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"content": "\u003cp>Kenzie Smith, an Oakland activist, community advocate and onetime city council candidate, unexpectedly died over the weekend at age 43. As of Monday, the circumstances of his death were unclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News of Smith’s passing began to circulate among friends and family members on Saturday morning. The news became public on Sunday, July 21, when Oakland rapper Stanley “Mistah F.A.B.” Cox posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Saddened to wake up and share the news that my lil brother\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kenzie4oakland/\"> @kenzie4oakland\u003c/a> ‘Carlos’\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeramagazine/\"> @dopeeramagazine\u003c/a> passed yesterday… I promise I will not let your work go down the drain… To Kenzie’s immediate family and friends, I send my love and deepest condolences, and to us, his extended family, let’s us remember his love and grace!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in Oakland, Smith had been involved in grassroots politics as the CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://communityrebirthone.org/\">Community Rebirth\u003c/a>, a nonprofit program designed to support those wrestling with mental health and homelessness. He stayed involved with organizations like the Oakland Roots and Oakland Ballers as a cultural ambassador, and helped organize backpack drives for Oakland students as well as food drives for the homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most notably, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13832886/were-still-here-bbqn-while-black-draws-out-oaklanders-in-force\">Smith was involved with “BBQ’n While Black”\u003c/a> — a yearly celebration of Black joy centered on food and positivity, hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hmtwnhero/?hl=en\">Jhamel Robinson\u003c/a> and Logan McWilliams at Lake Merritt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13961434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13961434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720.jpg\" alt=\"a man's portrait as he looks away from the camera on an Oakland street\" width=\"720\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720.jpg 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenzie Smith, pictured during his campaign for Oakland City Council in 2018, left an impact on Oakland’s community. \u003ccite>(Kenzie Smith for City Council)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He was always on the frontline for the people,” said Robinson, who met Smith in 2017, one year before their friend group co-organized the first “BBQn While Black.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was truly about the community and helping people. A genuine soul. A protector. He always took care of his mom after his father passed away [10 years ago],” Robinson added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, Smith inadvertently became a public figure when he and his friend Onsayo Abram were accosted by an angry white woman, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgaU1h0QiLo\">Jennifer Schulte, who called the police while Smith and Abram barbecued at Lake Merritt in Oakland\u003c/a>. The incident was recorded by Smith’s then-wife, Michelle Dione, and became virally known as “BBQ Becky.” The encounter transformed into a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44167760\">popular meme\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CghM163-OwE\">reference in rap songs\u003c/a>, and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.inverse.com/article/45080-snl-takes-on-bbq-becky-meme-with-aidy-bryant-as-the-woman-on-the-phone\">a parody sketch in \u003ci>Saturday Night Live\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. (Smith and Abram were not charged with any wrongdoing).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QUdgKECnmA\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Smith] helped change things around the lake, pushing for things that happened to him not to happen [to others],” Robinson said. To Robinson, Smith personified hope for Oakland, even among the city’s most turbulent times. When Robinson first \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hmtwnhero.jpg/?hl=en\">got into amateur photography, it was Smith who hooked him up with his first camera\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson’s praise of Smith was echoed by others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BBQ WHILE BLACK WILL BE BIGGER THEN EVER. You stood for OAKLAND, you stood for justice for Oakland, not just us but for all. I’m gone miss you like a mf,” the Oakland artist known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/business_splashgang/?hl=en\">Splashgang\u003c/a> shared on Instagram. “THE SUPPORT YOU GAVE TO THE BAY AREA CULTURE AND THE DEDICATION YOU GAVE TO @dopeeramagazine is epic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, Smith oversaw \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeramagazine/\">Dope Era Magazine\u003c/a>, an online media platform he co-founded with Mistah F.A.B to provide coverage about local issues and rising artists. In 2018, Smith ran for Oakland’s District 2 City Council, after being nominated for a position on Oakland’s Park and Recreation Advisory Committee. According to Robinson, Smith had plans to run again in 2026, and was already preparing campaign literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/1e8t09d/kenzie_smith_passed_away/\">a thread about Smith on Reddit\u003c/a>, various Oakland residents left messages of remembrance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He leaves a little hole in Oakland’s heart,” one user wrote. Another commented “No! We need more grassroots problem solving folks like him.” Other public figures like San Francisco rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9smJ5kyXyF/?img_index=1\">Cellski\u003c/a> have also praised his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, an impromptu remembrance from Smith was held in Oakland, where those who knew him shared memories, and condolences for his family. A formal candlelight memorial has not yet been announced.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Kenzie Smith, an Oakland activist, community advocate and onetime city council candidate, unexpectedly died over the weekend at age 43. As of Monday, the circumstances of his death were unclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>News of Smith’s passing began to circulate among friends and family members on Saturday morning. The news became public on Sunday, July 21, when Oakland rapper Stanley “Mistah F.A.B.” Cox posted a heartfelt message on Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Saddened to wake up and share the news that my lil brother\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kenzie4oakland/\"> @kenzie4oakland\u003c/a> ‘Carlos’\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeramagazine/\"> @dopeeramagazine\u003c/a> passed yesterday… I promise I will not let your work go down the drain… To Kenzie’s immediate family and friends, I send my love and deepest condolences, and to us, his extended family, let’s us remember his love and grace!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raised in Oakland, Smith had been involved in grassroots politics as the CEO of \u003ca href=\"https://communityrebirthone.org/\">Community Rebirth\u003c/a>, a nonprofit program designed to support those wrestling with mental health and homelessness. He stayed involved with organizations like the Oakland Roots and Oakland Ballers as a cultural ambassador, and helped organize backpack drives for Oakland students as well as food drives for the homeless.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps most notably, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13832886/were-still-here-bbqn-while-black-draws-out-oaklanders-in-force\">Smith was involved with “BBQ’n While Black”\u003c/a> — a yearly celebration of Black joy centered on food and positivity, hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hmtwnhero/?hl=en\">Jhamel Robinson\u003c/a> and Logan McWilliams at Lake Merritt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13961434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 720px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13961434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720.jpg\" alt=\"a man's portrait as he looks away from the camera on an Oakland street\" width=\"720\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720.jpg 720w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/kenziesmith_720-160x92.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kenzie Smith, pictured during his campaign for Oakland City Council in 2018, left an impact on Oakland’s community. \u003ccite>(Kenzie Smith for City Council)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“He was always on the frontline for the people,” said Robinson, who met Smith in 2017, one year before their friend group co-organized the first “BBQn While Black.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was truly about the community and helping people. A genuine soul. A protector. He always took care of his mom after his father passed away [10 years ago],” Robinson added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, Smith inadvertently became a public figure when he and his friend Onsayo Abram were accosted by an angry white woman, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgaU1h0QiLo\">Jennifer Schulte, who called the police while Smith and Abram barbecued at Lake Merritt in Oakland\u003c/a>. The incident was recorded by Smith’s then-wife, Michelle Dione, and became virally known as “BBQ Becky.” The encounter transformed into a \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44167760\">popular meme\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CghM163-OwE\">reference in rap songs\u003c/a>, and even \u003ca href=\"https://www.inverse.com/article/45080-snl-takes-on-bbq-becky-meme-with-aidy-bryant-as-the-woman-on-the-phone\">a parody sketch in \u003ci>Saturday Night Live\u003c/i>\u003c/a>. (Smith and Abram were not charged with any wrongdoing).\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/4QUdgKECnmA'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/4QUdgKECnmA'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“[Smith] helped change things around the lake, pushing for things that happened to him not to happen [to others],” Robinson said. To Robinson, Smith personified hope for Oakland, even among the city’s most turbulent times. When Robinson first \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hmtwnhero.jpg/?hl=en\">got into amateur photography, it was Smith who hooked him up with his first camera\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robinson’s praise of Smith was echoed by others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“BBQ WHILE BLACK WILL BE BIGGER THEN EVER. You stood for OAKLAND, you stood for justice for Oakland, not just us but for all. I’m gone miss you like a mf,” the Oakland artist known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/business_splashgang/?hl=en\">Splashgang\u003c/a> shared on Instagram. “THE SUPPORT YOU GAVE TO THE BAY AREA CULTURE AND THE DEDICATION YOU GAVE TO @dopeeramagazine is epic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For years, Smith oversaw \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeramagazine/\">Dope Era Magazine\u003c/a>, an online media platform he co-founded with Mistah F.A.B to provide coverage about local issues and rising artists. In 2018, Smith ran for Oakland’s District 2 City Council, after being nominated for a position on Oakland’s Park and Recreation Advisory Committee. According to Robinson, Smith had plans to run again in 2026, and was already preparing campaign literature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/1e8t09d/kenzie_smith_passed_away/\">a thread about Smith on Reddit\u003c/a>, various Oakland residents left messages of remembrance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He leaves a little hole in Oakland’s heart,” one user wrote. Another commented “No! We need more grassroots problem solving folks like him.” Other public figures like San Francisco rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C9smJ5kyXyF/?img_index=1\">Cellski\u003c/a> have also praised his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sunday, an impromptu remembrance from Smith was held in Oakland, where those who knew him shared memories, and condolences for his family. A formal candlelight memorial has not yet been announced.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Mistah F.A.B. Drops ‘N.E.W. Oakland’ Music Video, Nearly 20 Years Later",
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"content": "\u003cp>In 2005, when rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fabbydavisjr1/?hl=en\">Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/a> originally released “N.E.W. Oakland,” he was barely old enough to legally drink. Nearly 20 years later — now a veteran, community fixture and business savant — he’s finally decided to drop the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is known for pouring his all into The Town. In addition to running \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeraco/?hl=en\">Dope Era\u003c/a> (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908484/mistah-fab-week-dope-era-academy-dezis-oakland\">a clothing shop that also offers a youth arts development component\u003c/a>), he recently began offering \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbQyGJGWgw\">Thug Therapy\u003c/a> (a free, bimonthly support group for men). But “N.E.W. Oakland” shows how F.A.B. was bringing folks together long before that, with a call for pride and unity in the Oakland hip-hop scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ode recounts each side of Oakland (the North, East and West) with a triumvirate of game-certified, lyrically diverse representatives: F.A.B., \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trugstack/\">G-Stack\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/billybavgate/?hl=en\">Bavgate\u003c/a>. As a young, rising freestyle rapper, Mistah F.A.B. — the self-proclaimed “Prince of the O” — first got the idea when he ran into the pair of Oakland legends, whom he grew up idolizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in the studio and was like, there go G-Stack, that’s a super pioneer for the culture with [his group] The Delinquents, and what they done for Oakland. Then Bavgate walked into the studio after that. He used to be with No Limit [Records], selling millions,” F.A.B. recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m from the North, he’s from the East, he’s from the West.’ Let’s do a record about the whole Town being together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a beat from E-A-Ski and I freestyled the hook,” he continues. “Everyone was like ‘Yeah, that’s cold.’ So we wrote our verses. [But] never would I have thought that ‘N.E.W Oakland’ would be a song that stands as a Bay Area anthem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0FIFuJZ64\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike so many rap songs about warring factions, “N.E.W. Oakland” brings each side of Oakland together on equal footing, with shout-outs to each neighborhood’s markers. There may not be another hook with as much centrifugal gravity for all of Oakland as when F.A.B. shouts, “I got the North, got the East, got the West with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time of the song’s release, F.A.B. says that North Oakland wasn’t receiving its proper respect, often being left out of the larger rap conversation, while East and West Oakland rappers got their shine. In the 2005 Keak Da Sneak track “Town Business,” for example, the raspy-voiced linguist rattles off a litany of Oakland locations — but none from the North side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big record that summer,” F.A.B. says. “I was like ‘Damn, y’all didn’t say nothing about North Oakland.’ So when I did my verse [on ‘N.E.W. Oakland’], I started it out with the same cadence Keak used but it included areas from North Oakland. It was a friendly response to my big brother about how they forgot about us. It’s not no diss or anything. It’s just letting people know about the North.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the opening verse of “N.E.W. Oakland,” Fabby bombards listeners with references to “the North Pole” — Gaskill, Bushrod, 62nd, Goldenville. He then reminds the Bay Area that Oakland is bigger than its notorious East and West sides: “My side been forgot about and that’s what I’m hot about.” Then he enlists two lyrical giants from each contingent to tell their sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The song was instantly a hit on street corners, at house parties, lakeside cookouts, car cruises and more. And its unifying theme is surely part of the reason the new video struck such a deep chord with today’s audience after it premiered on May 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11754468\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1071px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11754468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. headlines a show honoring the legacy of Oakland's Mac Dre\" width=\"1071\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB.jpg 1071w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-400x235.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-800x471.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-960x565.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. made a name for himself during the hyphy movement with his unapologetic representation of North Oakland. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Mistah F.A.B.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shot and directed by Thee Shooters, the video is a mix of documentary and artistic angling, spanning each rapper’s turf — beginning in the North, then sliding through the Deep East and circling back to Ghost Town in the West. Despite the shift in eras (and technology), the 20-year-old song seems to have even gained a few octaves of trunk-rattling superpowers with each passing year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area fans seem to agree that it slaps. The comment section under \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6zuz27xWyF/\">the “N.E.W. Oakland” video’s Instagram post\u003c/a> is like a group chat of diehard fans and major Bay Area personalities and institutions, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936865/berkeleys-rexx-life-raj-administers-medicine-for-the-soul-on-california-poppy-3\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, DB Tha General, 22nd Jim, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a>, The Grouch and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who here been waiting 20 years for this video button [100 emoji; fire emoji; clapping emoji],” one fan on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0FIFuJZ64\">YouTube\u003c/a> wrote. “I’m 33 now, this slap came out when I was a freshman in high school!,” says another. And perhaps the one that hits the bullseye: “Maaannn, very smart release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it feels rare for a rapper to reach into the archives and shoot original footage for a track that was released nearly a quarter-century ago, that’s because it is. For better or worse, hip-hop has often been presented as a genre of the moment, and the culture is still figuring out how to age gracefully and honor the past — particularly as some of its mainstay figures pass away, and others radically shift gears to stay relevant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that context, it’s compelling for three well-established rappers to come back in a way that is fresh, dynamic and genuine — not by trying to create a contemporary hit based on today’s TikTok trends, but to honor their past work together in a sincere way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It begs the question: Why isn’t there more of this? If it’s the right song, and it came out at the right time, but there’s no existing video for it, then why not release a video after the fact?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Capturing Oakland, then and now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Back in the day, music videos were mostly financially out of reach for independent rappers — it could’ve cost $25,000 to $50,000 to film a proper one. Without record label budgets, artists learned how to survive out the trunk rather than aspiring for Hollywood’s recognition. In fact, most of Mistah F.A.B.’s legendary discography — along with many of the alpha rappers of his generation and prior — didn’t have official videos until later in their careers. They made mixtapes, and then there were bootleg mixes of pixelated slideshows created by avid fans on YouTube, long before social media existed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922618\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1499px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13922618\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg\" alt=\"Two men dressed in black stand on stage, smiling\" width=\"1499\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg 1499w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1499px) 100vw, 1499px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ice Cube and Mistah FAB on stage at Fremont High School to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For F.A.B., it only felt right to resuscitate an important moment in Oakland’s rap history by providing a video. The idea first came together organically during F.A.B.’s birthday party earlier this year; G-Stack and Bavgate were in attendance. F.A.B. realized he had a film crew available that could do what he didn’t have the ability to do at 21 years old. So he locked it in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Documentation supersedes conversation,” says Mistah F.A.B., like a professor about to freestyle an entire dissertation. “When it’s locked in, there’s nothing to talk about. We here. You can see it for yourself. We just captured the moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The video serves as a testament to not only what Oakland is right now, but what it felt like back then — if not in the physical form, then at least in the spiritual realm. Due to relentless waves of gentrification that have dismantled so many community hubs, it’s hard to imagine what this video might’ve looked like if it came out in ‘05 instead of ‘24. That’s not lost on the artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of my friends that were there when we made this [song], they’re no longer living,” says F.A.B. Same for physical landmarks that are no longer here: “When I talk about Goldenville, that was a project building we all grew up in. Know what I’m saying? I would’ve loved to get those kinds of buildings and people in it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>F.A.B. even admits that he initially thought the video could’ve worked in black and white. But he’s ultimately glad it’s in color. The energy and liveliness of contemporary Oakland is exactly what he had hoped to convey, without diluting it or hyperbolizing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The directors did a hell of a job of capturing the energy,” F.A.B. says. “If you ever wanted to know what Oakland looks like, here it is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Mistah F.A.B. hosts \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw0sNjAywbV/\">\u003ci>Thug Therapy\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a mental health check-in for men, on first and third Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Oakstop California Ballroom (1736 Franklin St., Oakland). The next event will be held on Wednesday, May 29 and feature Rick ‘Freeway Ricky’ Ross. Free entry, includes complimentary food and beverages.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 2005, when rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/fabbydavisjr1/?hl=en\">Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/a> originally released “N.E.W. Oakland,” he was barely old enough to legally drink. Nearly 20 years later — now a veteran, community fixture and business savant — he’s finally decided to drop the video.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is known for pouring his all into The Town. In addition to running \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dopeeraco/?hl=en\">Dope Era\u003c/a> (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908484/mistah-fab-week-dope-era-academy-dezis-oakland\">a clothing shop that also offers a youth arts development component\u003c/a>), he recently began offering \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVbQyGJGWgw\">Thug Therapy\u003c/a> (a free, bimonthly support group for men). But “N.E.W. Oakland” shows how F.A.B. was bringing folks together long before that, with a call for pride and unity in the Oakland hip-hop scene.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ode recounts each side of Oakland (the North, East and West) with a triumvirate of game-certified, lyrically diverse representatives: F.A.B., \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/trugstack/\">G-Stack\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/billybavgate/?hl=en\">Bavgate\u003c/a>. As a young, rising freestyle rapper, Mistah F.A.B. — the self-proclaimed “Prince of the O” — first got the idea when he ran into the pair of Oakland legends, whom he grew up idolizing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was in the studio and was like, there go G-Stack, that’s a super pioneer for the culture with [his group] The Delinquents, and what they done for Oakland. Then Bavgate walked into the studio after that. He used to be with No Limit [Records], selling millions,” F.A.B. recalls. “I’m like, ‘I’m from the North, he’s from the East, he’s from the West.’ Let’s do a record about the whole Town being together.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I had a beat from E-A-Ski and I freestyled the hook,” he continues. “Everyone was like ‘Yeah, that’s cold.’ So we wrote our verses. [But] never would I have thought that ‘N.E.W Oakland’ would be a song that stands as a Bay Area anthem.”\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/_E0FIFuJZ64'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/_E0FIFuJZ64'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Unlike so many rap songs about warring factions, “N.E.W. Oakland” brings each side of Oakland together on equal footing, with shout-outs to each neighborhood’s markers. There may not be another hook with as much centrifugal gravity for all of Oakland as when F.A.B. shouts, “I got the North, got the East, got the West with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the time of the song’s release, F.A.B. says that North Oakland wasn’t receiving its proper respect, often being left out of the larger rap conversation, while East and West Oakland rappers got their shine. In the 2005 Keak Da Sneak track “Town Business,” for example, the raspy-voiced linguist rattles off a litany of Oakland locations — but none from the North side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was a big record that summer,” F.A.B. says. “I was like ‘Damn, y’all didn’t say nothing about North Oakland.’ So when I did my verse [on ‘N.E.W. Oakland’], I started it out with the same cadence Keak used but it included areas from North Oakland. It was a friendly response to my big brother about how they forgot about us. It’s not no diss or anything. It’s just letting people know about the North.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the opening verse of “N.E.W. Oakland,” Fabby bombards listeners with references to “the North Pole” — Gaskill, Bushrod, 62nd, Goldenville. He then reminds the Bay Area that Oakland is bigger than its notorious East and West sides: “My side been forgot about and that’s what I’m hot about.” Then he enlists two lyrical giants from each contingent to tell their sides.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The song was instantly a hit on street corners, at house parties, lakeside cookouts, car cruises and more. And its unifying theme is surely part of the reason the new video struck such a deep chord with today’s audience after it premiered on May 10.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11754468\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1071px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11754468\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. headlines a show honoring the legacy of Oakland's Mac Dre\" width=\"1071\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB.jpg 1071w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-400x235.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-800x471.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/Mistah-FAB-960x565.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1071px) 100vw, 1071px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. made a name for himself during the hyphy movement with his unapologetic representation of North Oakland. \u003ccite>(Photo: Courtesy of Mistah F.A.B.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shot and directed by Thee Shooters, the video is a mix of documentary and artistic angling, spanning each rapper’s turf — beginning in the North, then sliding through the Deep East and circling back to Ghost Town in the West. Despite the shift in eras (and technology), the 20-year-old song seems to have even gained a few octaves of trunk-rattling superpowers with each passing year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area fans seem to agree that it slaps. The comment section under \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C6zuz27xWyF/\">the “N.E.W. Oakland” video’s Instagram post\u003c/a> is like a group chat of diehard fans and major Bay Area personalities and institutions, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936865/berkeleys-rexx-life-raj-administers-medicine-for-the-soul-on-california-poppy-3\">Rexx Life Raj\u003c/a>, DB Tha General, 22nd Jim, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957194/seiji-oda-bay-area-rap-lo-fi-minimalist-hyphy\">Seiji Oda\u003c/a>, The Grouch and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Who here been waiting 20 years for this video button [100 emoji; fire emoji; clapping emoji],” one fan on \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E0FIFuJZ64\">YouTube\u003c/a> wrote. “I’m 33 now, this slap came out when I was a freshman in high school!,” says another. And perhaps the one that hits the bullseye: “Maaannn, very smart release.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it feels rare for a rapper to reach into the archives and shoot original footage for a track that was released nearly a quarter-century ago, that’s because it is. For better or worse, hip-hop has often been presented as a genre of the moment, and the culture is still figuring out how to age gracefully and honor the past — particularly as some of its mainstay figures pass away, and others radically shift gears to stay relevant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In that context, it’s compelling for three well-established rappers to come back in a way that is fresh, dynamic and genuine — not by trying to create a contemporary hit based on today’s TikTok trends, but to honor their past work together in a sincere way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It begs the question: Why isn’t there more of this? If it’s the right song, and it came out at the right time, but there’s no existing video for it, then why not release a video after the fact?\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Capturing Oakland, then and now\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Back in the day, music videos were mostly financially out of reach for independent rappers — it could’ve cost $25,000 to $50,000 to film a proper one. Without record label budgets, artists learned how to survive out the trunk rather than aspiring for Hollywood’s recognition. In fact, most of Mistah F.A.B.’s legendary discography — along with many of the alpha rappers of his generation and prior — didn’t have official videos until later in their careers. They made mixtapes, and then there were bootleg mixes of pixelated slideshows created by avid fans on YouTube, long before social media existed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922618\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1499px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13922618\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg\" alt=\"Two men dressed in black stand on stage, smiling\" width=\"1499\" height=\"843\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg 1499w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1499px) 100vw, 1499px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ice Cube and Mistah FAB on stage at Fremont High School to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For F.A.B., it only felt right to resuscitate an important moment in Oakland’s rap history by providing a video. The idea first came together organically during F.A.B.’s birthday party earlier this year; G-Stack and Bavgate were in attendance. F.A.B. realized he had a film crew available that could do what he didn’t have the ability to do at 21 years old. So he locked it in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Documentation supersedes conversation,” says Mistah F.A.B., like a professor about to freestyle an entire dissertation. “When it’s locked in, there’s nothing to talk about. We here. You can see it for yourself. We just captured the moment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The video serves as a testament to not only what Oakland is right now, but what it felt like back then — if not in the physical form, then at least in the spiritual realm. Due to relentless waves of gentrification that have dismantled so many community hubs, it’s hard to imagine what this video might’ve looked like if it came out in ‘05 instead of ‘24. That’s not lost on the artist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of my friends that were there when we made this [song], they’re no longer living,” says F.A.B. Same for physical landmarks that are no longer here: “When I talk about Goldenville, that was a project building we all grew up in. Know what I’m saying? I would’ve loved to get those kinds of buildings and people in it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>F.A.B. even admits that he initially thought the video could’ve worked in black and white. But he’s ultimately glad it’s in color. The energy and liveliness of contemporary Oakland is exactly what he had hoped to convey, without diluting it or hyperbolizing it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The directors did a hell of a job of capturing the energy,” F.A.B. says. “If you ever wanted to know what Oakland looks like, here it is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Mistah F.A.B. hosts \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw0sNjAywbV/\">\u003ci>Thug Therapy\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, a mental health check-in for men, on first and third Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at Oakstop California Ballroom (1736 Franklin St., Oakland). The next event will be held on Wednesday, May 29 and feature Rick ‘Freeway Ricky’ Ross. Free entry, includes complimentary food and beverages.\u003c/i>\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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"headTitle": "D-Ray’s Photo Archive is West Coast Hip-Hop Gold | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Editor’s note\u003c/strong>: This story is part of \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">That’s My Word\u003c/a>\u003cem>, KQED’s 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",
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"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",
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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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"title": "‘Too Short Way’ Unveiled in Star-Studded Event in Oakland",
"headTitle": "‘Too Short Way’ Unveiled in Star-Studded Event in Oakland | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Saturday’s unveiling of “Too $hort Way” brought together celebrities, community leaders, a marching band and Too $hort himself. But the real star of the event was the city of Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 3 p.m. inside Fremont High School’s gymnasium, as the Pittsburg High School marching band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmAWJAljzyQ/\">performed a lively version of “Life Is Too Short,”\u003c/a> the crowd erupted in cheers as hip hop artists Sway Calloway, Ice Cube, Mistah F.A.B. and Too $hort stepped to the stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-800x488.jpg\" alt=\"A marching band, dressed in black Too Short shirts, fills a gymnasium with a large Tiger mural in the background\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-800x488.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-1020x622.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-768x469.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-1536x937.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand.jpg 1816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Pittsburg High School marching band performs a medley of Too $hort hits to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ at Fremont High School on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One by one, each paid tribute to Too $hort. Sway remembered being “a kid” when he first saw Too $hort, in the back of a bus, playing his own music from a boombox. He said he was startled — he hadn’t yet witnessed someone producing and selling their own songs like $hort did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ice Cube first met Too $hort in 1988, they were both opening acts for bigger artists, not headliners. (“Yes! I was there!” a crowd goer shouted, laughing.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s always giving. He’s always trying to show you how to do something, telling you about something, giving you some game,” Ice Cube continued. “So, we gonna love Too $hort. Give respect to Too $hort because he put Oakland on the map.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922618\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Two men dressed in black stand on stage, smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ice Cube and Mistah FAB on stage at Fremont High School to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The artists were joined by Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf and councilmember Noel Gallo, who both cited the rapper’s legacy and cultural importance while presenting their official proclamation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, Too $hort stepped to the microphone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First and foremost,” he began, smiling and nonchalant, “y’all are celebrating Too $hort, but I’m celebrating Oakland.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922621\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A man in an A's starter jacket addresses a crowd, with a green background wall\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech.jpg 1806w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too $hort addresses the crowd. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>$hort talked about moving to East Oakland as a young teen, and how the city itself nourished his dreams of becoming a rapper. He’d often walk around the streets, he said, radio in hand, listening to East Coast MCs lyrically explore life in New York. He decided he wanted to do the same — but for the new home he’d grown to love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This [street renaming] is needed. Not for me to get a pat on my back, not for me to get good things said about me,” said $hort. “This is about walking down the street, dreaming. That long walk down High Street, I was dreaming.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterward, the crowd — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13877570/a-tribute-to-soul-beat-tv-the-black-owned-network-of-east-oakland\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Soul Beat\u003c/a>‘s Chuck Johnson, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13830592/sf-based-hip-hop-distributor-empire-inks-deal-with-universal-music\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EMPIRE\u003c/a>‘s Ghazi Shami, and neighborhood legends like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CmAfAMNPltT/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Frank the Bank\u003c/a> — followed the rapper outside, flocking around the new street sign. Freshly installed, “Too $hort Way” stood against an overcast sky, wet from the constant rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922614\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-800x549.jpg\" alt=\"Umbrellas are hoisted below a street sign reading 'Too $hort Way'\" width=\"800\" height=\"549\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922614\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather at the unveiling of Too $hort Way on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another huddle formed around Too $hort as he looked up toward the sign, dressed in a starter jacket with the city’s name on its back. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This moment is not mine,” he reiterated. “This moment is Oakland, California.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Short Dog was back in the house Saturday at Fremont High, with Ice Cube, Libby Schaaf and others.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Saturday’s unveiling of “Too $hort Way” brought together celebrities, community leaders, a marching band and Too $hort himself. But the real star of the event was the city of Oakland. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 3 p.m. inside Fremont High School’s gymnasium, as the Pittsburg High School marching band \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CmAWJAljzyQ/\">performed a lively version of “Life Is Too Short,”\u003c/a> the crowd erupted in cheers as hip hop artists Sway Calloway, Ice Cube, Mistah F.A.B. and Too $hort stepped to the stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-800x488.jpg\" alt=\"A marching band, dressed in black Too Short shirts, fills a gymnasium with a large Tiger mural in the background\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922619\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-800x488.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-1020x622.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-768x469.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand-1536x937.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.MarchingBand.jpg 1816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Pittsburg High School marching band performs a medley of Too $hort hits to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ at Fremont High School on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One by one, each paid tribute to Too $hort. Sway remembered being “a kid” when he first saw Too $hort, in the back of a bus, playing his own music from a boombox. He said he was startled — he hadn’t yet witnessed someone producing and selling their own songs like $hort did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Ice Cube first met Too $hort in 1988, they were both opening acts for bigger artists, not headliners. (“Yes! I was there!” a crowd goer shouted, laughing.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’s always giving. He’s always trying to show you how to do something, telling you about something, giving you some game,” Ice Cube continued. “So, we gonna love Too $hort. Give respect to Too $hort because he put Oakland on the map.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922618\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Two men dressed in black stand on stage, smiling\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922618\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/IceCube.MistahFAB.jpg 1499w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ice Cube and Mistah FAB on stage at Fremont High School to commemorate the unveiling of ‘Too $hort Way’ on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The artists were joined by Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf and councilmember Noel Gallo, who both cited the rapper’s legacy and cultural importance while presenting their official proclamation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, Too $hort stepped to the microphone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“First and foremost,” he began, smiling and nonchalant, “y’all are celebrating Too $hort, but I’m celebrating Oakland.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922621\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"A man in an A's starter jacket addresses a crowd, with a green background wall\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922621\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/TooShort.Speech.jpg 1806w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too $hort addresses the crowd. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>$hort talked about moving to East Oakland as a young teen, and how the city itself nourished his dreams of becoming a rapper. He’d often walk around the streets, he said, radio in hand, listening to East Coast MCs lyrically explore life in New York. He decided he wanted to do the same — but for the new home he’d grown to love.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This [street renaming] is needed. Not for me to get a pat on my back, not for me to get good things said about me,” said $hort. “This is about walking down the street, dreaming. That long walk down High Street, I was dreaming.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Afterward, the crowd — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13877570/a-tribute-to-soul-beat-tv-the-black-owned-network-of-east-oakland\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Soul Beat\u003c/a>‘s Chuck Johnson, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13830592/sf-based-hip-hop-distributor-empire-inks-deal-with-universal-music\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EMPIRE\u003c/a>‘s Ghazi Shami, and neighborhood legends like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CmAfAMNPltT/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Frank the Bank\u003c/a> — followed the rapper outside, flocking around the new street sign. Freshly installed, “Too $hort Way” stood against an overcast sky, wet from the constant rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13922614\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-800x549.jpg\" alt=\"Umbrellas are hoisted below a street sign reading 'Too $hort Way'\" width=\"800\" height=\"549\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13922614\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-800x549.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-1020x700.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-768x527.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1-1536x1054.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/12/too-short-way-edited-1.jpg 1734w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People gather at the unveiling of Too $hort Way on Dec. 10, 2022. \u003ccite>(Kristie Song/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another huddle formed around Too $hort as he looked up toward the sign, dressed in a starter jacket with the city’s name on its back. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This moment is not mine,” he reiterated. “This moment is Oakland, California.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Professor X for Oakland: Mistah F.A.B. Is On a Quest to Uplift His City",
"headTitle": "A Professor X for Oakland: Mistah F.A.B. Is On a Quest to Uplift His City | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Mistah F.A.B. was a kid growing up in North Oakland, he took notes from his heroes. Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton ignited his political consciousness. Tupac showed him that hip-hop could move the masses. And Stan Lee taught him about the power of imagination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, just days after his 40th birthday, the beloved Oakland artist is reflecting on how these lessons prepared him for all that he’s accomplished in rap, community activism and business. And it’s Lee, the creator of the ever-expanding Marvel universe, who’s inspiring him to think about what he wants out of his next chapter. As he enters his fourth decade, he’s preparing to open his new downtown Oakland nightclub, Dezi’s, and is starting to work on his biggest ambition: a youth development-focused community arts and culture center called Dope Era Academy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, it’s like Professor X, and this is the school for mutants,” he says, dropping an \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> reference on a recent afternoon at his streetwear boutique-turned-community hub, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/dope-era-oakland-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dope Era\u003c/a>. “If you’ve ever had a creative side and you’re an artist or you’re a dancer or you have some genius, you have this mutant-like ability. But coming from the areas that we come from, we don’t have the luxury of having Professor Xs. There’s no one that’s cultivating that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908603\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908603\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. celebrates his 40th birthday at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B., born Stanley Cox, wants to be that guiding force in his community. He opened Dope Era six years ago at its first location in his childhood neighborhood on the corner of 45th and Market Streets. Before he signed the lease on a humble storefront next to a laundromat and a barbershop, he sold sweat suits and T-shirts out of the trunk of his car, much like he used to sling CDs when he was a rising star of the hyphy movement in the mid 2000s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shop was decorated with murals of Mac Dre and Mistah F.A.B.’s childhood friend Nguyen, both lost to gun violence. An airbrushed portrait of his biggest champion and best friend, his late mother Desrie Jeffery, watched over the space like a guardian angel. Dope Era became a love letter from Mistah F.A.B. to his neighborhood, a hub for his Thanksgiving turkey giveaways, school supply drives and many other community initiatives to make sure that his people were fed and taken care of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 45th and Market location had its challenges: in 2017, there were instances of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12982699/public-safety-or-racial-profiling-mistah-f-a-b-alleges-harassment-by-the-opd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">alleged racial profiling by police\u003c/a>, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13082904/oakland-store-owned-by-mistah-f-a-b-damaged-in-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">storefront was damaged\u003c/a> in a case of what Mistah F.A.B. suspected to be arson. But there were also great successes on the other side. In 2018, Mistah F.A.B. moved Dope Era into a bigger, swankier location on 19th and Broadway, and the brand became a pillar of downtown’s retail landscape. As upscale bars and new high-rise apartments continue to spring up, Dope Era offers a vision of Oakland’s Black pre-gentrification culture evolving and thriving alongside new developments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dope Era’s colorful, Super Mario-inspired logo has basically become an Oakland uniform, and when Snoop Dogg, Amber Rose, Lil Jon and E-40 started rocking it too, the brand’s reach spread well beyond the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is harnessing that momentum into Dezi’s, located at 1802 Telegraph Avenue across from the Fox Theater and around the block from the trendy hip-hop club Hello Stranger. The soft opening this Saturday, Jan. 29, is part of his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CY-sJ1UrouS/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">F.A.B. Week\u003c/a> of 40th birthday festivities, which also include multiple parties and club nights Thursday and Friday, and a brunch and celebrity basketball game to close things out on Sunday, Jan. 30. E-40, Marshawn Lynch, Steph Curry and Too $hort have already joined in on the celebrations, which started last Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908605\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_TooShort_1971-800x596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"596\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too $hort bowls at Mistah F.A.B.’s birthday party at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want [Dezi’s] to be a performance club, but to be more like a lounge where people can come network and listen to some good music,” he says. “I want to represent for the Bay Area growth. I want to show the other artists that are on the up-and-coming—and some of my constituents and peers that are colleagues now—that there are other ways and avenues for us to do things, for us to continue to be successful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith plans for Dezi’s in motion, Mistah F.A.B. is looking for capital and space to realize his dreams for Dope Era Academy. Ideally, he’d buy a building with multiple rooms that could support a music studio, business classes, culinary classes, coding classes and all kinds of other creative and professional development. Young people would be the target audience, but he doesn’t believe that there’s an age cap for learning and self-improvement. [aside postid='arts_13906176']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he’s in a unique position to reach those a lot of other organizations might not. The Bay Area nonprofit and educational fields are known for having a majority-white leadership that often comes from wealth. Even with the best intentions, they can’t always relate to the cultures or struggles of the people they want to serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where Mistah F.A.B. comes in. “I think it’s very much so possible, especially living in the areas that we live in, and we got all these major millionaires and billionaires that are looking for ways to help,” he says. “They need some people that they can actually trust with those intentions in the community. And if you look at our track record, my track record has shown nothing but that. I may not have done it the NAACP Image Award way, but we did the work and we got it done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is now going on his 19th year of community work (in 2014, Mayor Jean Quan created \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2014/02/10/mayor-jean-quan-honors-oakland-rapper/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a day in his honor\u003c/a> because of it). People from rough family backgrounds, survivors of neighborhood violence and those who’ve been incarcerated feel comfortable around him. He knows that struggle himself: he lost his father when he was 12 years old (Stanley Cox Sr. contracted AIDS from shared needles). His mother was also addicted to drugs but got clean and became the provider and role model he needed. That’s why Mistah F.A.B. is conscious of the fact that people need acceptance when they’re dealing with trauma—he’s never scolded anyone to pull their pants up. With big hugs, firm handshakes and warm smiles, he’s constantly welcoming people into his orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908602\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1666-800x593.