sea of ups and downs for East Bay food establishments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979394\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man in a black jacket and braids poses for a photo outside of a burger joint while holding a soda. \" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-scaled.jpeg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-160x240.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guap, part-owner of Hyphy Burger, stops by the restaurant for a meal. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Guapdad 4000,)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To launch the restaurant, Guap (real name Akeem Hayes) teamed up with Darion Frazier (known for his social media food reviews under the moniker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareafoodz/\">@bayareafoodz)\u003c/a>, Julian “Jigga” Ervin and a duo of brothers, Fakri and Zakaria “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zackstv/?hl=en\">Zack\u003c/a>” Alwajeeh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an initial aim of opening a cheesesteak shop, Frazier joined Guap on tour with DMV Area lyricist Wale and Philadelphia MC Young Chris (of the Young Gunz), stopping in Philly to survey the local cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>“\u003c/b>I recommended that we change it to smash burgers because I live in Los Angeles,” says Guap, noting how the craze over the flattened burgers was taking over Southern California. “I liked the simplicity of it, and I felt like it was doable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frazier, the food influencer, did more research and development, testing over 30 different burger spots and taking notes on his experiences. Guap, who in addition to rapping is an actor, designer and model, took the lead on other aspects of the business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979395\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979395\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-scaled.jpg\" alt='A mini yellow bus and signage that reads \"you feel me\" appear at the Hyphy Burger kiosk.' width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mini yellow bus and signage that reads “you feel me” shows how the eatery is hyphy down to the details. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I run, for the most part, creative design and customer experience,” he says, adding that he designed the employee uniforms and created a comic book that will be given away during Saturday’s event. “I did the 3-D mock-up for the fry holders and the bag,” says Guap. “I learned how to do that just to make our own for the restaurant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team added tables with signage that harken back 20 years to the era of going 18-dummy. The restaurant’s speakers blast local Bay Area hip-hop, new and old. The menu boasts a “Ya Feel Me” sauce, and the milkshakes are called “Stunna Shakes,” a play off of stunna shades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even a mini short bus parked outside of the restaurant, a nod to the unfortunate side of the hyphy movement that made light of stigmas about people with learning disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bright logos and fresh yellow, red and blue paint have replaced the signage from the old All Star Donuts & Burgers that previously occupied the building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it’s crazy too,” exclaims Guap, “because we finna add donuts to the menu, and really call back to that. I’m not even playing, I’m working on the logo now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recent revitalization of West Oakland’s food scene has been a process of two steps forward and one step back. There are newer eateries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.prescottmarket.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Prescott Market\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://junespizza.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June’s Pizza\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/soulblendscoffee/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Soul Blends Coffee.\u003c/a> There’s also \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/category/nosh/restaurant-closures/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a running list of closures\u003c/a> that includes places like the famed \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/03/14/west-oakland-horn-barbecue-will-not-reopen-after-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Horn BBQ\u003c/a>, which last year closed its West Oakland establishment and reopened in\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/17/horn-barbecue-oakland-updates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> a new downtown location.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guap, who grew up in the neighborhood, understands this sea change. “I think the average person in the West, where we put the restaurant, wants to see new shiny things,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLprO6K7KEw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In seeing how people have flocked to the business since its soft launch, whether to enjoy the food or \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLprO6K7KEw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">film music videos\u003c/a> at the establishment, Guap notes that there’s value in making something presentable for the community. But it has to be bigger than doing it for clicks and shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>“\u003c/i>I want people to Instagram some quality,” he says, alluding to it being deeper than social media. “I want to bring actual value to the real estate in the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not an easy process. In the six months since its soft launch, the business has experienced employee turnover, isn’t yet on the delivery service apps and hasn’t opened its drive-thru window. But with the impending launch of a second location on 98th in Deep East Oakland, Guap says what they’re really celebrating on Saturday is the baby steps of a burgeoning business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been crazy to have that line of people” says Guap. “It is a blessing though. It’s a great problem to have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution, he says — for his team or any other business in their position — is to do research, work with the City and find a team of people who have the same “motion as you.” Ultimately, Guap says, it’s about working with “your innermost community and pooling your resources” to create something that benefits the larger collective.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oakland’s Hyphy Burger celebrates its grand opening all day Saturday, August 2, at 898 West Grand Ave. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hyphyburger/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check the restaurant’s IG page for more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In discussing this Saturday’s grand opening party for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hyphyburger/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hyphy Burger\u003c/a> in West Oakland, locally raised rapper\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11943512/oakland-rapper-guap-on-his-black-and-filipino-roots-and-what-inspired-the-song-chicken-adobo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Guap (aka Guapdad 4000)\u003c/a> sounds like he’s describing the circus coming to town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got face paint for the kids, a photo booth, a jumper and horses,” he says. “And then we’ll roll in the cars, and the DJ starts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since its soft opening back in February, the burger-fries-and-shakes joint has had a constant line of patrons. Now, Guap and the team of local owners will celebrate the restaurant’s official grand opening with an expansion of the menu (with more burger options, including a pastrami burger and a veggie burger) and food giveaways for those who arrive early.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Hyphy Burger is an ode to the term “the king of the super-duper-hyphy,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/keak-da-sneak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keak Da Sneak\u003c/a>, helped popularize — one that represents the hyperactive energy that brewed out of the inner city of the Bay Area and fueled a cultural phenomenon in the early aughts — today the burger shack on West Grand and Market stands as another local eatery gaining its footing in a churning sea of ups and downs for East Bay food establishments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979394\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1707px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979394\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"A man in a black jacket and braids poses for a photo outside of a burger joint while holding a soda. \" width=\"1707\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-scaled.jpeg 1707w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-160x240.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-1024x1536.jpeg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_1739854768480-copy-1365x2048.jpeg 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1707px) 100vw, 1707px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Guap, part-owner of Hyphy Burger, stops by the restaurant for a meal. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Guapdad 4000,)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To launch the restaurant, Guap (real name Akeem Hayes) teamed up with Darion Frazier (known for his social media food reviews under the moniker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayareafoodz/\">@bayareafoodz)\u003c/a>, Julian “Jigga” Ervin and a duo of brothers, Fakri and Zakaria “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zackstv/?hl=en\">Zack\u003c/a>” Alwajeeh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With an initial aim of opening a cheesesteak shop, Frazier joined Guap on tour with DMV Area lyricist Wale and Philadelphia MC Young Chris (of the Young Gunz), stopping in Philly to survey the local cuisine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>“\u003c/b>I recommended that we change it to smash burgers because I live in Los Angeles,” says Guap, noting how the craze over the flattened burgers was taking over Southern California. “I liked the simplicity of it, and I felt like it was doable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Frazier, the food influencer, did more research and development, testing over 30 different burger spots and taking notes on his experiences. Guap, who in addition to rapping is an actor, designer and model, took the lead on other aspects of the business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979395\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13979395\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-scaled.jpg\" alt='A mini yellow bus and signage that reads \"you feel me\" appear at the Hyphy Burger kiosk.' width=\"1920\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-scaled.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/IMG_5425-1536x2048.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mini yellow bus and signage that reads “you feel me” shows how the eatery is hyphy down to the details. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I run, for the most part, creative design and customer experience,” he says, adding that he designed the employee uniforms and created a comic book that will be given away during Saturday’s event. “I did the 3-D mock-up for the fry holders and the bag,” says Guap. “I learned how to do that just to make our own for the restaurant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team added tables with signage that harken back 20 years to the era of going 18-dummy. The restaurant’s speakers blast local Bay Area hip-hop, new and old. The menu boasts a “Ya Feel Me” sauce, and the milkshakes are called “Stunna Shakes,” a play off of stunna shades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s even a mini short bus parked outside of the restaurant, a nod to the unfortunate side of the hyphy movement that made light of stigmas about people with learning disabilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bright logos and fresh yellow, red and blue paint have replaced the signage from the old All Star Donuts & Burgers that previously occupied the building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And it’s crazy too,” exclaims Guap, “because we finna add donuts to the menu, and really call back to that. I’m not even playing, I’m working on the logo now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The recent revitalization of West Oakland’s food scene has been a process of two steps forward and one step back. There are newer eateries like \u003ca href=\"https://www.prescottmarket.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Prescott Market\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://junespizza.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">June’s Pizza\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/soulblendscoffee/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Soul Blends Coffee.\u003c/a> There’s also \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/category/nosh/restaurant-closures/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a running list of closures\u003c/a> that includes places like the famed \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2024/03/14/west-oakland-horn-barbecue-will-not-reopen-after-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Horn BBQ\u003c/a>, which last year closed its West Oakland establishment and reopened in\u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/03/17/horn-barbecue-oakland-updates/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> a new downtown location.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Guap, who grew up in the neighborhood, understands this sea change. “I think the average person in the West, where we put the restaurant, wants to see new shiny things,” he says.\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/rLprO6K7KEw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/rLprO6K7KEw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In seeing how people have flocked to the business since its soft launch, whether to enjoy the food or \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLprO6K7KEw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">film music videos\u003c/a> at the establishment, Guap notes that there’s value in making something presentable for the community. But it has to be bigger than doing it for clicks and shares.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>“\u003c/i>I want people to Instagram some quality,” he says, alluding to it being deeper than social media. “I want to bring actual value to the real estate in the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s not an easy process. In the six months since its soft launch, the business has experienced employee turnover, isn’t yet on the delivery service apps and hasn’t opened its drive-thru window. But with the impending launch of a second location on 98th in Deep East Oakland, Guap says what they’re really celebrating on Saturday is the baby steps of a burgeoning business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been crazy to have that line of people” says Guap. “It is a blessing though. It’s a great problem to have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solution, he says — for his team or any other business in their position — is to do research, work with the City and find a team of people who have the same “motion as you.” Ultimately, Guap says, it’s about working with “your innermost community and pooling your resources” to create something that benefits the larger collective.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oakland’s Hyphy Burger celebrates its grand opening all day Saturday, August 2, at 898 West Grand Ave. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hyphyburger/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Check the restaurant’s IG page for more information\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "seiji-oda-ethereal-blap-cupcake-no-fillin-human-nature",
"title": "On ‘Human + Nature,’ Seiji Oda Spreads Peace, Love and Ethereal Blap",
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"content": "\u003cp>While filming the video for his update of the classic Bay Area love song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCNlDgSQuLg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cupcake No Fillin\u003c/a>,” rapper, singer and producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> stood in East Oakland’s Dimond Park, wearing a white T-shirt of a pink cupcake crossed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creators of the original anti-cupcaking anthem,\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejankgod/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> B*Janky\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fathajefe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">F.A. Tha Jefe\u003c/a> of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/officialtrunkboiz/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trunk Boiz\u003c/a>, stood nearby, surrounded by over two dozen people — musicians, dancers and community members. Some held cupcakes, others held scraper bikes; all of them chanted the song’s hook: \u003cem>Cupcake no fillin’ / I ain’t got time, ’cause I got a lot of women\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda took out his phone and started recording.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_HkJhiULLU\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to capture that energy,” he says during a recent phone call. He then added that audio to “no fillins²,” a standout track from his latest album, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4nEuPqxYGQt3FLw8sOk6sQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Seiji Oda burst into national consciousness last year with his lo-fi hit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxxSi8-Q-E\">a gentle gigg\u003c/a>,” which tamed the chaos of hyphy in favor of centered, Zen-like atmospherics. Fans dubbed it “therapeutic thizzing”; on its viral journey, it was reposted widely, including by SZA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13957194']For his follow-up, the 27-year-old of Japanese-Irish-Panamanian descent coalesced the sounds of Japanese babbling brooks and warbler birds, as well as Brazilian baile funk and Bay Area blap. \u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em> has pop rifts and 808 kicks, a smattering of top-tier Bay Area features and philosophical bars about love. There’s his grandmother’s piano, tranquil harmonizing and player lines like “Good hygiene / baby I stay flossing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And most of it started with voice notes. His field recordings of birdsong or the ocean would serve as a starting point for a song. “And then,” he says, “I’d kind of see where that takes me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976660 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"People gathered at a park\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034.jpg 1545w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘gentle gigg’ general himself, Seiji Oda (A’s hat, center) among people gathered at Dimond Park for the video shoot of ‘no fillins².’ \u003ccite>(Kenny Ko)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the song “a leaf is a lung,” he recorded the sound of waves crashing, matched the soundscape with chords played on a keyboard and then imagined what sort of lyrics he’d spit if he were in that environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just made me feel kind of tropical,” he says, “so I sang.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda laid down lead and background vocals, then sampled himself and sang over it again. He then added some “mobby drums,” providing the combination of aggressive bass-heavy percussion and airy-melodic vocals that’s a staple in his music, he calls it “ethereal blap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His love for hard-hitting drums is evident in the lead single “peaceful³,” featuring Vallejo’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/larussell/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> LaRussell\u003c/a>. On \u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em>, Seiji Oda changes up the drums on the second verse to sound like Mac Dre’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7N0J7o0z7U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boss Tycoon\u003c/a>,” underscoring LaRussell’s Furly Ghost-like flow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUOi6fEEq8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda refers to “peaceful³” as the heartbeat of the album, a song that segues seamlessly into the following track “Bossa Nova,” which illustrates his influences beyond the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been listening to so much baile funk,” says Seiji Oda, discussing the track he co-produced with Kiron KP and Quinn Carroll. Steeped in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira since a kid, Seiji Oda notes that “Brazilian music– baile funk and bossa nova– they’re all kind of intertwined. So, I’ve been super inspired by that music lately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976661 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-800x1067.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dancer and social media influencer Junebug pulled up to Seiji Oda’s ‘no fillins²’ video shoot in a huge Hyphy 101 t-shirt. \u003ccite>(Sydney Welch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On “green tea,” featuring Union City’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/officialkiyomi/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kiyomi\u003c/a>, a seemingly normal pop song packs a punch as the duo floats over their shared love of Bay Area bass. While making “ahead of myself” with Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/natecurry_/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nate Curry\u003c/a>, Seiji Oda was inspired by his guest’s alien-like way of freely layering harmonies on a track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s “MOBBY MIYAZAKI,” with San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/y0ungbari/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Young Bari\u003c/a>, in which Seiji Oda pulls from another Bay Area classic — \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/youngbari/so-mobby-feat-fillmoe-rocky-prod-tfdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Young Bari’s “So Mobby”\u003c/a> — and pairs it with a flip of Joe Hisaishi’s music from Studio Ghibli films directed by legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda even returned to his grandmother’s house in Japan for a spark of creativity. Her voice is layered into the mix of the minute-long interlude “yaki yasai (obaachan’s piano),” recorded while she was cooking. “I just wanted to capture that moment,” he says, “it just felt really intimate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on “BEMYLIGHT” with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rexxliferaj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley’s Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, he brings back the blap based on a voice memo of an uguisu bird, also known as a Japanese bush warbler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976663\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976663 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-800x1067.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo’s 9-year-old rising rap star Ave Rose Haro makes a cameo in Seiji Oda’s music video, filmed at Dimond Park in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Sydney Welch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In fact, Seiji Oda sometimes starts recording a voice memo as soon as he wakes up. “I call it ‘meditation on the mic,'” he says, sometimes taking 20 or 30 minutes of his day to document his waking thoughts. On “time is a spiral, i think,” Seiji Oda convenes two different morning meditations into one philosophical track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My overarching goal with music,” says Seiji Oda, “is to bring myself more peace, and then to share that with people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By documenting the sounds of the natural world, adding some drums and sharing it with the people, he’s achieving his goal — one ethereal blap at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seiji Oda’s ‘Human + Nature’ is \u003ca href=\"https://seijioda.bandcamp.com/album/human-nature\">out now\u003c/a>. He also appears live and on stage multiple times later in the year, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ7TSIkSaER/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SF Hip-Hop Festival\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://fairyland.org/event-calendar/fairyland-for-grownups-with-oaklandish/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fairyland for Grownups\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hiero Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "On ‘Human + Nature,’ Seiji Oda Spreads Peace, Love and Ethereal Blap | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>While filming the video for his update of the classic Bay Area love song “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCNlDgSQuLg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cupcake No Fillin\u003c/a>,” rapper, singer and producer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> stood in East Oakland’s Dimond Park, wearing a white T-shirt of a pink cupcake crossed out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creators of the original anti-cupcaking anthem,\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thejankgod/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> B*Janky\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fathajefe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">F.A. Tha Jefe\u003c/a> of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/officialtrunkboiz/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trunk Boiz\u003c/a>, stood nearby, surrounded by over two dozen people — musicians, dancers and community members. Some held cupcakes, others held scraper bikes; all of them chanted the song’s hook: \u003cem>Cupcake no fillin’ / I ain’t got time, ’cause I got a lot of women\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda took out his phone and started recording.\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/C_HkJhiULLU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/C_HkJhiULLU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“I wanted to capture that energy,” he says during a recent phone call. He then added that audio to “no fillins²,” a standout track from his latest album, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/album/4nEuPqxYGQt3FLw8sOk6sQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland’s Seiji Oda burst into national consciousness last year with his lo-fi hit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyxxSi8-Q-E\">a gentle gigg\u003c/a>,” which tamed the chaos of hyphy in favor of centered, Zen-like atmospherics. Fans dubbed it “therapeutic thizzing”; on its viral journey, it was reposted widely, including by SZA.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>For his follow-up, the 27-year-old of Japanese-Irish-Panamanian descent coalesced the sounds of Japanese babbling brooks and warbler birds, as well as Brazilian baile funk and Bay Area blap. \u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em> has pop rifts and 808 kicks, a smattering of top-tier Bay Area features and philosophical bars about love. There’s his grandmother’s piano, tranquil harmonizing and player lines like “Good hygiene / baby I stay flossing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And most of it started with voice notes. His field recordings of birdsong or the ocean would serve as a starting point for a song. “And then,” he says, “I’d kind of see where that takes me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976660\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976660 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-800x530.jpg\" alt=\"People gathered at a park\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-800x530.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-1020x676.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034-1536x1018.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0034.jpg 1545w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ‘gentle gigg’ general himself, Seiji Oda (A’s hat, center) among people gathered at Dimond Park for the video shoot of ‘no fillins².’ \u003ccite>(Kenny Ko)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On the song “a leaf is a lung,” he recorded the sound of waves crashing, matched the soundscape with chords played on a keyboard and then imagined what sort of lyrics he’d spit if he were in that environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just made me feel kind of tropical,” he says, “so I sang.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda laid down lead and background vocals, then sampled himself and sang over it again. He then added some “mobby drums,” providing the combination of aggressive bass-heavy percussion and airy-melodic vocals that’s a staple in his music, he calls it “ethereal blap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His love for hard-hitting drums is evident in the lead single “peaceful³,” featuring Vallejo’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/larussell/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> LaRussell\u003c/a>. On \u003cem>Human + Nature\u003c/em>, Seiji Oda changes up the drums on the second verse to sound like Mac Dre’s “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7N0J7o0z7U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Boss Tycoon\u003c/a>,” underscoring LaRussell’s Furly Ghost-like flow.\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/BFUOi6fEEq8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/BFUOi6fEEq8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Seiji Oda refers to “peaceful³” as the heartbeat of the album, a song that segues seamlessly into the following track “Bossa Nova,” which illustrates his influences beyond the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been listening to so much baile funk,” says Seiji Oda, discussing the track he co-produced with Kiron KP and Quinn Carroll. Steeped in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira since a kid, Seiji Oda notes that “Brazilian music– baile funk and bossa nova– they’re all kind of intertwined. So, I’ve been super inspired by that music lately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976661\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976661 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-800x1067.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0607-scaled-e1747944502890.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dancer and social media influencer Junebug pulled up to Seiji Oda’s ‘no fillins²’ video shoot in a huge Hyphy 101 t-shirt. \u003ccite>(Sydney Welch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On “green tea,” featuring Union City’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/officialkiyomi/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kiyomi\u003c/a>, a seemingly normal pop song packs a punch as the duo floats over their shared love of Bay Area bass. While making “ahead of myself” with Sacramento’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/natecurry_/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nate Curry\u003c/a>, Seiji Oda was inspired by his guest’s alien-like way of freely layering harmonies on a track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then there’s “MOBBY MIYAZAKI,” with San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/y0ungbari/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Young Bari\u003c/a>, in which Seiji Oda pulls from another Bay Area classic — \u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/youngbari/so-mobby-feat-fillmoe-rocky-prod-tfdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Young Bari’s “So Mobby”\u003c/a> — and pairs it with a flip of Joe Hisaishi’s music from Studio Ghibli films directed by legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda even returned to his grandmother’s house in Japan for a spark of creativity. Her voice is layered into the mix of the minute-long interlude “yaki yasai (obaachan’s piano),” recorded while she was cooking. “I just wanted to capture that moment,” he says, “it just felt really intimate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on “BEMYLIGHT” with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rexxliferaj/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berkeley’s Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, he brings back the blap based on a voice memo of an uguisu bird, also known as a Japanese bush warbler.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976663\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13976663 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-800x1067.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-800x1067.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1020x1360.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-160x213.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703-1536x2048.jpeg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/IMG_0602-scaled-e1747944615703.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo’s 9-year-old rising rap star Ave Rose Haro makes a cameo in Seiji Oda’s music video, filmed at Dimond Park in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Sydney Welch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In fact, Seiji Oda sometimes starts recording a voice memo as soon as he wakes up. “I call it ‘meditation on the mic,'” he says, sometimes taking 20 or 30 minutes of his day to document his waking thoughts. On “time is a spiral, i think,” Seiji Oda convenes two different morning meditations into one philosophical track.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My overarching goal with music,” says Seiji Oda, “is to bring myself more peace, and then to share that with people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By documenting the sounds of the natural world, adding some drums and sharing it with the people, he’s achieving his goal — one ethereal blap at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Seiji Oda’s ‘Human + Nature’ is \u003ca href=\"https://seijioda.bandcamp.com/album/human-nature\">out now\u003c/a>. He also appears live and on stage multiple times later in the year, at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ7TSIkSaER/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SF Hip-Hop Festival\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://fairyland.org/event-calendar/fairyland-for-grownups-with-oaklandish/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fairyland for Grownups\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.hieroday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hiero Day\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "mac-dre-20-years-death-furly-ghost-bay-area",
"title": "20 Years After Mac Dre’s Death, the Furly Ghost Still Lingers",
"publishDate": 1730332391,