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"593\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. greets friends and fans at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are some people who are very brilliant and very smart, but they may have a speech impediment so they don’t want to talk,” he says of his non-judgmental approach. “There are people that may be social introverts, but could do something to change the social dynamics of the world. They just don’t know how to express themselves. There are people who are autistic who are still artistic. You know what I’m saying?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A project like Dope Era Academy is Mistah F.A.B.’s way of contributing to a vision of a community that leaves fewer people behind, and he sees it as part of a long-term solution to Oakland’s gun violence problem. In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/12/23/2021-oakland-deadliest-year-since-2006-homicides-shootings-gun-violence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland saw more killings than in any other year since 2006\u003c/a>, and neighborhood shootings leave families caught in the middle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/09/california-gun-violence-teenagers-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cycles of retaliation and more violence\u003c/a>. [aside postid='news_11892026']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the gun violence comes from young, frustrated youth who are going out venting, and they haven’t had an ability to heal,” says Mistah F.A.B. “We grow up in the ghetto. You know, PTSD. You watching your friends get killed every day. You got to heal from that. … Children 15, 16 years old with a wall full of obituaries. That’s not normal. That’s traumatic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]A[/dropcap]t 40, Mistah F.A.B. sees his music as an extension of his quest to uplift the community. At the top of the new year, he lost his close friend and collaborator, Traxamillion. And this week is the anniversary of the passing of G Field, who was his right-hand man at Dope Era. With so many important hip-hop artists who’ve died in their 40s and 50s over the past couple of years (Shock G, DMX, Zumbi and Gift of Gab also come to mind), Mistah F.A.B. wants to make a statement about maturation and growth. [aside postid='arts_13907735']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s putting finishing touches on his next album, \u003cem>Black Designer\u003c/em>, whose title pays homage to Black people’s immense contributions to art and culture world over. “It’s the music that a 40 year old should be making,” he says. “It’s easy for me to make hyphy music or whatever the sound is now to modernize my flow. … But I think in doing that, a lot of people are just making music that’s popular. But will it last?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though he’s best known for his hyphy songs from the 2000s (“N.E.W. Oakland,” “Sideshow” and “Super Sic Wit It” are considered classics), Mistah F.A.B.’s discography since then has been wide-ranging. He’s released emotional albums about trauma (see the \u003cem>Thug Tears\u003c/em> series), missives about racism (\u003cem>Amerikkka Don’t Love Us\u003c/em>), player anthems and party music. But with \u003cem>Black Designer\u003c/em>, he says we’re getting a different, more grown-up side of him. In fact, for the first time, there are no curse words on the album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve got kids now and I got responsibilities. … I’m running several businesses now. Things are different. Life is different,” he says. “I’m growing. It’s not that I’m not keeping it real. I would be keeping it fake if I was still in the neighborhood. I think it’s imperative that we show the next generation what growth looks like.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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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 Mistah F.A.B. was a kid growing up in North Oakland, he took notes from his heroes. Malcolm X and Huey P. Newton ignited his political consciousness. Tupac showed him that hip-hop could move the masses. And Stan Lee taught him about the power of imagination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, just days after his 40th birthday, the beloved Oakland artist is reflecting on how these lessons prepared him for all that he’s accomplished in rap, community activism and business. And it’s Lee, the creator of the ever-expanding Marvel universe, who’s inspiring him to think about what he wants out of his next chapter. As he enters his fourth decade, he’s preparing to open his new downtown Oakland nightclub, Dezi’s, and is starting to work on his biggest ambition: a youth development-focused community arts and culture center called Dope Era Academy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In my mind, it’s like Professor X, and this is the school for mutants,” he says, dropping an \u003cem>X-Men\u003c/em> reference on a recent afternoon at his streetwear boutique-turned-community hub, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/dope-era-oakland-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dope Era\u003c/a>. “If you’ve ever had a creative side and you’re an artist or you’re a dancer or you have some genius, you have this mutant-like ability. But coming from the areas that we come from, we don’t have the luxury of having Professor Xs. There’s no one that’s cultivating that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908603\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908603\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1685-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. celebrates his 40th birthday at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B., born Stanley Cox, wants to be that guiding force in his community. He opened Dope Era six years ago at its first location in his childhood neighborhood on the corner of 45th and Market Streets. Before he signed the lease on a humble storefront next to a laundromat and a barbershop, he sold sweat suits and T-shirts out of the trunk of his car, much like he used to sling CDs when he was a rising star of the hyphy movement in the mid 2000s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shop was decorated with murals of Mac Dre and Mistah F.A.B.’s childhood friend Nguyen, both lost to gun violence. An airbrushed portrait of his biggest champion and best friend, his late mother Desrie Jeffery, watched over the space like a guardian angel. Dope Era became a love letter from Mistah F.A.B. to his neighborhood, a hub for his Thanksgiving turkey giveaways, school supply drives and many other community initiatives to make sure that his people were fed and taken care of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 45th and Market location had its challenges: in 2017, there were instances of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12982699/public-safety-or-racial-profiling-mistah-f-a-b-alleges-harassment-by-the-opd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">alleged racial profiling by police\u003c/a>, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13082904/oakland-store-owned-by-mistah-f-a-b-damaged-in-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">storefront was damaged\u003c/a> in a case of what Mistah F.A.B. suspected to be arson. But there were also great successes on the other side. In 2018, Mistah F.A.B. moved Dope Era into a bigger, swankier location on 19th and Broadway, and the brand became a pillar of downtown’s retail landscape. As upscale bars and new high-rise apartments continue to spring up, Dope Era offers a vision of Oakland’s Black pre-gentrification culture evolving and thriving alongside new developments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dope Era’s colorful, Super Mario-inspired logo has basically become an Oakland uniform, and when Snoop Dogg, Amber Rose, Lil Jon and E-40 started rocking it too, the brand’s reach spread well beyond the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is harnessing that momentum into Dezi’s, located at 1802 Telegraph Avenue across from the Fox Theater and around the block from the trendy hip-hop club Hello Stranger. The soft opening this Saturday, Jan. 29, is part of his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CY-sJ1UrouS/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">F.A.B. Week\u003c/a> of 40th birthday festivities, which also include multiple parties and club nights Thursday and Friday, and a brunch and celebrity basketball game to close things out on Sunday, Jan. 30. E-40, Marshawn Lynch, Steph Curry and Too $hort have already joined in on the celebrations, which started last Sunday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908605\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908605\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_TooShort_1971-800x596.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"596\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Too $hort bowls at Mistah F.A.B.’s birthday party at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want [Dezi’s] to be a performance club, but to be more like a lounge where people can come network and listen to some good music,” he says. “I want to represent for the Bay Area growth. I want to show the other artists that are on the up-and-coming—and some of my constituents and peers that are colleagues now—that there are other ways and avenues for us to do things, for us to continue to be successful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">W\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>ith plans for Dezi’s in motion, Mistah F.A.B. is looking for capital and space to realize his dreams for Dope Era Academy. Ideally, he’d buy a building with multiple rooms that could support a music studio, business classes, culinary classes, coding classes and all kinds of other creative and professional development. Young people would be the target audience, but he doesn’t believe that there’s an age cap for learning and self-improvement. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he’s in a unique position to reach those a lot of other organizations might not. The Bay Area nonprofit and educational fields are known for having a majority-white leadership that often comes from wealth. Even with the best intentions, they can’t always relate to the cultures or struggles of the people they want to serve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where Mistah F.A.B. comes in. “I think it’s very much so possible, especially living in the areas that we live in, and we got all these major millionaires and billionaires that are looking for ways to help,” he says. “They need some people that they can actually trust with those intentions in the community. And if you look at our track record, my track record has shown nothing but that. I may not have done it the NAACP Image Award way, but we did the work and we got it done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. is now going on his 19th year of community work (in 2014, Mayor Jean Quan created \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2014/02/10/mayor-jean-quan-honors-oakland-rapper/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a day in his honor\u003c/a> because of it). People from rough family backgrounds, survivors of neighborhood violence and those who’ve been incarcerated feel comfortable around him. He knows that struggle himself: he lost his father when he was 12 years old (Stanley Cox Sr. contracted AIDS from shared needles). His mother was also addicted to drugs but got clean and became the provider and role model he needed. That’s why Mistah F.A.B. is conscious of the fact that people need acceptance when they’re dealing with trauma—he’s never scolded anyone to pull their pants up. With big hugs, firm handshakes and warm smiles, he’s constantly welcoming people into his orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13908602\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13908602\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/01/MF40_1666-800x593.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"593\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. greets friends and fans at Bowlero in Alameda on Jan. 24, 2022. \u003ccite>(Amaya Edwards)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There are some people who are very brilliant and very smart, but they may have a speech impediment so they don’t want to talk,” he says of his non-judgmental approach. “There are people that may be social introverts, but could do something to change the social dynamics of the world. They just don’t know how to express themselves. There are people who are autistic who are still artistic. You know what I’m saying?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A project like Dope Era Academy is Mistah F.A.B.’s way of contributing to a vision of a community that leaves fewer people behind, and he sees it as part of a long-term solution to Oakland’s gun violence problem. In 2021, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/12/23/2021-oakland-deadliest-year-since-2006-homicides-shootings-gun-violence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland saw more killings than in any other year since 2006\u003c/a>, and neighborhood shootings leave families caught in the middle of \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/09/california-gun-violence-teenagers-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cycles of retaliation and more violence\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of the gun violence comes from young, frustrated youth who are going out venting, and they haven’t had an ability to heal,” says Mistah F.A.B. “We grow up in the ghetto. You know, PTSD. You watching your friends get killed every day. You got to heal from that. … Children 15, 16 years old with a wall full of obituaries. That’s not normal. That’s traumatic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>t 40, Mistah F.A.B. sees his music as an extension of his quest to uplift the community. At the top of the new year, he lost his close friend and collaborator, Traxamillion. And this week is the anniversary of the passing of G Field, who was his right-hand man at Dope Era. With so many important hip-hop artists who’ve died in their 40s and 50s over the past couple of years (Shock G, DMX, Zumbi and Gift of Gab also come to mind), Mistah F.A.B. wants to make a statement about maturation and growth. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s putting finishing touches on his next album, \u003cem>Black Designer\u003c/em>, whose title pays homage to Black people’s immense contributions to art and culture world over. “It’s the music that a 40 year old should be making,” he says. “It’s easy for me to make hyphy music or whatever the sound is now to modernize my flow. … But I think in doing that, a lot of people are just making music that’s popular. But will it last?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though he’s best known for his hyphy songs from the 2000s (“N.E.W. Oakland,” “Sideshow” and “Super Sic Wit It” are considered classics), Mistah F.A.B.’s discography since then has been wide-ranging. He’s released emotional albums about trauma (see the \u003cem>Thug Tears\u003c/em> series), missives about racism (\u003cem>Amerikkka Don’t Love Us\u003c/em>), player anthems and party music. But with \u003cem>Black Designer\u003c/em>, he says we’re getting a different, more grown-up side of him. In fact, for the first time, there are no curse words on the album.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Musicians To Know: Bay Area Rapper Champ Green Isn’t Stingy with the Rhythm or the Wisdom",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Over 4 weeks, \u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">\u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891641/four-bay-area-musicians-to-know-right-nowish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891641/four-bay-area-musicians-to-know-right-nowish\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Rightnowish is featuring artists with local roots\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> who are taking the sounds of the Bay to a national stage.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/i>\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=KQINC3715528401&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/champgreen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Champ Green\u003c/a> is probably your favorite Bay Area rapper’s favorite rapper. He’s been putting in work for some time, and over the past calendar year he’s been on a music-making mission. And he’s not showing any signs of slowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13892652\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13892652 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-800x718.jpg\" alt='An illustration of Champ Green on the outside of a \"Hella Nuts\" Grounded Walnut Meat bag. You can see him smiling in the bottom right corner of the bag as he bites into a burger.' width=\"800\" height=\"718\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-800x718.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-1020x916.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-160x144.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-768x690.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1.jpg 1439w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Champ Green on the outside of “Hella Nuts” \u003ccite>(Mieko Scott)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His clever wordplay and wisdom-filled rhymes can be found on a project \u003ca href=\"https://rootsandbranches.bandcamp.com/track/seed-15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with DJ Basta\u003c/a>, a recent single and video \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdzxSP1RWjc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with Mistah FAB\u003c/a>, and multiple tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/grandnationxl_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Grand Nationxl collective\u003c/a>. And next week he’s scheduled to release \u003cem>Pleasantly Plump 2\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CLFoxt8sgek/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with DJ Twelvz\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While his wordplay is on tracks, his face is on food. You can find him smiling on the packaging of the local plant-based food company \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hella_nuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hella Nuts,\u003c/a> breaking stereotypes on what health looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of all that, Champ, a friend of mine, is the walking embodiment of love. His latest project, \u003cem>Agape Elephant in The Room\u003c/em>, which dropped in December, is a testament to that love– and how it often gets overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the competitive nature of the rap game, Champ says love has to be acknowledged. Today we talk about how Champ got love from his mother, game from the Town, and with each bar he spits he gives it all back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13892632\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13892632\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Champ Green, wearing a beanie cap and glasses, stands in a field with some small trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Champ Green, wearing a beanie cap and glasses, stands in a field with some small trees in the background. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Champ Gree)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Below are lightly edited excerpts of my conversation with Champ Green.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Your most recent project was “Agape Elephant in the Room.” Why was that the title?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: It derived from the elephant in the room, so everybody says they don’t see the elephant, right? But it’s plain as day. So I’m the elephant with the big love in the room. Depending on the way you view it, either, I’m a problem or I’m the problem solver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: And for our folks who are unclear, what does agape mean?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Unconditional love and the love of God, give you the unconditional love, that’s agape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Looking at what you’re doing right now with Grand Nationxl collective, it seems like there’s a lot of love in that collective. You’re working with 10-dozen producers?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: I’ve been blessed to be a part of teams who kind of run ocean 12 or 13 or 11 game, which in order to get the job done, we have to be very, very good, or excellent. It’s like a real life Henry Ford machine. So the assembly line is heavy with a plethora of knowledge, a plethora of game and a potluck of camaraderie to the point where we get the job done and pull off the heist, respectfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Respectfully [[laughs]]… the Bay Area it breeds a lot of linguists, ya know obviously E40 is of it. But did the Bay influence [your wordplay ability] as well?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Of course, most definitely. I think also, when we speak of hip hop, I’m damn, near just as old as hip hop. I think I’m forty two. So I have front row seats to the game. Right. And then I had three older siblings and I was just able to be saturated in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: And also growing up in Oakland, every turf got their own little slang… it could be a bunch of your partners, y’all say what your little slick word, and then it could spread like wildfire because one of your partners may stay in the West and the other partner me stay in a Deep East and the other partna stay in Richmond and it’ll become a thing. So, in the words of Mac Mall, “serving game is my occupation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: But you individually have a lexicon that you go through that you pull from. And I just wanted to break down just a couple of terms that I want to hear you define them. So when you say things like “…Who’s selling peanuts?… They going to George Washington Carve they niche out out this game.” What does that mean?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Everybody’s always focused on the big, you know, “I need to do it big like this”, but a peanut is small. So, I mean, you gotta start small to get big, but who really going to sell some peanuts who really gonna be on the front line in this underground railroad. You know, speaking the Sojourner Truth…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Essentially like, who’s selling peanuts, who’s doing the grunt work with historical context?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Exactly… Then the inventor of peanut butter is George Washington Carver, right? He came up with roasted peanuts, peanuts in different ways. So how are you going to George Washington carve your niche out?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: In your latest album, Agape Elephant in the Room, you released a single with Ian Kelly on that single. You have just crazy wordplay back and forth. That I wanted to quote, I might get it wrong so correct me if I do, but you go “longitude, latitude, horizontal, parallel telephone next person nextel communicate plant seed bean stock sky high sky’s limit moonwalk. HBCU…” The way that one thing leads to the next from the outside perspective, is almost like looking at a slinky go down stairs.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: OK\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: From the inside. How does your brain work ?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Umm So, so I’m left handed. Right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: [laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Right, so i’m coming from the other side of the brain. But at the same time, my dominant hand is my left hand. But like, I play basketball and I shoot with my right. So I’ll be serving ambidextrous game at the same time in rare form.\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>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Over 4 weeks, \u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">\u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891641/four-bay-area-musicians-to-know-right-nowish\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13891641/four-bay-area-musicians-to-know-right-nowish\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Rightnowish is featuring artists with local roots\u003c/a>\u003c/i>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> who are taking the sounds of the Bay to a national stage.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/i>\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=KQINC3715528401&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/champgreen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Champ Green\u003c/a> is probably your favorite Bay Area rapper’s favorite rapper. He’s been putting in work for some time, and over the past calendar year he’s been on a music-making mission. And he’s not showing any signs of slowing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13892652\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13892652 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-800x718.jpg\" alt='An illustration of Champ Green on the outside of a \"Hella Nuts\" Grounded Walnut Meat bag. You can see him smiling in the bottom right corner of the bag as he bites into a burger.' width=\"800\" height=\"718\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-800x718.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-1020x916.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-160x144.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1-768x690.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/0-1-1.jpg 1439w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An illustration of Champ Green on the outside of “Hella Nuts” \u003ccite>(Mieko Scott)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His clever wordplay and wisdom-filled rhymes can be found on a project \u003ca href=\"https://rootsandbranches.bandcamp.com/track/seed-15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with DJ Basta\u003c/a>, a recent single and video \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdzxSP1RWjc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with Mistah FAB\u003c/a>, and multiple tracks with \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/grandnationxl_/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Grand Nationxl collective\u003c/a>. And next week he’s scheduled to release \u003cem>Pleasantly Plump 2\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CLFoxt8sgek/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with DJ Twelvz\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While his wordplay is on tracks, his face is on food. You can find him smiling on the packaging of the local plant-based food company \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hella_nuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hella Nuts,\u003c/a> breaking stereotypes on what health looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On top of all that, Champ, a friend of mine, is the walking embodiment of love. His latest project, \u003cem>Agape Elephant in The Room\u003c/em>, which dropped in December, is a testament to that love– and how it often gets overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even with the competitive nature of the rap game, Champ says love has to be acknowledged. Today we talk about how Champ got love from his mother, game from the Town, and with each bar he spits he gives it all back.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13892632\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13892632\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"Champ Green, wearing a beanie cap and glasses, stands in a field with some small trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/02/137117814_752315915397210_7949189052426708347_n.jpg 828w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Champ Green, wearing a beanie cap and glasses, stands in a field with some small trees in the background. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Champ Gree)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Below are lightly edited excerpts of my conversation with Champ Green.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Your most recent project was “Agape Elephant in the Room.” Why was that the title?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: It derived from the elephant in the room, so everybody says they don’t see the elephant, right? But it’s plain as day. So I’m the elephant with the big love in the room. Depending on the way you view it, either, I’m a problem or I’m the problem solver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: And for our folks who are unclear, what does agape mean?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Unconditional love and the love of God, give you the unconditional love, that’s agape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Looking at what you’re doing right now with Grand Nationxl collective, it seems like there’s a lot of love in that collective. You’re working with 10-dozen producers?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: I’ve been blessed to be a part of teams who kind of run ocean 12 or 13 or 11 game, which in order to get the job done, we have to be very, very good, or excellent. It’s like a real life Henry Ford machine. So the assembly line is heavy with a plethora of knowledge, a plethora of game and a potluck of camaraderie to the point where we get the job done and pull off the heist, respectfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Respectfully [[laughs]]… the Bay Area it breeds a lot of linguists, ya know obviously E40 is of it. But did the Bay influence [your wordplay ability] as well?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Of course, most definitely. I think also, when we speak of hip hop, I’m damn, near just as old as hip hop. I think I’m forty two. So I have front row seats to the game. Right. And then I had three older siblings and I was just able to be saturated in it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: And also growing up in Oakland, every turf got their own little slang… it could be a bunch of your partners, y’all say what your little slick word, and then it could spread like wildfire because one of your partners may stay in the West and the other partner me stay in a Deep East and the other partna stay in Richmond and it’ll become a thing. So, in the words of Mac Mall, “serving game is my occupation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: But you individually have a lexicon that you go through that you pull from. And I just wanted to break down just a couple of terms that I want to hear you define them. So when you say things like “…Who’s selling peanuts?… They going to George Washington Carve they niche out out this game.” What does that mean?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Everybody’s always focused on the big, you know, “I need to do it big like this”, but a peanut is small. So, I mean, you gotta start small to get big, but who really going to sell some peanuts who really gonna be on the front line in this underground railroad. You know, speaking the Sojourner Truth…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: Essentially like, who’s selling peanuts, who’s doing the grunt work with historical context?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Exactly… Then the inventor of peanut butter is George Washington Carver, right? He came up with roasted peanuts, peanuts in different ways. So how are you going to George Washington carve your niche out?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: In your latest album, Agape Elephant in the Room, you released a single with Ian Kelly on that single. You have just crazy wordplay back and forth. That I wanted to quote, I might get it wrong so correct me if I do, but you go “longitude, latitude, horizontal, parallel telephone next person nextel communicate plant seed bean stock sky high sky’s limit moonwalk. HBCU…” The way that one thing leads to the next from the outside perspective, is almost like looking at a slinky go down stairs.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: OK\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: From the inside. How does your brain work ?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Umm So, so I’m left handed. Right.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Pen: [laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Champ Green: Right, so i’m coming from the other side of the brain. But at the same time, my dominant hand is my left hand. But like, I play basketball and I shoot with my right. So I’ll be serving ambidextrous game at the same time in rare form.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Tourism in Oakland isn’t new. Hell, even in the 1800s, when colonizers settled in the Bay and built San Francisco into a world-class city, Oakland was the other coast—or “contra costa”—where wealthy folks would buy summer vacation homes to get away from the big city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 200 years later, tourism in Oakland is still a thing. According to \u003ca href=\"https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/oakland/vo_annual_report_v14web_8c3853f1-5a7f-47d4-af9c-dce272897864.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visit Oakland’s 2018 Annual Report\u003c/a>, an estimated 3.8 million people visited Oakland in 2017, bringing $668 million along with them (a 6.5% increase from the previous year). Oakland has been mentioned as a top tourism destination in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Essence\u003c/em> and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://travelnoire.com/48-hours-black-owned-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this Travel Noire piece\u003c/a> about spending 48 hours in black-owned Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This Thursday through Saturday, when Oakland hosts this year’s AfroTech conference, thousands of new people will become part of that history of tourism in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference is one of the biggest tech happenings in the United States. You might’ve heard of it—if for nothing else, its mention by Jay-Z in the song “Legacy”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>We gon’ start a society within a society\u003cbr>\nThat’s major, just like the Negro League\u003cbr>\nThere was a time America wouldn’t let us ball\u003cbr>\nThose times are now back, just now called AfroTech\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>This event or, um, “society within a society,” started in 2014. This year will be the first of two scheduled years for it to take place in Oakland. And in 2019, it’s set to be one of the largest conferences to happen in the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is a natural choice—in the heart of Silicon Valley, but often overlooked,” says Morgan DeBaun, founder of Blavity Inc., which produces AfroTech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aim of the conference is twofold: one, to create opportunities for black folks in the tech industry. Secondly, DeBaun adds, to “create spaces for the tech industry to get access to black talent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conversation about diversity and the tech pipeline isn’t new. Just last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.wired.com/story/five-years-tech-diversity-reports-little-progress/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wired\u003c/a> noted that while a few big-name tech companies—Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft—have been transparent about their diversity numbers for the past five years, still, virtually nothing has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But folks like DeBaun believe that the narrative about a lack of access is inaccurate. “People aren’t looking in the right places,” she says. “AfroTech is breaking down those barriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the three-day span, events will take place all around Oakland’s downtown area, from the Marriott Convention Center to Jack London Square, and what some folks refer to as the Uptown neighborhood; \u003ca href=\"https://experience.afrotech.com/schedule/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here’s a full list of happenings\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One event this weekend that’s not on that list is \u003ca href=\"https://thetownexperience.com/product/game-fest-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland Gameday ’19\u003c/a>, at the Esports Arena on Saturday night. It features a who’s-who of local stars—E-40, Mistah FAB, Ryan Nicole and more—not only speaking on panels, but squaring off against a bunch of young folks in a video game battle royale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gameday ’19 isn’t an official AfroTech event, although it’s happening during AfroTech. Instead, it’s put on by \u003ca href=\"https://thetownexperience.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Town Experience\u003c/a>, a slate of events that include happy hours, speaker panels and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869422\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869422\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-800x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Charlese Banks\" width=\"800\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-800x1080.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-160x216.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-768x1036.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-889x1200.jpg 889w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0.jpg 987w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charlese Banks (Photo: Jeff “Silence” Arthur) \u003ccite>(Jeff \"Silence\" Arthur )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Town Experience is founded and run by Charlese Banks, who wants to add some flavor to Oakland’s growing tourism industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea was to give the conference-goers and travelers an authentic Oakland experience while they’re in town,” says Banks. (She was mindful to “do this in a way that’s not competing with each other,” scheduling events on the frontend and backend of AfroTech.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In theory, Banks’ idea is a way of combating the gentrifying force that’s inherently intertwined with the tourism industry. People want to visit Oakland? Ok, well, they can spend their dollars in businesses owned and operated by folks actually from the community, and who are invested in the future of the town. Part of that means putting special decals in the windows of businesses like Spice Monkey and Dope Era to give shine to locally owned and operated shops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was inspired by the fact that [AfroTech] announced they were coming to Oakland, and figured that as a community, we should have some say on what that looks like,” says Banks. “AfroTech is a predominantly black event, and they’re coming to a city that is in line with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Banks, a San Jose native who’s called Oakland home for over six years, tells me this is a model for things to come. “The idea was inspired by this weekend, but I spoke to the tourism department and realized it’s something bigger. Seems like the time is right,” Banks says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The time \u003cem>is\u003c/em> right: last year in the United States, \u003ca href=\"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/20/1670310/0/en/African-American-Travel-Represents-63-Billion-Opportunity.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">African Americans reportedly spent $63 billion on tourism\u003c/a>. And in Oakland, where black businesses are going the way of its rapidly depleting black population, it’s now or never when it comes to putting the black dollar where it’s needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re an event space and tourism guide for black and brown folks in Oakland,” says Banks. “Think: how would people use \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-story-green-book-movie-180970728/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Green Book\u003c/a> as a tool in Oakland?”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tourism in Oakland isn’t new. Hell, even in the 1800s, when colonizers settled in the Bay and built San Francisco into a world-class city, Oakland was the other coast—or “contra costa”—where wealthy folks would buy summer vacation homes to get away from the big city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly 200 years later, tourism in Oakland is still a thing. According to \u003ca href=\"https://assets.simpleviewinc.com/simpleview/image/upload/v1/clients/oakland/vo_annual_report_v14web_8c3853f1-5a7f-47d4-af9c-dce272897864.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Visit Oakland’s 2018 Annual Report\u003c/a>, an estimated 3.8 million people visited Oakland in 2017, bringing $668 million along with them (a 6.5% increase from the previous year). Oakland has been mentioned as a top tourism destination in the \u003cem>New York Times\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Essence\u003c/em> and, most recently, \u003ca href=\"https://travelnoire.com/48-hours-black-owned-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this Travel Noire piece\u003c/a> about spending 48 hours in black-owned Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This Thursday through Saturday, when Oakland hosts this year’s AfroTech conference, thousands of new people will become part of that history of tourism in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conference is one of the biggest tech happenings in the United States. You might’ve heard of it—if for nothing else, its mention by Jay-Z in the song “Legacy”:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>We gon’ start a society within a society\u003cbr>\nThat’s major, just like the Negro League\u003cbr>\nThere was a time America wouldn’t let us ball\u003cbr>\nThose times are now back, just now called AfroTech\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>This event or, um, “society within a society,” started in 2014. This year will be the first of two scheduled years for it to take place in Oakland. And in 2019, it’s set to be one of the largest conferences to happen in the town.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is a natural choice—in the heart of Silicon Valley, but often overlooked,” says Morgan DeBaun, founder of Blavity Inc., which produces AfroTech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aim of the conference is twofold: one, to create opportunities for black folks in the tech industry. Secondly, DeBaun adds, to “create spaces for the tech industry to get access to black talent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The conversation about diversity and the tech pipeline isn’t new. Just last month \u003ca href=\"https://www.wired.com/story/five-years-tech-diversity-reports-little-progress/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wired\u003c/a> noted that while a few big-name tech companies—Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft—have been transparent about their diversity numbers for the past five years, still, virtually nothing has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But folks like DeBaun believe that the narrative about a lack of access is inaccurate. “People aren’t looking in the right places,” she says. “AfroTech is breaking down those barriers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over the three-day span, events will take place all around Oakland’s downtown area, from the Marriott Convention Center to Jack London Square, and what some folks refer to as the Uptown neighborhood; \u003ca href=\"https://experience.afrotech.com/schedule/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here’s a full list of happenings\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One event this weekend that’s not on that list is \u003ca href=\"https://thetownexperience.com/product/game-fest-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland Gameday ’19\u003c/a>, at the Esports Arena on Saturday night. It features a who’s-who of local stars—E-40, Mistah FAB, Ryan Nicole and more—not only speaking on panels, but squaring off against a bunch of young folks in a video game battle royale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gameday ’19 isn’t an official AfroTech event, although it’s happening during AfroTech. Instead, it’s put on by \u003ca href=\"https://thetownexperience.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Town Experience\u003c/a>, a slate of events that include happy hours, speaker panels and more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13869422\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13869422\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-800x1080.jpg\" alt=\"Charlese Banks\" width=\"800\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-800x1080.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-160x216.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-768x1036.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0-889x1200.jpg 889w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/11/0.jpg 987w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Charlese Banks (Photo: Jeff “Silence” Arthur) \u003ccite>(Jeff \"Silence\" Arthur )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The Town Experience is founded and run by Charlese Banks, who wants to add some flavor to Oakland’s growing tourism industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The idea was to give the conference-goers and travelers an authentic Oakland experience while they’re in town,” says Banks. (She was mindful to “do this in a way that’s not competing with each other,” scheduling events on the frontend and backend of AfroTech.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In theory, Banks’ idea is a way of combating the gentrifying force that’s inherently intertwined with the tourism industry. People want to visit Oakland? Ok, well, they can spend their dollars in businesses owned and operated by folks actually from the community, and who are invested in the future of the town. Part of that means putting special decals in the windows of businesses like Spice Monkey and Dope Era to give shine to locally owned and operated shops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was inspired by the fact that [AfroTech] announced they were coming to Oakland, and figured that as a community, we should have some say on what that looks like,” says Banks. “AfroTech is a predominantly black event, and they’re coming to a city that is in line with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Banks, a San Jose native who’s called Oakland home for over six years, tells me this is a model for things to come. “The idea was inspired by this weekend, but I spoke to the tourism department and realized it’s something bigger. Seems like the time is right,” Banks says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The time \u003cem>is\u003c/em> right: last year in the United States, \u003ca href=\"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/20/1670310/0/en/African-American-Travel-Represents-63-Billion-Opportunity.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">African Americans reportedly spent $63 billion on tourism\u003c/a>. And in Oakland, where black businesses are going the way of its rapidly depleting black population, it’s now or never when it comes to putting the black dollar where it’s needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re an event space and tourism guide for black and brown folks in Oakland,” says Banks. “Think: how would people use \u003ca href=\"https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-story-green-book-movie-180970728/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the Green Book\u003c/a> as a tool in Oakland?”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Comedian Lewis Belt and the Oakland Culture Diaspora",