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"headTitle": "20 Years After Mac Dre’s Death, the Furly Ghost Still Lingers | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen I ask the security guard at Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery for directions to Plot 47, he replies, “You lookin’ for Dre?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s an older brown-skinned man in a crossing guard vest, sporty sunglasses and an afro protruding from a trucker hat, his hair seasoned by strands of grey. As I talk to the thin, tall, square-shouldered brotha, I wonder: Is this what Mac Dre would’ve looked like had he been able to see elderhood?\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\">As he hands me a map, he says folks always come looking for Mac Dre’s burial site, usually to take pictures and leave tokens of appreciation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those visitors are about to arrive in large numbers. On Nov. 1, 2004, Mac Dre was shot and killed in Kansas City at age 34. Which means that Friday, Nov. 1, will mark 20 years since his death, and a loss felt in every pocket of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A week before the anniversary, I get to the gravesite and take in each letter engraved in the mahogany-colored marble headstone. ANDRE ‘MAC DRE’ HICKS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"Mac Dre's headstone, located at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s headstone, located at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The gravesite has character. Two small pinwheels blow in the wind. There’s a couple coins, a piece of quartz and a small figurine of Ernie from Sesame Street. Two feathers stand atop the headstone, and at the center sits a six-inch metallic statuette of Mac Dre on a scooter in a straw hat and stunna shades — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fo4k38u80jc741.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D923dc928f710936d8da6933dee7f5a723585bb94\">classic image\u003c/a> of the legend in Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Oakland on July 5, 1970, Dre grew up in Vallejo and became a proud representative of the Crestside neighborhood. But in reality, he held it down for the entire Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His decorated rap career spanned 15 years. He recorded album after album, toured continuously and created a subculture within a subculture. His \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lo0aiUxJ34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treal T.V.\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary is a cultural cornerstone. And his contributions to our lexicon are undeniable. If the Bay Area had its say, “Thizz” would be in Webster’s Dictionary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967496\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1668px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967496\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1668\" height=\"2388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal.png 1668w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-800x1145.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1020x1460.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-160x229.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-768x1100.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1073x1536.png 1073w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1431x2048.png 1431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1668px) 100vw, 1668px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(\u003cem>Illustration by Noah Haytin/\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/noh8tin/\">NOH8TIN\u003c/a>)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite serving a five-year stint in a federal prison after being charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery (a trial during which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954252/did-mac-dre-really-go-to-prison-because-of-his-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his lyrics were played for the jury\u003c/a>), Mac Dre had a prolific music career unlike any other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s still going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A decade after his death, aerosol artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/illuminaries/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Illuminaries\u003c/a> put up a mural of \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/warriors/status/609932704205766657\">Steph Curry in a classic Thizz face pose\u003c/a> for the NBA Finals in Oakland. Last year, Curry’s company Unanimous Media announced a forthcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935501/steph-curry-mac-dre-documentary-bay-area-hip-hop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mac Dre documentary\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just last month, NFL star-turned-media personality Marshawn Lynch was in Cuba for Amazon TV’s NFL coverage, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX2tJKo6wgs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he taught locals the Thizz Dance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-800x449.jpg\" alt=\"Thizz Face Steph Curry, painted in 2015 on 27th Street and Northgate Avenue in Oakland by The Illuminaries (the mural is no longer standing). \" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thizz Face Steph Curry, painted in 2015 on 27th Street and Northgate Avenue in Oakland by The Illuminaries (the mural is no longer standing). \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And here I am, two decades after Mac Dre’s death, at his gravesite asking questions to the wind blowing through the pinwheels by his headstone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You know you influenced everything from fashion to media, drug culture to car culture, spoken language to body language, right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mac Dre was a man of many aliases — Andre Macassi, Ronald Dregan and more — but I was speaking to “Furl,” a.k.a. “The Furly Ghost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>How did you do it, Furl? How do you become immortal? How do you influence generations of artists? How do you represent a region even after your demise? What does that mean for us? Are we haunted by the ghost of Furl, or are we enchanted by the legacy of a Mac named Dre? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Mac Dre's 'Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics' album cover is shown in the background, as veteran Vallejo MC B-Legit performs at History of The Bay Day in San Francisco. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s ‘Ronald Dregan’ album cover hovers over veteran Vallejo MC B-Legit at History of The Bay Day in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he History of The Bay Day, an annual day party organized by podcast production duo, rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dregs_one/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dregs One\u003c/a> and audio engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/deo415/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DEO\u003c/a>, is a collage of Bay Area hip-hop culture. Graffiti writers, MCs, media makers and more rub shoulders as panel discussions and live performances take place on the main stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, I walk in with Mac Dre on my mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Is Furl’s spirit still here? What does Mac Dre mean to fans of Bay Area hip-hop history? Is the lingering presence of “hyphy culture” impeding the progress of current Bay Area rap?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11954252']When \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djshellheart/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>DJ ShellHeart\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> plays Mac Dre during her events, she says, “it brings the party up to a whole ‘nother level, even in 2024.” Behind her dark-tinted sunglasses, ShellHeart’s eyes widen as she adds, “I get chills talking about it, that’s how I know his spirit is still here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the snack line, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theringer.com/authors/logan-murdock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Logan Murdock\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>, writer for \u003cem>The Ringer\u003c/em> and co-host of \u003cem>The Real Ones\u003c/em>, tells me Mac Dre’s legacy lives on because there were “so many different versions of Dre, just like there are so many different versions of the Bay.” And as far as moving beyond the hyphy era, Murdock urges people to acknowledge the variety of Bay Area artists since Dre’s passing. “Artists like 22nd Jim, AllBlack, SOB x RBE, and others who’ve taken the genre forward,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13930745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13930745\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre.png\" alt=\"Mac Dre performs on stage in the early 2000s, wearing giant sunglasses, a striped polo shirt and Adidas jacket.\" width=\"999\" height=\"751\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre.png 999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-800x601.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-768x577.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre onstage in the early 2000s. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I run into producer \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trackademicks/?hl=en\">\u003cstrong>Trackademicks\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>, who compares Dre’s contribution to Bay Area hip-hop to the corn tortilla’s place in Mexican cuisine. “It’s part of our cultural fabric.” And just like there’s so much more to Mexican cuisine, there’s more to Bay Area hip-hop culture. “When folks decide to fixate,” says Trackademicks, “thinking you can only be the corn tortilla, that’s where the problems lie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Mac Dre being a vital ingredient in our cultural roux, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.a.lllllll/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>DJ Amal\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> tells me that “Mac Dre gave us weird. He gave us different. He gave us obscure.” His influence, and the imprint of the hyphy era, is present in new artists both in and out of the Bay, she says. “It’s a reference point, it’s a foundation for a lot of stuff that we do now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13930686']On the venue’s back patio, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djhholla/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ H Holla\u003c/a> plays Mac Dre’s “Get Stupid.” Upstairs on the terrace, Oakland-based lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/aliasharrief/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Alia Sharrief\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> doesn’t hesitate to tell me, “Mac Dre is the reason we’re \u003ca href=\"https://genius.com/198388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dipped in A.1.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to have their positives and negatives as far as impact and music and message,” Sharrief adds, referring to Dre’s promotion of pimping and pandering. “But when it comes to being happy, having heart and soul for the Bay Area… Mac Dre did that. And he still got us feeling ourselves today.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TepB8KXVZIk\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stson_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Stetson Hines\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> notes that Mac Dre’s work brought economic growth. Talking about Dre’s \u003cem>Treal T.V.\u003c/em> and other media endeavors, Hines asks, “You ever think about the \u003ca href=\"https://48hills.org/2022/12/meet-the-videographer-behind-mac-dres-historic-90s-treal-t-v/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">videographers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951122/d-ray-bay-area-hip-hop-photographer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">photographers\u003c/a> it created?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well-known Pittsburg rapper and Mac Dre collaborator \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/golasoaso/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Husalah\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> says Dre’s spirit has persevered because he represents a fading identity, “the street guys.” Akin to mobsters in Chicago, Husalah says they were once looked down upon, but now they’re celebrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an outlaw life,” says Husalah, before going on stage. “We was cutthroats, pirates. Mac Dre was a pirate,” he says, explaining how as free-spirited artists with street ties they’d live freely, eating off of the land, drinking wine and playing their metaphorical “fiddle or violin.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People romanticize artists from the true underground, Husalah says, and “Mac Dre represents one of the most authentic subcultures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967501\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967501\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of Mac Dre in Langton Alley in San Francisco, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Elizabeth Seward)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before leaving, I talk with rapper, producer and studio engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897503/rapper-and-audio-engineer-xarina-opens-a-studio-of-her-own-in-east-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Xarina\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if she hears Mac Dre’s influence in the rappers she works with, she says matter-of-factly: “I record Mistah F.A.B. … When he feels like rapping like Mac Dre, he will rap like Mac Dre. In 2024.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She adds that other artists — Seiji Oda, LaRussell, and Nef the Pharoah to name a few — have taken aspects of Dre’s style and “flipped it and made it new and fresh.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s hyphy,” Xarina says of Seiji Oda. “But it’s not same hyphy. It’s a refined new hyphy that fits into 2024.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967464\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967464\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-800x1185.jpg\" alt=\"Artist Billy Blaze says his image of Mac Dre as the Furly Ghost is one of his most popular illustrations.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1185\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-800x1185.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-1020x1511.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-160x237.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1.jpg 1061w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist Billy Blaze says his image of Mac Dre as the Furly Ghost is one of his most popular illustrations. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Billy Blaze)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Seiji Oda\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a 26 year-old Japanese and Panamanian guy from Oakland who makes “lo-fi hyphy” music; it’s tranquil yet saucy, and it’s recently gained momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After he produced the beat for his latest track, “\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/seijioda/peaceful\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peaceful\u003c/a>,” a friend pointed out that Oda had inadvertently flipped Mac Dre’s “Thizzle Dance” without realizing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Intrinsically,” he says, “I heard it and I felt it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda was just six when Mac Dre was killed, and says he got Mac Dre vibes secondhand from the artists who were popular in the 2010s. “I was listening to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ezalecantseewell/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ezale\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p_lo/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">P-Lo\u003c/a>,” says Seiji Oda during a phone call. He watched their videos, noticing how they embodied aspects of Dre’s music. “The way that it was passed down to us,” says Seiji Oda, “was through that lineage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967498\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"991\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-800x793.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-160x159.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-768x761.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s ‘Young Black Brotha,’ recorded around the time he first met Ray Luv. \u003ccite>(Young Black Brotha Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Few can speak to Bay Area hip-hop lineage like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealrayluv/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Ray Luv\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>. Raised in Santa Rosa, as a teen he was close friends with Tupac, as a young adult he had his own career as an MC and nowadays Luv is the COO of Thizz Entertainment, managing Mac Dre’s estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luv even has a story of Mac Dre and Tupac sharing the the same space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In high school, Luv and Tupac once cut class to visit a video shoot for a Too Short song featuring Ice Cube. As Luv, Tupac and Shock G of The Digital Underground were being interviewed by famed comedian Mark Curry, Mac Dre arrived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When Mac Dre got to the door, everybody stopped, and all you heard was ‘Mac Dre!'” exclaims Luv, elevating the pitch in his tone to imitate the guests. “This was a room full of stars and celebrities, but Mac Dre was one of those figures, like Pac in a way; a star among stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13886730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1198px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13886730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM.png\" alt=\"V White and Mac Dre in Big Pimpin' Turf Clothes\" width=\"1198\" height=\"1184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM.png 1198w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-800x791.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-1020x1008.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-160x158.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-768x759.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1198px) 100vw, 1198px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">V White and Mac Dre in Big Pimpin’ Turf Clothes. \u003ccite>(Big Printing Archives)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Luv says that these days, Dre’s brand is active, with companies regularly reaching out for potential action figures and hologram collaborations. “Without any marketing or promotion,” adds Luv, “he does millions of streams every month.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why has Dre’s brand and spirit stood the test of time?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason we haven’t, per se, grown past Mac Dre, is because I don’t think that he’s someone to grow past,” says Luv, before remixing an iconic Maya Angelou quote. “People may not remember the words to your songs — they might not remember \u003cem>any\u003c/em> of your songs — but they will always remember the way you made them feel.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Mac Dre made us feel ourselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13924556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13924556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured.jpg\" alt=\"a spraypainted mural of the rap artist mac dre\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Mac Dre mural on Foothill Boulevard in Oakland by artist Chez. \u003ccite>(Laurence Madrigal/We Were Hyphy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]T[/dropcap]o understand Mac Dre’s impact, I revisited his discography and looked at old photos. I drove around, taking note of murals and stickers with with Mac Dre’s imagery, as well as people wearing Thizz gear. In 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent time listening to a wide array of artists eager to discuss Dre’s legacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Famed Oakland-born actor \u003ca href=\"https://daveeddiggs.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Daveed Diggs\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> asserts that Mac Dre “is under-appreciated as a lyricist and as a originator of cadences.” His hip-hop group \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/clppng/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clipping.\u003c/a> often uses Mac Dre songs as a reference for a particular feel, Diggs says, and deeper cuts like “Since ’84” and “Me Damac” are some of his favorite Mac Dre tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13934874']“If I ever had written a verse as good as any of those,” Diggs testifies, “I would have stopped, I would’ve just stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Angelically hyphy extraterrestrial Frisco native \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alienmackitty/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alien Mac Kitty\u003c/a> (AMK) attributes the “Mac” in her name to Mac Dre. In a voice note, she says she carries on that spirit, just as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13928057/alien-mac-kitty-cougnut-daughter-san-francisco-frisco-rap-legacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">she carries on the legacy of her late father\u003c/a>, pioneering San Francisco rapper Cougnut. “He and Dre were actually really cool,” says AMK, adding that Mac Dre made everything fun, funky and colorful, in the most respectful way. The underground lyricist says that “Furl is still alive, and his spirit runs through the entire Bay Area renaissance right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The journey — all of the conversations — were worth it. But the answers to my questions were in the soil at Mac Dre’s gravesite all along. The cigarette butts and tiny trinkets, the holistic stones and loose change donated to the patron saint of the hyphy movement. All evidence that Mac Dre’s spirt, the ghost of Furl, is still alive — and it lives in the people.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Mac Dre influenced the Bay Area immeasurably. Twenty years later, we're still enchanted by the Furly Ghost.",
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"title": "20 Years After Mac Dre’s Death, the Furly Ghost Still Lingers | KQED",
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"headline": "20 Years After Mac Dre’s Death, the Furly Ghost Still Lingers",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>hen I ask the security guard at Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery for directions to Plot 47, he replies, “You lookin’ for Dre?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s an older brown-skinned man in a crossing guard vest, sporty sunglasses and an afro protruding from a trucker hat, his hair seasoned by strands of grey. As I talk to the thin, tall, square-shouldered brotha, I wonder: Is this what Mac Dre would’ve looked like had he been able to see elderhood?\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\">As he hands me a map, he says folks always come looking for Mac Dre’s burial site, usually to take pictures and leave tokens of appreciation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those visitors are about to arrive in large numbers. On Nov. 1, 2004, Mac Dre was shot and killed in Kansas City at age 34. Which means that Friday, Nov. 1, will mark 20 years since his death, and a loss felt in every pocket of the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A week before the anniversary, I get to the gravesite and take in each letter engraved in the mahogany-colored marble headstone. ANDRE ‘MAC DRE’ HICKS.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-800x1067.jpg\" alt=\"Mac Dre's headstone, located at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1020x1360.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/Mac-Dre-RIP-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s headstone, located at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The gravesite has character. Two small pinwheels blow in the wind. There’s a couple coins, a piece of quartz and a small figurine of Ernie from Sesame Street. Two feathers stand atop the headstone, and at the center sits a six-inch metallic statuette of Mac Dre on a scooter in a straw hat and stunna shades — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fo4k38u80jc741.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3D923dc928f710936d8da6933dee7f5a723585bb94\">classic image\u003c/a> of the legend in Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born in Oakland on July 5, 1970, Dre grew up in Vallejo and became a proud representative of the Crestside neighborhood. But in reality, he held it down for the entire Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His decorated rap career spanned 15 years. He recorded album after album, toured continuously and created a subculture within a subculture. His \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lo0aiUxJ34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Treal T.V.\u003c/a>\u003c/em> documentary is a cultural cornerstone. And his contributions to our lexicon are undeniable. If the Bay Area had its say, “Thizz” would be in Webster’s Dictionary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967496\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1668px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967496\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1668\" height=\"2388\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal.png 1668w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-800x1145.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1020x1460.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-160x229.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-768x1100.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1073x1536.png 1073w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.NoahHaytin.FINALfinal-1431x2048.png 1431w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1668px) 100vw, 1668px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(\u003cem>Illustration by Noah Haytin/\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/noh8tin/\">NOH8TIN\u003c/a>)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Despite serving a five-year stint in a federal prison after being charged with conspiracy to commit bank robbery (a trial during which \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954252/did-mac-dre-really-go-to-prison-because-of-his-lyrics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">his lyrics were played for the jury\u003c/a>), Mac Dre had a prolific music career unlike any other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s still going.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A decade after his death, aerosol artists \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/illuminaries/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Illuminaries\u003c/a> put up a mural of \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/warriors/status/609932704205766657\">Steph Curry in a classic Thizz face pose\u003c/a> for the NBA Finals in Oakland. Last year, Curry’s company Unanimous Media announced a forthcoming \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13935501/steph-curry-mac-dre-documentary-bay-area-hip-hop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mac Dre documentary\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And just last month, NFL star-turned-media personality Marshawn Lynch was in Cuba for Amazon TV’s NFL coverage, where \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX2tJKo6wgs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he taught locals the Thizz Dance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967462\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967462\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-800x449.jpg\" alt=\"Thizz Face Steph Curry, painted in 2015 on 27th Street and Northgate Avenue in Oakland by The Illuminaries (the mural is no longer standing). \" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-1020x573.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/CHbqj0GUcAAFcNa.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thizz Face Steph Curry, painted in 2015 on 27th Street and Northgate Avenue in Oakland by The Illuminaries (the mural is no longer standing). \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And here I am, two decades after Mac Dre’s death, at his gravesite asking questions to the wind blowing through the pinwheels by his headstone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You know you influenced everything from fashion to media, drug culture to car culture, spoken language to body language, right?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mac Dre was a man of many aliases — Andre Macassi, Ronald Dregan and more — but I was speaking to “Furl,” a.k.a. “The Furly Ghost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>How did you do it, Furl? How do you become immortal? How do you influence generations of artists? How do you represent a region even after your demise? What does that mean for us? Are we haunted by the ghost of Furl, or are we enchanted by the legacy of a Mac named Dre? \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967465\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967465\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"The image of Mac Dre's 'Ronald Dregan: Dreganomics' album cover is shown in the background, as veteran Vallejo MC B-Legit performs at History of The Bay Day in San Francisco. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/unnamed-1.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s ‘Ronald Dregan’ album cover hovers over veteran Vallejo MC B-Legit at History of The Bay Day in San Francisco. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>he History of The Bay Day, an annual day party organized by podcast production duo, rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dregs_one/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dregs One\u003c/a> and audio engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/deo415/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DEO\u003c/a>, is a collage of Bay Area hip-hop culture. Graffiti writers, MCs, media makers and more rub shoulders as panel discussions and live performances take place on the main stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, I walk in with Mac Dre on my mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Is Furl’s spirit still here? What does Mac Dre mean to fans of Bay Area hip-hop history? Is the lingering presence of “hyphy culture” impeding the progress of current Bay Area rap?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djshellheart/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>DJ ShellHeart\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> plays Mac Dre during her events, she says, “it brings the party up to a whole ‘nother level, even in 2024.” Behind her dark-tinted sunglasses, ShellHeart’s eyes widen as she adds, “I get chills talking about it, that’s how I know his spirit is still here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the snack line, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theringer.com/authors/logan-murdock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Logan Murdock\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>, writer for \u003cem>The Ringer\u003c/em> and co-host of \u003cem>The Real Ones\u003c/em>, tells me Mac Dre’s legacy lives on because there were “so many different versions of Dre, just like there are so many different versions of the Bay.” And as far as moving beyond the hyphy era, Murdock urges people to acknowledge the variety of Bay Area artists since Dre’s passing. “Artists like 22nd Jim, AllBlack, SOB x RBE, and others who’ve taken the genre forward,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13930745\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13930745\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre.png\" alt=\"Mac Dre performs on stage in the early 2000s, wearing giant sunglasses, a striped polo shirt and Adidas jacket.\" width=\"999\" height=\"751\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre.png 999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-800x601.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/mac-dre-768x577.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 999px) 100vw, 999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre onstage in the early 2000s. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I run into producer \u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trackademicks/?hl=en\">\u003cstrong>Trackademicks\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>, who compares Dre’s contribution to Bay Area hip-hop to the corn tortilla’s place in Mexican cuisine. “It’s part of our cultural fabric.” And just like there’s so much more to Mexican cuisine, there’s more to Bay Area hip-hop culture. “When folks decide to fixate,” says Trackademicks, “thinking you can only be the corn tortilla, that’s where the problems lie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for Mac Dre being a vital ingredient in our cultural roux, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/a.m.a.lllllll/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>DJ Amal\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> tells me that “Mac Dre gave us weird. He gave us different. He gave us obscure.” His influence, and the imprint of the hyphy era, is present in new artists both in and out of the Bay, she says. “It’s a reference point, it’s a foundation for a lot of stuff that we do now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On the venue’s back patio, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/djhholla/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DJ H Holla\u003c/a> plays Mac Dre’s “Get Stupid.” Upstairs on the terrace, Oakland-based lyricist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/aliasharrief/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Alia Sharrief\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> doesn’t hesitate to tell me, “Mac Dre is the reason we’re \u003ca href=\"https://genius.com/198388\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dipped in A.1.\u003c/a>”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are going to have their positives and negatives as far as impact and music and message,” Sharrief adds, referring to Dre’s promotion of pimping and pandering. “But when it comes to being happy, having heart and soul for the Bay Area… Mac Dre did that. And he still got us feeling ourselves today.”\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/TepB8KXVZIk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/TepB8KXVZIk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/stson_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Stetson Hines\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> notes that Mac Dre’s work brought economic growth. Talking about Dre’s \u003cem>Treal T.V.\u003c/em> and other media endeavors, Hines asks, “You ever think about the \u003ca href=\"https://48hills.org/2022/12/meet-the-videographer-behind-mac-dres-historic-90s-treal-t-v/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">videographers\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951122/d-ray-bay-area-hip-hop-photographer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">photographers\u003c/a> it created?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Well-known Pittsburg rapper and Mac Dre collaborator \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/golasoaso/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Husalah\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> says Dre’s spirit has persevered because he represents a fading identity, “the street guys.” Akin to mobsters in Chicago, Husalah says they were once looked down upon, but now they’re celebrated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an outlaw life,” says Husalah, before going on stage. “We was cutthroats, pirates. Mac Dre was a pirate,” he says, explaining how as free-spirited artists with street ties they’d live freely, eating off of the land, drinking wine and playing their metaphorical “fiddle or violin.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People romanticize artists from the true underground, Husalah says, and “Mac Dre represents one of the most authentic subcultures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967501\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967501\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/009_9-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A mural of Mac Dre in Langton Alley in San Francisco, circa 2005. \u003ccite>(Elizabeth Seward)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before leaving, I talk with rapper, producer and studio engineer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897503/rapper-and-audio-engineer-xarina-opens-a-studio-of-her-own-in-east-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Xarina\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if she hears Mac Dre’s influence in the rappers she works with, she says matter-of-factly: “I record Mistah F.A.B. … When he feels like rapping like Mac Dre, he will rap like Mac Dre. In 2024.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She adds that other artists — Seiji Oda, LaRussell, and Nef the Pharoah to name a few — have taken aspects of Dre’s style and “flipped it and made it new and fresh.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s hyphy,” Xarina says of Seiji Oda. “But it’s not same hyphy. It’s a refined new hyphy that fits into 2024.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967464\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13967464\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-800x1185.jpg\" alt=\"Artist Billy Blaze says his image of Mac Dre as the Furly Ghost is one of his most popular illustrations.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1185\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-800x1185.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-1020x1511.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-160x237.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-768x1138.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1-1037x1536.jpg 1037w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/0-1.jpg 1061w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist Billy Blaze says his image of Mac Dre as the Furly Ghost is one of his most popular illustrations. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Billy Blaze)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Seiji Oda\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> is a 26 year-old Japanese and Panamanian guy from Oakland who makes “lo-fi hyphy” music; it’s tranquil yet saucy, and it’s recently gained momentum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After he produced the beat for his latest track, “\u003ca href=\"https://soundcloud.com/seijioda/peaceful\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peaceful\u003c/a>,” a friend pointed out that Oda had inadvertently flipped Mac Dre’s “Thizzle Dance” without realizing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Intrinsically,” he says, “I heard it and I felt it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda was just six when Mac Dre was killed, and says he got Mac Dre vibes secondhand from the artists who were popular in the 2010s. “I was listening to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ezalecantseewell/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ezale\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p_lo/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">P-Lo\u003c/a>,” says Seiji Oda during a phone call. He watched their videos, noticing how they embodied aspects of Dre’s music. “The way that it was passed down to us,” says Seiji Oda, “was through that lineage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13967498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13967498\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"991\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_.jpg 1000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-800x793.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-160x159.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/10/MacDre.YBB_-768x761.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mac Dre’s ‘Young Black Brotha,’ recorded around the time he first met Ray Luv. \u003ccite>(Young Black Brotha Records)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Few can speak to Bay Area hip-hop lineage like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealrayluv/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Ray Luv\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>. Raised in Santa Rosa, as a teen he was close friends with Tupac, as a young adult he had his own career as an MC and nowadays Luv is the COO of Thizz Entertainment, managing Mac Dre’s estate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Luv even has a story of Mac Dre and Tupac sharing the the same space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In high school, Luv and Tupac once cut class to visit a video shoot for a Too Short song featuring Ice Cube. As Luv, Tupac and Shock G of The Digital Underground were being interviewed by famed comedian Mark Curry, Mac Dre arrived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When Mac Dre got to the door, everybody stopped, and all you heard was ‘Mac Dre!'” exclaims Luv, elevating the pitch in his tone to imitate the guests. “This was a room full of stars and celebrities, but Mac Dre was one of those figures, like Pac in a way; a star among stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13886730\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1198px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13886730\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM.png\" alt=\"V White and Mac Dre in Big Pimpin' Turf Clothes\" width=\"1198\" height=\"1184\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM.png 1198w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-800x791.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-1020x1008.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-160x158.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-23-at-10.02.09-AM-768x759.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1198px) 100vw, 1198px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">V White and Mac Dre in Big Pimpin’ Turf Clothes. \u003ccite>(Big Printing Archives)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Luv says that these days, Dre’s brand is active, with companies regularly reaching out for potential action figures and hologram collaborations. “Without any marketing or promotion,” adds Luv, “he does millions of streams every month.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why has Dre’s brand and spirit stood the test of time?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason we haven’t, per se, grown past Mac Dre, is because I don’t think that he’s someone to grow past,” says Luv, before remixing an iconic Maya Angelou quote. “People may not remember the words to your songs — they might not remember \u003cem>any\u003c/em> of your songs — but they will always remember the way you made them feel.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Mac Dre made us feel ourselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13924556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13924556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured.jpg\" alt=\"a spraypainted mural of the rap artist mac dre\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/MacDre.chez_.featured-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Mac Dre mural on Foothill Boulevard in Oakland by artist Chez. \u003ccite>(Laurence Madrigal/We Were Hyphy)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">T\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>o understand Mac Dre’s impact, I revisited his discography and looked at old photos. I drove around, taking note of murals and stickers with with Mac Dre’s imagery, as well as people wearing Thizz gear. In 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I spent time listening to a wide array of artists eager to discuss Dre’s legacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Famed Oakland-born actor \u003ca href=\"https://daveeddiggs.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cstrong>Daveed Diggs\u003c/strong>\u003c/a> asserts that Mac Dre “is under-appreciated as a lyricist and as a originator of cadences.” His hip-hop group \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/clppng/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clipping.\u003c/a> often uses Mac Dre songs as a reference for a particular feel, Diggs says, and deeper cuts like “Since ’84” and “Me Damac” are some of his favorite Mac Dre tracks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“If I ever had written a verse as good as any of those,” Diggs testifies, “I would have stopped, I would’ve just stopped.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Angelically hyphy extraterrestrial Frisco native \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/alienmackitty/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alien Mac Kitty\u003c/a> (AMK) attributes the “Mac” in her name to Mac Dre. In a voice note, she says she carries on that spirit, just as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13928057/alien-mac-kitty-cougnut-daughter-san-francisco-frisco-rap-legacy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">she carries on the legacy of her late father\u003c/a>, pioneering San Francisco rapper Cougnut. “He and Dre were actually really cool,” says AMK, adding that Mac Dre made everything fun, funky and colorful, in the most respectful way. The underground lyricist says that “Furl is still alive, and his spirit runs through the entire Bay Area renaissance right now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The journey — all of the conversations — were worth it. But the answers to my questions were in the soil at Mac Dre’s gravesite all along. The cigarette butts and tiny trinkets, the holistic stones and loose change donated to the patron saint of the hyphy movement. All evidence that Mac Dre’s spirt, the ghost of Furl, is still alive — and it lives in the people.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "nump-halo-halo-release-party-will-include-macs-by-icky",
"title": "Nump’s Newest Single Is a Love Song Inspired by Halo Halo",
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"content": "\u003cp>As summertime’s slow, relaxing pace descend upon us, one Filipino American rapper is here to remind us that sunny days are meant for partying — and ice cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ceo_nump_beastmobile/?hl=en\">Nump\u003c/a>, the East Bay rapper of “I Gott Grapes” fame \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924042/nump-hyphy-i-gott-grapes-interview\">who also engineered some of hyphy music’s biggest hits\u003c/a>, has mastered the art of riling others up with both his thumping basslines and romanticizing of purple-colored foods. The man who refers to himself as Manny Snackquiao delivers once again with his freshest single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C7NvFfpNy2c/\">Halo Halo\u003c/a>” — named after the Filipino cold treat that typically includes crushed ice, condensed milk, ube ice cream, leche flan and other sweet toppings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rapper’s latest effort, which features another Bay Area hyphy legend in Vallejo’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babybash/?hl=en\">Baby Bash\u003c/a> and production from Houston’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/imixbrucebang/?hl=en\">Bruce Bang\u003c/a>, is adding an extra scoop of sweetness with a release party this Friday at the Union City Filipino-owned cafe \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macs.by.icky/?hl=en\">Macs By Ickys\u003c/a> — equally cult-favored for its creation of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13929263/ube-choco-taco-macs-by-icky-filipino-union-city\"> ube choco taco ice cream sandwich\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jessehperez1/video/7367190323035950378\" data-video-id=\"7367190323035950378\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@jessehperez1\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jessehperez1?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@jessehperez1\u003c/a> New music May 24 – Halo Halo by Nump featuring Baby Bash. \u003ca title=\"halohalo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/halohalo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#halohalo\u003c/a> @Baby Bash \u003ca title=\"nump\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nump?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Nump\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"filipino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/filipino?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#filipino\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - JPerez\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7367190355119115051?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – JPerez\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Nump’s appearance at the cafe, attendees can get a taste of halo halo soft serve, an original Macs By Icky flavor that is essentially a frozen swirl of halo halo goodness in a cup. If that’s not enough to make this the official Bay Area Filipino event of the summer, Nump will also give those in attendance a chance to appear in the official music video for his newest blap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13940127,arts_13924042']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>Leading up to the song’s release, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C7DgCrmt5iA/?hl=en\">Nump has been touring different dessert shops in search of halo halo\u003c/a>, going as far as Hawaii. His partnership with Macs By Icky formed organically when \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6rYXaLPFyx/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Nump posted on his Instagram page asking, “Who got the best halo halo?”\u003c/a> The masses responded by tagging Union City’s Filipino dessert destination. From there, the well-known lyricist reached out to the local business and quarterbacked the play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The snippet of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C69FL3npGmW/\">Halo Halo\u003c/a>” that can be heard on Nump’s page has a chill island love song vibe, and one can only assume that the entire song will be as sugary and delicious as the dessert itself. Consider this the kick-off anthem to start your “Hot Halo Halo Summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Nump’s “Halo Halo” release party will be hosted at Macs By Icky (3900 Smith St., Union City) on Fri., May 24 at 5 p.m. The music video filming will start at 6 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As summertime’s slow, relaxing pace descend upon us, one Filipino American rapper is here to remind us that sunny days are meant for partying — and ice cream.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ceo_nump_beastmobile/?hl=en\">Nump\u003c/a>, the East Bay rapper of “I Gott Grapes” fame \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924042/nump-hyphy-i-gott-grapes-interview\">who also engineered some of hyphy music’s biggest hits\u003c/a>, has mastered the art of riling others up with both his thumping basslines and romanticizing of purple-colored foods. The man who refers to himself as Manny Snackquiao delivers once again with his freshest single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C7NvFfpNy2c/\">Halo Halo\u003c/a>” — named after the Filipino cold treat that typically includes crushed ice, condensed milk, ube ice cream, leche flan and other sweet toppings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rapper’s latest effort, which features another Bay Area hyphy legend in Vallejo’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/babybash/?hl=en\">Baby Bash\u003c/a> and production from Houston’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/imixbrucebang/?hl=en\">Bruce Bang\u003c/a>, is adding an extra scoop of sweetness with a release party this Friday at the Union City Filipino-owned cafe \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/macs.by.icky/?hl=en\">Macs By Ickys\u003c/a> — equally cult-favored for its creation of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13929263/ube-choco-taco-macs-by-icky-filipino-union-city\"> ube choco taco ice cream sandwich\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jessehperez1/video/7367190323035950378\" data-video-id=\"7367190323035950378\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@jessehperez1\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@jessehperez1?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@jessehperez1\u003c/a> New music May 24 – Halo Halo by Nump featuring Baby Bash. \u003ca title=\"halohalo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/halohalo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#halohalo\u003c/a> @Baby Bash \u003ca title=\"nump\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nump?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Nump\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"filipino\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/filipino?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#filipino\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - JPerez\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7367190355119115051?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – JPerez\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During Nump’s appearance at the cafe, attendees can get a taste of halo halo soft serve, an original Macs By Icky flavor that is essentially a frozen swirl of halo halo goodness in a cup. If that’s not enough to make this the official Bay Area Filipino event of the summer, Nump will also give those in attendance a chance to appear in the official music video for his newest blap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>Leading up to the song’s release, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C7DgCrmt5iA/?hl=en\">Nump has been touring different dessert shops in search of halo halo\u003c/a>, going as far as Hawaii. His partnership with Macs By Icky formed organically when \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6rYXaLPFyx/?hl=en&img_index=1\">Nump posted on his Instagram page asking, “Who got the best halo halo?”\u003c/a> The masses responded by tagging Union City’s Filipino dessert destination. From there, the well-known lyricist reached out to the local business and quarterbacked the play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The snippet of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C69FL3npGmW/\">Halo Halo\u003c/a>” that can be heard on Nump’s page has a chill island love song vibe, and one can only assume that the entire song will be as sugary and delicious as the dessert itself. Consider this the kick-off anthem to start your “Hot Halo Halo Summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Nump’s “Halo Halo” release party will be hosted at Macs By Icky (3900 Smith St., Union City) on Fri., May 24 at 5 p.m. The music video filming will start at 6 p.m.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Seiji Oda Is Reshaping Bay Area Rap With Lo-Fi, Minimalist Hyphy",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> is adept at remixing the energy around him. Over the past few years, the Oakland-raised artist — who is of Japanese, Irish and Panamanian heritage — has been at the forefront of pushing a new kind of Bay Area sound, a saucy combination of Northern California rap, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924014/seiji-odas-anri-city-pop-003-celebrates-lunar-new-year-with-a-ride-through-japantown\">Japanese City Pop\u003c/a> and free-flowing jazz. He’s dubbed it “lofi // HYPHY.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, he’s gone viral for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C0-E7hTSazq/?hl=en\">popping his collar while sitting on a tree branch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6b8tBJPs0c/?hl=en\">dancing in a Japanese garden\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6NoYJLL2uE/?hl=en\">going stupid beneath a waterfall\u003c/a> — all while his raps casually slap in the background. In each clip, he summons the holy spirit of a mid-aughts hyphy ghost while somehow remaining as chill as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f932UdEg4p8\">Lofi Girl studying at a desk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13955802']His music is a bottled-up version of big Bay Area energy, taking the form of a peaceful bonsai tree. There isn’t really a category to describe Seiji Oda’s vibe, either. Hyphy heart whispering? Gentle gigging? Serene smeezing? Acoustic turfing? Going dumb in acapella? Therapeutic thizzing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Growing up, I was listening to Bay music,” he says. “Mac Dre, that type of shit. But when I got into making music, it was the more melodic stuff like jazz. That kind of sparked my interest in melding that with Bay music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda’s latest track, “a gentle gigg,” delivers exactly that: a cool minimalism and tranquility distilled into lo-fi hyphy. The Jake Chapman-produced single — which has already accumulated thousands of views, and been shared by SZA, G-Eazy and SiR — evokes E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” while floating over a soundscape of gentle bells and flutes, stripped-down drums and a hint of mobb music bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwFJ4cH51-s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like much of Seiji Oda’s output, the track blends the Bay’s famously uptempo street ethos alongside elements of nature and gratitude. His lyrics underscore the Bay’s contrasting discrepancies, too: “I got friends who went to Berklee School of Music / I got friends who let that glock spill on you for talking stupid / I got homies that’s hella hyphy born after the hyphy movement / I got OGs who teach peace and started revolutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s audio proof that Seiji Oda has been quietly nurturing his aura, and he supplies it in abundance — a playerish kind of positivity inspired by anime, international travel, vintage clothing, retro Japanese vocals, Oakland sideshows and much more. Now, others seem to be catching on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13953009']“I feel like the reason I make art is to give people an oasis in the world,” he says. “I really want to create a soundscape; that’s the goal. I’m always positive, and very simply myself. I’m not trying to be anything other than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The industry tries to lump Asian artists into one vague genre, [but] we’re not all gonna fit on the Jasmine or Tapioca playlist,” he continues. “I wanna show the young life we can do anything, not just what people expect of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s certainly on his way to doing that, and is currently establishing himself as one of the region’s most promising, original talents. As he sagely reminds us on his latest track: “We all got game, so each one teach one / we all different.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seijioda/?hl=en\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a> is adept at remixing the energy around him. Over the past few years, the Oakland-raised artist — who is of Japanese, Irish and Panamanian heritage — has been at the forefront of pushing a new kind of Bay Area sound, a saucy combination of Northern California rap, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924014/seiji-odas-anri-city-pop-003-celebrates-lunar-new-year-with-a-ride-through-japantown\">Japanese City Pop\u003c/a> and free-flowing jazz. He’s dubbed it “lofi // HYPHY.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On social media, he’s gone viral for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C0-E7hTSazq/?hl=en\">popping his collar while sitting on a tree branch\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6b8tBJPs0c/?hl=en\">dancing in a Japanese garden\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6NoYJLL2uE/?hl=en\">going stupid beneath a waterfall\u003c/a> — all while his raps casually slap in the background. In each clip, he summons the holy spirit of a mid-aughts hyphy ghost while somehow remaining as chill as \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f932UdEg4p8\">Lofi Girl studying at a desk\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>His music is a bottled-up version of big Bay Area energy, taking the form of a peaceful bonsai tree. There isn’t really a category to describe Seiji Oda’s vibe, either. Hyphy heart whispering? Gentle gigging? Serene smeezing? Acoustic turfing? Going dumb in acapella? Therapeutic thizzing?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Growing up, I was listening to Bay music,” he says. “Mac Dre, that type of shit. But when I got into making music, it was the more melodic stuff like jazz. That kind of sparked my interest in melding that with Bay music.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seiji Oda’s latest track, “a gentle gigg,” delivers exactly that: a cool minimalism and tranquility distilled into lo-fi hyphy. The Jake Chapman-produced single — which has already accumulated thousands of views, and been shared by SZA, G-Eazy and SiR — evokes E-40’s “Tell Me When To Go” while floating over a soundscape of gentle bells and flutes, stripped-down drums and a hint of mobb music bass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KwFJ4cH51-s'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KwFJ4cH51-s'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Like much of Seiji Oda’s output, the track blends the Bay’s famously uptempo street ethos alongside elements of nature and gratitude. His lyrics underscore the Bay’s contrasting discrepancies, too: “I got friends who went to Berklee School of Music / I got friends who let that glock spill on you for talking stupid / I got homies that’s hella hyphy born after the hyphy movement / I got OGs who teach peace and started revolutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s audio proof that Seiji Oda has been quietly nurturing his aura, and he supplies it in abundance — a playerish kind of positivity inspired by anime, international travel, vintage clothing, retro Japanese vocals, Oakland sideshows and much more. Now, others seem to be catching on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I feel like the reason I make art is to give people an oasis in the world,” he says. “I really want to create a soundscape; that’s the goal. I’m always positive, and very simply myself. I’m not trying to be anything other than that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The industry tries to lump Asian artists into one vague genre, [but] we’re not all gonna fit on the Jasmine or Tapioca playlist,” he continues. “I wanna show the young life we can do anything, not just what people expect of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s certainly on his way to doing that, and is currently establishing himself as one of the region’s most promising, original talents. As he sagely reminds us on his latest track: “We all got game, so each one teach one / we all different.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "d-ray-bay-area-hip-hop-photographer",
"title": "D-Ray’s Photo Archive is West Coast Hip-Hop Gold",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Ray’s photographs are full of bright, lively images of MCs you know by just one name. Kendrick. Jeezy. Even nicknames: Weezy. Anytime she and Drake cross paths, they take selfies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late Nipsey Hussle not only knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isawdray/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">D-Ray\u003c/a>, he would request that she be present at his Bay Area events. She served as official photographer for the late great Mac Dre’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930686/thizz-entertainment-dj-mix-mac-dre-vallejo-rap-hyphy\">Thizz Nation\u003c/a> label. And her work documenting Bay Area hip-hop culture has been featured in many documentaries and print media, including \u003ca href=\"https://issuu.com/ozonemag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Ozone\u003c/em>\u003c/a> magazine, where she worked as West Coast editor, and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://issuu.com/mrshowcase2022\">Showcase\u003c/a>\u003c/em> magazine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a durag and football jersey holds his arms spread, with friends in the background\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jacka, who D-Ray photographed abundantly. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This week, a special corner of D-Ray’s extensive archive — her images of the iconic late Pittsburg rapper The Jacka — go on public display. They’ll be surrounded by drawings, recordings, and other forms of art at \u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dreammoviellc/1101191\">The Jacka Art Experience\u003c/a>, running Jan. 31–Feb. 3 at The Loom in Oakland. [aside postid='arts_13951091']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Ray’s photography documented the life of not only the artist known as The Jacka, but the human being, Shaheed Akbar, who was murdered on Feb. 2, 2015. D-Ray was there for his vibrant life as well as his memorial. She was also present for E-40 and Keak da Sneak’s “Tell Me When To Go” video shoot, Mistah F.A.B.’s rise to fame, turf dance battles at Youth Uprising and many other flashpoints of Bay Area culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to think, this West Coast cultural historian could’ve been a cake decorator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to take pictures of my cakes,” D-Ray tells me during a phone call, emphasizing the amount of energy she put into perfecting each pastry. “I spent all the time doing this and these people are going to eat my fucking cake?!” D-Ray says, recalling her frustration. “That’s how I started taking pictures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"(L–R) Keak da Sneak and E-40 on the set of the music video for 'Tell Me When To Go' in 2006.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Keak da Sneak and E-40 on the set of the music video for ‘Tell Me When To Go’ in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Hayward, D-Ray was first introduced to the camera by her grandfather. She worked a few gigs, from cake decorator to doing fashion and retail, and a stint as manager at the Picture People photo studio in Alameda’s South Shore Shopping Center. She eventually came back to decorating cakes, until her husband, hip-hop manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCb3Inh-TA\">Gary Archer\u003c/a>, asked her a profound question: “How many angles of that cake are you going to take pictures of?’” [aside postID='arts_13932030']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gary, who bought D-Ray a camera at the turn of the millennium so the couple could document their family, began working in partnership with D-Ray — she took photos of the artists he managed, like Mistah F.A.B. He also introduced her to the late \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isawdray/p/CFCy3Xlst1c/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Herrera\u003c/a>, head of \u003cem>Showcase\u003c/em> magazine, the first publication to feature D-Ray’s work on the front cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A scraper bike on the set of E-40's music video 'Tell Me When to Go' in 2006.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-2048x1360.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1920x1275.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On the set of E-40’s music video ‘Tell Me When to Go’ in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before her photography career took off, D-Ray tells me, she used to go through a process of decorating cakes: making one, not liking its appearance, scraping it off and then redecorating it. “In photography you can’t do that,” she tells me. “You come home, you’re looking at a set of pictures and you’re like, ‘I could’ve did that better.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13934874']So she learned how to do it well the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, after more than two decades documenting the culture, she reflects on her work with pride. “I really have a thing about telling the story through my photos about our culture,” she says, “and I feel like I’ve captured \u003cem>everything\u003c/em> through the years, and did it the best way possible, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below is just a small sample of D-Ray’s photos, some never before seen, and her comments about each, edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-800x530.png\" alt=\"Legendary late Pittsburg rapper, The Jacka, cracking jokes with Oakland community pillar and lyrical monster, Mistah F.A.B. at Moses Music in East Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-800x530.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1020x676.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-768x509.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1536x1018.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-2048x1357.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1920x1272.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Legendary late Pittsburg rapper, The Jacka, cracking jokes with Oakland community pillar and lyrical monster Mistah F.A.B. at Moses Music in East Oakland in 2004. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>D-Ray:\u003c/b> So this was me just looking around the room and seeing these two knuckleheads laugh. You know what I mean? Just seeing them crack jokes there. They’re probably just roasting each other like no tomorrow. If you see Jacka, you can almost hear him laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This picture right here shows Stan and Jack’s relationship. A lot of people might not realize that F.A.B. and Jack are actually close, you know, like friendship-wise, more than just music. But this right here, this is Ramadan. So Jack was definitely fasting that day, and they were probably cracking a joke on how he wanted to eat or something, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-800x529.png\" alt=\"Host Sway Calloway and East Oakland MC Keak Da Sneak chop it up while filming an episode of the show 'My Block' for MTV.\" width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1020x675.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-768x508.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1536x1016.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-2048x1354.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1920x1270.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Host Sway Calloway and East Oakland’s Keak Da Sneak chop it up while filming an episode of the show ‘My Block’ for MTV in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> This is at Keak’s house in the 70s in East Oakland, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGoUezD5CxE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MTV’s \u003cem>My Block\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. History was being made and I decided to document it. To see them both sitting on a porch in East Oakland, it meant a lot to me. When Sway came to the Town it brought a lot of people out; it showed the love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951128\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951128\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-800x1064.png\" alt=\"Fillmore raised MC, San Francisco rap star Messy Marv poses for a photo.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1064\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-800x1064.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-1020x1357.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-160x213.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-768x1022.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3.png 1108w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco rap star Messy Marv poses for a photo. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> So \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhMR8X5NHk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Messy (Marv)\u003c/a> got the cover of \u003cem>Showcase\u003c/em> magazine; that was actually shot behind Showcase’s office in San Leandro, off East 14th. It’s my very first cover shot. Frank Herrera was like, “D-Ray, you think you can do it?” I was like, “Hell yeah.” Mind you, this was film. You couldn’t see what you were taking pictures of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This shot ended up in \u003cem>The Source\u003c/em> magazine, \u003cem>XXL\u003c/em>, this is what got me exposure in the world. Messy Marv welcomed me into the world. Also, Kilo Curt, Mac Dre and Miami The Most showed up to go talk to Gary and Frank because they were working Mac Dre’s record at the time. They saw me doing Messy Marv’s photoshoot, and that’s what got me adopted into Thizz — because Dre was like, “Oh, we need a female photographer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-800x536.png\" alt=\"A candid shot of one of the many dance battles held at Youth Uprising in deep East Oakland, circa 2006.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-800x536.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1020x683.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-768x514.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1536x1029.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-2048x1371.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1920x1286.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A candid shot of one of the many dance battles held at Youth Uprising in deep East Oakland, circa 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> We used to have dance battles at Youth Uprising, it was a safe haven. Kids from East Oakland, their parents, folks who weren’t a part of the youth center would come, it was something to do on a Friday night. Those kids, look at them, those kids in the middle row are the only kids that probably go to Youth Uprising. Those other kids are family and friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951132\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951132\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-800x529.png\" alt='The ambassador of the Bay, E-40, sitting on his scraper watching Oakland going wild while on the set of the video for the hit song \"Tell Me When To Go\".' width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1020x674.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-768x508.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1536x1015.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-2048x1354.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1920x1269.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ambassador of the Bay, E-40, sitting on his scraper watching Oakland going wild on the set of the video for the hit song ‘Tell Me When To Go.’ \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> It’s showing East Oakland and both sides of Vallejo. Do you know what I’m talking about? Because I am the official Thizz photographer, and I still have a relationship with people like 40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I saw it, I took it. I saw the T go up, and it automatically happens. I’ve just got to keep it real. As soon as the T goes up, it just happens. It’s just the way my mental is trained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951133\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951133\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-800x534.png\" alt=\"Well-known rapper and proud representative of Pittsburg's El Pueblo Projects, The Husalah, posing for a photo while sitting in a cherry red drop top car.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1020x681.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-2048x1367.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1920x1281.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Well-known rapper and proud representative of Pittsburg’s El Pueblo Projects, Husalah. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>D-Ray:\u003c/b> I spent like two weeks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/golasoaso/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Husalah\u003c/a> before he turned himself in, and we wanted to get all of his stages, like all of his looks. I mean, he changed his clothes multiple times. We went to the projects, we did all types of stuff, just to make sure he had content while he was in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCLlU-8HsNE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">When he was in prison\u003c/a>, I made sure that he was still kept alive. Like, I had good pictures of him. I had press packets. I had whatever we needed. It was a sad situation. I’ll never forget it was like those two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951130\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951130\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-800x528.png\" alt=\"The late MC, The Jacka, and well-known turf dancer, Ice Cold 3000, pose for a photo at Youth Uprising.\" width=\"800\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-800x528.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1020x674.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-768x507.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1536x1014.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-2048x1352.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1920x1268.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jacka and turf dancer Ice Cold 3000 pose for a photo at Youth Uprising. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> This is at Youth Uprising (YU). The Jacka would show up anytime I asked Jack to show up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have a thing with YU, those are all my kids. I don’t know him as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/icecold3000/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ice Cold,\u003c/a>” I know him as Gary. You get what I’m saying? Today, knowing his name is Ice Cold, I’ve had to get used to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have a bunch of kids at YU, and I just felt like I had to make sure (Gary) had a picture with my brother and he had that kind of love that my brother could pass off to him… And I just remember, because they were all excited to see Jack there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jack would get me in trouble tho, because he would come through smelling like OH MY GOD. Olis Simmons (the former head of YU) would say, “D-Ray, take him outside and spray him down before he comes in here.” I’d be like, “Why Jack, why?” But then, you couldn’t hold that against him. The kids would love him because he’d come in and he’d be himself. Jack would inspire those kids, and bring shirts and talk to them. I think that’s what gave Gary — Ice Cold — so much hope. He makes me very proud. Ice Cold makes me very, very, very proud. To see him glowing in this picture like he is, that’s why I pulled this picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Jacka Art Experience runs Wednesday–Saturday, Jan. 31–Feb. 3, at the Loom in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dreammoviellc/1101191\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "Jacka. Nipsey. FAB. 40. Drake. Keak. Wayne. You name 'em, they've probably been photographed by D-Ray.",
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"title": "D-Ray’s Photo Archive is West Coast Hip-Hop Gold | KQED",
"description": "Jacka. Nipsey. FAB. 40. Drake. Keak. Wayne. You name 'em, they've probably been photographed by D-Ray.",
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"headline": "D-Ray’s Photo Archive is West Coast Hip-Hop Gold",