"headTitle": "Comedian Lewis Belt and the Oakland Culture Diaspora | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>This Thursday, April 11, the Paramount Theatre in Oakland hosts the Golden State Warriors’ big man DeMarcus Cousins and his “\u003ca href=\"https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/1C00565BBEF15C4C\">Boogie’s Comedy Slam\u003c/a>.” The lineup includes some heavy names in the comedy world, including Red Gant, Karlous Miller and Mike Epps. But another name on the bill caught my eye, one that’s gaining weight in the comedy world: Oakland’s own Lewis Belt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of the show, I had a quick convo with Belt about a couple of things—including his mentorship by Mike Epps, if Los Angeles is stealing Bay Area culture and how his experience in Antioch led to the development of his popular character \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6VhmErME0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SonnieBo\u003c/a>—who, by all metrics, is an amalgamation of a post-hyphy Bay Area archetype. Or to put it in laymen’s terms: He’s basically a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrjNdFiL0hU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bootsy-ass dude from the Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I first heard of Belt when one of his videos was shared with me in a group chat. I laughed, hit the follow button and I’ve been seeing videos of his skits, and bits from appearances on MTV, ever sense. He’s got a large following, too—one of his most popular videos, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6VhmErME0\">Tip Toe\u003c/a>,” has half a million views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to understand the comedy behind SonnieBo, you’ve got to understand Belt’s upbringing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854798\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Lewis Belt, out of his SonnieBo character and still cracking up a crowd.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt, center, out of his SonnieBo character and still cracking up a crowd. \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m originally from North Oakland,” Belt tells me over the phone. “Then I grew up in Antioch… By the time I was in Antioch, Antioch was kind of damn near like a hood. People came from Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, everybody in one city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 24, Belt came of age during a major shift in the demographics of Antioch. In the first decade of the millennium, the African American population in the small suburban town by the Delta went from 8,551 (9.7%) to 17,045 (17.3%), according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Antioch.htm\">Bay Area Census\u003c/a>. In 2016, \u003ca href=\"http://www.city-data.com/city/Antioch-California.html\">city data\u003c/a> showed that African American residents accounted for 28,050 (25%) of the total population, and that’s increased since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To put it in perspective, 60 years ago there were only 17,000 people in Antioch; and not too may of them looked like SonnieBo. But by the time Belt was in high school, the demographics in Antioch provided a chance to absorb aspects of all flavors from around the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of start taking pieces of everybody who I grew up with, and put it into one person. It ended being Sonnie, you know what I’m saying?” Belt says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854800\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-800x450.jpg\" alt='Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for \"She Look She Took.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for “She Look She Took.” \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SonnieBo is a live wire: a fake-dreadlocs-shaking, loud-talking, white-T-shirt-wearing, foul-mouthed dude. I find it comedic because I know \u003cem>exactly\u003c/em> the type of person Belt’s modeling the persona after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just always a class clown. I’d joke everywhere,” Belt explains, adding that he’d even crack jokes on the football field in high school. “That’s just who I really was. I never tried to be funny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He got his feet wet on stage first in Antioch, then in Oakland. He had a few experiences that weren’t satisfactory—par for the course of learning the trade. “It’s hard to become a comedian, it’s like you gotta turn your funny on and off,” says Belt. As a way to navigate that, he says he’d basically just “go on stage and start talking shit. Like, ‘Boy, you hella ugly. Boy, you’re hella big.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was one problem with that: not everyone in the crowd likes being laughed at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854797\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854797\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-800x488.jpg\" alt=\"Lewis Belt as SonnieBo, facing off in a freestyle battle with Mistah FAB.\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-800x488.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-1020x622.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo, facing off in a freestyle battle with Mistah FAB. \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s one of the lessons he’s learned on his path—a path that’s led him down to Los Angeles for what’s going on four years now. Now living down there, Belt visits the East Bay often enough to film videos with other entertainers and athletes with Oakland roots, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wU-0Larmm8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marshawn Lynch\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4YG2GIHs4A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mistah FAB\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Belt is in the same quandary as so many other Bay Area artists right now. He loves the Bay, but after driving to L.A. and back every two weeks he had to move south to pursue his career seriously. And he’s also noticed another thing: the industry in L.A. eats up Oakland and Bay Area culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I ask him about a recent debate about whether or not L.A. musicians, specifically rising rap artist Blueface, are capitalizing off of Bay Area culture, Belt says, “Yeah. I think Bay Area culture, people like it, but you know, when the Bay Area be doing it, there’s no structure behind it.” He names a few record companies that are based in L.A. as examples of platforms that support artists, and adds, “Blueface, he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing. And then the OGs, the people in position that can help him, they’re helping him. Shit. I can’t get mad at him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He concludes by saying, “I’m just like… the smartest thing for a Bay Area artist, instead of trying to beef with everybody from L.A., is probably try to get along with some of these guys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854799\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-800x449.jpg\" alt='Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for \"She Look She Took.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-1020x572.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-1200x673.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk.jpg 1274w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for “She Look She Took.” \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He’s practicing his philosophy. One of his mentors, a major name in Hollywood and a legend in the comedy game who Belt met on a movie set, is Mike Epps. “Mike always brings you along,” says Belt. “Mike will tell me like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna give you some space. I’m gonna hook you up.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But over the past year or so, Belt has grown in the game. “I’ve done worked myself up to the pole to where Mike ain’t gotta look out for me on that level. He’s just like, ‘Lew already on the show?!’” he says, laughing. “Now we’re on the same shows. It’s like a big stepping stone for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s part of what makes L.A. attractive: along with Jamie Foxx, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Corey Holcomb, Mike Epps is one of Belt’s favorite comedians of all time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a list he wants to see himself on one day. “My goal,” he says, “is to be one of the greatest comedians of all time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah?” I replied—almost in the same way I replied when he named Corey Holcomb as a Top 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just \u003cem>one\u003c/em> of them,” Belt says. “I don’t think I’m the greatest or no shit like that. Just seeing what’s possible. Just to be mentioned as one of the best comedians of all time. One of the best of my generations. That’s my goal. I just want to be respected. I don’t care about being the most famous, but you know, if I’m one of the most respected ones in the game, I’m gonna be happy.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "With his character SonnieBo, Lewis Belt made a splash collaborating with Marshawn Lynch and Mistah FAB—and now, L.A. gets a dose of his comedy.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This Thursday, April 11, the Paramount Theatre in Oakland hosts the Golden State Warriors’ big man DeMarcus Cousins and his “\u003ca href=\"https://www1.ticketmaster.com/event/1C00565BBEF15C4C\">Boogie’s Comedy Slam\u003c/a>.” The lineup includes some heavy names in the comedy world, including Red Gant, Karlous Miller and Mike Epps. But another name on the bill caught my eye, one that’s gaining weight in the comedy world: Oakland’s own Lewis Belt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of the show, I had a quick convo with Belt about a couple of things—including his mentorship by Mike Epps, if Los Angeles is stealing Bay Area culture and how his experience in Antioch led to the development of his popular character \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6VhmErME0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SonnieBo\u003c/a>—who, by all metrics, is an amalgamation of a post-hyphy Bay Area archetype. Or to put it in laymen’s terms: He’s basically a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrjNdFiL0hU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bootsy-ass dude from the Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I first heard of Belt when one of his videos was shared with me in a group chat. I laughed, hit the follow button and I’ve been seeing videos of his skits, and bits from appearances on MTV, ever sense. He’s got a large following, too—one of his most popular videos, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6VhmErME0\">Tip Toe\u003c/a>,” has half a million views.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But to understand the comedy behind SonnieBo, you’ve got to understand Belt’s upbringing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854798\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854798\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Lewis Belt, out of his SonnieBo character and still cracking up a crowd.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.laughing.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt, center, out of his SonnieBo character and still cracking up a crowd. \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’m originally from North Oakland,” Belt tells me over the phone. “Then I grew up in Antioch… By the time I was in Antioch, Antioch was kind of damn near like a hood. People came from Richmond, Oakland, San Francisco, everybody in one city.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now 24, Belt came of age during a major shift in the demographics of Antioch. In the first decade of the millennium, the African American population in the small suburban town by the Delta went from 8,551 (9.7%) to 17,045 (17.3%), according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.bayareacensus.ca.gov/cities/Antioch.htm\">Bay Area Census\u003c/a>. In 2016, \u003ca href=\"http://www.city-data.com/city/Antioch-California.html\">city data\u003c/a> showed that African American residents accounted for 28,050 (25%) of the total population, and that’s increased since.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To put it in perspective, 60 years ago there were only 17,000 people in Antioch; and not too may of them looked like SonnieBo. But by the time Belt was in high school, the demographics in Antioch provided a chance to absorb aspects of all flavors from around the Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I kind of start taking pieces of everybody who I grew up with, and put it into one person. It ended being Sonnie, you know what I’m saying?” Belt says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854800\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854800\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-800x450.jpg\" alt='Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for \"She Look She Took.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.ShoppingCart.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for “She Look She Took.” \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SonnieBo is a live wire: a fake-dreadlocs-shaking, loud-talking, white-T-shirt-wearing, foul-mouthed dude. I find it comedic because I know \u003cem>exactly\u003c/em> the type of person Belt’s modeling the persona after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was just always a class clown. I’d joke everywhere,” Belt explains, adding that he’d even crack jokes on the football field in high school. “That’s just who I really was. I never tried to be funny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He got his feet wet on stage first in Antioch, then in Oakland. He had a few experiences that weren’t satisfactory—par for the course of learning the trade. “It’s hard to become a comedian, it’s like you gotta turn your funny on and off,” says Belt. As a way to navigate that, he says he’d basically just “go on stage and start talking shit. Like, ‘Boy, you hella ugly. Boy, you’re hella big.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there was one problem with that: not everyone in the crowd likes being laughed at.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854797\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854797\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-800x488.jpg\" alt=\"Lewis Belt as SonnieBo, facing off in a freestyle battle with Mistah FAB.\" width=\"800\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-800x488.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-160x98.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-768x468.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB-1020x622.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.SonnieBoMistahFAB.jpg 1100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo, facing off in a freestyle battle with Mistah FAB. \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s one of the lessons he’s learned on his path—a path that’s led him down to Los Angeles for what’s going on four years now. Now living down there, Belt visits the East Bay often enough to film videos with other entertainers and athletes with Oakland roots, like \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wU-0Larmm8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Marshawn Lynch\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4YG2GIHs4A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mistah FAB\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Belt is in the same quandary as so many other Bay Area artists right now. He loves the Bay, but after driving to L.A. and back every two weeks he had to move south to pursue his career seriously. And he’s also noticed another thing: the industry in L.A. eats up Oakland and Bay Area culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I ask him about a recent debate about whether or not L.A. musicians, specifically rising rap artist Blueface, are capitalizing off of Bay Area culture, Belt says, “Yeah. I think Bay Area culture, people like it, but you know, when the Bay Area be doing it, there’s no structure behind it.” He names a few record companies that are based in L.A. as examples of platforms that support artists, and adds, “Blueface, he’s doing what he’s supposed to be doing. And then the OGs, the people in position that can help him, they’re helping him. Shit. I can’t get mad at him.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He concludes by saying, “I’m just like… the smartest thing for a Bay Area artist, instead of trying to beef with everybody from L.A., is probably try to get along with some of these guys.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13854799\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13854799\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-800x449.jpg\" alt='Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for \"She Look She Took.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-800x449.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-768x431.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-1020x572.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk-1200x673.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/LewisBelt.Sweettalk.jpg 1274w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lewis Belt as SonnieBo in the video for “She Look She Took.” \u003ccite>(via Lewis Belt/YouTube)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He’s practicing his philosophy. One of his mentors, a major name in Hollywood and a legend in the comedy game who Belt met on a movie set, is Mike Epps. “Mike always brings you along,” says Belt. “Mike will tell me like, ‘Alright, I’m gonna give you some space. I’m gonna hook you up.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But over the past year or so, Belt has grown in the game. “I’ve done worked myself up to the pole to where Mike ain’t gotta look out for me on that level. He’s just like, ‘Lew already on the show?!’” he says, laughing. “Now we’re on the same shows. It’s like a big stepping stone for me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And that’s part of what makes L.A. attractive: along with Jamie Foxx, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Corey Holcomb, Mike Epps is one of Belt’s favorite comedians of all time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a list he wants to see himself on one day. “My goal,” he says, “is to be one of the greatest comedians of all time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yeah?” I replied—almost in the same way I replied when he named Corey Holcomb as a Top 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just \u003cem>one\u003c/em> of them,” Belt says. “I don’t think I’m the greatest or no shit like that. Just seeing what’s possible. Just to be mentioned as one of the best comedians of all time. One of the best of my generations. That’s my goal. I just want to be respected. I don’t care about being the most famous, but you know, if I’m one of the most respected ones in the game, I’m gonna be happy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Dear Oscar Grant: Artists, Activists and Family Reflect",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Oscar Grant’s death, KQED asked artists, activists and family members to look back on Grant’s life and legacy. What would they say to him today? What changes have they seen in their own communities over the past decade? What hopes do they have for the future? You can submit your own “Dear Oscar Grant” message by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13847179/dear-oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chantay Moore\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Oscar Grant’s sister\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s not a day that I don’t think of you. I miss you each and every day. Time hasn’t made this any easier. Ten years have passed so fast, I remember each detail of receiving the call when they said you had gotten shot. If only I could go back and change the outcome. God knew what he was doing and it was your time, but of course, I wasn’t ready. I love you and will forever keep your memory alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847966\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847966\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Alicia Garza speaks during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alicia Garza speaks during the Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. \u003ccite>(Sam Morris/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Alicia Garza\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Co-founder, \u003ca href=\"https://blacklivesmatter.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Lives Matter\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people tell the story of Black Lives Matter they either start it in 2014 with Michael Brown, or they start it in 2013, which is where we started it, with Trayvon Martin. But I would say for us, for those of us who created Black Lives Matter, it really does start with Oscar Grant…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re still fighting. I didn’t know Oscar and a lot of people who got involved in this fight didn’t know Oscar. There was an iconization of him that I wonder a lot about. But ultimately, I’m grateful people came together to accomplish what felt impossible then and that people haven’t stopped… There’s a lot of work to do, and what I’d say to Oscar if I knew him and he was alive is: We’re not done.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rev. Dereca Blackmon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Spiritual activist; assistant vice provost, Stanford\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was this moment when art said, “Oh no, we have real lives and we matter and we are human beings.” And Mistah F.A.B. did that and Favianna Rodriguez did that. There were so many people who created art from this moment who opened the doors for other people to make it. There is no Pulitzer Prize for Kendrick Lamar until hip hop was allowed to make these political statements. But people like Mistah F.A.B. didn’t wait to be allowed, they used their platform and they just did. And that is how something is a grassroots movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13848017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13848017\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Mohammad Gorjestani.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-1180x783.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-960x637.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-520x345.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Mohammad Gorjestani. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Mohammad Gorjestani\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Director, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/127217499\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Happy Birthday Oscar Grant, Love Mom\u003c/a>‘\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He should be someone no one knew about because he should be living—or if people knew about him, it should be for a different reason. He should be living among us right now. I would say that I’m really sorry that happened to you, and I hope you know that that tragedy has activated a generation of people who want to make sure that no other mother, no other father, no other friend has to experience what he and his family experienced on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847993\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847993\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1.jpg\" alt=\"Young Gully.\" width=\"800\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-240x154.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-375x240.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-520x333.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Gully. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Young Gully\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rap artist, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Grant Station Project\u003c/a>‘\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope that he’s looking down, smiling from all the support that he got. I still love him even though I didn’t know him, and I was happy to meet his family. We’re still fighting for you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13807489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13807489\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. performs at Hiero Day 2017.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. performs at Hiero Day 2017. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rap artist, “\u003ca href=\"https://mistahfab.bandcamp.com/album/oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Life (Oscar Grant)\u003c/a>“\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t the first time that art has been a reflection of what’s been going on. Music has always been a reflection, and it should always be always a reflection. And I won’t just limit it to musicians. Any kind of art, let’s just continue to utilize that to raise the conscious level and represent for our people. We have to be the rebels that go out and represent for that. The Black Panthers did that and we’re in the home of that. May the revolution live on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Carvell Wallace\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.carvellwallace.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Critic\u003c/a>, ‘The New York Times Magazine’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I just wish he was here. He should be here. He should have the opportunity to grow up and learn whatever else the universe had for him. That’s the main thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847981\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847981\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo.jpg\" alt=\"Cat Brooks during her 2018 campaign for Oakland Mayor.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cat Brooks during her 2018 campaign for Oakland Mayor. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cat Brooks)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Cat Brooks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Former Oakland Mayoral candidate; founder, \u003ca href=\"http://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anti-Police Terror Project\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some things have changed. There are more conversations happening and there are different conversations happening. You cannot ignore the fact that there are law enforcement officers at least being indicted—not very many get convicted—but they’re being indicted. As a result of the movement that was spurred by the murder of Oscar Grant, we have accomplished major transformation in the city of Oakland in terms of our ability to hold law enforcement accountable and make them think twice before they pull the trigger, because they are clear there will be community accountability.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lateefah Simon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>President, \u003ca href=\"https://akonadi.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Akonadi Foundation\u003c/a>; BART board member representing District 7\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every police department in the country knows who this young man was and still is. This tragedy, and the strength of the family and this community, created an arc in policing in this country. Every single time a young black man who is unarmed is murdered, it is front-page news—and for hundreds of years, it was not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so [because of] Oscar, this community, the outcry of his mother, the coupling of litigation, of social media, of culture, of folks saying, “Actually, our babies are human and the state must not kill them, period”—that has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No longer do we have a situation where folks who are sworn to protect can kill in silence. My police force that I work closely with, they’re consistently thinking about how not to repeat what happened ten years ago. We all have a long way to go, but Oscar changed the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Oscar Grant’s death, KQED asked artists, activists and family members to look back on Grant’s life and legacy. What would they say to him today? What changes have they seen in their own communities over the past decade? What hopes do they have for the future? You can submit your own “Dear Oscar Grant” message by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13847179/dear-oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clicking here\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Chantay Moore\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Oscar Grant’s sister\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s not a day that I don’t think of you. I miss you each and every day. Time hasn’t made this any easier. Ten years have passed so fast, I remember each detail of receiving the call when they said you had gotten shot. If only I could go back and change the outcome. God knew what he was doing and it was your time, but of course, I wasn’t ready. I love you and will forever keep your memory alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847966\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847966\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Alicia Garza speaks during the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/AliciaGarza_1200-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alicia Garza speaks during the Women’s March on Jan. 21, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. \u003ccite>(Sam Morris/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Alicia Garza\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Co-founder, \u003ca href=\"https://blacklivesmatter.