"datePublished": "2024-01-31T10:20:01-08:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s story series on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a> history.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Ray’s photographs are full of bright, lively images of MCs you know by just one name. Kendrick. Jeezy. Even nicknames: Weezy. Anytime she and Drake cross paths, they take selfies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late Nipsey Hussle not only knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isawdray/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">D-Ray\u003c/a>, he would request that she be present at his Bay Area events. She served as official photographer for the late great Mac Dre’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930686/thizz-entertainment-dj-mix-mac-dre-vallejo-rap-hyphy\">Thizz Nation\u003c/a> label. And her work documenting Bay Area hip-hop culture has been featured in many documentaries and print media, including \u003ca href=\"https://issuu.com/ozonemag\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Ozone\u003c/em>\u003c/a> magazine, where she worked as West Coast editor, and \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://issuu.com/mrshowcase2022\">Showcase\u003c/a>\u003c/em> magazine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13931800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13931800\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack.jpg\" alt=\"A man in a durag and football jersey holds his arms spread, with friends in the background\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Hus-Jack-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jacka, who D-Ray photographed abundantly. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This week, a special corner of D-Ray’s extensive archive — her images of the iconic late Pittsburg rapper The Jacka — go on public display. They’ll be surrounded by drawings, recordings, and other forms of art at \u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dreammoviellc/1101191\">The Jacka Art Experience\u003c/a>, running Jan. 31–Feb. 3 at The Loom in Oakland. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>D-Ray’s photography documented the life of not only the artist known as The Jacka, but the human being, Shaheed Akbar, who was murdered on Feb. 2, 2015. D-Ray was there for his vibrant life as well as his memorial. She was also present for E-40 and Keak da Sneak’s “Tell Me When To Go” video shoot, Mistah F.A.B.’s rise to fame, turf dance battles at Youth Uprising and many other flashpoints of Bay Area culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to think, this West Coast cultural historian could’ve been a cake decorator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I used to take pictures of my cakes,” D-Ray tells me during a phone call, emphasizing the amount of energy she put into perfecting each pastry. “I spent all the time doing this and these people are going to eat my fucking cake?!” D-Ray says, recalling her frustration. “That’s how I started taking pictures.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935137\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935137\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"(L–R) Keak da Sneak and E-40 on the set of the music video for 'Tell Me When To Go' in 2006.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/e-40_video_photo_s_by_dray_keak_da_sneak___e-40-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(L–R) Keak da Sneak and E-40 on the set of the music video for ‘Tell Me When To Go’ in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Growing up in Hayward, D-Ray was first introduced to the camera by her grandfather. She worked a few gigs, from cake decorator to doing fashion and retail, and a stint as manager at the Picture People photo studio in Alameda’s South Shore Shopping Center. She eventually came back to decorating cakes, until her husband, hip-hop manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCb3Inh-TA\">Gary Archer\u003c/a>, asked her a profound question: “How many angles of that cake are you going to take pictures of?’” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gary, who bought D-Ray a camera at the turn of the millennium so the couple could document their family, began working in partnership with D-Ray — she took photos of the artists he managed, like Mistah F.A.B. He also introduced her to the late \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isawdray/p/CFCy3Xlst1c/?img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Herrera\u003c/a>, head of \u003cem>Showcase\u003c/em> magazine, the first publication to feature D-Ray’s work on the front cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A scraper bike on the set of E-40's music video 'Tell Me When to Go' in 2006.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-768x510.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1536x1020.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-2048x1360.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/FabVideoShoot.Scraper.Dray_-1920x1275.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">On the set of E-40’s music video ‘Tell Me When to Go’ in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before her photography career took off, D-Ray tells me, she used to go through a process of decorating cakes: making one, not liking its appearance, scraping it off and then redecorating it. “In photography you can’t do that,” she tells me. “You come home, you’re looking at a set of pictures and you’re like, ‘I could’ve did that better.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So she learned how to do it well the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, after more than two decades documenting the culture, she reflects on her work with pride. “I really have a thing about telling the story through my photos about our culture,” she says, “and I feel like I’ve captured \u003cem>everything\u003c/em> through the years, and did it the best way possible, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Below is just a small sample of D-Ray’s photos, some never before seen, and her comments about each, edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-800x530.png\" alt=\"Legendary late Pittsburg rapper, The Jacka, cracking jokes with Oakland community pillar and lyrical monster, Mistah F.A.B. at Moses Music in East Oakland.\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-800x530.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1020x676.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-768x509.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1536x1018.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-2048x1357.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/9-1920x1272.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Legendary late Pittsburg rapper, The Jacka, cracking jokes with Oakland community pillar and lyrical monster Mistah F.A.B. at Moses Music in East Oakland in 2004. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>D-Ray:\u003c/b> So this was me just looking around the room and seeing these two knuckleheads laugh. You know what I mean? Just seeing them crack jokes there. They’re probably just roasting each other like no tomorrow. If you see Jacka, you can almost hear him laughing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This picture right here shows Stan and Jack’s relationship. A lot of people might not realize that F.A.B. and Jack are actually close, you know, like friendship-wise, more than just music. But this right here, this is Ramadan. So Jack was definitely fasting that day, and they were probably cracking a joke on how he wanted to eat or something, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951129\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951129\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-800x529.png\" alt=\"Host Sway Calloway and East Oakland MC Keak Da Sneak chop it up while filming an episode of the show 'My Block' for MTV.\" width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1020x675.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-768x508.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1536x1016.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-2048x1354.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/4-1920x1270.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Host Sway Calloway and East Oakland’s Keak Da Sneak chop it up while filming an episode of the show ‘My Block’ for MTV in 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> This is at Keak’s house in the 70s in East Oakland, during \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGoUezD5CxE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MTV’s \u003cem>My Block\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. History was being made and I decided to document it. To see them both sitting on a porch in East Oakland, it meant a lot to me. When Sway came to the Town it brought a lot of people out; it showed the love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951128\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951128\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-800x1064.png\" alt=\"Fillmore raised MC, San Francisco rap star Messy Marv poses for a photo.\" width=\"800\" height=\"1064\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-800x1064.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-1020x1357.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-160x213.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3-768x1022.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/3.png 1108w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Francisco rap star Messy Marv poses for a photo. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> So \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhMR8X5NHk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Messy (Marv)\u003c/a> got the cover of \u003cem>Showcase\u003c/em> magazine; that was actually shot behind Showcase’s office in San Leandro, off East 14th. It’s my very first cover shot. Frank Herrera was like, “D-Ray, you think you can do it?” I was like, “Hell yeah.” Mind you, this was film. You couldn’t see what you were taking pictures of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This shot ended up in \u003cem>The Source\u003c/em> magazine, \u003cem>XXL\u003c/em>, this is what got me exposure in the world. Messy Marv welcomed me into the world. Also, Kilo Curt, Mac Dre and Miami The Most showed up to go talk to Gary and Frank because they were working Mac Dre’s record at the time. They saw me doing Messy Marv’s photoshoot, and that’s what got me adopted into Thizz — because Dre was like, “Oh, we need a female photographer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951131\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951131\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-800x536.png\" alt=\"A candid shot of one of the many dance battles held at Youth Uprising in deep East Oakland, circa 2006.\" width=\"800\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-800x536.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1020x683.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-768x514.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1536x1029.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-2048x1371.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/6-1920x1286.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A candid shot of one of the many dance battles held at Youth Uprising in deep East Oakland, circa 2006. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> We used to have dance battles at Youth Uprising, it was a safe haven. Kids from East Oakland, their parents, folks who weren’t a part of the youth center would come, it was something to do on a Friday night. Those kids, look at them, those kids in the middle row are the only kids that probably go to Youth Uprising. Those other kids are family and friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951132\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951132\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-800x529.png\" alt='The ambassador of the Bay, E-40, sitting on his scraper watching Oakland going wild while on the set of the video for the hit song \"Tell Me When To Go\".' width=\"800\" height=\"529\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-800x529.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1020x674.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-768x508.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1536x1015.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-2048x1354.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/7-1920x1269.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The ambassador of the Bay, E-40, sitting on his scraper watching Oakland going wild on the set of the video for the hit song ‘Tell Me When To Go.’ \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> It’s showing East Oakland and both sides of Vallejo. Do you know what I’m talking about? Because I am the official Thizz photographer, and I still have a relationship with people like 40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I saw it, I took it. I saw the T go up, and it automatically happens. I’ve just got to keep it real. As soon as the T goes up, it just happens. It’s just the way my mental is trained.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951133\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951133\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-800x534.png\" alt=\"Well-known rapper and proud representative of Pittsburg's El Pueblo Projects, The Husalah, posing for a photo while sitting in a cherry red drop top car.\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-800x534.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1020x681.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-768x512.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1536x1025.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-2048x1367.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/8-1920x1281.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Well-known rapper and proud representative of Pittsburg’s El Pueblo Projects, Husalah. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>D-Ray:\u003c/b> I spent like two weeks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/golasoaso/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Husalah\u003c/a> before he turned himself in, and we wanted to get all of his stages, like all of his looks. I mean, he changed his clothes multiple times. We went to the projects, we did all types of stuff, just to make sure he had content while he was in prison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCLlU-8HsNE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">When he was in prison\u003c/a>, I made sure that he was still kept alive. Like, I had good pictures of him. I had press packets. I had whatever we needed. It was a sad situation. I’ll never forget it was like those two weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13951130\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13951130\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-800x528.png\" alt=\"The late MC, The Jacka, and well-known turf dancer, Ice Cold 3000, pose for a photo at Youth Uprising.\" width=\"800\" height=\"528\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-800x528.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1020x674.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-768x507.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1536x1014.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-2048x1352.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/5-1920x1268.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jacka and turf dancer Ice Cold 3000 pose for a photo at Youth Uprising. \u003ccite>(D-Ray)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>D-Ray:\u003c/strong> This is at Youth Uprising (YU). The Jacka would show up anytime I asked Jack to show up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have a thing with YU, those are all my kids. I don’t know him as “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/icecold3000/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ice Cold,\u003c/a>” I know him as Gary. You get what I’m saying? Today, knowing his name is Ice Cold, I’ve had to get used to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I have a bunch of kids at YU, and I just felt like I had to make sure (Gary) had a picture with my brother and he had that kind of love that my brother could pass off to him… And I just remember, because they were all excited to see Jack there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jack would get me in trouble tho, because he would come through smelling like OH MY GOD. Olis Simmons (the former head of YU) would say, “D-Ray, take him outside and spray him down before he comes in here.” I’d be like, “Why Jack, why?” But then, you couldn’t hold that against him. The kids would love him because he’d come in and he’d be himself. Jack would inspire those kids, and bring shirts and talk to them. I think that’s what gave Gary — Ice Cold — so much hope. He makes me very proud. Ice Cold makes me very, very, very proud. To see him glowing in this picture like he is, that’s why I pulled this picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11687704\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"60\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-400x30.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Turntable.Break_-768x58.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Jacka Art Experience runs Wednesday–Saturday, Jan. 31–Feb. 3, at the Loom in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://www.tickettailor.com/events/dreammoviellc/1101191\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "from-buskin-on-bart-to-teaching-turfin",
"title": "From Buskin’ on BART to Teaching Turfin’",
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"headTitle": "From Buskin’ on BART to Teaching Turfin’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“T\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">urfin’ is a way of life for me,” says \u003c/span>Telice Summerfield, a dancer who has the ability turn a BART platform into a stage where she can glide, tut, bend and bone break on beat. She exchanges energy with onlookers; they get entertained and she gets empowered. The dance is an art. It’s also a political act, as she takes up space at will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Turf, \u003c/a>an acronym that stands for “taking up room on the floor,” is a style of dance that’s native to Oakland. During the hyphy movement of the early 2000s, the moves people were doing at house parties and in music videos left an indelible impression on Telice, as a youngster growing up in South Sacramento. When she was a teenager, her mother would drive her to functions in the Bay Area so she could be a part of the action. And as a young adult attending UC Berkeley, Telice found a home in Oakland’s turf dancing community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13940115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13940115 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Telice Summerfield's hair swings as she gigs in the center of a crowd during a recent battle.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Telice Summerfield’s hair swings as she gigs in the center of a crowd during a recent battle. \u003ccite>(Amy Marie Elmer / Artful Eye Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Through this community, Telice has built a career in dance. Last year alone she hosted the 2023 Red Bull Dance Your Style Competition, taught turf dancing to young folks at an elementary school in West Oakland, and led lessons on dance at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today we discuss how the hyphy movement opened her eyes to the arts as a child, how her experience at UC Berkeley exposed her to inequalities on campus as a young adult, and what dancing on BART has taught her about sociology. Now that Telice is a known name in the dancing world, she also gives us some insight on her plans to take the culture even further.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClfT3U6Dw3_/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC7950103605&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/strong> Hey, what’s up family, welcome to Rightnowish. I’m your host, Pendarvis Harshaw, sliding in the studio to bring you a story that’s for sure going to get you moving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re an avid BART rider, chances are you’ve seen folks dancing on the train to make a lil change. The style of dance most people do on BART is T.U.R.F. Dancing, a type of dance that emerged from Oakland in the late 90s and early 2000s. It was popularized during the hyphy movement, and in many ways it carried the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than just going dumb, T.U.R.F. Dancing is about the smooth footwork, pantomiming and making facial expressions. It’s about the bone-breaking, tutting, and pop-locking. It’s storytelling on beat, and being player about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week we’re talking to Telice Summerfield, a T.U.R.F. dancer who takes the meaning behind the acronym T.U.R.F.– taking up room on the floor– seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally from South Sacramento, Telice was a kid when the hyphy movement kicked off. But she took note of it all: the good, the bad, and the dance moves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And since then she’s gone on to teach dance classes in schools, host events at the Oakland Museum of California, and shine on stage at Red Bull’s Dance Your Style competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re lucky enough to get on the right BART train, you’ll find Telice going from station to station, giggin’, doing bone-breaking contortions, and acrobatic moves as she performs on public transit. It’s because of this work ethic and talent that Telice’s name now rings bells in the Bay and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today on Rightnowish, Telice shares a bit about her upbringing in Sacramento, her affection for the Town and how she’s T.U.R.F. danced all over Northern California– carrying the hyphy flag with her, and keeping the culture lit for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of that and more, right after this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s your earliest memory of turf dancing, when was the first time you saw it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> So when I was 11, my.. I want to call her my cousin, but she really like my little brother’s auntie. She were not, like, blood re-. Anyways, she threw a party. I want to say she was like a junior or senior in high school, and she threw a big ass party right there in Meadowview and it was so lit. It was like my first function. And in there they was fuckin wit’ it they was turfin’. And Iike it just was… it so lit. It was like one of the most hyphiest young moments of my life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By, like, my junior year of high school, I was like ditching school to go to the battles or I would like, leave whatever school event. I was into extracurriculars, very studious, very smart. But I would be leaving the school shit to go dance because that’s really where my heart was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> During that time period, we have this thing called the hyphy movement. And through that, it furthered the cultural identity of Northern California hip hop. And it spoke to you in Sacramento. You latched on to it. What was it about the hyphy movement that spoke to you?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Oh, my goodness. I felt a sense of like, ‘ooh, that’s me.’ Like, it was just like a sense of resonance, you know? Um, it allowed me to be free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the hyphy movement and with hyphy culture and like just the energy behind it, there’s a sense of like, relief and freedom and like, “Oh, you don’t actually got to sit like this and eat like this and do this.” And there’s no supposed to. You know, you could just like fuck with it, you feel me. And like it was very electric for me. Like I will always turn up. The Federation was my favorite. And whenever I felt constrained by rules or by circumstance or by um, obstacles, I could always turn on some hyphy slaps and it would just be lit like, I just would feel better, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Something that I really wanted to touch on, is the fact that your mother would drive you and sometimes even your siblings to functions in Oakland so that you could dance. What did her belief in you do for you as a burgeoning dancer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> She would do all of that sacrificing, and mind you she was like… the battles back in the day was like 25 dollars, maybe 20, 25 dollars. And she couldn’t afford to get us all if she would drive all the way from Sac, maybe with my siblings in a car, if they was around, if not, they was at home or whatever. But they would all wait outside for me and she would pay for me to get into battles and wait hours, hours for me to just be exposed, like maybe, maybe not cypher, maybe, maybe not meet a few people. You know what I mean?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like, I was a lot more reserved and a lot less confident at the time, and so she would go the extra mile just for me to have the exposure to what I love most. And for me, like, especially in hindsight, I can never pay her back for that. You know, it’s like an investment that, like, she really believes in me and it’s paid off. You know, I’m able to pay my bills now off of dance, just off of me being who I am. And like, that’s a blessing. That is… that’s irreplaceable. You know, you can’t put a price tag on that. So, her investment in me way back when just showed me that she believed in whatever I decide to do, she gon’ stand ten toes behind me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That’s beautiful. As a parent I know that that’s something that, yeah, you kind of live through your child in a lot of ways. And… and so seeing you pursue your dreams and be successful, I’m sure she’s proud of you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Something I got to get here because this is an important part of your story. You get into UC Berkeley, you move to the Bay Area. You study social welfare as well as Spanish, and at the same time you weren’t all the way feeling what UC Berkeley was in terms of the social life on campus. So you ended up in Oakland. What did Oakland provide for you as an outlet during that time period?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Oakland provided a sense of like home. Like it didn’t feel like there were as many social expectations or regulations. Racism wasn’t as heavy as it was in Berkeley. My craft held more weight in Oakland, you know, like I feel like my… I could take my craft to Oakland anywhere, you know, especially on the trains. Well, like, anywhere really and be recognized for what I do and, like, really be affirmed in what I do. Whereas like in Berkeley, it just was like, “Oh, that’s cool,” you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Very much so. I went to Berkeley for grad school. Similar situation where on Fridays I would drop my backpack off and just be in the town and I… It was a release, I could breathe again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> And that’s a lot of the reason why I would either if I was in Berkeley, I was either at home, in class, or on my way to the BART.\u003cem> [chuckles]\u003c/em> Like, I was never really kickin’ it in Berkeley. I never really was fucking with the parties like that, like none of that, because I didn’t feel a sense of belonging. I didn’t feel like there was room for, like, real black girls, like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley is well known for its political activism, its progressive activism, but there also still exists a lot of hegemony and hierarchy in that arena just to even have access to it, you know. So I felt that a lot and just Oakland gave me an escape. It gave me access to myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That makes perfect sense then. And that investment in yourself paid dividends. You furthered your community. You met folks who were into dance just like you were. You met my best friend in the world, Jesus.. Zeus El, who’s a legendary turf dancer. And so I’ve known Zeus since seventh grade, and I’ve seen him develop this turf dance family kind of from the outside. You know, I know a lot of the people, but I’m not a dancer, so I’m not in it. And so I’m wondering, what is it like being inside of that turf dancing family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> First of all, shout out to Zeus. I love him so much. That’s big bro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s incredible. He takes everybody in with open arms. And that’s not the case for all the turfers. And that’s not… that’s not our general standard of embracing people. You know, a lot of times people have to earn it. But he just like, welcomed me and I just- I’m so grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Being inside of that family is like it’s very nuanced. Like there’s very, very high highs and the lows really kick you in your ass and there’s a lot of politics too, that are not easily, uh, legible to an onlooker, right or somebody who just whose perspective is from the outside in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s very critical that we stay connected, even if we don’t see eye to eye or even if we don’t agree on a topic. Being in that family is not easy, but Zeus made it a lot easier. Like I met, he was one of the first people I met in my first, like, day of being in Berkeley by myself without my family, you know. Like I went to the gym and I went to go flip with him. And that also gave me a sense of myself because I’ve been an athlete for a long time. And it just reminded me like, there’s not… you don’t have to separate your identity into categories, like they can all blend and serve your purpose for who you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You came out and you stole the show at a KQED event. We were honoring dancers from… basically 100 years worth of dancing told through this show. And toward the end, we invited folks to come up on stage and start hittin it, and you came out there, giggin, you knew a little bit of everybody and folks knew you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Being integral to what I love most has earned me the opportunity of getting to be who I am authentically, everywhere I go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you see me interacting with people and you see me like…. Like you said, I knew a little bit of everybody. Someone that I met from years ago in school could be at a KQED event and remember me or recognize me. Right. Or someone that I met through a village auntie can be at another event and remember me. You know what I mean? And so I think just like, developing authentic relationships and being authentic to who I am has allowed me to earn my name and earn like the…honor behind it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You mentioned dancing in different places and people knowing you from the different hats that you wear. Do you have a different approach when you’re dancing on big stages or community events or even on BART?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Dancing on big stages is really fun. It’s really fun because the support is for the most part, it’s overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> It allows me to expose the culture to a larger amount of people and the way that I do it, is unique because I wasn’t here, you know, I wasn’t in the Town in 2006, 2007, 2008, right? So the way that I do it has to be genuine to who I am.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It feels empowering to dance on BART because I know that I can always feed myself off my craft, you know? But there’s… there’s, like, nuances, right? Like, there’s the good with the bad. Like, BART is not the cleanest place to be hustling. It’s not the cleanest place to be dancing, you know? So I don’t sit down when I’m dancing on BART. Like I don’t sit down on BART, period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people who see dancers on BART, they rarely see girls. They rarely see girls who are raw. I don’t know, I don’t even really see girls like that and I be out there! So, like…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turfing in itself is taken up from on a floor, right? And it’s like radical, it’s political. It’s not- it’s not just dance moves Like you can feel it, it pierces you, you know, And whether I’m dancing on BART, whether I’m dancing in a battle, whether I’m dancing at first Friday, whether I’m dancing at a music festival, like people can feel that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That’s dope, Okay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> And, in terms of that validity in developing community and reaching folks during the pandemic, BART ridership took a dive. You pivoted and started doing work online. You developed a dance club called “Pussy Power Dance” and it became popular. Why do you think folks latched onto it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Well, I created Pussy Power out of a deficit of platform, right. Each month I would host a IG live session and it would last for about an hour and I would invite girls to come and perform on Pussy Power and, um, they would take 3 to 5 minutes to dance and they would just showcase. And I made it a showcase on purpose so that it was more open to all level styles, backgrounds, like I didn’t want it to feel like a competition or like a battle or like you’re going against all these girls in the live, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I think that people latched on to it because they probably felt the same way and also because they saw how unifying it was from like, the barriers of time, space, language, level of dance, and any other constraints that could keep us away from each other, they- those obstacles didn’t limit us when we were on pussy power. So like, every episode was so inspiring, and all the girls were like, ‘oh my goodness!’ It was just so cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To me, giving back is a part of why I do everything that I do. Like I want everyone to walk away with something, even if it’s inspiration or hopefully it’s tangible. And so through Pussy Power, even though there was all these dimensions that kept us apart, I still was able to give back in tangible ways and that made it more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> It’s something, you seem like you’ve etched out a career path. Now you’re working in education as well, teaching young folks dance in West Oakland. Tell me more about your day job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> My day job is teaching dance at an elementary school in West Oakland. And I teach from preschool up until fourth grade. Basically, there’s two classes of each grade and each class like, circulates through my class,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In my class we do, like it’s not elite dancing at all, you know, it’s not like it’s not “traditional” what traditional dance classes would look like, where like they’re learning a choreography and then they’re doing the choreography, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s more of like embracing movement as a creative expression of empowerment. You know, it’s like confidence building. It’s like them embracing that dance culture is really fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What I do, like, my role is to, like, uplift them and empower them and like, show them like, even if you don’t feel like the best dancer in the world, you can still come touch the stage and show some poses. And, you know, you can walk down a Soul Train line like the queen that you are. And so that allows them to share information of movement with each other, um, back and forth and just like embrace each other, you know, really see each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> And then beyond that, you also do workshops with folks of all ages through the Oakland Museum of California. What’s that experience been like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> The Oakland Museum, shout out to them. I love them so much. The workshop that I taught recently, it did have a diverse age group and I’m grateful for that because the movement and the information that I have to offer. I do want it to be accessible to everyone. And so I hosted a dance workshop on the front steps in the front patio of the Oakland Museum. And at first it was like only a few people. And like, there was some people who were feeling shy so they just wanted to watch. And then there are some people who are like, “Yeah, I’ll do it..I come fuck with y’all.” But by the end of the class it was like a good 15, 20 people and they all like, “Yeah!” You know, they’re all really excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I like to end with uh, activities, games, you know, dance circles, things like that, because it… it’s not so like… accomplished-based. It’s actually about how you feel because it’s not just a dance move. It’s not just a dance style. It’s like a… It’s a feeling, you know what I mean? It’s like a… it’s like a radical act, it’s a radical practice. So people feel that when they’re in my classes, in my space, learning from me, they always leave with smiles. And that just makes me feel like, oh my goodness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You’re doing the work. You’re doing the work. And it’s, I mean, the smiles and also like having income based on it, being able to make a living off of dance, that’s a sign that you’re on the right path. With that said, why do you personally think it’s important to pass down these lessons to the next generation?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Several reasons, I really in my heart, I know that if we don’t pay it forward, the culture will die, like, just period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> You know, and so, I really, as someone who’s really passionate about it and who cares about this a lot and like who makes a living and defines my path with this turfin’ shit, like turfing is a way of life for me. And as someone who uses this practice as a way of life, it’s critical to pass it down. It’s critical to pay it forward. So that way I’m not always… the burden isn’t always on me to keep this alive. Like, you know, it’s not just on any of us. Like we have a whole ‘nother generation of people who are emerging and maybe they can do a little bit more with this practice, with this community than we were able to do. You know, maybe they can reach farther than we were able to reach, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like there’s a lot of people around the world who want to learn turfing, you know, and we have it. It’s not like we’re not capable. There’s just some disconnects that I want to, like, connect so that not only I can get paid boucou money to travel the world, to teach and learn turfing. But my peers and my… my youngins can also do the same and see tangible opportunity from this, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Everybody eats, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Everybody eats. Everybody walks away with something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> I want to give a huge shoutout to Telice Summerfield. You’ve found your path, and you’ve simultaneously carried the culture with you! Thank you. Thank you for taking it even further!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You all can follow her on Instagram at tuuhleacee spelled T-U-U-H-L-E-A-C-E-E. And that’s the best way to stay updated on Telice’s upcoming performances, classes and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was produced by Marisol Medina-Cadena and Sheree Bishop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Beale is our engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additional support provided by Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, Ugur Dursun and Holly Kernan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend, or write a review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps more people find us. Thanks y’all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rightnowish is a KQED Production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peace.\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>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“T\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">urfin’ is a way of life for me,” says \u003c/span>Telice Summerfield, a dancer who has the ability turn a BART platform into a stage where she can glide, tut, bend and bone break on beat. She exchanges energy with onlookers; they get entertained and she gets empowered. The dance is an art. It’s also a political act, as she takes up space at will.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Turf, \u003c/a>an acronym that stands for “taking up room on the floor,” is a style of dance that’s native to Oakland. During the hyphy movement of the early 2000s, the moves people were doing at house parties and in music videos left an indelible impression on Telice, as a youngster growing up in South Sacramento. When she was a teenager, her mother would drive her to functions in the Bay Area so she could be a part of the action. And as a young adult attending UC Berkeley, Telice found a home in Oakland’s turf dancing community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13940115\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13940115 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Telice Summerfield's hair swings as she gigs in the center of a crowd during a recent battle.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/1-3.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Telice Summerfield’s hair swings as she gigs in the center of a crowd during a recent battle. \u003ccite>(Amy Marie Elmer / Artful Eye Studios)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Through this community, Telice has built a career in dance. Last year alone she hosted the 2023 Red Bull Dance Your Style Competition, taught turf dancing to young folks at an elementary school in West Oakland, and led lessons on dance at the Oakland Museum of California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today we discuss how the hyphy movement opened her eyes to the arts as a child, how her experience at UC Berkeley exposed her to inequalities on campus as a young adult, and what dancing on BART has taught her about sociology. Now that Telice is a known name in the dancing world, she also gives us some insight on her plans to take the culture even further.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/strong> Hey, what’s up family, welcome to Rightnowish. I’m your host, Pendarvis Harshaw, sliding in the studio to bring you a story that’s for sure going to get you moving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re an avid BART rider, chances are you’ve seen folks dancing on the train to make a lil change. The style of dance most people do on BART is T.U.R.F. Dancing, a type of dance that emerged from Oakland in the late 90s and early 2000s. It was popularized during the hyphy movement, and in many ways it carried the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than just going dumb, T.U.R.F. Dancing is about the smooth footwork, pantomiming and making facial expressions. It’s about the bone-breaking, tutting, and pop-locking. It’s storytelling on beat, and being player about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This week we’re talking to Telice Summerfield, a T.U.R.F. dancer who takes the meaning behind the acronym T.U.R.F.– taking up room on the floor– seriously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Originally from South Sacramento, Telice was a kid when the hyphy movement kicked off. But she took note of it all: the good, the bad, and the dance moves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And since then she’s gone on to teach dance classes in schools, host events at the Oakland Museum of California, and shine on stage at Red Bull’s Dance Your Style competition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’re lucky enough to get on the right BART train, you’ll find Telice going from station to station, giggin’, doing bone-breaking contortions, and acrobatic moves as she performs on public transit. It’s because of this work ethic and talent that Telice’s name now rings bells in the Bay and beyond.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today on Rightnowish, Telice shares a bit about her upbringing in Sacramento, her affection for the Town and how she’s T.U.R.F. danced all over Northern California– carrying the hyphy flag with her, and keeping the culture lit for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All of that and more, right after this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s your earliest memory of turf dancing, when was the first time you saw it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> So when I was 11, my.. I want to call her my cousin, but she really like my little brother’s auntie. She were not, like, blood re-. Anyways, she threw a party. I want to say she was like a junior or senior in high school, and she threw a big ass party right there in Meadowview and it was so lit. It was like my first function. And in there they was fuckin wit’ it they was turfin’. And Iike it just was… it so lit. It was like one of the most hyphiest young moments of my life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By, like, my junior year of high school, I was like ditching school to go to the battles or I would like, leave whatever school event. I was into extracurriculars, very studious, very smart. But I would be leaving the school shit to go dance because that’s really where my heart was.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> During that time period, we have this thing called the hyphy movement. And through that, it furthered the cultural identity of Northern California hip hop. And it spoke to you in Sacramento. You latched on to it. What was it about the hyphy movement that spoke to you?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Oh, my goodness. I felt a sense of like, ‘ooh, that’s me.’ Like, it was just like a sense of resonance, you know? Um, it allowed me to be free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With the hyphy movement and with hyphy culture and like just the energy behind it, there’s a sense of like, relief and freedom and like, “Oh, you don’t actually got to sit like this and eat like this and do this.” And there’s no supposed to. You know, you could just like fuck with it, you feel me. And like it was very electric for me. Like I will always turn up. The Federation was my favorite. And whenever I felt constrained by rules or by circumstance or by um, obstacles, I could always turn on some hyphy slaps and it would just be lit like, I just would feel better, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Something that I really wanted to touch on, is the fact that your mother would drive you and sometimes even your siblings to functions in Oakland so that you could dance. What did her belief in you do for you as a burgeoning dancer?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> She would do all of that sacrificing, and mind you she was like… the battles back in the day was like 25 dollars, maybe 20, 25 dollars. And she couldn’t afford to get us all if she would drive all the way from Sac, maybe with my siblings in a car, if they was around, if not, they was at home or whatever. But they would all wait outside for me and she would pay for me to get into battles and wait hours, hours for me to just be exposed, like maybe, maybe not cypher, maybe, maybe not meet a few people. You know what I mean?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like, I was a lot more reserved and a lot less confident at the time, and so she would go the extra mile just for me to have the exposure to what I love most. And for me, like, especially in hindsight, I can never pay her back for that. You know, it’s like an investment that, like, she really believes in me and it’s paid off. You know, I’m able to pay my bills now off of dance, just off of me being who I am. And like, that’s a blessing. That is… that’s irreplaceable. You know, you can’t put a price tag on that. So, her investment in me way back when just showed me that she believed in whatever I decide to do, she gon’ stand ten toes behind me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That’s beautiful. As a parent I know that that’s something that, yeah, you kind of live through your child in a lot of ways. And… and so seeing you pursue your dreams and be successful, I’m sure she’s proud of you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Something I got to get here because this is an important part of your story. You get into UC Berkeley, you move to the Bay Area. You study social welfare as well as Spanish, and at the same time you weren’t all the way feeling what UC Berkeley was in terms of the social life on campus. So you ended up in Oakland. What did Oakland provide for you as an outlet during that time period?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Oakland provided a sense of like home. Like it didn’t feel like there were as many social expectations or regulations. Racism wasn’t as heavy as it was in Berkeley. My craft held more weight in Oakland, you know, like I feel like my… I could take my craft to Oakland anywhere, you know, especially on the trains. Well, like, anywhere really and be recognized for what I do and, like, really be affirmed in what I do. Whereas like in Berkeley, it just was like, “Oh, that’s cool,” you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Very much so. I went to Berkeley for grad school. Similar situation where on Fridays I would drop my backpack off and just be in the town and I… It was a release, I could breathe again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> And that’s a lot of the reason why I would either if I was in Berkeley, I was either at home, in class, or on my way to the BART.\u003cem> [chuckles]\u003c/em> Like, I was never really kickin’ it in Berkeley. I never really was fucking with the parties like that, like none of that, because I didn’t feel a sense of belonging. I didn’t feel like there was room for, like, real black girls, like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley is well known for its political activism, its progressive activism, but there also still exists a lot of hegemony and hierarchy in that arena just to even have access to it, you know. So I felt that a lot and just Oakland gave me an escape. It gave me access to myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That makes perfect sense then. And that investment in yourself paid dividends. You furthered your community. You met folks who were into dance just like you were. You met my best friend in the world, Jesus.. Zeus El, who’s a legendary turf dancer. And so I’ve known Zeus since seventh grade, and I’ve seen him develop this turf dance family kind of from the outside. You know, I know a lot of the people, but I’m not a dancer, so I’m not in it. And so I’m wondering, what is it like being inside of that turf dancing family?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> First of all, shout out to Zeus. I love him so much. That’s big bro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s incredible. He takes everybody in with open arms. And that’s not the case for all the turfers. And that’s not… that’s not our general standard of embracing people. You know, a lot of times people have to earn it. But he just like, welcomed me and I just- I’m so grateful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Being inside of that family is like it’s very nuanced. Like there’s very, very high highs and the lows really kick you in your ass and there’s a lot of politics too, that are not easily, uh, legible to an onlooker, right or somebody who just whose perspective is from the outside in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s very critical that we stay connected, even if we don’t see eye to eye or even if we don’t agree on a topic. Being in that family is not easy, but Zeus made it a lot easier. Like I met, he was one of the first people I met in my first, like, day of being in Berkeley by myself without my family, you know. Like I went to the gym and I went to go flip with him. And that also gave me a sense of myself because I’ve been an athlete for a long time. And it just reminded me like, there’s not… you don’t have to separate your identity into categories, like they can all blend and serve your purpose for who you are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You came out and you stole the show at a KQED event. We were honoring dancers from… basically 100 years worth of dancing told through this show. And toward the end, we invited folks to come up on stage and start hittin it, and you came out there, giggin, you knew a little bit of everybody and folks knew you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Being integral to what I love most has earned me the opportunity of getting to be who I am authentically, everywhere I go.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When you see me interacting with people and you see me like…. Like you said, I knew a little bit of everybody. Someone that I met from years ago in school could be at a KQED event and remember me or recognize me. Right. Or someone that I met through a village auntie can be at another event and remember me. You know what I mean? And so I think just like, developing authentic relationships and being authentic to who I am has allowed me to earn my name and earn like the…honor behind it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You mentioned dancing in different places and people knowing you from the different hats that you wear. Do you have a different approach when you’re dancing on big stages or community events or even on BART?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Dancing on big stages is really fun. It’s really fun because the support is for the most part, it’s overwhelming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> It allows me to expose the culture to a larger amount of people and the way that I do it, is unique because I wasn’t here, you know, I wasn’t in the Town in 2006, 2007, 2008, right? So the way that I do it has to be genuine to who I am.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It feels empowering to dance on BART because I know that I can always feed myself off my craft, you know? But there’s… there’s, like, nuances, right? Like, there’s the good with the bad. Like, BART is not the cleanest place to be hustling. It’s not the cleanest place to be dancing, you know? So I don’t sit down when I’m dancing on BART. Like I don’t sit down on BART, period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most people who see dancers on BART, they rarely see girls. They rarely see girls who are raw. I don’t know, I don’t even really see girls like that and I be out there! So, like…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Turfing in itself is taken up from on a floor, right? And it’s like radical, it’s political. It’s not- it’s not just dance moves Like you can feel it, it pierces you, you know, And whether I’m dancing on BART, whether I’m dancing in a battle, whether I’m dancing at first Friday, whether I’m dancing at a music festival, like people can feel that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> That’s dope, Okay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> And, in terms of that validity in developing community and reaching folks during the pandemic, BART ridership took a dive. You pivoted and started doing work online. You developed a dance club called “Pussy Power Dance” and it became popular. Why do you think folks latched onto it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Well, I created Pussy Power out of a deficit of platform, right. Each month I would host a IG live session and it would last for about an hour and I would invite girls to come and perform on Pussy Power and, um, they would take 3 to 5 minutes to dance and they would just showcase. And I made it a showcase on purpose so that it was more open to all level styles, backgrounds, like I didn’t want it to feel like a competition or like a battle or like you’re going against all these girls in the live, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I think that people latched on to it because they probably felt the same way and also because they saw how unifying it was from like, the barriers of time, space, language, level of dance, and any other constraints that could keep us away from each other, they- those obstacles didn’t limit us when we were on pussy power. So like, every episode was so inspiring, and all the girls were like, ‘oh my goodness!’ It was just so cool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To me, giving back is a part of why I do everything that I do. Like I want everyone to walk away with something, even if it’s inspiration or hopefully it’s tangible. And so through Pussy Power, even though there was all these dimensions that kept us apart, I still was able to give back in tangible ways and that made it more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> It’s something, you seem like you’ve etched out a career path. Now you’re working in education as well, teaching young folks dance in West Oakland. Tell me more about your day job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> My day job is teaching dance at an elementary school in West Oakland. And I teach from preschool up until fourth grade. Basically, there’s two classes of each grade and each class like, circulates through my class,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In my class we do, like it’s not elite dancing at all, you know, it’s not like it’s not “traditional” what traditional dance classes would look like, where like they’re learning a choreography and then they’re doing the choreography, right?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s more of like embracing movement as a creative expression of empowerment. You know, it’s like confidence building. It’s like them embracing that dance culture is really fun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What I do, like, my role is to, like, uplift them and empower them and like, show them like, even if you don’t feel like the best dancer in the world, you can still come touch the stage and show some poses. And, you know, you can walk down a Soul Train line like the queen that you are. And so that allows them to share information of movement with each other, um, back and forth and just like embrace each other, you know, really see each other.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> And then beyond that, you also do workshops with folks of all ages through the Oakland Museum of California. What’s that experience been like?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> The Oakland Museum, shout out to them. I love them so much. The workshop that I taught recently, it did have a diverse age group and I’m grateful for that because the movement and the information that I have to offer. I do want it to be accessible to everyone. And so I hosted a dance workshop on the front steps in the front patio of the Oakland Museum. And at first it was like only a few people. And like, there was some people who were feeling shy so they just wanted to watch. And then there are some people who are like, “Yeah, I’ll do it..I come fuck with y’all.” But by the end of the class it was like a good 15, 20 people and they all like, “Yeah!” You know, they’re all really excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And I like to end with uh, activities, games, you know, dance circles, things like that, because it… it’s not so like… accomplished-based. It’s actually about how you feel because it’s not just a dance move. It’s not just a dance style. It’s like a… It’s a feeling, you know what I mean? It’s like a… it’s like a radical act, it’s a radical practice. So people feel that when they’re in my classes, in my space, learning from me, they always leave with smiles. And that just makes me feel like, oh my goodness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> You’re doing the work. You’re doing the work. And it’s, I mean, the smiles and also like having income based on it, being able to make a living off of dance, that’s a sign that you’re on the right path. With that said, why do you personally think it’s important to pass down these lessons to the next generation?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Several reasons, I really in my heart, I know that if we don’t pay it forward, the culture will die, like, just period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> You know, and so, I really, as someone who’s really passionate about it and who cares about this a lot and like who makes a living and defines my path with this turfin’ shit, like turfing is a way of life for me. And as someone who uses this practice as a way of life, it’s critical to pass it down. It’s critical to pay it forward. So that way I’m not always… the burden isn’t always on me to keep this alive. Like, you know, it’s not just on any of us. Like we have a whole ‘nother generation of people who are emerging and maybe they can do a little bit more with this practice, with this community than we were able to do. You know, maybe they can reach farther than we were able to reach, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like there’s a lot of people around the world who want to learn turfing, you know, and we have it. It’s not like we’re not capable. There’s just some disconnects that I want to, like, connect so that not only I can get paid boucou money to travel the world, to teach and learn turfing. But my peers and my… my youngins can also do the same and see tangible opportunity from this, you know?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> Everybody eats, B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Telice Summerfield:\u003c/strong> Everybody eats. Everybody walks away with something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/strong> I want to give a huge shoutout to Telice Summerfield. You’ve found your path, and you’ve simultaneously carried the culture with you! Thank you. Thank you for taking it even further!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You all can follow her on Instagram at tuuhleacee spelled T-U-U-H-L-E-A-C-E-E. And that’s the best way to stay updated on Telice’s upcoming performances, classes and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This episode was hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was produced by Marisol Medina-Cadena and Sheree Bishop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Beale is our engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additional support provided by Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, Ugur Dursun and Holly Kernan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend, or write a review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps more people find us. Thanks y’all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rightnowish is a KQED Production.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peace.\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>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"title": "E-40 Gets the Key to the City of Vallejo and a Street Named in His Honor",
"headTitle": "E-40 Gets the Key to the City of Vallejo and a Street Named in His Honor | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On Saturday, Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell handed the key to the city to one of its biggest musical icons: E-40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t even know anywhere else. I only knew 4 blocks. I was just a ghetto child. I never thought I’d be selling tapes out of the trunk of the car over at M&M liquor to having my \u003cem>own\u003c/em> liquor,” said Earl Stevens, aka E-40, at the ceremony on a stretch of Magazine Street that now bears the honorary street sign E-40 Way. It marks the neighborhood where he was raised and began his chart-topping career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936795\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936795 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens greets community members after the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens greets community members after the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You can see the type of talent this city has produced over many many decades,” said Mayor McConnell, addressing the crowd of hundreds that gathered for the ceremony. “Continuously when you move throughout the Bay Area and when you live in other cities, you meet people who say ‘I grew up and I lived in Vallejo,’ and they’re very proud of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we want to acknowledge his success, and more importantly, we want to acknowledge his contributions to the city,” added McConnell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936788\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936788 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Vallejo High School cheerleaders perform at Earl “E-40” Stevens’ honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo High School cheerleaders perform at Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’ honorary ceremony, with E-40 (right) sitting beside Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell on stage. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland-born hip-hop and hyphy artist Mistah F.A.B., master of ceremonies at the event, said E-40 was somebody he grew up idolizing as an artist and as a person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is about being here for somebody that has opened up doors, somebody that has pioneered and championed what it is like to be not only an artist, but to be an entrepreneur, to be a father, to be a friend, to be a family member, to be a great business man,” said Mistah F.A.B., who is also a community organizer, entrepreneur and activist. “I think that you guys are just as proud as we are and we’re happy. … This is a beautiful moment, man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936789\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936789 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens’s family members sit in the audience during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’s family members sit in the audience during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>E-40 is a name practically synonymous with \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a>, and he’s enjoyed impressive career longevity rarely seen in rap. He got his start in the late ’80s as a member of The Click, a group that also featured his sister Suga-T, brother D-Shot and cousin B-Legit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with peers like Too Short, E-40 set the standard for independent music distribution by selling tapes “out the trunk.” His label Sick Wid It Records later signed a distribution deal with Jive, and The Click’s second album, 1995’s \u003cem>Game Related\u003c/em>, peaked at No. 21.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936794\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936794 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens unveils the sign of the renamed Magazine St, aka E-40 Way, during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens unveils the sign of the renamed Magazine St, aka E-40 Way, during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good opportunity for the kids that are coming up here, to build something positive for the children coming up in Vallejo,” said Vallejo resident Rosalyn Robinson. “I think it’s a monumental event, giving Vallejo that credit that’s well needed. E-40 has been in the game for four decades, and this celebration is way past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=arts_13935408 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/HKGT-part-2-web-image-1020x574.png']In 1993, E-40 launched his solo career with the album \u003cem>Federal\u003c/em> and continued collaborating with members of The Click on hits like 1995’s “Sprinkle Me” featuring Suga-T as his national profile grew. He’s credited with inventing and popularizing many Bay Area slang terms — such as “broccoli” for cannabis, “fasheezy” and “flamboastin’.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>E-40’s hit-making streak continued with the 2006 smash “Tell Me When To Go,” which came to define hyphy — the local, hard-partying rap subculture — for the rest of the country. His 2014 song “Choices” became a Golden State Warriors anthem that amped up the team during its championship games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936792\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936792 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens’s son, Earl Stevens Jr. talks about his father’s legacy during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’s son, Earl Stevens Jr. talks about his father’s legacy during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dennis Lastra, who grew up next-door to Stevens in his grandmother’s house, said despite all the success and the accomplishments, E-40 was always humble and always made sure to visit them whenever he was in Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just so proud of him, man. Because like, just from day one, I seen her struggle as a single mother, and she raised her kids,” said Lastra of Earl Stevens’ mother, who raised him and his siblings as a single parent. “\u003cb>\u003c/b>I give all props to that man. … You feel that gratitude that he has. It’s just humbling to hear that from someone that has achieved so much. … And the hard way, it wasn’t the easy way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936791\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936791 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"E-40 Way seen on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 Way in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In recent years, E-40 collaborated with younger Bay Area artists like P-Lo and national rap stars, including Snoop Dogg, T.I. and Ice Cube. While continuing to make music, he’s shifted his energy toward his philanthropy and liquor and food businesses. He has a forthcoming cookbook with Snoop Dogg, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/untitled-snoop-cookbook-2\">Goon With the Spoon\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, out Nov. 14 via Chronicle Books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936790\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936790 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens speaks during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens speaks during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“E-40 is a trailblazer and he’s opened up many doors for young people to walk through,” said Rosalyn Robinson. “He’s very humble, always been humble. He’s always been loyal. And I think it’s important for the kids to see, and it’s important for events like this to keep happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Attila Pelit contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Vallejo's mayor unveiled E-40 Way on Magazine Street, honoring the neighborhood where the Bay Area rap legend was raised and began his chart-topping career.",
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"description": "Vallejo's mayor unveiled E-40 Way on Magazine Street, honoring the neighborhood where the Bay Area rap legend was raised and began his chart-topping career.",
"title": "E-40 Gets the Key to the City of Vallejo and a Street Named in His Honor | KQED",
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"headline": "E-40 Gets the Key to the City of Vallejo and a Street Named in His Honor",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Saturday, Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell handed the key to the city to one of its biggest musical icons: E-40.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t even know anywhere else. I only knew 4 blocks. I was just a ghetto child. I never thought I’d be selling tapes out of the trunk of the car over at M&M liquor to having my \u003cem>own\u003c/em> liquor,” said Earl Stevens, aka E-40, at the ceremony on a stretch of Magazine Street that now bears the honorary street sign E-40 Way. It marks the neighborhood where he was raised and began his chart-topping career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936795\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936795 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens greets community members after the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-74-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens greets community members after the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“You can see the type of talent this city has produced over many many decades,” said Mayor McConnell, addressing the crowd of hundreds that gathered for the ceremony. “Continuously when you move throughout the Bay Area and when you live in other cities, you meet people who say ‘I grew up and I lived in Vallejo,’ and they’re very proud of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So we want to acknowledge his success, and more importantly, we want to acknowledge his contributions to the city,” added McConnell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936788\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936788 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Vallejo High School cheerleaders perform at Earl “E-40” Stevens’ honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-8-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vallejo High School cheerleaders perform at Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’ honorary ceremony, with E-40 (right) sitting beside Vallejo Mayor Robert McConnell on stage. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland-born hip-hop and hyphy artist Mistah F.A.B., master of ceremonies at the event, said E-40 was somebody he grew up idolizing as an artist and as a person.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is about being here for somebody that has opened up doors, somebody that has pioneered and championed what it is like to be not only an artist, but to be an entrepreneur, to be a father, to be a friend, to be a family member, to be a great business man,” said Mistah F.A.B., who is also a community organizer, entrepreneur and activist. “I think that you guys are just as proud as we are and we’re happy. … This is a beautiful moment, man.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936789\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936789 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens’s family members sit in the audience during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-25-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’s family members sit in the audience during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>E-40 is a name practically synonymous with \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">Bay Area hip-hop\u003c/a>, and he’s enjoyed impressive career longevity rarely seen in rap. He got his start in the late ’80s as a member of The Click, a group that also featured his sister Suga-T, brother D-Shot and cousin B-Legit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with peers like Too Short, E-40 set the standard for independent music distribution by selling tapes “out the trunk.” His label Sick Wid It Records later signed a distribution deal with Jive, and The Click’s second album, 1995’s \u003cem>Game Related\u003c/em>, peaked at No. 21.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936794\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936794 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens unveils the sign of the renamed Magazine St, aka E-40 Way, during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-70-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens unveils the sign of the renamed Magazine St, aka E-40 Way, during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s a good opportunity for the kids that are coming up here, to build something positive for the children coming up in Vallejo,” said Vallejo resident Rosalyn Robinson. “I think it’s a monumental event, giving Vallejo that credit that’s well needed. E-40 has been in the game for four decades, and this celebration is way past.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In 1993, E-40 launched his solo career with the album \u003cem>Federal\u003c/em> and continued collaborating with members of The Click on hits like 1995’s “Sprinkle Me” featuring Suga-T as his national profile grew. He’s credited with inventing and popularizing many Bay Area slang terms — such as “broccoli” for cannabis, “fasheezy” and “flamboastin’.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>E-40’s hit-making streak continued with the 2006 smash “Tell Me When To Go,” which came to define hyphy — the local, hard-partying rap subculture — for the rest of the country. His 2014 song “Choices” became a Golden State Warriors anthem that amped up the team during its championship games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936792\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936792 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens’s son, Earl Stevens Jr. talks about his father’s legacy during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-53-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens’s son, Earl Stevens Jr. talks about his father’s legacy during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dennis Lastra, who grew up next-door to Stevens in his grandmother’s house, said despite all the success and the accomplishments, E-40 was always humble and always made sure to visit them whenever he was in Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m just so proud of him, man. Because like, just from day one, I seen her struggle as a single mother, and she raised her kids,” said Lastra of Earl Stevens’ mother, who raised him and his siblings as a single parent. “\u003cb>\u003c/b>I give all props to that man. … You feel that gratitude that he has. It’s just humbling to hear that from someone that has achieved so much. … And the hard way, it wasn’t the easy way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936791\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936791 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"E-40 Way seen on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-34-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 Way in Vallejo. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In recent years, E-40 collaborated with younger Bay Area artists like P-Lo and national rap stars, including Snoop Dogg, T.I. and Ice Cube. While continuing to make music, he’s shifted his energy toward his philanthropy and liquor and food businesses. He has a forthcoming cookbook with Snoop Dogg, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chroniclebooks.com/products/untitled-snoop-cookbook-2\">Goon With the Spoon\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, out Nov. 14 via Chronicle Books.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936790\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13936790 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Earl “E-40” Stevens speaks during the honorary ceremony on Oct. 21, 2023 in Vallejo, Calif.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/E-40-33-MV-KQED-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Earl ‘E-40’ Stevens speaks during the honorary ceremony. \u003ccite>(Michaela Vatcheva for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“E-40 is a trailblazer and he’s opened up many doors for young people to walk through,” said Rosalyn Robinson. “He’s very humble, always been humble. He’s always been loyal. And I think it’s important for the kids to see, and it’s important for events like this to keep happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Attila Pelit contributed to this story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">Despite the uptempo party music and the perception of free-spirited fun, it’s clear that 2006 was a violent year in my Northern Californian community. But until recently, I hadn’t stopped to consider the bigger picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By stepping back and looking at the issues impacting the kids of the Bay Area in the early 2000s, during the hyphy movement, I realized two things:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, those issues– violence and crime, as well as poverty, sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination– are no different from the issues we’re facing today. Secondly, if you look closely enough, you’ll see that these issues are rooted in capitalism and imperialism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode we talk to \u003ca href=\"https://lee.house.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Congresswoman Barbara Lee\u003c/a>, who represents the East Bay, about her history of dealing with these issues while serving this community for the past 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We hear from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rich_iyala/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rich Iyala,\u003c/a> a younger San Francisco based artist who grew up in the shadow of the hyphy movement and wrote a song that inspired multiple aerosol artists to write tags that read, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BhDq8RwhU7z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hyphy children got trauma(s)\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BwkH97cH-nZ/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hyphy kids got trauma\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also hear from a senior at Oakland’s Fremont High school, T’Jon, who was born in 2006. During a recent interview with filmmaker Boots Riley for KDOL’s show \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thetowntalks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Town Talks\u003c/a>, T’Jon shares his thoughts about the power of art, culture and community, as exemplified by the hyphy movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6098869655&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All throughout my life, even before becoming a journalist, I’ve kept a journal. I still have every single notebook, and there’s over 60 of ‘em. Hella chicken scratch on yellow legal pads, little windows into my mindstate and notes on what was going on around me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While working on this project, I looked back a few from 2006. An entry from July of that year reads,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Hyphy/ Metros/ Purple/ Jordans/ And Bathing Ape Hoodies/ Bootleg movies/ Turf Dancers/ speakers in the grill of scrapers/ cut the dreads off/ return to fading/ faded. Dark liquor and shit/ bus fare is $1.10/ and that 10 cents kills it/ Rather do it that way/ than to put $3.00 a gallon/ in the tank/ unless you got candy paint and dubs on yo thang/ don’t even come out to play/ I mean I mean, the word is geese/ geeks/ smirkish streets/ clean = wet/ O.G. thers = Vet/ stay safe = you blessed/ So many laid to rest, I done seen RIP on every piece of clothing except a prom dress…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between these little scribbles were phone numbers and doodles– a bunch of crude self portraits drawn in pen. And there’s even a “To Do list” I wrote just before leaving Oakland, for Howard University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Muffled sounds of shuffling paper] “\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before I leave for Washington, D.C: Finish the Zeus DVD, go to a baseball game, get three fitted caps, two pair of jeans…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[sounds of distant and lively chatter outdoors]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I spent the fall of 2006 in Washington D.C., adjusting to the weather and the social climate of the east coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I loved the diversity within the Black community on campus. There’s nothing like attending an HBCU. Dudes with gold ones and locs, pursuing their PhDs. Women in business suits, with Wall Street connections and fly hairdos. Weedheads who didn’t do anything but sit on the same bench stoned every day. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was cool with em all, as well as the Cali club crew, a few D.C. folks and the poets, but I was still going through culture shock. I was hella far away from the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At one party I got laughed at for wearing glasses with no lenses, and in class, folks looked at me weird for rocking a hoodie with a picture of my deceased friend’s face on it. I grew homesick, and I left school and took an extended Thanksgiving break back in the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Covered in hugs from the people I love, I was happy to be home. But toward the end of my trip, I was walking out of my mom’s house, as I closed the gate, looked down the street, and saw police lights and yellow tape. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the time I got to my cousin’s house, a five minute drive if you catch every green light, word had spread: Marcel Campbell, a friend who we called Cell, had been killed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Considered a young OG, Cell was more mature than his age,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> both through his fashion – peacoats and casual shoes, as well as through his temperament – ever cool. A short brotha with long locs, he’d share wisdom through jokes, shaking your hand while talking to you — simultaneous conversation and affirmation. He was yet another young person gone too soon. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I didn’t get to attend Cell’s memorial. I had to head back to school soon after we got the news of his passing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I left the streets of the East Bay, headed back to the east coast for those final weeks of 2006. Looking out the airplane window and scribbling in my journal, I wrote a poem using the idea of a bridge as a metaphor for the shaky grounds my community was standing on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some would say never burn a bridge\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But they never tell you to check on it/ make sure that it holds\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The wind, the rain/ the heat and the snow\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The moment I know\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This infrastructure isn’t conducting\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The reason why it was constructed\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bolts loosen/ the poles start to rust and\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Weak links in the chain\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bridge ain’t standing the same\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lord forbid/ this bridge/ fall back into the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While taking classes at Howard, I saw that Washington D.C. – almost three-thousand miles away from Oakland – was a world removed from scraper bikes and hyphy trains. By stepping outside of my Bay Area bubble, I was exposed to broader issues impacting the world. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And being in the nation’s capital, I was also closer to the elected officials who are in the seat of power in this country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not far from my dorm room there was someone else from Oakland who was also thinking about the bigger issues impacting this \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">generation, with a special focus on the people from the East Bay… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Congresswoman Barbara Lee, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I am Congresswoman Barbara Lee and I represent the 12th Congressional District.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rep. Lee’s district is in Alameda county, which includes the East Bay cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and more. She tells me that she appreciates what hip-hop artists have done for the region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a really cool culture in Oakland\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">… \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And she sees how legislation has impacted the way of life for a generation of kids from the region she represents. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s really sad because this is the Bay Area and we shouldn’t have policies that allow for gentrification, but that… that happened.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Congresswoman Lee entered office in April of 1998, Black folks accounted for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Oakland.htm\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">nearly 40% of Oakland’s population\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The most recent Census reports that Oakland’s Black population is down to about 20%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back at the turn of the millennium, when I was a teen living in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., it was Representative Lee’s vote – the sole ballot cast against going to war in Afghanistan – that introduced me to her work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over the years, I’ve watched as she’s championed reproductive health and combated racism. She’s fought for the rights of Black folks here and abroad, and represented her region at every turn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While no person – especially a politician – is perfect, I’ve appreciated how she’s been critical of systemic racism and imperialism. She’s pushed for low-income housing, organized against air pollutants, and fought against the hyper-policing of Black people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And even with these efforts over the years, Rep. Lee realizes that all of these layers of issues created a world where it’s damn near impossible for people to walk around unscathed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I can understand the environment and the context of what was taking place during that time. In terms of the political environment, that causes a lot of anxiety. And a lot of, I don’t want to say depression, but quite a bit of pessimism, and uncertainty about where this country and where the world is going. Just like now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before even considering stats and numerical breakdowns of crime, poverty and the like, we have to start with the mindstate of folks at the time we’re talking about, 2006. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These hyphy teenagers, myself included, we were stepping into the world with so much pessimism that it toed the line of nihilism. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were told to go out there and make a living while the unemployment rate was soaring. It jumped from \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">about \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a5.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Bureau%20of,million%20unemployed%20persons%20(11).\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">5% in the year 2006 to nearly 10% in the year 2010\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No wonder after years of a downward trend, national crime reportedly had an uptick around that same period. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To be clear, I’m not blaming the unemployed, not even the small-time criminals. Nah, I’m looking at the system that creates this environment. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Congresswoman Barbara Lee says that this country’s philosophy on violence has laid the foundation for my generation – and many generations of Americans. A lot of us think that violence is how we should solve our problems.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been very involved in trying to prevent wars and trying to hold these presidents accountable for starting wars. And what the impact has been, I think, especially on young people, maybe like violence, you know, the government uses violence, so what’s the problem? You know, when I said the violence should not be an option, well, why does the government engage in violence? Why are there so many guns on the street? Why can’t you do something about stopping this kind of violence? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stop the violence? Yeah right. Despite the many anti-violence initiatives and peace movements I’ve seen, this country is entrenched in violence. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve gotten used to mass shootings happening on the regular, and videos of police killings circulate with the morning news. It’s a common thing, unfortunately. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think the trauma and some of the political aspects of that time and now are very concerning to me \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Man, I was concerned too, but most of my focus was on the issue of homicides, and other blatant examples of violence. I hadn’t stepped back and looked at the bigger picture of this nation. How violence is at its core; that’s how we’re governed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prisons are violent and oppressive by nature. And that’s only compounded when you consider the inadequate living conditions behind bars, and the unjust system that lands folks there in the first place. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Schools, through racist curriculum and social hierarchies, can be both emotionally and physically violent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Housing – from redlining to gentrification – violent. As a person who faced a few evictions and stints of homelessness as a kid, I can tell you, there are few things more violent than losing your home.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even our relationships with one another – especially those that are thought to be romantic – they have issues with violence being intertwined in everything from the way we communicate to the way we treat each other sexually. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, if you look close enough, at the root of many of the issues I’ve mentioned are violent systems of capitalism and imperialism.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Congresswoman Lee again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To sort through all of this, is- is pretty difficult when you’re just trying to survive and make ends meet and trying to make a life for yourself and your family.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re a generation who was constantly shown that violence \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the answer, it’s no wonder that we’d find it completely rational to choose malicious ways to solve our problems. It provides a release. And back then, in 2006, that was just part of the culture.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, our particular generation, we would stomp your hood and we would fuck your car up and do all kind of crazy shit because we wanted to. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Rich Iyala, a San Francisco-bred hip-hop artist who has been making music for over a decade. He can make hyphy blaps, political tracks or use agile lyrics over funky horns and cool drum patterns. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the start of this podcast, I mentioned a piece of graffiti I saw on a wall near an underpass, on 27th street in West Oakland that read, “Hyphy Kids Got Trauma” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those words were inspired by a more recent song from Rich Iyala, the lyrics went a little something like this:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… It turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The song, in its entirety, is about kids going to school and having to step over drug-addicted adults who are laid out on the street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala\u003c/b>\u003cb>:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">PTSD from the choppa got me shaking like maracas. Thought my patna went to college. Why I seen him on the block again?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rich has never recorded the song, he’s only done live performances of it. And evidently it resonates with folks.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s kind of like very sad. And I cracked my voice intentionally to kind of show pain. And that’s like a thing I do in a lot of my other songs to, like, convey a very close, raw emotion, like emotionality hyphy children got trauma, you know, kind of like I cry it out and I always see that it has people have a reaction, like all throughout the crowd.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even with seeing how people reacted to it, Rich was completely blown away when he saw his words in graffiti written on a wall in West Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was news to me, as much as it was to anybody else, for a while I was like, Wow. Like, what is this? Or why is why is this happening? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He knew why: people were feeling it. But the thing is, he didn’t know how many people were feeling it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the time, I saw a few posts on different social media platforms, photos taken of the words scrawled in different locations around town.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The artist who painted the one I saw, a graffiti writer who goes by Nasty, told me that Rich’s lyrics were the inspiration. And Nasty, he did a few tags, but he didn’t do all of ‘em. Others followed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rich saw it spread. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was funny because I looked up and I was like, What the hell is this? And then I went downtown and somebody else tagged it there. They were taking up whole walls. They were taking up like bus stops. Like trash cans, all kind of shit\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Four simple words that eloquently and succinctly speak to a wave of folks from West Oakland to East Palo Alto, the north side of Vallejo to South San Francisco. Ask anyone, who was in the Bay Area in 2006 and was into hip-hop–a fan of hyphy music or not– I bet you they’ll have a story to tell. And many folks are just now finding the words to tell it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">we’re a generation now where a lot of us, we were able to look back now and Iike, see traumas, and we’re able to articulate traumas\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adults now, the kids who grew up in that era, might’ve metaphorically burned some rubber [tires screech] while trying to gain traction on the road of life, but eventually a lot of us got around that learning curve.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know I had to crashout a few times before I learned. It took years to process the idea that constantly smoking and drinking was my way of masking pain, and that “we ain’t listening” mentality isn’t always the way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had to unlearn habits that were personally abusive in order to be in better community, and relationship with others. Misogynistic ideas of what male/ female interactions look like had to be processed. And I had to learn self-worth outside of a job or accomplishments, but just for simply being human. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shit, I had to dig deep to even appreciate my culture as a reputable part of this thing we call hip-hop. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to make this podcast. And still, there’s more work to do… Lots more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But I’ll admit, it’s wild seeing the kids who used to dance on top of cars, now running non-profit organizations. Much respect to the folks who’ve been intentional about working through their traumas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Rich again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is a dope resurgence of like Black therapy popping off in the Bay, you know, and like ask, you know, I’m sure a lot of Black therapists in the Bay, they’ll tell you in a minute that hyphy shit it was crazy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You don’t need to be a licensed mental health professional to look back at that time period in this region, and know that the kids of the era were heavily impacted by what was going on. And in response, we made art that helped us deal with it all. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, c’mon man, we’re talking about Black folks, Brown folks, Children of immigrants and working class folks in the United States. There’s nothing new about making art to overcome hard times.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today in the Town the same issues exist: there’s still community violence and economic disparities. Problems with the police, schools, the media, and elected officials. As of right now, in Oakland this year, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://cityofoakland2.app.box.com/s/sjiq7usfy27gy9dfe51hp8arz5l1ixad/file/1317068327070\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">over 90\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> people have been killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, if we were to step back and look at the bigger picture, we’d see that the issues we’re facing are very much bred from capitalist exploitation, imperialism, and systemic racism that have been fueling this country, the same issues, just remixed for today’s environment. And just like us, young folks today are finding ways of dealing with it all, while enjoying art, culture and community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just days before this podcast series dropped, I stopped by Oakland’s Fremont High School. Inside of a studio in the school’s media center, a handful of students were on stage, as they were in conversation with filmmaker and hip-hop artist, Boots Riley. This was for a video series produced by KDOL called \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Town Talks\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My ears perked up and I sat forward in my seat, listening to the second question of the evening come in from a young man wearing a Bathing Ape shirt, stylish ripped jeans and some black Jordans: \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>T’Jon: \u003c/b>Hello, m\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">y name is T’Jon, and my question is, what excites you about music?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boots Riley, wearing red jogger sweats and a green jacket, as his trademark porkchop sideburns poked out of hat, responded. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mmmm. There’s an energy… you know, I like music that makes you feel alive, and um, you know, makes you feel the contradictions of the world around you, like there’s something pressing against the way things are. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I’m not necessarily a fan of music that’s supposed to be in the background. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that point, my head nearly exploded. For the past year I’d been writing about the contradictions of art and society, as well as music that can’t be relegated to the background. Boots wasn’t talking specifically about hyphy music, but when the question was turned around, and T’Jon was asked what he likes about music– the teenager with the fresh outfit mentioned the hyphy era. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>T’Jon:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It gets everybody together, like, everybody has the energy. Just like, like the hyphy movement, like everybody, it was a whole movement- like everybody in the whole city just felt it, you just could feel the vibe. It’s like, when you vibe to music it’s good. Like, you can tell it’s good. Good energy and stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">T’Jon was born on April 20th of 2006 – a 4/20 I’ll never forget. His dad is one of my best friends, we’ve known each other since the age of four. I was at the hospital to greet the family just after T’Jon was born.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, nearly 18 years later, this young man was reminding me about the power of the music that came out when I was his age. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My generation of Bay Area folks had so little, and literally did the most. We took empty parking lots where grocery stores once fed our families, and used the pavement to feed our need for entertainment. We took our trauma, put it on 22 inch rims and covered it with candy paint jobs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The hip-hop scene went years without getting national media attention, and when the cameras came we didn’t smile. Nope, we hit ‘em with a Thizz Face and showed ‘em a dance they’d never seen. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area created something significant out of nothing, and did so in the face of adversity – and we made it look fun. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After hearing T’Jon’s reflections, I walked away thinking about the actual hyphy kids – the babies. The young folks born in that era who are teenagers now. How can we assist them as they navigate today’s climate? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond fighting for systemic changes and holding elected officials accountable, there’s a few simple things we can do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">First and foremost: listen to the young folks. Slap their music, read their poetry, appreciate their art. It’ll do wonders in uplifting their spirits, and it’ll assist us older folks in understanding their plight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Secondly, give them space to vent. It’s hard out here for all of us, and room to process things– safe spaces– are hard to come by. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lastly, as adults, it’s on us to work as hard as we can on ourselves, so we don’t pass down our trauma to the next generation.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And if all else fails, when the world doesn’t make sense, show ‘em how to go dumb wit it, yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eric Arnold, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sheree Bishop, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jen Chien, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Holly Kernan, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Victoria Mauleon, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marisol Medina-Cadena, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gabe Meline, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Xorje Olivares, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cesar Saldaña, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Katie Sprenger, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nastia Voynovskaya, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP to Marcel Campbell, and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\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>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 4, ‘My Generation's Report Card’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: left\">Despite the uptempo party music and the perception of free-spirited fun, it’s clear that 2006 was a violent year in my Northern Californian community. But until recently, I hadn’t stopped to consider the bigger picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By stepping back and looking at the issues impacting the kids of the Bay Area in the early 2000s, during the hyphy movement, I realized two things:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First, those issues– violence and crime, as well as poverty, sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination– are no different from the issues we’re facing today. Secondly, if you look closely enough, you’ll see that these issues are rooted in capitalism and imperialism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode we talk to \u003ca href=\"https://lee.house.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Congresswoman Barbara Lee\u003c/a>, who represents the East Bay, about her history of dealing with these issues while serving this community for the past 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We hear from \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rich_iyala/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rich Iyala,\u003c/a> a younger San Francisco based artist who grew up in the shadow of the hyphy movement and wrote a song that inspired multiple aerosol artists to write tags that read, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BhDq8RwhU7z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hyphy children got trauma(s)\u003c/a>” and “\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/BwkH97cH-nZ/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hyphy kids got trauma\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We also hear from a senior at Oakland’s Fremont High school, T’Jon, who was born in 2006. During a recent interview with filmmaker Boots Riley for KDOL’s show \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/thetowntalks/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Town Talks\u003c/a>, T’Jon shares his thoughts about the power of art, culture and community, as exemplified by the hyphy movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6098869655&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All throughout my life, even before becoming a journalist, I’ve kept a journal. I still have every single notebook, and there’s over 60 of ‘em. Hella chicken scratch on yellow legal pads, little windows into my mindstate and notes on what was going on around me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While working on this project, I looked back a few from 2006. An entry from July of that year reads,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Hyphy/ Metros/ Purple/ Jordans/ And Bathing Ape Hoodies/ Bootleg movies/ Turf Dancers/ speakers in the grill of scrapers/ cut the dreads off/ return to fading/ faded. Dark liquor and shit/ bus fare is $1.10/ and that 10 cents kills it/ Rather do it that way/ than to put $3.00 a gallon/ in the tank/ unless you got candy paint and dubs on yo thang/ don’t even come out to play/ I mean I mean, the word is geese/ geeks/ smirkish streets/ clean = wet/ O.G. thers = Vet/ stay safe = you blessed/ So many laid to rest, I done seen RIP on every piece of clothing except a prom dress…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Between these little scribbles were phone numbers and doodles– a bunch of crude self portraits drawn in pen. And there’s even a “To Do list” I wrote just before leaving Oakland, for Howard University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Muffled sounds of shuffling paper] “\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before I leave for Washington, D.C: Finish the Zeus DVD, go to a baseball game, get three fitted caps, two pair of jeans…”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[sounds of distant and lively chatter outdoors]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I spent the fall of 2006 in Washington D.C., adjusting to the weather and the social climate of the east coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I loved the diversity within the Black community on campus. There’s nothing like attending an HBCU. Dudes with gold ones and locs, pursuing their PhDs. Women in business suits, with Wall Street connections and fly hairdos. Weedheads who didn’t do anything but sit on the same bench stoned every day. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was cool with em all, as well as the Cali club crew, a few D.C. folks and the poets, but I was still going through culture shock. I was hella far away from the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At one party I got laughed at for wearing glasses with no lenses, and in class, folks looked at me weird for rocking a hoodie with a picture of my deceased friend’s face on it. I grew homesick, and I left school and took an extended Thanksgiving break back in the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Covered in hugs from the people I love, I was happy to be home. But toward the end of my trip, I was walking out of my mom’s house, as I closed the gate, looked down the street, and saw police lights and yellow tape. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">By the time I got to my cousin’s house, a five minute drive if you catch every green light, word had spread: Marcel Campbell, a friend who we called Cell, had been killed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Considered a young OG, Cell was more mature than his age,\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> both through his fashion – peacoats and casual shoes, as well as through his temperament – ever cool. A short brotha with long locs, he’d share wisdom through jokes, shaking your hand while talking to you — simultaneous conversation and affirmation. He was yet another young person gone too soon. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I didn’t get to attend Cell’s memorial. I had to head back to school soon after we got the news of his passing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I left the streets of the East Bay, headed back to the east coast for those final weeks of 2006. Looking out the airplane window and scribbling in my journal, I wrote a poem using the idea of a bridge as a metaphor for the shaky grounds my community was standing on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some would say never burn a bridge\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But they never tell you to check on it/ make sure that it holds\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The wind, the rain/ the heat and the snow\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The moment I know\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This infrastructure isn’t conducting\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The reason why it was constructed\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bolts loosen/ the poles start to rust and\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Weak links in the chain\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bridge ain’t standing the same\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lord forbid/ this bridge/ fall back into the Bay\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While taking classes at Howard, I saw that Washington D.C. – almost three-thousand miles away from Oakland – was a world removed from scraper bikes and hyphy trains. By stepping outside of my Bay Area bubble, I was exposed to broader issues impacting the world. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And being in the nation’s capital, I was also closer to the elected officials who are in the seat of power in this country.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not far from my dorm room there was someone else from Oakland who was also thinking about the bigger issues impacting this \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">generation, with a special focus on the people from the East Bay… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Congresswoman Barbara Lee, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I am Congresswoman Barbara Lee and I represent the 12th Congressional District.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rep. Lee’s district is in Alameda county, which includes the East Bay cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and more. She tells me that she appreciates what hip-hop artists have done for the region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s a really cool culture in Oakland\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">… \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And she sees how legislation has impacted the way of life for a generation of kids from the region she represents. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s really sad because this is the Bay Area and we shouldn’t have policies that allow for gentrification, but that… that happened.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Congresswoman Lee entered office in April of 1998, Black folks accounted for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Oakland.htm\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">nearly 40% of Oakland’s population\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The most recent Census reports that Oakland’s Black population is down to about 20%. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back at the turn of the millennium, when I was a teen living in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., it was Representative Lee’s vote – the sole ballot cast against going to war in Afghanistan – that introduced me to her work.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Over the years, I’ve watched as she’s championed reproductive health and combated racism. She’s fought for the rights of Black folks here and abroad, and represented her region at every turn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While no person – especially a politician – is perfect, I’ve appreciated how she’s been critical of systemic racism and imperialism. She’s pushed for low-income housing, organized against air pollutants, and fought against the hyper-policing of Black people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And even with these efforts over the years, Rep. Lee realizes that all of these layers of issues created a world where it’s damn near impossible for people to walk around unscathed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I can understand the environment and the context of what was taking place during that time. In terms of the political environment, that causes a lot of anxiety. And a lot of, I don’t want to say depression, but quite a bit of pessimism, and uncertainty about where this country and where the world is going. Just like now.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before even considering stats and numerical breakdowns of crime, poverty and the like, we have to start with the mindstate of folks at the time we’re talking about, 2006. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These hyphy teenagers, myself included, we were stepping into the world with so much pessimism that it toed the line of nihilism. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were told to go out there and make a living while the unemployment rate was soaring. It jumped from \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">about \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a5.htm#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Bureau%20of,million%20unemployed%20persons%20(11).\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">5% in the year 2006 to nearly 10% in the year 2010\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No wonder after years of a downward trend, national crime reportedly had an uptick around that same period. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To be clear, I’m not blaming the unemployed, not even the small-time criminals. Nah, I’m looking at the system that creates this environment. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Congresswoman Barbara Lee says that this country’s philosophy on violence has laid the foundation for my generation – and many generations of Americans. A lot of us think that violence is how we should solve our problems.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been very involved in trying to prevent wars and trying to hold these presidents accountable for starting wars. And what the impact has been, I think, especially on young people, maybe like violence, you know, the government uses violence, so what’s the problem? You know, when I said the violence should not be an option, well, why does the government engage in violence? Why are there so many guns on the street? Why can’t you do something about stopping this kind of violence? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stop the violence? Yeah right. Despite the many anti-violence initiatives and peace movements I’ve seen, this country is entrenched in violence. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve gotten used to mass shootings happening on the regular, and videos of police killings circulate with the morning news. It’s a common thing, unfortunately. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think the trauma and some of the political aspects of that time and now are very concerning to me \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Man, I was concerned too, but most of my focus was on the issue of homicides, and other blatant examples of violence. I hadn’t stepped back and looked at the bigger picture of this nation. How violence is at its core; that’s how we’re governed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prisons are violent and oppressive by nature. And that’s only compounded when you consider the inadequate living conditions behind bars, and the unjust system that lands folks there in the first place. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Schools, through racist curriculum and social hierarchies, can be both emotionally and physically violent.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Housing – from redlining to gentrification – violent. As a person who faced a few evictions and stints of homelessness as a kid, I can tell you, there are few things more violent than losing your home.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even our relationships with one another – especially those that are thought to be romantic – they have issues with violence being intertwined in everything from the way we communicate to the way we treat each other sexually. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, if you look close enough, at the root of many of the issues I’ve mentioned are violent systems of capitalism and imperialism.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Congresswoman Lee again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rep. Barbara Lee: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To sort through all of this, is- is pretty difficult when you’re just trying to survive and make ends meet and trying to make a life for yourself and your family.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re a generation who was constantly shown that violence \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the answer, it’s no wonder that we’d find it completely rational to choose malicious ways to solve our problems. It provides a release. And back then, in 2006, that was just part of the culture.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, our particular generation, we would stomp your hood and we would fuck your car up and do all kind of crazy shit because we wanted to. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Rich Iyala, a San Francisco-bred hip-hop artist who has been making music for over a decade. He can make hyphy blaps, political tracks or use agile lyrics over funky horns and cool drum patterns. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the start of this podcast, I mentioned a piece of graffiti I saw on a wall near an underpass, on 27th street in West Oakland that read, “Hyphy Kids Got Trauma” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those words were inspired by a more recent song from Rich Iyala, the lyrics went a little something like this:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… It turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The song, in its entirety, is about kids going to school and having to step over drug-addicted adults who are laid out on the street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala\u003c/b>\u003cb>:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">PTSD from the choppa got me shaking like maracas. Thought my patna went to college. Why I seen him on the block again?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rich has never recorded the song, he’s only done live performances of it. And evidently it resonates with folks.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s kind of like very sad. And I cracked my voice intentionally to kind of show pain. And that’s like a thing I do in a lot of my other songs to, like, convey a very close, raw emotion, like emotionality hyphy children got trauma, you know, kind of like I cry it out and I always see that it has people have a reaction, like all throughout the crowd.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even with seeing how people reacted to it, Rich was completely blown away when he saw his words in graffiti written on a wall in West Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was news to me, as much as it was to anybody else, for a while I was like, Wow. Like, what is this? Or why is why is this happening? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He knew why: people were feeling it. But the thing is, he didn’t know how many people were feeling it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the time, I saw a few posts on different social media platforms, photos taken of the words scrawled in different locations around town.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The artist who painted the one I saw, a graffiti writer who goes by Nasty, told me that Rich’s lyrics were the inspiration. And Nasty, he did a few tags, but he didn’t do all of ‘em. Others followed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rich saw it spread. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was funny because I looked up and I was like, What the hell is this? And then I went downtown and somebody else tagged it there. They were taking up whole walls. They were taking up like bus stops. Like trash cans, all kind of shit\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Four simple words that eloquently and succinctly speak to a wave of folks from West Oakland to East Palo Alto, the north side of Vallejo to South San Francisco. Ask anyone, who was in the Bay Area in 2006 and was into hip-hop–a fan of hyphy music or not– I bet you they’ll have a story to tell. And many folks are just now finding the words to tell it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">we’re a generation now where a lot of us, we were able to look back now and Iike, see traumas, and we’re able to articulate traumas\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adults now, the kids who grew up in that era, might’ve metaphorically burned some rubber [tires screech] while trying to gain traction on the road of life, but eventually a lot of us got around that learning curve.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I know I had to crashout a few times before I learned. It took years to process the idea that constantly smoking and drinking was my way of masking pain, and that “we ain’t listening” mentality isn’t always the way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had to unlearn habits that were personally abusive in order to be in better community, and relationship with others. Misogynistic ideas of what male/ female interactions look like had to be processed. And I had to learn self-worth outside of a job or accomplishments, but just for simply being human. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shit, I had to dig deep to even appreciate my culture as a reputable part of this thing we call hip-hop. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to make this podcast. And still, there’s more work to do… Lots more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But I’ll admit, it’s wild seeing the kids who used to dance on top of cars, now running non-profit organizations. Much respect to the folks who’ve been intentional about working through their traumas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Rich again. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There is a dope resurgence of like Black therapy popping off in the Bay, you know, and like ask, you know, I’m sure a lot of Black therapists in the Bay, they’ll tell you in a minute that hyphy shit it was crazy.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You don’t need to be a licensed mental health professional to look back at that time period in this region, and know that the kids of the era were heavily impacted by what was going on. And in response, we made art that helped us deal with it all. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, c’mon man, we’re talking about Black folks, Brown folks, Children of immigrants and working class folks in the United States. There’s nothing new about making art to overcome hard times.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today in the Town the same issues exist: there’s still community violence and economic disparities. Problems with the police, schools, the media, and elected officials. As of right now, in Oakland this year, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://cityofoakland2.app.box.com/s/sjiq7usfy27gy9dfe51hp8arz5l1ixad/file/1317068327070\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">over 90\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> people have been killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, if we were to step back and look at the bigger picture, we’d see that the issues we’re facing are very much bred from capitalist exploitation, imperialism, and systemic racism that have been fueling this country, the same issues, just remixed for today’s environment. And just like us, young folks today are finding ways of dealing with it all, while enjoying art, culture and community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just days before this podcast series dropped, I stopped by Oakland’s Fremont High School. Inside of a studio in the school’s media center, a handful of students were on stage, as they were in conversation with filmmaker and hip-hop artist, Boots Riley. This was for a video series produced by KDOL called \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Town Talks\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My ears perked up and I sat forward in my seat, listening to the second question of the evening come in from a young man wearing a Bathing Ape shirt, stylish ripped jeans and some black Jordans: \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>T’Jon: \u003c/b>Hello, m\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">y name is T’Jon, and my question is, what excites you about music?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Boots Riley, wearing red jogger sweats and a green jacket, as his trademark porkchop sideburns poked out of hat, responded. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Boots Riley: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mmmm. There’s an energy… you know, I like music that makes you feel alive, and um, you know, makes you feel the contradictions of the world around you, like there’s something pressing against the way things are. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I’m not necessarily a fan of music that’s supposed to be in the background. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that point, my head nearly exploded. For the past year I’d been writing about the contradictions of art and society, as well as music that can’t be relegated to the background. Boots wasn’t talking specifically about hyphy music, but when the question was turned around, and T’Jon was asked what he likes about music– the teenager with the fresh outfit mentioned the hyphy era. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>T’Jon:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It gets everybody together, like, everybody has the energy. Just like, like the hyphy movement, like everybody, it was a whole movement- like everybody in the whole city just felt it, you just could feel the vibe. It’s like, when you vibe to music it’s good. Like, you can tell it’s good. Good energy and stuff.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">T’Jon was born on April 20th of 2006 – a 4/20 I’ll never forget. His dad is one of my best friends, we’ve known each other since the age of four. I was at the hospital to greet the family just after T’Jon was born.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, nearly 18 years later, this young man was reminding me about the power of the music that came out when I was his age. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My generation of Bay Area folks had so little, and literally did the most. We took empty parking lots where grocery stores once fed our families, and used the pavement to feed our need for entertainment. We took our trauma, put it on 22 inch rims and covered it with candy paint jobs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The hip-hop scene went years without getting national media attention, and when the cameras came we didn’t smile. Nope, we hit ‘em with a Thizz Face and showed ‘em a dance they’d never seen. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area created something significant out of nothing, and did so in the face of adversity – and we made it look fun. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After hearing T’Jon’s reflections, I walked away thinking about the actual hyphy kids – the babies. The young folks born in that era who are teenagers now. How can we assist them as they navigate today’s climate? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beyond fighting for systemic changes and holding elected officials accountable, there’s a few simple things we can do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">First and foremost: listen to the young folks. Slap their music, read their poetry, appreciate their art. It’ll do wonders in uplifting their spirits, and it’ll assist us older folks in understanding their plight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Secondly, give them space to vent. It’s hard out here for all of us, and room to process things– safe spaces– are hard to come by. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lastly, as adults, it’s on us to work as hard as we can on ourselves, so we don’t pass down our trauma to the next generation.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And if all else fails, when the world doesn’t make sense, show ‘em how to go dumb wit it, yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eric Arnold, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sheree Bishop, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jen Chien, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Holly Kernan, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Victoria Mauleon, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marisol Medina-Cadena, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gabe Meline, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Xorje Olivares, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cesar Saldaña, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Katie Sprenger, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nastia Voynovskaya, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP to Marcel Campbell, and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\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>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"slug": "hyphy-kids-got-trauma-pt-3-from-dvds-to-mtv",
"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 3, ‘From DVDs to MTV’",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the early 2000s, the underground DVD business was a major conduit of culture. Through films I purchased from my neighborhood independent DVD retailer, I got insight into the backstory of hip-hop artists and street culture all across the United States.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the films that showcased some of the overlooked inner-city Black communities of this country during that time period, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952526/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included an early depiction of hyphy culture as I knew it to be — hyper aggressive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the “hyphy movement” spread in years to come, the way the culture was shown deviated drastically from the origins of the term. It was made palatable for mainstream audiences and sellable for record labels. A lot of people outside of the region, and even people within the Bay Area, grew to think of hyphy as more comical than militant. And with that, some of the artists began to cater to that image, almost becoming caricatures themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an avid Bay Area hip-hop consumer, this impacted me directly. But the people who were working behind the scenes, making media and contributing to the culture, were hit even harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode, filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cashoutrichkid/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aquis “Cash Out Quis” Bryant\u003c/a> discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre’s former manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seasidestretch/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chioke “Seaside Stretch” McCoy\u003c/a> shares insight on how Dre’s murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the “hyphy movement” and ran with it. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ritaforte/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rita Forte\u003c/a>, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after a bad experience working for a local radio station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3978396932&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the early 2000s, the “Independent” DVD business was booming, discs were being sold in barbershops and train stations around the country. I’d get mine from a set of twin brothers who used to slang burnt CDs and DVDs on the corner of Alcatraz and Market street in North Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All I needed was a few bucks and I could purchase anything they had– animated children’s movies, raunchy adult flicks or even blockbuster films. But what caught my attention were the underground documentaries about hip-hop and the streets of America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Locally, there were joints like Go Dumb USA, Oakland Gone Wild, and High Side’N 1 & 2. These films took viewers to a world not readily shown in the mainstream or silver screen, which gave insight to stories of street culture in America. I loved that kind of media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, as a young journalist, that wasn’t the kind of media I was making. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if I was talking about similar topics, my work was a little more, um, mainstream. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2006, through Oakland’s Youth Radio, I wrote and published an audio commentary for National Public Radio. It was about the cycle of birth and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Radio Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says the problems are all related.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My commentary was partially inspired by my friend Willie Clay, who had been killed in January of that year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Will was my boy, and to be putting on a button-up and these hard-bottom shoes to put him in a casket, it just didn’t seem real.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>I was proud to honor a friend’s story on national airwaves. And, at the same time, I was hella frustrated: none of the homies were going to hear it. You’d be farfetched to find a group of teenage Black men riding around slappin’ their local NPR station. I felt confined. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was doing stories about my community, but they were being made palatable for predominantly white middle class audiences. I wanted to tell stories that would be on the local hip-hop radio station, or on BET. I wanted to make a hood classic, like the bootleg DVDs people were selling. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, I didn’t have a lane for that. So, I was using what channels I had to tell stories of what I was experiencing. And I was just one of the many folks in my circle trying to make note of what was happening around us. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then some of my Youth Radio folks did a piece for NPR all about the Hyphy Movement. This one featured my longtime friend, well-known Oakland-based educator and event host, Leon Sykes:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The hyphy movement is an act of free living. It’s like having the Holy Ghost. Something just comes over you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, Leon talked about the spirit and… some of that goofy stuff too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can’t stop, you hear a song, we get hyphy to Mary Had a Little Lamb,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Mary Had a Little Lamb plays for a few seconds, before being interrupted by a record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a lil comical. But it was dope to hear my patnas talk about an aspect of our region’s hip-hop culture on a national program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that story was one of a handful of pieces that came from national outlets– from your MTVs and BETs, to print publications like XXL, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian– they all did specials on the hyphy movement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After years of neglect and underreporting from major media platforms, the Bay Area’s hip-hop scene was once again in the limelight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when the hyphy movement went mainstream, it changed things. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that’s what capitalism does to culture, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> First time I saw “hyphy” in the media was on those hood DVDs from the early 2000s, and it looked a lot different than the national depiction. There was a film series that originally debuted in 2004 named Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2F9H0Vrcs&t=4648s\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">America is a cold place, everywhere you go, it’s the same. The only thing that changes is the slang a muthafucka talks and the weather a muthafucka’s getting money in. Coast to coast, street to street, projects to projects. War to war, zone to zone, side to side, hood to hood this is the blockumentary.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movies featured the grimiest hoods, the biggest guns, and the heaviest regional accents. There was rapping, fashion, cars, drugs, and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood changed everything for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to showing me what was happening in the neighborhoods all around this country, the footage on the double disc DVD showed the streets of the Bay Area as I knew them to be: fast, hyperactive, and enticingly dangerous.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was so juiced when I found out this film, a portal into what was going on in pockets of Milwaukee, Baltimore, Memphis and more, was created by someone from the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was going to Black neighborhoods. I was going to low income neighborhoods. I was going to the highest crime rated neighborhoods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s filmmaker Aquis Bryant, aka Cash Out Quis.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a stocky brown brotha, who’s bald with low-cut facial hair, raised on the west coast of the United States in the mighty town of Vallejo, California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis tells me during a recent phone call, that back in the day when he was making this film, he didn’t really have a goal beyond just trying to see how people were \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">getting it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> all across the United States. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The only way you could see how a person was living was to actually go there and see with your own two eyes. It was where, back then, you know, each different region, each different city, everybody had their own particular fashion and slang because the Internet wasn’t merging things. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Quis left Northern California to document what was really happening in working class Black communities around the country. And people let their guard down and showed him things that were going on in their hoods, And Quis captured it on camera,while carrying our region with him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man bringing that Bay Area flag, I was received well, for the simple fact that, you know, the Bay Area is one of the only, like regions in the United States of America that’s not gang banging, as far as like Bloods and Crips.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I slid around the country neutral, you know what I’m saying. I didn’t have any ties to anything that could have been opposing. You know what I mean? Then on top of that, I kept me a nice sized sack of that California weed, that was, you know what I’m saying, is a plus\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, you know, purple was hot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, speaking of weed, the content of the films: drugs, guns and all of that, it toed the line of self incrimination. But in reality, Quis was simply going to places where cameras aren’t often rolling, and people were eager to show him how they were living. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from Hood 2 Hood]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hell yeah, here ya’ll from man?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 1, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check this out mayne, this is yo number one player, Ed Lover from Milton Street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 2, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Respect it or accept it, cause you ain’t gon’ check it. On my momma. Three fingers. You see it. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was like a first of its kind since it was pre YouTube. It was like a whole, like, generation of people that that was their first time traveling out of their areas \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I personally needed to see those other neighborhoods. Through this documentary I saw glimpses of spots like Little Rock, Omaha and Gary, Indiana, locations I’d heard about, but I couldn’t tell you anything about. It made me feel connected. Like, their hood is just like our hood. And their stories aren’t getting widely told either. And the Bay isn’t the only slept on region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if it was a bit sensational, it was dope to see my area mentioned as a part of this bigger story of hip-hop and street culture in America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first of Quis’ three-part Hood 2 Hood documentary series was filmed a few years prior to the explosion of the quote “hyphy movement.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It shows what “hyphy” was before it became mainstream enough to be mentioned on NPR. And unfortunately, like many things in popular culture, it took a tragic incident to get the hyphy movement on the national map… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Halloween night 2004, Andre Hicks, beloved rapper known to fans and loved ones as Mac Dre, was killed after performing at a show in Kansas City, Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His death led to him becoming the patron saint of the hyphy movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – Thizzle Dance by Mac Dre]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To this day, when his music comes on, people turn hands to form T’s and Thizz dance in his honor. “Do it for Mac Dre,” is a battle cry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His life’s story is legendary: after achieving early stardom as a rapper in the late 80s and early 90s, he was sent to prison for conspiracy to rob a bank. He didn’t budge when pushed to snitch on his comrades. And after he was released, he reinvented himself and made music that impacted a generation of kids of all races from this region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis says Dre’s passing kicked off a new chapter in the story of the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The hyphy stuff really starts like we had been doing it, but it didn’t really get on like a national, national scene until like after Dre died, it was picking up steam… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mac Dre’s music was foundational. And the photos and videos his Thizz Nation camp produced gave visuals to culture of the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis looks at Mac Dre’s Treal TV 1 and Treal TV 2 as landmark films of that era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah man, it was just a build up and then, you know, it start like, bringing our culture to, like, the forefront.you know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news of Mac Dre’s death sent a wave of grief through the Bay, but no one felt it like the folks inside of Dre’s camp. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mac Dre, before his passing, it was just– he was, he was releasing music at a different pace than everybody else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Chioke McCoy, aka Seaside Stretch, a promoter and manager who’s worked with a little bit of everybody, from San Francisco’s pop star 24k Goldn to one of Atlanta’s coldest lyricists and political activists, Killer Mike. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch started off working with Mac Dre after a chance meeting on a flight from Vegas back to the Bay. The two linked there, but didn’t become formal partners until a few years later. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was literally when Thizz entertainment started. So that was somewhere around – formerly working with him – somewhere around like 2002, 2003.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch started with promoting for Mac Dre, and over the years he’s worked with the motherload of artists from Northern California. In 2006, Stretch was focused on working with North Oakland’s Mistah F.A.B. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Things were active in the Bay musically back then, but Stretch says the culture didn’t make sense to outsiders. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think that at the time everybody felt as if the bay was being ignored, blackballed, hated on, or whatever. But in reality, the Bay Area was just going to its own beat of its own drum, didn’t play by anybody else’s rules, didn’t kiss no ass, didn’t do any of the things that other people would do to get on. Meaning that like Bay artists weren’t moving to New York or moving to L.A. or like Atlanta. They wasn’t doing none of that. They was waiting for people to come to the Bay. And I think that at the time it was like, ‘well, if they don’t fuck with us, then we’ll just do our own thing.’ So I think the 2006 was a culmination of doing your own thing and it paying off where you were not not concerned with what was going on on the outside.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch says that the term “hyphy”, commercially, wasn’t reflective of what was happening in neighborhoods across Northern California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was presented in a way that would be more friendly to everybody. You know what I mean? Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different than what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, ‘Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time.’ No, that meant that they were destructive and violent, you know what I am saying? So, I think that, you know, it was marketed in the way that, you know, that corporations do to sell a product, which was the music so… That’s the results of what people seen and what people lived were two different things. But I think it became a self-fulfilling prophecy where the people who were a part of the culture ended up changing things to fit what was sellable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch says the first time he even heard the term “hyphy movement” was through a marketing scheme Warner Brothers put together for the Fairfield-based group, The Federation. And the next time Stretch heard the term was also through the media.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was like a little doc called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hype on Hyphy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And it was dubbed “the Hyphy movement” and they were trying to put it in context. I think it was on BET or something to kind of show everybody what this new big thing is, because at the time there was also the snap movement that was going on in Atlanta, which was very successful and very commercially successful. And you can kind of, you know, that was being exposed to the world already. You also had what was going on in Houston, which was being exposed to the world already. So this was, oh a prepackaged, another movement we can put together and get behind, show the world, you know what I’m saying, and capitalize off. And that’s the first time I heard the term “hyphy movement.” You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Prepackaged movement.” “Capitalize off it.” Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I recall the BET documentary, as well as the Rap City series BET did, where they highlighted Hyphy for a week. Mixed emotions: while our lifestyle was in the limelight, the story wasn’t quite right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A more accurate depiction came from Oakland’s Sway Calloway, as he hosted a special on the Bay for MTV’s My Block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The episode starts with a nod to historical hip-hop figures, with cameos from MC Hammer and members of the Almighty Hieroglyphics. They were posted in the Dubs, a couple blocks from where my friend Will was killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Sway Calloway: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up world, welcome to My Block: The Bay, now this show is extremely important to me because this is literally my block, East Oakland 23rd Ave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They do segments with E-40 and Too Short, as well as Zion-I and Nump. At one point, San Francisco’s San Quinn tells Sway, “I’m part of the hyphy movement, but my raps ain’t funny.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In another segment Keak Da Sneak explains how Hyphy is another way of saying hyperactive. Stretch, who had seen “hyphy” become commodified, also looked to Keak for the origins of the term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – That’s My Word by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“…doing hella shit at one time,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Arguably one of the biggest hyphy songs, That’s My Word, he says, “doing hella shit at one time. My definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” [laugh] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the Godfather of hyphy, gave you his definition of what it was. As somebody from East Oakland, I think that he would probably be qualified to define what hyphy was. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – T-shirts, Blue Jeans, and Nikes by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the early 2000s, you could drive through East Oakland, bank a right on Bancroft and hear this Keak Da Sneak song blappin’ out of the speakers in front of a record store and cultural hub, named Moses Music.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the person on the ones and twos was probably Rita Forte– formerly known as DJ Backside. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I literally asked the owner, who’s- his name was Moses, could I set up my turntables and just come on a Saturday and just DJ right outside, like for the public, just for free. Just so that people can see me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to spinning at the record store and breaking local artists’ records, Rita used to spin at parties and functions I attended. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She has locs now, but back then Rita, a taller brown-skinned sista would often wear her hair straightened to shoulder length or rock a baseball hat. She’d also wear these shirts that read “Got Bay?” with a question mark, a play off the old school Got Milk? Commercial. And she had a mixtape series of the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then Rita was also traveling around the country, taking the Town with her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Different cities would want me to come to their city and play a Hyphy set. You know, at first I didn’t catch on. I thought they just wanted to hire me. I don’t know, sometimes I’m that naive, but when they sent me the flier, it would say like Hyphy set by DJ Backside. I was like, Oh, you know.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it worked for her, taking Rita from spinning records in East Oakland to spinning the globe. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got to travel internationally. I got to travel to Taiwan and to Germany, and those gigs definitely, they wanted me to play the Hyphy set. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when you went to Germany and you were playing like white Ts, blue jeans and Nike’s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah it was great.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What was that like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They were rocking to it. I mean, they knew that what I was coming to play. So there was definitely people in the crowd who knew it. There were people in the crowd who were, as I remember, you know, requesting certain songs, ‘Play that um E-40’ or whatever. You know, sometimes it would be a song that I would just be like, ‘For real? You know that?’ I mean, Hyphy– it stretched. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy stretched but it was also confining. Through her travels, Rita saw the limitations as it was a regional sound that was different than most other hip-hop at the time, especially on the East Coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anytime I would go to New York, I would like drop by like probably at least five or six different record labels. It was a lot of kind of executives that I think we’re kind of like, you know, I don’t know if I would say hating, but just like being ‘what is this hyphy thing?’ And to be honest, I still think a lot of them still, you know, wonder what hyphy was, to this day. I feel like I had a recent conversation with someone and they were like,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah, I never really understood it. I mean, are you guys still hyphy?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Never really got it,’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know? So when I hear that, I’m not too surprised because I don’t think we were the best translators of the movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Rita, she tried taking that into her own hands.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I would come back to the Bay, I’d be like, ‘Yo, Keak, this is what you know, you need to do this in your video,’ or FAB or, you know, Too $hort, whatever. Just any time I could have like, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a little word or conversation with any of the artists, I’m like, ‘You need to make a video for this.’ You know what I mean? ‘You need to show.’ There’s so many hyphy songs that did not get videos, that was hugely a downfall.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s efforts to push the Bay’s culture also led to her getting a show on air as a DJ and host with 106.1 KMEL, the Bay Area’s leading hip-hop station. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having her own slot as a DJ and host on KMEL was huge for Rita’s career. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But she felt like they were short-changing her with the time slot they offered. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I thought that was kind of odd uh just hearing it. I was like 12 to 2 am, who am I gonna– on a Friday night? Like, what? Y’all can’t give me something, you know, in the daytime or something? You know that’s, that’s definitely what I was thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita eventually took the gig, working from midnight Friday night until 2am Saturday morning. And it worked for her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was on there every week, you know, at that time slot. And it turned out to be a cool timeslot, to be honest with you. People was getting out the club on a Friday night and they was turning me on, you know? So it was good. So I don’t know if they thought about that or what, but like it turned out to be an excellent timeslot.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so KMEL definitely did that for me. It definitely elevated my career as a DJ, my success. I got opportunities, like I was saying, traveling, being on BET, working with all the artists in the Bay, working with artists outside of the Bay. And my show, not only was I a DJ, I was also an on air personality, so I also got to speak. So I would do interviews and everything like that. And I mean, that is some… that is some power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Rita joined KMEL, the station was going through some \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.daveyd.com/articleradiosucks.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turbulent times.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the years prior, it had been absorbed by the major media conglomerate, Clear Channel. Then, Management fired some very well-liked on-air hosts. Local artists were upset that the place known as “The People’s Station” wasn’t playing local music as much anymore. And\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/kmel-tunes-into-cry-for-community-input-2677235.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> community organizers\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">met with station reps to discuss the station’s content, amongst other things. Plus, there were competing hip-hop stations in the same market that were growing in popularity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I didn’t really understand that whole thing to the depth that I think I should have. Umm, You know, I’ll say the word, you know, cause eventually, maybe like six or eight months later, you know, I think someone said the word to me. They were like, yeah, like ‘You were like a pawn. You know, you were a chess piece.’ You know, you know, ‘You were used in this situation” and really, like putting it that clear to me. I was like, Ohhhhhh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita felt like her hiring was a part of the station’s attempt to show the community’s involvement. And then when she wasn’t needed anymore, things shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s timeslot got moved back one hour and shortened. She was now on from 2am-3am on Saturday mornings, a relatively dead time. She took the change in stride, even took to Myspace to encourage her followers to tune in to her new and improved time of 2am. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also changed her personal schedule, she’d go to clubs or events before her radio show. Or sometimes just pull up to the station and sleep out front in her car until it was time to go on air.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One night I was in my car, sleeping, and I overslept. And I woke up, I remember, I woke up at three, at three, like on the dot, right after when my show was ending. And I was just like, [sigh] I just, I just knew it. I was like, that’s it. They’re going to use this. This is the end. And that’s exactly what happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita was let go from KMEL after she missed her DJ slot, and she never worked in radio again. She feels like she was blackballed back then, and to this day she still feels the weight of that time. After all that she did for the hyphy movement, she didn’t really get that in return. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The fact that I was one of the biggest proponents of the hyphy movement. Again, I was traveling, I was getting hired outside. You know, I was one of the very few DJs doing that, like on large scales, like BET, like wearing my “Got bay?” shirt, you know, on TV, you know, shouting out these artists. Turf Talk, I remember when I came back from BET, Turf Talk was like, ‘Man, you shouted me out on BET!’ Like it was a big deal, you know. So I was out there campaigning for hyphy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was just hard to really figure out like, what was real and what wasn’t and who had my back and who didn’t. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As an avid consumer of Bay Area hip-hop, man, I had no idea this was happening behind the scenes. But As I talk to folks about this era, it’s clear Rita’s story of the highs and lows of that period aren’t rare. Lots of people had career changing experiences back then. Numerous artists had projects shelved and contracts fall through. Clubs where shootings occurred were shut down. Rappers, dancers and models got caught up in fast money and drugs, things that didn’t last long. But for some folks like Rita, the dreams that didn’t pan out then, led to new opportunities today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking back at it now, do you feel like that incident led to your career trajectory changing? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Absolutely. I mean, we’re sitting in the career trajectory change right now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were sitting in the office of her graphic design and T-shirt printing company, The Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After being DJ Backside for for 10-11 years, I learned a lot about choosing a name because that name was ooh spicy! So I really wanted to take the time of choosing a name for this next endeavor, the Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Olive Street in East Oakland is where Rita’s family has owned property for three generartions.And through her family, Rita’s developed a deep religious devotion and a sincere appreciation for the stories in the Bible. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my faves, though, of course, is the story of Noah and the Arc, and specifically the part of that story where, you know, they’re out there, it’s raining, pouring, and Noah sends out a dove and the dove comes back with a olive branch in it’s mouth signifying that there’s hope, there’s land out there, there’s a tree out there, and to keep going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even though Rita is no longer spinning records or interviewing hip-hop artists live on the radio, some of the people she met back then are clients of her printing company. They use shirts to campaign for office, memorialize loved ones, or promote an upcoming project – I guess that’s storytelling on a different scale.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rita herself is still channeling the spirit of the soil and telling the story of a kid from East Oakland. But now it’s through an entity that she owns.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While capitalism can corrupt culture, you’re never gonna stop the independent entrepreneurs from telling their story. Especially out here, the home of slangin’ tapes out the trunk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Next time, on the final episode of Hyphy Kids Got Trauma, we discuss this generation as a whole, and the philosophy written in graffiti that inspired this project:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… Pretty much, it turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Sheree Bishop, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, Cesar Saldaña, Katie Sprenger, Ryce Stoughtenborough and Nastia Voynovskaya. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, and so many more. Keep it lit, peace. \u003c/span>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With filmmaker Aquis Bryant, Mac Dre's former manager Chioke McCoy, and Rita Forte (DJ Backside).",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 3, ‘From DVDs to MTV’ | KQED",