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black Lives Matter\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When people tell the story of Black Lives Matter they either start it in 2014 with Michael Brown, or they start it in 2013, which is where we started it, with Trayvon Martin. But I would say for us, for those of us who created Black Lives Matter, it really does start with Oscar Grant…\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re still fighting. I didn’t know Oscar and a lot of people who got involved in this fight didn’t know Oscar. There was an iconization of him that I wonder a lot about. But ultimately, I’m grateful people came together to accomplish what felt impossible then and that people haven’t stopped… There’s a lot of work to do, and what I’d say to Oscar if I knew him and he was alive is: We’re not done.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Rev. Dereca Blackmon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Spiritual activist; assistant vice provost, Stanford\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was this moment when art said, “Oh no, we have real lives and we matter and we are human beings.” And Mistah F.A.B. did that and Favianna Rodriguez did that. There were so many people who created art from this moment who opened the doors for other people to make it. There is no Pulitzer Prize for Kendrick Lamar until hip hop was allowed to make these political statements. But people like Mistah F.A.B. didn’t wait to be allowed, they used their platform and they just did. And that is how something is a grassroots movement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13848017\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13848017\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200.jpg\" alt=\"Filmmaker Mohammad Gorjestani.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"796\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-800x531.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-1020x677.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-1180x783.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-960x637.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-240x159.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-375x249.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/Gorjestani_1200-520x345.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Filmmaker Mohammad Gorjestani. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Mohammad Gorjestani\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Director, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/127217499\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Happy Birthday Oscar Grant, Love Mom\u003c/a>‘\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He should be someone no one knew about because he should be living—or if people knew about him, it should be for a different reason. He should be living among us right now. I would say that I’m really sorry that happened to you, and I hope you know that that tragedy has activated a generation of people who want to make sure that no other mother, no other father, no other friend has to experience what he and his family experienced on New Year’s Eve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847993\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847993\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1.jpg\" alt=\"Young Gully.\" width=\"800\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-768x492.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-240x154.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-375x240.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/YoungGully-1-520x333.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Gully. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the artist)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Young Gully\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Rap artist, ‘\u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Grant Station Project\u003c/a>‘\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope that he’s looking down, smiling from all the support that he got. I still love him even though I didn’t know him, and I was happy to meet his family. We’re still fighting for you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13807489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13807489\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. performs at Hiero Day 2017.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/09/DSC_0225-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. performs at Hiero Day 2017. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Mistah F.A.B.\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rap artist, “\u003ca href=\"https://mistahfab.bandcamp.com/album/oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Life (Oscar Grant)\u003c/a>“\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This isn’t the first time that art has been a reflection of what’s been going on. Music has always been a reflection, and it should always be always a reflection. And I won’t just limit it to musicians. Any kind of art, let’s just continue to utilize that to raise the conscious level and represent for our people. We have to be the rebels that go out and represent for that. The Black Panthers did that and we’re in the home of that. May the revolution live on.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Carvell Wallace\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"http://www.carvellwallace.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Critic\u003c/a>, ‘The New York Times Magazine’\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I just wish he was here. He should be here. He should have the opportunity to grow up and learn whatever else the universe had for him. That’s the main thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847981\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13847981\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo.jpg\" alt=\"Cat Brooks during her 2018 campaign for Oakland Mayor.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/01/cat_brooks_campaign_photo-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cat Brooks during her 2018 campaign for Oakland Mayor. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Cat Brooks)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Cat Brooks\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Former Oakland Mayoral candidate; founder, \u003ca href=\"http://www.antipoliceterrorproject.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anti-Police Terror Project\u003c/a>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some things have changed. There are more conversations happening and there are different conversations happening. You cannot ignore the fact that there are law enforcement officers at least being indicted—not very many get convicted—but they’re being indicted. As a result of the movement that was spurred by the murder of Oscar Grant, we have accomplished major transformation in the city of Oakland in terms of our ability to hold law enforcement accountable and make them think twice before they pull the trigger, because they are clear there will be community accountability.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Lateefah Simon\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>President, \u003ca href=\"https://akonadi.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Akonadi Foundation\u003c/a>; BART board member representing District 7\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Every police department in the country knows who this young man was and still is. This tragedy, and the strength of the family and this community, created an arc in policing in this country. Every single time a young black man who is unarmed is murdered, it is front-page news—and for hundreds of years, it was not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so [because of] Oscar, this community, the outcry of his mother, the coupling of litigation, of social media, of culture, of folks saying, “Actually, our babies are human and the state must not kill them, period”—that has changed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No longer do we have a situation where folks who are sworn to protect can kill in silence. My police force that I work closely with, they’re consistently thinking about how not to repeat what happened ten years ago. We all have a long way to go, but Oscar changed the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "after-oscar-grant-oakland-artists-inspired-a-new-generation-of-activists",
"title": "After Oscar Grant, Oakland Artists Inspired a New Generation of Activists",
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"headTitle": "After Oscar Grant, Oakland Artists Inspired a New Generation of Activists | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Hours after Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant on the platform of Fruitvale Station on Jan. 1, 2009, Bay Area street artists sprang into action. An Alameda printmaker named \u003ca href=\"http://www.gridlock.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jon-Paul Bail\u003c/a> churned out hundreds of “\u003ca href=\"https://nickcernak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20090205-political-gridlock-bart-283x400.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Disarm BART Police\u003c/a>” posters to hand out at demonstrations. An artist going by \u003ca href=\"https://endlesscanvas.com/?tag=justice-for-oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Broke\u003c/a> printed “Justice for Oscar Grant” posters with stylized graffiti font. Designer \u003ca href=\"https://nickcernak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/200903023-frank-zio-bloody-bart-258x400.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Frank Zio\u003c/a> depicted a BART ticket with a bloody fingerprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a cellphone video of the killing went viral on YouTube and social media, galvanizing hundreds of demonstrators who faced off against police in riot gear in downtown Oakland. As they marched, they hoisted signs with Bail, Zio and Broke’s artwork, plus posters by Oakland artists such as \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?tag=gats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GATS\u003c/a> and Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza of \u003ca href=\"https://dignidadrebelde.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dignidad Rebelde\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone was using everyone else’s images freely,” says Bail, who’s made political posters since the ’80s under the name \u003ca href=\"http://www.gridlock.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Political Gridlock\u003c/a>. “There was no, ‘This is my image, this is your image.’ No one cared, we just made the art and donated it. Give them posters, go to the rallies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As helicopters loomed overhead, the images made their way from people’s hands onto city walls and shop windows—a constant reminder of Oakland’s civil unrest—amplifying demonstrators’ calls for accountability as news cameras captured their clashes with police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those confrontational tactics worked: with public pressure mounting, the Alameda County district attorney charged Mehserle with murder on Jan. 14, 2009, a statistical anomaly for an officer-involved shooting. With Mehserle in custody, a millennial uprising against police brutality began to form in Oakland a full five years before Black Lives Matter became a national rallying cry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following in the footsteps of Tupac Shakur and the Black Panthers’ Emory Douglas, Oakland artists such as rapper Mistah F.A.B., rapper-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley, and \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> director Ryan Coogler lent their skills to the movement, and they brought followings of newly politicized young people with them. Ten years after Oscar Grant’s death, some of these artists have made a major impact on American pop culture, while others are still doing on-the-ground work in Oakland. All of them catalyzed a new generation of activists who rallied the nation against racial injustice and shifted American consciousness over the past decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847780\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13847780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A Justice for Oscar Grant poster by street artist Broke. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Justice for Oscar Grant poster by street artist Broke. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I would say for those of us who created Black Lives Matter, it really does start with Oscar Grant as our Rodney King moment—where the violence our communities experience every day was actually captured on video and circulated around the world,” says Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think what Mistah F.A.B. and other artists were able to do is speak to folks who are not part of coalitions, who are not part of organizations … and allow them to be a part of the change that needs to happen,” Garza says. “Talking about the role that police violence plays in communities every day is a big part of how people are being reached and being told, ‘You’re not alone,’ one, and, two, ‘You can do something about it.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Artists become community organizers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As street artists handed out posters in the weeks after Grant’s death, the Bay Area’s rap scene mobilized to create a soundtrack for the protests. Mistah F.A.B., a central figure of the 2000s hyphy movement, recorded and released “\u003ca href=\"https://mistahfab.bandcamp.com/album/oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Life (Oscar Grant)\u003c/a>” the day of the shooting. On the track, he drew attention to an ongoing pattern of police brutality against the black community, which he says mainstream society mostly ignored until it was captured on camera. “See, I’m from a city, man / Where police brutality ain’t nothin’ new to us, man / It’s another Oscar Grant that happens every day,” he rapped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oscar Grant hadn’t yet become a national news story on Jan. 1, 2009, but Mistah F.A.B. knew he had fans he could reach all over the country through MySpace, Bandcamp and YouTube. That month, he wore an Oscar Grant T-shirt for a TV appearance on BET. “I think expressing what was going on in the city through art was very important because there were individuals who hadn’t heard about the atrocities outside of our area,” he tells me in a recent interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12997915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12997915\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. \u003ccite>(Bert Johnson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For artists, rappers, singers, directors—it definitely lit a fire under the people and let them know, we have to address these things,” Mistah F.A.B. says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Bay Area rappers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fWeMeqinIE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J Stalin and Beeda Weeda\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQFajNZMxM8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zumbi of Zion I\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Young Gully\u003c/a>, recorded their own protest songs and homages to Grant. And music wasn’t the only way they took action: F.A.B. and \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> director Boots Riley, then known as a rapper in The Coup, were on the front lines at Oakland City Hall in the days after the shooting to organize outraged Oaklanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protests continued throughout 2009 and 2010 as Mehserle’s trial unfolded. In July 2010, a jury convicted the former police officer of involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months of his two-year sentence, prompting more protests upon his early release in June 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, a new movement percolated in New York City: Occupy Wall Street, a protest against corporate interests and wealth inequality. As Occupy protests took root across the country, the center of the action in Oakland was Frank Ogawa Plaza at City Hall, which activists dubbed Oscar Grant Plaza. Following the unofficial name change, calling out racism in the criminal justice system became a core tenet of Occupy Oakland even as the national movement emphasized economics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many key people from the Oscar Grant protests showed up. Boots Riley \u003ca href=\"http://www.look2remember.com/2011/12/11/boots-riley-at-occupy-oakland-general-strike/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">led direct actions\u003c/a> as police encroached on the Occupy encampment; Mistah F.A.B. delivered speeches on the City Hall steps alongside Nation of Islam leaders and members of Oscar Grant’s family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/Xym-xl8zLNw\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jon-Paul Bail and fellow street artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rebelstilskin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kalleb Arefaine\u003c/a> arrived to screenprint thousands of posters on site, handing them directly to demonstrators. Graffiti artists, including \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?p=5004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eesuu\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?p=4940\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Optimist\u003c/a>, joined the cause, covering the city with “Justice for Oscar Grant” posters and tags. Oscar Grant murals and wheatpasted posters showed up all over town as protesters camped out in front of City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the news and everyone was complaining about the graffiti,” recalls Arefaine, “it broadcasted the message even more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Grant’s family enlists artists’ help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the height of Occupy Oakland, Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson, known to many as Uncle Bobby, saw Bail screenprinting at a protest and approached him to collaborate on a new design for a vigil he’d planned for the third anniversary of Grant’s death on Jan. 1, 2012. This time, Bail enlisted another artist, \u003ca href=\"http://cargocollective.com/2amisthetime/filter/2amart/About\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aambr Newsome a.k.a. 2AM\u003c/a>, who was a Berkeley City College student at the time. Newsome and Bail drew a stylized portrait of a smiling Oscar Grant, illuminated by sunshine with protest signs in the background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsome recalls how Oscar Grant’s murder awakened her to the reality of police violence against black communities in America. She felt a sense of duty to lend her illustration skills to the cause. “For me, it was really important providing assistance to those families who feel like they don’t have a voice, that nobody is listening, and to really give them something to march with,” she says. “I think that makes them louder. It makes them a bit more proud so they feel like they have supporters backing them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13847781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Kalleb Arefaine and Jon-Paul Bail printed thousands of anti-police brutality posters over the past decade. Bail (right) holds a poster he created with Aambr Newsom in 2012.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kalleb Arefaine and Jon-Paul Bail printed thousands of anti-police brutality posters over the past decade. Bail (right) holds a poster he created with Aambr Newsom in 2012. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Johnson, who assumed the role of family spokesperson after founding the \u003ca href=\"http://www.lovenotbloodcampaign.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Grant Foundation\u003c/a> in 2010, collaborated with numerous artists in the wake of Grant’s death. Johnson’s voice appears on rapper Young Gully’s album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Grant Station Project\u003c/a> \u003c/em>on the heartfelt final track, “Letter to Grant,” where Gully raps from the perspective of Grant in heaven. (KQED’s Pendarvis Harshaw was an executive producer on the album.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young Gully recalls how Johnson was skeptical of his intentions until he heard “Letter to Grant” being recorded in the studio. “When Uncle Bobby heard that, he cried. That one song is what allowed me to put that album out,” Gully says. “After that, he saw what my angle was. We built this big relationship, and basically he loved me for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3032191159/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Johnson, working with artists was crucial for drawing attention to injustice, and especially getting young people on board with the fight against police brutality. “Artistry from muralists, hip-hop artists—and artists period, whether they be spoken-word artists, portraitists—they all shared their gifts when it came time to talk about Oscar Grant and speak about the social ills of the system concerning police violence, state-sponsored violence,” he says. “It was young people speaking to young people, and us elders heard their call and responded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The movement hits the big screen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The “Justice for Oscar Grant” poster Newsome and Bail created with Johnson’s blessing ended up in \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> director Ryan Coogler’s debut feature film, \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em>, about the final 24 hours of Oscar Grant’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coogler, an Oakland native who was only a year older than Grant at the time of the killing, painted a portrait of Grant as an imperfect but loving young father attempting to get his life on track after a stint behind bars. The humanizing portrayal was crucial to the developing national conversation about racial injustice, which only grew more tense after the high-profile shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> hit theaters in 2013, Oscar Grant had become a martyr, a symbol and a hashtag after four years of protests in his name. But \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> brought the focus back on Grant as a regular, working-class young man finding his way. At a time when news media regularly vilified victims of police brutality—for example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/what-did-trayvon-look-depends-your-politics/329893/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the fixation\u003c/a> on photos of Trayvon Martin showing his middle finger—this was essential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/crMTGCCui5c\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Oscar] has to deal with his baby mama; he has to deal with money; he has to figure out what to do with this dog; his job has some stress,” says Carvell Wallace, an Oakland-based critic who has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/magazine/why-black-panther-is-a-defining-moment-for-black-america.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered Coogler’s work\u003c/a> for \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em>. “The way [Coogler] takes us through this allows us to relate to those things so we see him as a person. I think it’s important to see someone as a person before they become a hashtag, and that’s what the movements are always fighting for. And that’s an uphill battle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a wide release in theaters across the country, \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> was essential for building empathy among non-black Americans who didn’t have personal experience with police brutality and racial injustice, and who might have felt threatened by the protests they saw on the news without understanding the underlying cause. “I think what Coogler did with that film was show Oscar Grant not as a ‘them’ but as a ‘you,'” says Wallace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Reign, a diversity advocate who coined the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in response to a lack of black artists at the Academy Awards, says that \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> served another purpose: it emphasized the importance of documenting injustice with smartphones, which was instrumental to the Black Lives Matter movement as it took off nationally in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The movie \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> was incredibly underrated and really brought to the forefront some of the issues that people had been fighting for years,” says Reign. “Not just talking about the issues of state-sanctioned violence, but also the question of filming the police, and how taking a stand in that way has the potential to make a difference when cops are involved in violence against American citizens, especially black men.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Black Lives Matter on the world stage\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area artists politicized during the Oscar Grant protests found a new calling with the Black Lives Matter movement, a rallying cry against systemic racism after the high-profile killings of Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.oreeoriginol.com/justiceforourlives.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oree Original\u003c/a> created dozens of downloadable portraits of victims of police brutality that Black Lives Matter activists carried at marches nationwide. And \u003ca href=\"http://chinakahodge.com/projects/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinaka Hodge\u003c/a>, a star of the Bay Area’s literary scene, debuted her critically acclaimed play \u003cem>Chasing Mehserle\u003c/em>, which toured the country after its local premiere in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12624168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12624168\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist Oree Originol\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist Oree Originol with posters from his ‘Justice for Our Lives’ project. \u003ccite>(Manjula Varghese)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Black Lives Matter protests continued into 2016, following the deaths of Sandra Bland in Texas, Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. The movement entered the pop culture zeitgeist: Beyoncé brought Grant’s mother, Reverend Wanda Johnson, and the mothers of Brown, Martin and Garner to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/beyonce-brings-mothers-of-eric-garner-trayvon-martin-mike-brown-and-oscar-grant-to-vmas-2016-a7214741.