"description": "In this episode, filmmaker Aquis "Cash Out Quis" Bryant discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre's former manager, Chioke "Seaside Stretch" McCoy shares insight on how Dre's murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the "hyphy movement" and ran with it. And Rita Forte, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after bad experience while working for a local radio station.",
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"socialDescription": "In this episode, filmmaker Aquis "Cash Out Quis" Bryant discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre's former manager, Chioke "Seaside Stretch" McCoy shares insight on how Dre's murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the "hyphy movement" and ran with it. And Rita Forte, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after bad experience while working for a local radio station.",
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"headline": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 3, ‘From DVDs to MTV’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the early 2000s, the underground DVD business was a major conduit of culture. Through films I purchased from my neighborhood independent DVD retailer, I got insight into the backstory of hip-hop artists and street culture all across the United States.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the films that showcased some of the overlooked inner-city Black communities of this country during that time period, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952526/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included an early depiction of hyphy culture as I knew it to be — hyper aggressive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the “hyphy movement” spread in years to come, the way the culture was shown deviated drastically from the origins of the term. It was made palatable for mainstream audiences and sellable for record labels. A lot of people outside of the region, and even people within the Bay Area, grew to think of hyphy as more comical than militant. And with that, some of the artists began to cater to that image, almost becoming caricatures themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an avid Bay Area hip-hop consumer, this impacted me directly. But the people who were working behind the scenes, making media and contributing to the culture, were hit even harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode, filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cashoutrichkid/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aquis “Cash Out Quis” Bryant\u003c/a> discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre’s former manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seasidestretch/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chioke “Seaside Stretch” McCoy\u003c/a> shares insight on how Dre’s murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the “hyphy movement” and ran with it. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ritaforte/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rita Forte\u003c/a>, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after a bad experience working for a local radio station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3978396932&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the early 2000s, the “Independent” DVD business was booming, discs were being sold in barbershops and train stations around the country. I’d get mine from a set of twin brothers who used to slang burnt CDs and DVDs on the corner of Alcatraz and Market street in North Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All I needed was a few bucks and I could purchase anything they had– animated children’s movies, raunchy adult flicks or even blockbuster films. But what caught my attention were the underground documentaries about hip-hop and the streets of America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Locally, there were joints like Go Dumb USA, Oakland Gone Wild, and High Side’N 1 & 2. These films took viewers to a world not readily shown in the mainstream or silver screen, which gave insight to stories of street culture in America. I loved that kind of media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, as a young journalist, that wasn’t the kind of media I was making. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if I was talking about similar topics, my work was a little more, um, mainstream. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2006, through Oakland’s Youth Radio, I wrote and published an audio commentary for National Public Radio. It was about the cycle of birth and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Radio Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says the problems are all related.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My commentary was partially inspired by my friend Willie Clay, who had been killed in January of that year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Will was my boy, and to be putting on a button-up and these hard-bottom shoes to put him in a casket, it just didn’t seem real.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>I was proud to honor a friend’s story on national airwaves. And, at the same time, I was hella frustrated: none of the homies were going to hear it. You’d be farfetched to find a group of teenage Black men riding around slappin’ their local NPR station. I felt confined. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was doing stories about my community, but they were being made palatable for predominantly white middle class audiences. I wanted to tell stories that would be on the local hip-hop radio station, or on BET. I wanted to make a hood classic, like the bootleg DVDs people were selling. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, I didn’t have a lane for that. So, I was using what channels I had to tell stories of what I was experiencing. And I was just one of the many folks in my circle trying to make note of what was happening around us. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then some of my Youth Radio folks did a piece for NPR all about the Hyphy Movement. This one featured my longtime friend, well-known Oakland-based educator and event host, Leon Sykes:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The hyphy movement is an act of free living. It’s like having the Holy Ghost. Something just comes over you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, Leon talked about the spirit and… some of that goofy stuff too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can’t stop, you hear a song, we get hyphy to Mary Had a Little Lamb,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Mary Had a Little Lamb plays for a few seconds, before being interrupted by a record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a lil comical. But it was dope to hear my patnas talk about an aspect of our region’s hip-hop culture on a national program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that story was one of a handful of pieces that came from national outlets– from your MTVs and BETs, to print publications like XXL, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian– they all did specials on the hyphy movement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After years of neglect and underreporting from major media platforms, the Bay Area’s hip-hop scene was once again in the limelight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when the hyphy movement went mainstream, it changed things. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that’s what capitalism does to culture, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> First time I saw “hyphy” in the media was on those hood DVDs from the early 2000s, and it looked a lot different than the national depiction. There was a film series that originally debuted in 2004 named Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2F9H0Vrcs&t=4648s\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">America is a cold place, everywhere you go, it’s the same. The only thing that changes is the slang a muthafucka talks and the weather a muthafucka’s getting money in. Coast to coast, street to street, projects to projects. War to war, zone to zone, side to side, hood to hood this is the blockumentary.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movies featured the grimiest hoods, the biggest guns, and the heaviest regional accents. There was rapping, fashion, cars, drugs, and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood changed everything for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to showing me what was happening in the neighborhoods all around this country, the footage on the double disc DVD showed the streets of the Bay Area as I knew them to be: fast, hyperactive, and enticingly dangerous.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was so juiced when I found out this film, a portal into what was going on in pockets of Milwaukee, Baltimore, Memphis and more, was created by someone from the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was going to Black neighborhoods. I was going to low income neighborhoods. I was going to the highest crime rated neighborhoods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s filmmaker Aquis Bryant, aka Cash Out Quis.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a stocky brown brotha, who’s bald with low-cut facial hair, raised on the west coast of the United States in the mighty town of Vallejo, California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis tells me during a recent phone call, that back in the day when he was making this film, he didn’t really have a goal beyond just trying to see how people were \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">getting it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> all across the United States. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The only way you could see how a person was living was to actually go there and see with your own two eyes. It was where, back then, you know, each different region, each different city, everybody had their own particular fashion and slang because the Internet wasn’t merging things. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Quis left Northern California to document what was really happening in working class Black communities around the country. And people let their guard down and showed him things that were going on in their hoods, And Quis captured it on camera,while carrying our region with him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man bringing that Bay Area flag, I was received well, for the simple fact that, you know, the Bay Area is one of the only, like regions in the United States of America that’s not gang banging, as far as like Bloods and Crips.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I slid around the country neutral, you know what I’m saying. I didn’t have any ties to anything that could have been opposing. You know what I mean? Then on top of that, I kept me a nice sized sack of that California weed, that was, you know what I’m saying, is a plus\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, you know, purple was hot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, speaking of weed, the content of the films: drugs, guns and all of that, it toed the line of self incrimination. But in reality, Quis was simply going to places where cameras aren’t often rolling, and people were eager to show him how they were living. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from Hood 2 Hood]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hell yeah, here ya’ll from man?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 1, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check this out mayne, this is yo number one player, Ed Lover from Milton Street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 2, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Respect it or accept it, cause you ain’t gon’ check it. On my momma. Three fingers. You see it. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was like a first of its kind since it was pre YouTube. It was like a whole, like, generation of people that that was their first time traveling out of their areas \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I personally needed to see those other neighborhoods. Through this documentary I saw glimpses of spots like Little Rock, Omaha and Gary, Indiana, locations I’d heard about, but I couldn’t tell you anything about. It made me feel connected. Like, their hood is just like our hood. And their stories aren’t getting widely told either. And the Bay isn’t the only slept on region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if it was a bit sensational, it was dope to see my area mentioned as a part of this bigger story of hip-hop and street culture in America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first of Quis’ three-part Hood 2 Hood documentary series was filmed a few years prior to the explosion of the quote “hyphy movement.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It shows what “hyphy” was before it became mainstream enough to be mentioned on NPR. And unfortunately, like many things in popular culture, it took a tragic incident to get the hyphy movement on the national map… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Halloween night 2004, Andre Hicks, beloved rapper known to fans and loved ones as Mac Dre, was killed after performing at a show in Kansas City, Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His death led to him becoming the patron saint of the hyphy movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – Thizzle Dance by Mac Dre]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To this day, when his music comes on, people turn hands to form T’s and Thizz dance in his honor. “Do it for Mac Dre,” is a battle cry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His life’s story is legendary: after achieving early stardom as a rapper in the late 80s and early 90s, he was sent to prison for conspiracy to rob a bank. He didn’t budge when pushed to snitch on his comrades. And after he was released, he reinvented himself and made music that impacted a generation of kids of all races from this region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis says Dre’s passing kicked off a new chapter in the story of the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The hyphy stuff really starts like we had been doing it, but it didn’t really get on like a national, national scene until like after Dre died, it was picking up steam… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mac Dre’s music was foundational. And the photos and videos his Thizz Nation camp produced gave visuals to culture of the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis looks at Mac Dre’s Treal TV 1 and Treal TV 2 as landmark films of that era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah man, it was just a build up and then, you know, it start like, bringing our culture to, like, the forefront.you know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news of Mac Dre’s death sent a wave of grief through the Bay, but no one felt it like the folks inside of Dre’s camp. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mac Dre, before his passing, it was just– he was, he was releasing music at a different pace than everybody else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Chioke McCoy, aka Seaside Stretch, a promoter and manager who’s worked with a little bit of everybody, from San Francisco’s pop star 24k Goldn to one of Atlanta’s coldest lyricists and political activists, Killer Mike. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch started off working with Mac Dre after a chance meeting on a flight from Vegas back to the Bay. The two linked there, but didn’t become formal partners until a few years later. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was literally when Thizz entertainment started. So that was somewhere around – formerly working with him – somewhere around like 2002, 2003.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch started with promoting for Mac Dre, and over the years he’s worked with the motherload of artists from Northern California. In 2006, Stretch was focused on working with North Oakland’s Mistah F.A.B. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Things were active in the Bay musically back then, but Stretch says the culture didn’t make sense to outsiders. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think that at the time everybody felt as if the bay was being ignored, blackballed, hated on, or whatever. But in reality, the Bay Area was just going to its own beat of its own drum, didn’t play by anybody else’s rules, didn’t kiss no ass, didn’t do any of the things that other people would do to get on. Meaning that like Bay artists weren’t moving to New York or moving to L.A. or like Atlanta. They wasn’t doing none of that. They was waiting for people to come to the Bay. And I think that at the time it was like, ‘well, if they don’t fuck with us, then we’ll just do our own thing.’ So I think the 2006 was a culmination of doing your own thing and it paying off where you were not not concerned with what was going on on the outside.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch says that the term “hyphy”, commercially, wasn’t reflective of what was happening in neighborhoods across Northern California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was presented in a way that would be more friendly to everybody. You know what I mean? Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different than what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, ‘Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time.’ No, that meant that they were destructive and violent, you know what I am saying? So, I think that, you know, it was marketed in the way that, you know, that corporations do to sell a product, which was the music so… That’s the results of what people seen and what people lived were two different things. But I think it became a self-fulfilling prophecy where the people who were a part of the culture ended up changing things to fit what was sellable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch says the first time he even heard the term “hyphy movement” was through a marketing scheme Warner Brothers put together for the Fairfield-based group, The Federation. And the next time Stretch heard the term was also through the media.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was like a little doc called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hype on Hyphy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And it was dubbed “the Hyphy movement” and they were trying to put it in context. I think it was on BET or something to kind of show everybody what this new big thing is, because at the time there was also the snap movement that was going on in Atlanta, which was very successful and very commercially successful. And you can kind of, you know, that was being exposed to the world already. You also had what was going on in Houston, which was being exposed to the world already. So this was, oh a prepackaged, another movement we can put together and get behind, show the world, you know what I’m saying, and capitalize off. And that’s the first time I heard the term “hyphy movement.” You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Prepackaged movement.” “Capitalize off it.” Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I recall the BET documentary, as well as the Rap City series BET did, where they highlighted Hyphy for a week. Mixed emotions: while our lifestyle was in the limelight, the story wasn’t quite right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A more accurate depiction came from Oakland’s Sway Calloway, as he hosted a special on the Bay for MTV’s My Block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The episode starts with a nod to historical hip-hop figures, with cameos from MC Hammer and members of the Almighty Hieroglyphics. They were posted in the Dubs, a couple blocks from where my friend Will was killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Sway Calloway: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up world, welcome to My Block: The Bay, now this show is extremely important to me because this is literally my block, East Oakland 23rd Ave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They do segments with E-40 and Too Short, as well as Zion-I and Nump. At one point, San Francisco’s San Quinn tells Sway, “I’m part of the hyphy movement, but my raps ain’t funny.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In another segment Keak Da Sneak explains how Hyphy is another way of saying hyperactive. Stretch, who had seen “hyphy” become commodified, also looked to Keak for the origins of the term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – That’s My Word by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“…doing hella shit at one time,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Arguably one of the biggest hyphy songs, That’s My Word, he says, “doing hella shit at one time. My definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” [laugh] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the Godfather of hyphy, gave you his definition of what it was. As somebody from East Oakland, I think that he would probably be qualified to define what hyphy was. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – T-shirts, Blue Jeans, and Nikes by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the early 2000s, you could drive through East Oakland, bank a right on Bancroft and hear this Keak Da Sneak song blappin’ out of the speakers in front of a record store and cultural hub, named Moses Music.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the person on the ones and twos was probably Rita Forte– formerly known as DJ Backside. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I literally asked the owner, who’s- his name was Moses, could I set up my turntables and just come on a Saturday and just DJ right outside, like for the public, just for free. Just so that people can see me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to spinning at the record store and breaking local artists’ records, Rita used to spin at parties and functions I attended. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She has locs now, but back then Rita, a taller brown-skinned sista would often wear her hair straightened to shoulder length or rock a baseball hat. She’d also wear these shirts that read “Got Bay?” with a question mark, a play off the old school Got Milk? Commercial. And she had a mixtape series of the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then Rita was also traveling around the country, taking the Town with her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Different cities would want me to come to their city and play a Hyphy set. You know, at first I didn’t catch on. I thought they just wanted to hire me. I don’t know, sometimes I’m that naive, but when they sent me the flier, it would say like Hyphy set by DJ Backside. I was like, Oh, you know.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it worked for her, taking Rita from spinning records in East Oakland to spinning the globe. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got to travel internationally. I got to travel to Taiwan and to Germany, and those gigs definitely, they wanted me to play the Hyphy set. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when you went to Germany and you were playing like white Ts, blue jeans and Nike’s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah it was great.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What was that like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They were rocking to it. I mean, they knew that what I was coming to play. So there was definitely people in the crowd who knew it. There were people in the crowd who were, as I remember, you know, requesting certain songs, ‘Play that um E-40’ or whatever. You know, sometimes it would be a song that I would just be like, ‘For real? You know that?’ I mean, Hyphy– it stretched. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy stretched but it was also confining. Through her travels, Rita saw the limitations as it was a regional sound that was different than most other hip-hop at the time, especially on the East Coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anytime I would go to New York, I would like drop by like probably at least five or six different record labels. It was a lot of kind of executives that I think we’re kind of like, you know, I don’t know if I would say hating, but just like being ‘what is this hyphy thing?’ And to be honest, I still think a lot of them still, you know, wonder what hyphy was, to this day. I feel like I had a recent conversation with someone and they were like,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah, I never really understood it. I mean, are you guys still hyphy?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Never really got it,’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know? So when I hear that, I’m not too surprised because I don’t think we were the best translators of the movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Rita, she tried taking that into her own hands.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I would come back to the Bay, I’d be like, ‘Yo, Keak, this is what you know, you need to do this in your video,’ or FAB or, you know, Too $hort, whatever. Just any time I could have like, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a little word or conversation with any of the artists, I’m like, ‘You need to make a video for this.’ You know what I mean? ‘You need to show.’ There’s so many hyphy songs that did not get videos, that was hugely a downfall.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s efforts to push the Bay’s culture also led to her getting a show on air as a DJ and host with 106.1 KMEL, the Bay Area’s leading hip-hop station. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having her own slot as a DJ and host on KMEL was huge for Rita’s career. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But she felt like they were short-changing her with the time slot they offered. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I thought that was kind of odd uh just hearing it. I was like 12 to 2 am, who am I gonna– on a Friday night? Like, what? Y’all can’t give me something, you know, in the daytime or something? You know that’s, that’s definitely what I was thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita eventually took the gig, working from midnight Friday night until 2am Saturday morning. And it worked for her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was on there every week, you know, at that time slot. And it turned out to be a cool timeslot, to be honest with you. People was getting out the club on a Friday night and they was turning me on, you know? So it was good. So I don’t know if they thought about that or what, but like it turned out to be an excellent timeslot.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so KMEL definitely did that for me. It definitely elevated my career as a DJ, my success. I got opportunities, like I was saying, traveling, being on BET, working with all the artists in the Bay, working with artists outside of the Bay. And my show, not only was I a DJ, I was also an on air personality, so I also got to speak. So I would do interviews and everything like that. And I mean, that is some… that is some power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Rita joined KMEL, the station was going through some \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.daveyd.com/articleradiosucks.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turbulent times.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the years prior, it had been absorbed by the major media conglomerate, Clear Channel. Then, Management fired some very well-liked on-air hosts. Local artists were upset that the place known as “The People’s Station” wasn’t playing local music as much anymore. And\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/kmel-tunes-into-cry-for-community-input-2677235.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> community organizers\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">met with station reps to discuss the station’s content, amongst other things. Plus, there were competing hip-hop stations in the same market that were growing in popularity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I didn’t really understand that whole thing to the depth that I think I should have. Umm, You know, I’ll say the word, you know, cause eventually, maybe like six or eight months later, you know, I think someone said the word to me. They were like, yeah, like ‘You were like a pawn. You know, you were a chess piece.’ You know, you know, ‘You were used in this situation” and really, like putting it that clear to me. I was like, Ohhhhhh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita felt like her hiring was a part of the station’s attempt to show the community’s involvement. And then when she wasn’t needed anymore, things shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s timeslot got moved back one hour and shortened. She was now on from 2am-3am on Saturday mornings, a relatively dead time. She took the change in stride, even took to Myspace to encourage her followers to tune in to her new and improved time of 2am. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also changed her personal schedule, she’d go to clubs or events before her radio show. Or sometimes just pull up to the station and sleep out front in her car until it was time to go on air.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One night I was in my car, sleeping, and I overslept. And I woke up, I remember, I woke up at three, at three, like on the dot, right after when my show was ending. And I was just like, [sigh] I just, I just knew it. I was like, that’s it. They’re going to use this. This is the end. And that’s exactly what happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita was let go from KMEL after she missed her DJ slot, and she never worked in radio again. She feels like she was blackballed back then, and to this day she still feels the weight of that time. After all that she did for the hyphy movement, she didn’t really get that in return. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The fact that I was one of the biggest proponents of the hyphy movement. Again, I was traveling, I was getting hired outside. You know, I was one of the very few DJs doing that, like on large scales, like BET, like wearing my “Got bay?” shirt, you know, on TV, you know, shouting out these artists. Turf Talk, I remember when I came back from BET, Turf Talk was like, ‘Man, you shouted me out on BET!’ Like it was a big deal, you know. So I was out there campaigning for hyphy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was just hard to really figure out like, what was real and what wasn’t and who had my back and who didn’t. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As an avid consumer of Bay Area hip-hop, man, I had no idea this was happening behind the scenes. But As I talk to folks about this era, it’s clear Rita’s story of the highs and lows of that period aren’t rare. Lots of people had career changing experiences back then. Numerous artists had projects shelved and contracts fall through. Clubs where shootings occurred were shut down. Rappers, dancers and models got caught up in fast money and drugs, things that didn’t last long. But for some folks like Rita, the dreams that didn’t pan out then, led to new opportunities today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking back at it now, do you feel like that incident led to your career trajectory changing? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Absolutely. I mean, we’re sitting in the career trajectory change right now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were sitting in the office of her graphic design and T-shirt printing company, The Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After being DJ Backside for for 10-11 years, I learned a lot about choosing a name because that name was ooh spicy! So I really wanted to take the time of choosing a name for this next endeavor, the Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Olive Street in East Oakland is where Rita’s family has owned property for three generartions.And through her family, Rita’s developed a deep religious devotion and a sincere appreciation for the stories in the Bible. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my faves, though, of course, is the story of Noah and the Arc, and specifically the part of that story where, you know, they’re out there, it’s raining, pouring, and Noah sends out a dove and the dove comes back with a olive branch in it’s mouth signifying that there’s hope, there’s land out there, there’s a tree out there, and to keep going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even though Rita is no longer spinning records or interviewing hip-hop artists live on the radio, some of the people she met back then are clients of her printing company. They use shirts to campaign for office, memorialize loved ones, or promote an upcoming project – I guess that’s storytelling on a different scale.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rita herself is still channeling the spirit of the soil and telling the story of a kid from East Oakland. But now it’s through an entity that she owns.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While capitalism can corrupt culture, you’re never gonna stop the independent entrepreneurs from telling their story. Especially out here, the home of slangin’ tapes out the trunk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Next time, on the final episode of Hyphy Kids Got Trauma, we discuss this generation as a whole, and the philosophy written in graffiti that inspired this project:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… Pretty much, it turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Sheree Bishop, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, Cesar Saldaña, Katie Sprenger, Ryce Stoughtenborough and Nastia Voynovskaya. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, and so many more. Keep it lit, peace. \u003c/span>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"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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"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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"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",
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"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": {
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"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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},
"science-friday": {
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