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 VMAs\u003c/a>. Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protest against police brutality received support from Grant’s family, continues to be the biggest topic of conversation in the NFL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chart-topping artists like Migos and Young Thug mentioned victims of police violence in their songs; Kendrick Lamar made history at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammys-2016-king-kendrick-lamar-steals-the-show-178882/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 Grammy Awards\u003c/a> with a performance that called out racism in the criminal justice system. Drawing from a long history of African-American protest art, the wave of artists demanding justice for Grant ushered in an era of creatives and entertainers speaking out against police brutality, and using social media to amplify the conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Artistry spring-boarded the Oscar Grant movement,” says Johnson, Grant’s uncle. “So today, when we see young men getting killed, there are forms of artistry that come into play… It’s carried on ever since.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Coogler and Boots Riley kicked off a huge year for black cinema with the successes of their 2018 films \u003cem>Black Panther \u003c/em>and \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>, and other critically acclaimed films from that year addressed police brutality directly. Director George Tillman Jr. based his movie about the aftermath of a police shooting, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-hate-u-give-20180830-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Hate U Give\u003c/a>, \u003c/em>on a young-adult novel by Angie Thomas, who began writing it after watching cellphone footage of Oscar Grant’s death. Similarly, \u003cem>Hamilton\u003c/em> star Daveed Diggs and spoken-word artist Rafael Casal, both from Oakland, wrote the screenplay for\u003cem> Blindspotting\u003c/em>—about a man reeling from PTSD after witnessing a police shooting—in the aftermath of the Oscar Grant shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were trying to match the nature of the national conversation about these kinds of killings,” Diggs \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13837184/blindspotting-is-a-spot-on-portrait-of-an-oakland-in-flux\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told\u003c/a> KQED in a July 2018 interview about the film. “When Oscar Grant was murdered, there were riots and protests; Oscar’s face was on all the shirts; there was 24-hour news cycle about it. Flash forward to now, every time one of these [killings] happens, it’s just another body on the pile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Culture shifts, legislation stagnates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Although the many examples of art to emerge from the fight against police brutality have shifted American consciousness and changed the culture, policy has been slow to catch up. California passed a law creating \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclusocal.org/en/press-releases/california-passes-landmark-police-transparency-and-accountability-legislation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">greater transparency in police misconduct cases\u003c/a> in 2018, but no sweeping state or federal reforms have taken place, especially regarding disciplining officers who abuse their authority. \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/?utm_term=.a11ef20c2f4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Recent studies\u003c/a> estimate that police kill nearly 1,000 people a year in the United States, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/18/us/police-involved-shooting-cases/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">only 80 officers\u003c/a> were arrested on murder or manslaughter chargers for on-duty shootings between 2005 and 2017. Of those, only 35 percent were convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oaklanders voted to replace an inefficient Citizens’ Police Review Board in 2016 with the Oakland Police Commission, which has more power to investigate and discipline officers accused of misconduct. But the board’s first year was marred by turmoil and leadership changes, with one commissioner calling it a “squandered opportunity” in her \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2018/11/29/oakland-police-commissioner-resigns-calling-the-oversight-boards-first-year-a-squandered-opportunity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resignation letter in November 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Donald Trump in office, police brutality is no longer a central focus for many non-black Americans as the administration enacts policies that undermine many other populations’ civil liberties. The lack of tangible progress feels deflating to some, but the fight against systemic racism started long before Oscar Grant—and will continue long after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The system hasn’t changed, and policing hasn’t become more transparent than it was before. It’s just more visible,” says Black Lives Matter’s Garza. “Black people are still being murdered.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/gRJboyRHfYo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many of the artists who mobilized against police brutality ten years ago, the pain of Grant’s death and the fraught state of race relations in America are still front-of-mind. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11710770/honoring-oscar-grant-gets-political-at-bart-meeting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Refa One\u003c/a>, a street artist involved in the movement since at least 2009, is currently painting a new mural honoring Grant at Fruitvale BART station. Mistah F.A.B. recently filmed a music video at Fruitvale station for his new song “War Vibes,” where he raps face down on the platform—the position Grant found himself in during his last moments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s unfortunate that these kids are being killed and stripped of their lives and their innocence,” Mistah F.A.B. says. “It’s not even safe outside. A trip to the store could end in you being beat up or shot by the police.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Hours after Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant on the platform of Fruitvale Station on Jan. 1, 2009, Bay Area street artists sprang into action. An Alameda printmaker named \u003ca href=\"http://www.gridlock.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jon-Paul Bail\u003c/a> churned out hundreds of “\u003ca href=\"https://nickcernak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/20090205-political-gridlock-bart-283x400.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Disarm BART Police\u003c/a>” posters to hand out at demonstrations. An artist going by \u003ca href=\"https://endlesscanvas.com/?tag=justice-for-oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Broke\u003c/a> printed “Justice for Oscar Grant” posters with stylized graffiti font. Designer \u003ca href=\"https://nickcernak.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/200903023-frank-zio-bloody-bart-258x400.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Frank Zio\u003c/a> depicted a BART ticket with a bloody fingerprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a cellphone video of the killing went viral on YouTube and social media, galvanizing hundreds of demonstrators who faced off against police in riot gear in downtown Oakland. As they marched, they hoisted signs with Bail, Zio and Broke’s artwork, plus posters by Oakland artists such as \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?tag=gats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">GATS\u003c/a> and Melanie Cervantes and Jesus Barraza of \u003ca href=\"https://dignidadrebelde.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dignidad Rebelde\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone was using everyone else’s images freely,” says Bail, who’s made political posters since the ’80s under the name \u003ca href=\"http://www.gridlock.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Political Gridlock\u003c/a>. “There was no, ‘This is my image, this is your image.’ No one cared, we just made the art and donated it. Give them posters, go to the rallies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As helicopters loomed overhead, the images made their way from people’s hands onto city walls and shop windows—a constant reminder of Oakland’s civil unrest—amplifying demonstrators’ calls for accountability as news cameras captured their clashes with police.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those confrontational tactics worked: with public pressure mounting, the Alameda County district attorney charged Mehserle with murder on Jan. 14, 2009, a statistical anomaly for an officer-involved shooting. With Mehserle in custody, a millennial uprising against police brutality began to form in Oakland a full five years before Black Lives Matter became a national rallying cry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Following in the footsteps of Tupac Shakur and the Black Panthers’ Emory Douglas, Oakland artists such as rapper Mistah F.A.B., rapper-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley, and \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> director Ryan Coogler lent their skills to the movement, and they brought followings of newly politicized young people with them. Ten years after Oscar Grant’s death, some of these artists have made a major impact on American pop culture, while others are still doing on-the-ground work in Oakland. All of them catalyzed a new generation of activists who rallied the nation against racial injustice and shifted American consciousness over the past decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847780\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13847780\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A Justice for Oscar Grant poster by street artist Broke. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-1180x787.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-960x640.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-240x160.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-375x250.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0781-520x347.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Justice for Oscar Grant poster by street artist Broke. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I would say for those of us who created Black Lives Matter, it really does start with Oscar Grant as our Rodney King moment—where the violence our communities experience every day was actually captured on video and circulated around the world,” says Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think what Mistah F.A.B. and other artists were able to do is speak to folks who are not part of coalitions, who are not part of organizations … and allow them to be a part of the change that needs to happen,” Garza says. “Talking about the role that police violence plays in communities every day is a big part of how people are being reached and being told, ‘You’re not alone,’ one, and, two, ‘You can do something about it.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Artists become community organizers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As street artists handed out posters in the weeks after Grant’s death, the Bay Area’s rap scene mobilized to create a soundtrack for the protests. Mistah F.A.B., a central figure of the 2000s hyphy movement, recorded and released “\u003ca href=\"https://mistahfab.bandcamp.com/album/oscar-grant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Life (Oscar Grant)\u003c/a>” the day of the shooting. On the track, he drew attention to an ongoing pattern of police brutality against the black community, which he says mainstream society mostly ignored until it was captured on camera. “See, I’m from a city, man / Where police brutality ain’t nothin’ new to us, man / It’s another Oscar Grant that happens every day,” he rapped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oscar Grant hadn’t yet become a national news story on Jan. 1, 2009, but Mistah F.A.B. knew he had fans he could reach all over the country through MySpace, Bandcamp and YouTube. That month, he wore an Oscar Grant T-shirt for a TV appearance on BET. “I think expressing what was going on in the city through art was very important because there were individuals who hadn’t heard about the atrocities outside of our area,” he tells me in a recent interview.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12997915\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12997915\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/20160601_MistahFAB_Credit_BertJohnson-COVER-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. \u003ccite>(Bert Johnson)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“For artists, rappers, singers, directors—it definitely lit a fire under the people and let them know, we have to address these things,” Mistah F.A.B. says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other Bay Area rappers, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fWeMeqinIE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J Stalin and Beeda Weeda\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQFajNZMxM8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zumbi of Zion I\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Young Gully\u003c/a>, recorded their own protest songs and homages to Grant. And music wasn’t the only way they took action: F.A.B. and \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em> director Boots Riley, then known as a rapper in The Coup, were on the front lines at Oakland City Hall in the days after the shooting to organize outraged Oaklanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Protests continued throughout 2009 and 2010 as Mehserle’s trial unfolded. In July 2010, a jury convicted the former police officer of involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months of his two-year sentence, prompting more protests upon his early release in June 2011.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, a new movement percolated in New York City: Occupy Wall Street, a protest against corporate interests and wealth inequality. As Occupy protests took root across the country, the center of the action in Oakland was Frank Ogawa Plaza at City Hall, which activists dubbed Oscar Grant Plaza. Following the unofficial name change, calling out racism in the criminal justice system became a core tenet of Occupy Oakland even as the national movement emphasized economics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many key people from the Oscar Grant protests showed up. Boots Riley \u003ca href=\"http://www.look2remember.com/2011/12/11/boots-riley-at-occupy-oakland-general-strike/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">led direct actions\u003c/a> as police encroached on the Occupy encampment; Mistah F.A.B. delivered speeches on the City Hall steps alongside Nation of Islam leaders and members of Oscar Grant’s family.\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/Xym-xl8zLNw'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Xym-xl8zLNw'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>Jon-Paul Bail and fellow street artist \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/rebelstilskin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kalleb Arefaine\u003c/a> arrived to screenprint thousands of posters on site, handing them directly to demonstrators. Graffiti artists, including \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?p=5004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eesuu\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://endlesscanvas.com/?p=4940\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Optimist\u003c/a>, joined the cause, covering the city with “Justice for Oscar Grant” posters and tags. Oscar Grant murals and wheatpasted posters showed up all over town as protesters camped out in front of City Hall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When the news and everyone was complaining about the graffiti,” recalls Arefaine, “it broadcasted the message even more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Grant’s family enlists artists’ help\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the height of Occupy Oakland, Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson, known to many as Uncle Bobby, saw Bail screenprinting at a protest and approached him to collaborate on a new design for a vigil he’d planned for the third anniversary of Grant’s death on Jan. 1, 2012. This time, Bail enlisted another artist, \u003ca href=\"http://cargocollective.com/2amisthetime/filter/2amart/About\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aambr Newsome a.k.a. 2AM\u003c/a>, who was a Berkeley City College student at the time. Newsome and Bail drew a stylized portrait of a smiling Oscar Grant, illuminated by sunshine with protest signs in the background.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsome recalls how Oscar Grant’s murder awakened her to the reality of police violence against black communities in America. She felt a sense of duty to lend her illustration skills to the cause. “For me, it was really important providing assistance to those families who feel like they don’t have a voice, that nobody is listening, and to really give them something to march with,” she says. “I think that makes them louder. It makes them a bit more proud so they feel like they have supporters backing them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13847781\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13847781\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Kalleb Arefaine and Jon-Paul Bail printed thousands of anti-police brutality posters over the past decade. Bail (right) holds a poster he created with Aambr Newsom in 2012.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786-1920x1280.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/IMG_0786.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kalleb Arefaine and Jon-Paul Bail printed thousands of anti-police brutality posters over the past decade. Bail (right) holds a poster he created with Aambr Newsom in 2012. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Johnson, who assumed the role of family spokesperson after founding the \u003ca href=\"http://www.lovenotbloodcampaign.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oscar Grant Foundation\u003c/a> in 2010, collaborated with numerous artists in the wake of Grant’s death. Johnson’s voice appears on rapper Young Gully’s album \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://younggullyyh.bandcamp.com/album/the-grant-station-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Grant Station Project\u003c/a> \u003c/em>on the heartfelt final track, “Letter to Grant,” where Gully raps from the perspective of Grant in heaven. (KQED’s Pendarvis Harshaw was an executive producer on the album.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young Gully recalls how Johnson was skeptical of his intentions until he heard “Letter to Grant” being recorded in the studio. “When Uncle Bobby heard that, he cried. That one song is what allowed me to put that album out,” Gully says. “After that, he saw what my angle was. We built this big relationship, and basically he loved me for that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;\" src=\"https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3032191159/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/tracklist=false/artwork=small/transparent=true/\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Johnson, working with artists was crucial for drawing attention to injustice, and especially getting young people on board with the fight against police brutality. “Artistry from muralists, hip-hop artists—and artists period, whether they be spoken-word artists, portraitists—they all shared their gifts when it came time to talk about Oscar Grant and speak about the social ills of the system concerning police violence, state-sponsored violence,” he says. “It was young people speaking to young people, and us elders heard their call and responded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The movement hits the big screen\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The “Justice for Oscar Grant” poster Newsome and Bail created with Johnson’s blessing ended up in \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> director Ryan Coogler’s debut feature film, \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em>, about the final 24 hours of Oscar Grant’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coogler, an Oakland native who was only a year older than Grant at the time of the killing, painted a portrait of Grant as an imperfect but loving young father attempting to get his life on track after a stint behind bars. The humanizing portrayal was crucial to the developing national conversation about racial injustice, which only grew more tense after the high-profile shooting of Trayvon Martin in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the time \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> hit theaters in 2013, Oscar Grant had become a martyr, a symbol and a hashtag after four years of protests in his name. But \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> brought the focus back on Grant as a regular, working-class young man finding his way. At a time when news media regularly vilified victims of police brutality—for example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/03/what-did-trayvon-look-depends-your-politics/329893/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the fixation\u003c/a> on photos of Trayvon Martin showing his middle finger—this was essential.\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/crMTGCCui5c'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/crMTGCCui5c'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>“[Oscar] has to deal with his baby mama; he has to deal with money; he has to figure out what to do with this dog; his job has some stress,” says Carvell Wallace, an Oakland-based critic who has \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/12/magazine/why-black-panther-is-a-defining-moment-for-black-america.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">covered Coogler’s work\u003c/a> for \u003cem>The New York Times\u003c/em>. “The way [Coogler] takes us through this allows us to relate to those things so we see him as a person. I think it’s important to see someone as a person before they become a hashtag, and that’s what the movements are always fighting for. And that’s an uphill battle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With a wide release in theaters across the country, \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> was essential for building empathy among non-black Americans who didn’t have personal experience with police brutality and racial injustice, and who might have felt threatened by the protests they saw on the news without understanding the underlying cause. “I think what Coogler did with that film was show Oscar Grant not as a ‘them’ but as a ‘you,'” says Wallace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Reign, a diversity advocate who coined the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in response to a lack of black artists at the Academy Awards, says that \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> served another purpose: it emphasized the importance of documenting injustice with smartphones, which was instrumental to the Black Lives Matter movement as it took off nationally in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The movie \u003cem>Fruitvale Station\u003c/em> was incredibly underrated and really brought to the forefront some of the issues that people had been fighting for years,” says Reign. “Not just talking about the issues of state-sanctioned violence, but also the question of filming the police, and how taking a stand in that way has the potential to make a difference when cops are involved in violence against American citizens, especially black men.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Black Lives Matter on the world stage\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area artists politicized during the Oscar Grant protests found a new calling with the Black Lives Matter movement, a rallying cry against systemic racism after the high-profile killings of Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Garner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oakland artist \u003ca href=\"http://www.oreeoriginol.com/justiceforourlives.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oree Original\u003c/a> created dozens of downloadable portraits of victims of police brutality that Black Lives Matter activists carried at marches nationwide. And \u003ca href=\"http://chinakahodge.com/projects/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinaka Hodge\u003c/a>, a star of the Bay Area’s literary scene, debuted her critically acclaimed play \u003cem>Chasing Mehserle\u003c/em>, which toured the country after its local premiere in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12624168\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12624168\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Artist Oree Originol\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait-520x293.jpg 520w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/01/oreeportrait.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist Oree Originol with posters from his ‘Justice for Our Lives’ project. \u003ccite>(Manjula Varghese)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Black Lives Matter protests continued into 2016, following the deaths of Sandra Bland in Texas, Philando Castile in Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Louisiana. The movement entered the pop culture zeitgeist: Beyoncé brought Grant’s mother, Reverend Wanda Johnson, and the mothers of Brown, Martin and Garner to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/beyonce-brings-mothers-of-eric-garner-trayvon-martin-mike-brown-and-oscar-grant-to-vmas-2016-a7214741.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 VMAs\u003c/a>. Colin Kaepernick, whose kneeling protest against police brutality received support from Grant’s family, continues to be the biggest topic of conversation in the NFL.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chart-topping artists like Migos and Young Thug mentioned victims of police violence in their songs; Kendrick Lamar made history at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammys-2016-king-kendrick-lamar-steals-the-show-178882/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2016 Grammy Awards\u003c/a> with a performance that called out racism in the criminal justice system. Drawing from a long history of African-American protest art, the wave of artists demanding justice for Grant ushered in an era of creatives and entertainers speaking out against police brutality, and using social media to amplify the conversation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Artistry spring-boarded the Oscar Grant movement,” says Johnson, Grant’s uncle. “So today, when we see young men getting killed, there are forms of artistry that come into play… It’s carried on ever since.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ryan Coogler and Boots Riley kicked off a huge year for black cinema with the successes of their 2018 films \u003cem>Black Panther \u003c/em>and \u003cem>Sorry to Bother You\u003c/em>, and other critically acclaimed films from that year addressed police brutality directly. Director George Tillman Jr. based his movie about the aftermath of a police shooting, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-sneaks-hate-u-give-20180830-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Hate U Give\u003c/a>, \u003c/em>on a young-adult novel by Angie Thomas, who began writing it after watching cellphone footage of Oscar Grant’s death. Similarly, \u003cem>Hamilton\u003c/em> star Daveed Diggs and spoken-word artist Rafael Casal, both from Oakland, wrote the screenplay for\u003cem> Blindspotting\u003c/em>—about a man reeling from PTSD after witnessing a police shooting—in the aftermath of the Oscar Grant shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were trying to match the nature of the national conversation about these kinds of killings,” Diggs \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13837184/blindspotting-is-a-spot-on-portrait-of-an-oakland-in-flux\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told\u003c/a> KQED in a July 2018 interview about the film. “When Oscar Grant was murdered, there were riots and protests; Oscar’s face was on all the shirts; there was 24-hour news cycle about it. Flash forward to now, every time one of these [killings] happens, it’s just another body on the pile.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Culture shifts, legislation stagnates\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Although the many examples of art to emerge from the fight against police brutality have shifted American consciousness and changed the culture, policy has been slow to catch up. California passed a law creating \u003ca href=\"https://www.aclusocal.org/en/press-releases/california-passes-landmark-police-transparency-and-accountability-legislation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">greater transparency in police misconduct cases\u003c/a> in 2018, but no sweeping state or federal reforms have taken place, especially regarding disciplining officers who abuse their authority. \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/police-shootings-2018/?utm_term=.a11ef20c2f4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Recent studies\u003c/a> estimate that police kill nearly 1,000 people a year in the United States, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/18/us/police-involved-shooting-cases/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">only 80 officers\u003c/a> were arrested on murder or manslaughter chargers for on-duty shootings between 2005 and 2017. Of those, only 35 percent were convicted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oaklanders voted to replace an inefficient Citizens’ Police Review Board in 2016 with the Oakland Police Commission, which has more power to investigate and discipline officers accused of misconduct. But the board’s first year was marred by turmoil and leadership changes, with one commissioner calling it a “squandered opportunity” in her \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2018/11/29/oakland-police-commissioner-resigns-calling-the-oversight-boards-first-year-a-squandered-opportunity\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">resignation letter in November 2018\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With Donald Trump in office, police brutality is no longer a central focus for many non-black Americans as the administration enacts policies that undermine many other populations’ civil liberties. The lack of tangible progress feels deflating to some, but the fight against systemic racism started long before Oscar Grant—and will continue long after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The system hasn’t changed, and policing hasn’t become more transparent than it was before. It’s just more visible,” says Black Lives Matter’s Garza. “Black people are still being murdered.”\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/gRJboyRHfYo'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/gRJboyRHfYo'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>For many of the artists who mobilized against police brutality ten years ago, the pain of Grant’s death and the fraught state of race relations in America are still front-of-mind. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11710770/honoring-oscar-grant-gets-political-at-bart-meeting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Refa One\u003c/a>, a street artist involved in the movement since at least 2009, is currently painting a new mural honoring Grant at Fruitvale BART station. Mistah F.A.B. recently filmed a music video at Fruitvale station for his new song “War Vibes,” where he raps face down on the platform—the position Grant found himself in during his last moments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s unfortunate that these kids are being killed and stripped of their lives and their innocence,” Mistah F.A.B. says. “It’s not even safe outside. A trip to the store could end in you being beat up or shot by the police.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The ticket to one of the hottest rap shows in Oakland this weekend is your voter registration. Hosted by Mistah F.A.B. at the Oakland Technical High School auditorium, the Oakland Do It For the Town millennial voter engagement concert on Oct. 20 stars street rap stalwarts \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/j-stalin-heartfelt-gangster-rhythm/Content?oid=4665103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8tZBpYNU9E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sleepy D\u003c/a>, as well as H.U. and\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z0Zi7fimro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> iStevie\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, The Town’s hip-hop scene has gotten politically active in a new way. Mistah F.A.B. has been campaigning for City Council candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/bbqbecky-called-cops-on-kenzie-smith-now-running-for-oakland-city-council/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenzie Smith\u003c/a>, who co-owns Mistah F.A.B.’s \u003cem>Dope Era Magazine\u003c/em> and was the target of May’s viral \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13832886/were-still-here-bbqn-while-black-draws-out-oaklanders-in-force\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ Becky\u003c/a> incident. A populist, outsider candidate, Smith is running against longtime city councilmember Abel Guillen for the District 2 seat, which encompasses the east side of Lake Merritt. [contextly_sidebar id=”K4OSyc6pFWDNK1onbxLp3fRXgGtwLw0e”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September, while hosting the main stage at Hiero Day, Mistah F.A.B. brought Smith out to address the crowd. “He runnin’ for city council, man, for us to make a change so we can have one of our own making the decisions so they don’t push us out, so we can at least have a voice in all this,” F.A.B. told the audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not explicitly a campaign event for Smith, the free show will register concert-goers to vote at the door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/BpADYuhB5qU/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The ticket to one of the hottest rap shows in Oakland this weekend is your voter registration. Hosted by Mistah F.A.B. at the Oakland Technical High School auditorium, the Oakland Do It For the Town millennial voter engagement concert on Oct. 20 stars street rap stalwarts \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/j-stalin-heartfelt-gangster-rhythm/Content?oid=4665103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">J. Stalin\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8tZBpYNU9E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sleepy D\u003c/a>, as well as H.U. and\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z0Zi7fimro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> iStevie\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, The Town’s hip-hop scene has gotten politically active in a new way. Mistah F.A.B. has been campaigning for City Council candidate \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/07/bbqbecky-called-cops-on-kenzie-smith-now-running-for-oakland-city-council/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenzie Smith\u003c/a>, who co-owns Mistah F.A.B.’s \u003cem>Dope Era Magazine\u003c/em> and was the target of May’s viral \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13832886/were-still-here-bbqn-while-black-draws-out-oaklanders-in-force\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BBQ Becky\u003c/a> incident. A populist, outsider candidate, Smith is running against longtime city councilmember Abel Guillen for the District 2 seat, which encompasses the east side of Lake Merritt. \u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In September, while hosting the main stage at Hiero Day, Mistah F.A.B. brought Smith out to address the crowd. “He runnin’ for city council, man, for us to make a change so we can have one of our own making the decisions so they don’t push us out, so we can at least have a voice in all this,” F.A.B. told the audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While not explicitly a campaign event for Smith, the free show will register concert-goers to vote at the door.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Mistah F.A.B. Debuts New Space, New Plans for Dope Era",
"headTitle": "Mistah F.A.B. Debuts New Space, New Plans for Dope Era | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>On a recent afternoon at his shop, Dope Era, Mistah F.A.B. is dressed in a backwards snapback and purple hoodie, giving an impassioned speech to a group of businessmen in suits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can create a seminar that strictly focuses on youth — tomorrow’s Fortune 500 leaders — investing in the future of youth for financial literacy,” he exclaims as I walk in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His enraptured audience of three nods, eagerly absorbing the knowledge. Dope Era may have recently moved from its low-key North Oakland location to a swanky new retail space on 20th and Broadway, the heart of downtown’s shopping district, but Mistah F.A.B. clearly hasn’t forgotten his former neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The average child of poverty, child of immigrants, their parents are not telling them, ‘Let’s start these businesses,'” he continues sagely. “We have to create the perception of possibility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oration is an important part of Mistah F.A.B.’s art. As a rapper and pioneer of the hyphy movement, he’s known as Oakland’s freestyle king, one who spits clever bars for improbable lengths of time. His more formal speaking abilities — his persuasive gift of gab — have also attracted a loyal following that’s enabled his business success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The old location of Dope Era, on 45th and Market Streets, was like a clubhouse for local residents, especially young people and aspiring musicians. Since opening in 2015, Mistah F.A.B.’s large personality kept business booming: He was in the store whenever he wasn’t traveling or in the studio, and he made himself available to nearly anyone who wanted his ear. Neighbors would stop in to hear his sermons about creating generational wealth for the black community; musicians came in to glean wisdom about the industry. Even kids would drop by to show off their report cards. And all of them regularly bought T-shirts and sweatsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The store also became the headquarters of Mistah F.A.B.’s countless \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/02/10/mayor-jean-quan-honors-oakland-rapper/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charitable endeavors\u003c/a> — Thanksgiving Turkey giveaways, school supply drives, taking kids to see \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> — that have earned him a reputation as the man of the people over the past 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though he’s had considerable industry success, with Platinum songwriting credits on hits like Chris Brown’s “Loyal,” Mistah F.A.B. says that interacting with everyday people “keeps me going, it keeps my spirit floating, man. I get life, I get energy that the people give. They bless you with the opportunity to be vibrant and remain relevant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13827219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13827219\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. talks to customers at Dope Era. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-960x643.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-240x161.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-375x251.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-520x348.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. talks to customers at Dope Era. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And yet doing business on 45th and Market didn’t come without stress. In April 2017, Mistah F.A.B. went on the record with KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12982699/public-safety-or-racial-profiling-mistah-f-a-b-alleges-harassment-by-the-opd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleging ongoing harassment by the Oakland Police Department\u003c/a>. Two weeks after the story ran, his store caught fire in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13082904/oakland-store-owned-by-mistah-f-a-b-damaged-in-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleged case of arson\u003c/a>. The business quickly recovered, reopening with a new, bright yellow awning. But weeks before Mistah F.A.B. was set to move to the new Broadway location, tragedy struck again when \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/02/08/oakland-police-id-fatal-shooting-victims/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a shooting\u003c/a> at the liquor store across the street took the life of Lash City Frost, a new rapper on Mistah F.A.B.’s label, Dope Era Music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dope Era’s new downtown store may alleviate some of that stress. But though he’s in a bigger, safer, more central location, Mistah F.A.B. isn’t relaxing quite yet. “It’s a new beginning, but there’s still so much more work to do,” he says. “You never get a chance to bask in the accomplishments. You celebrate them, appreciate them, but you have to move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Admittedly, the new location might not feel as intimate as his old store, where Mistah F.A.B. was able to barbecue outside, shoot music videos, and receive visits from celebrities like E-40 and DJ Esco without causing a stir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course I’m gonna miss that spot,” Mistah F.A.B. says. “That was a childhood dream of mine, to open up a business in my community. To have a store there — we used to help Ms. Harris clean up everyday, she owned a flower shop next to that store [when I was] growing up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we talk, Mistah F.A.B. had just taken 20 schoolchildren to the movies the day prior. He talks about plans for art shows and listening parties, as well as continuing Music Mondays, his weekly music show-and-tell where new artists play their new tracks and network. Discussing the historic black-owned business Hat Guys, whose space Dope Era now occupies, he talks about creating a Dope Era franchise to create more employment opportunities for Oaklanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13827220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13827220\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Street signs at the new Dope Era store pay homage to Mistah F.A.B.'s old North Oakland neighborhood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-960x643.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-240x161.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-375x251.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-520x348.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Street signs at the new Dope Era store pay homage to Mistah F.A.B.’s old North Oakland neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Five years ago we were selling shirts out of the trunk of the car. Now, to be able to say five years later, we have a store on Broadway,” he says, “who knows where we’ll be in five years and how many stores we’ll open?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet there’s still the clubhouse vibe. As we talk outside the shop, Mistah F.A.B. makes an effort to say hello to anyone who walks by — office workers, homeless people, city employees in yellow vests. “You look like a cool grape soda, Mistah F.A.B.,” one lady exclaims at his Barney-purple Dope Era sweatsuit as she rides by on her bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. chats excitedly about his many other new projects. He just dropped \u003cem>Thug Tears\u003c/em>, his most candid and emotional album to date; he’s getting ready to release his first book of life advice, also called \u003cem>Dope Era\u003c/em>; and he has a new recurring music showcase at the downtown Oakland nightclub Complex called Oakland Live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always had mentors and watched people do things, and now for me to be able to sit in the driver’s seat and say, ‘I’m driving this car now, this is how we’re trying to get it,'” he says. “It’s slow steps, but that’s what I’m about, I’m about building the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Oakland rapper and entrepreneur recently moved his Dope Era store to a swanky, downtown Oakland location — and he says this is only the beginning. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On a recent afternoon at his shop, Dope Era, Mistah F.A.B. is dressed in a backwards snapback and purple hoodie, giving an impassioned speech to a group of businessmen in suits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can create a seminar that strictly focuses on youth — tomorrow’s Fortune 500 leaders — investing in the future of youth for financial literacy,” he exclaims as I walk in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His enraptured audience of three nods, eagerly absorbing the knowledge. Dope Era may have recently moved from its low-key North Oakland location to a swanky new retail space on 20th and Broadway, the heart of downtown’s shopping district, but Mistah F.A.B. clearly hasn’t forgotten his former neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The average child of poverty, child of immigrants, their parents are not telling them, ‘Let’s start these businesses,'” he continues sagely. “We have to create the perception of possibility.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oration is an important part of Mistah F.A.B.’s art. As a rapper and pioneer of the hyphy movement, he’s known as Oakland’s freestyle king, one who spits clever bars for improbable lengths of time. His more formal speaking abilities — his persuasive gift of gab — have also attracted a loyal following that’s enabled his business success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The old location of Dope Era, on 45th and Market Streets, was like a clubhouse for local residents, especially young people and aspiring musicians. Since opening in 2015, Mistah F.A.B.’s large personality kept business booming: He was in the store whenever he wasn’t traveling or in the studio, and he made himself available to nearly anyone who wanted his ear. Neighbors would stop in to hear his sermons about creating generational wealth for the black community; musicians came in to glean wisdom about the industry. Even kids would drop by to show off their report cards. And all of them regularly bought T-shirts and sweatsuits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The store also became the headquarters of Mistah F.A.B.’s countless \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/02/10/mayor-jean-quan-honors-oakland-rapper/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">charitable endeavors\u003c/a> — Thanksgiving Turkey giveaways, school supply drives, taking kids to see \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> — that have earned him a reputation as the man of the people over the past 15 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though he’s had considerable industry success, with Platinum songwriting credits on hits like Chris Brown’s “Loyal,” Mistah F.A.B. says that interacting with everyday people “keeps me going, it keeps my spirit floating, man. I get life, I get energy that the people give. They bless you with the opportunity to be vibrant and remain relevant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13827219\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13827219\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Mistah F.A.B. talks to customers at Dope Era. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-960x643.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-240x161.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-375x251.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/dopeera1-520x348.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mistah F.A.B. talks to customers at Dope Era. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And yet doing business on 45th and Market didn’t come without stress. In April 2017, Mistah F.A.B. went on the record with KQED \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/12982699/public-safety-or-racial-profiling-mistah-f-a-b-alleges-harassment-by-the-opd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleging ongoing harassment by the Oakland Police Department\u003c/a>. Two weeks after the story ran, his store caught fire in an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13082904/oakland-store-owned-by-mistah-f-a-b-damaged-in-fire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alleged case of arson\u003c/a>. The business quickly recovered, reopening with a new, bright yellow awning. But weeks before Mistah F.A.B. was set to move to the new Broadway location, tragedy struck again when \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/02/08/oakland-police-id-fatal-shooting-victims/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a shooting\u003c/a> at the liquor store across the street took the life of Lash City Frost, a new rapper on Mistah F.A.B.’s label, Dope Era Music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dope Era’s new downtown store may alleviate some of that stress. But though he’s in a bigger, safer, more central location, Mistah F.A.B. isn’t relaxing quite yet. “It’s a new beginning, but there’s still so much more work to do,” he says. “You never get a chance to bask in the accomplishments. You celebrate them, appreciate them, but you have to move forward.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Admittedly, the new location might not feel as intimate as his old store, where Mistah F.A.B. was able to barbecue outside, shoot music videos, and receive visits from celebrities like E-40 and DJ Esco without causing a stir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course I’m gonna miss that spot,” Mistah F.A.B. says. “That was a childhood dream of mine, to open up a business in my community. To have a store there — we used to help Ms. Harris clean up everyday, she owned a flower shop next to that store [when I was] growing up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we talk, Mistah F.A.B. had just taken 20 schoolchildren to the movies the day prior. He talks about plans for art shows and listening parties, as well as continuing Music Mondays, his weekly music show-and-tell where new artists play their new tracks and network. Discussing the historic black-owned business Hat Guys, whose space Dope Era now occupies, he talks about creating a Dope Era franchise to create more employment opportunities for Oaklanders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13827220\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13827220\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Street signs at the new Dope Era store pay homage to Mistah F.A.B.'s old North Oakland neighborhood.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-768x514.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-1180x790.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-960x643.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-240x161.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-375x251.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/03/DSC_0839-520x348.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Street signs at the new Dope Era store pay homage to Mistah F.A.B.’s old North Oakland neighborhood. \u003ccite>(Nastia Voynovskaya)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Five years ago we were selling shirts out of the trunk of the car. Now, to be able to say five years later, we have a store on Broadway,” he says, “who knows where we’ll be in five years and how many stores we’ll open?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet there’s still the clubhouse vibe. As we talk outside the shop, Mistah F.A.B. makes an effort to say hello to anyone who walks by — office workers, homeless people, city employees in yellow vests. “You look like a cool grape soda, Mistah F.A.B.,” one lady exclaims at his Barney-purple Dope Era sweatsuit as she rides by on her bike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mistah F.A.B. chats excitedly about his many other new projects. He just dropped \u003cem>Thug Tears\u003c/em>, his most candid and emotional album to date; he’s getting ready to release his first book of life advice, also called \u003cem>Dope Era\u003c/em>; and he has a new recurring music showcase at the downtown Oakland nightclub Complex called Oakland Live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always had mentors and watched people do things, and now for me to be able to sit in the driver’s seat and say, ‘I’m driving this car now, this is how we’re trying to get it,'” he says. “It’s slow steps, but that’s what I’m about, I’m about building the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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}
},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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