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"slug": "tupac-shakur-way-oakland-street-renaming",
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"content": "\u003cp>The City of Oakland has officially honored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tupac-shakur\">Tupac Shakur\u003c/a>, one of the most paramount figures in hip-hop history, with his own street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a star-studded ceremony on Friday, Nov. 3, “Tupac Shakur Way” was unveiled near Lake Merritt along a portion of MacArthur Boulevard, where the superstar lived in the early 1990s, in front of enthusiastic family members, former collaborators and fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attendees of the event included Bay Area icons like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mc-hammer\">MC Hammer\u003c/a>, Spice 1, Money B, Richie Rich, B-Legit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/davey-d\">Davey D\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sway-calloway\">Sway Calloway\u003c/a>. Shakur’s siblings Mopreme and Sekyiwa, his earliest manager Atron Gregory, and various community representatives were also present, including members of the Black Panther Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937626\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sekyiwa Shakur, joined by Ray Luv, E-40, Money B, MC Hammer, Sway Calloway, Fred Hampton Jr. and others, speaks onstage during a ceremony honoring her brother Tupac Shakur in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Shakur’s music played from large speakers to a head-nodding audience, numerous icons who knew him closely spoke about his influence and time in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B, who recorded and performed alongside Shakur in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/digital-underground\">Digital Underground\u003c/a>, said that Shakur’s apartment on MacArthur was “the first set of keys Tupac ever had to anything. Him and Big D created most of the music for \u003cem>2Pacalypse Now\u003c/em> right there. It was like a [music] factory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calloway, host of Sway’s Universe, told the crowd that “Tupac confirmed to me what my role would be in the culture. We started spreading what we do in the Bay Area to the rest of the world. He stood ten toes down for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13922616']Some spoke of Shakur’s fun-loving nature. E-40 recalled the origin of one of his many nicknames when Shakur “told me he was Makaveli. And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m Fonzarelli.” Richie Rich said that when Shakur called the house, his mom mistakenly thought his name was “tube socks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a recurring theme was Shakur’s importance not only to Oakland but to hip-hop culture at large. Oakland councilmember \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/2023/press-release-the-renaming-of-tupac-shakur-way\">Carroll Fife\u003c/a> said, “This is to preserve what Tupac was trying to tell us. Pouring into solutions. What he stood for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937618\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937618\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Sekyiwa Shakur, Mopreme Shakur and Mutulu Shakur, members of Tupac Shakur’s family, attend a street renaming ceremony for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The street naming was largely spearheaded by Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa, councilmember Fife, hip-hop historian \u003ca href=\"https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/nyer-of-the-week/2023/08/05/new-yorker-of-the-week--leroy-mccarthy--hip-hop-historian\">Leroy McCarthy\u003c/a> and one of Shakur’s closest friends, rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealrayluv/\">Ray Luv\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are streets in this country named after slave owners. Those aren’t people you should be naming streets after,” said Ray Luv, a member of \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#tupac-moves-to-santa-rosa-attends-the-poetry-circle-and-forms-strictly-dope\">Shakur’s early group Strictly Dope\u003c/a>, in a phone interview before the event. “With this street naming, I just wanted to make sure my friend is represented properly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13927810']Friday’s renaming follows a succession of beloved hip-hop legends being honored in recent years — from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936776/e-40-gets-the-key-to-the-city-of-vallejo-and-a-street-named-in-his-honor\">E-40 in Vallejo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922616/too-short-way-street-sign-unveiled-oakland\">Too $hort in East Oakland\u003c/a> to the Notorious B.I.G in Brooklyn and the Wu-Tang Clan in Staten Island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his 25 years, Shakur lived in numerous cities, including New York City (where he was born), Baltimore, Marin City, Santa Rosa, Richmond and Los Angeles. But it’s in Oakland where, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPASfhfK8jM\">a candid interview\u003c/a>, the rapper said he learned “game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw [the game] living in Oakland, I saw it thriving in Oakland,” Shakur said. “That was in no other city I lived in. So I give all my love to Oakland. If I’ma claim somewhere, I’ma claim Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937620\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937620\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer speaks during a street renaming ceremony for Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Oakland’s Influence on Tupac\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Ray Luv, Oakland had a huge influence on Shakur’s artistic development and political mindset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The birth of hip-hop [for us] was based right here in Oakland, around Digital Underground,” he said. “Oakland was the perfect place. It was culturally diverse, but also musically rich. Trying to find a sound and build a brand, it was the best place we could’ve hoped to launch from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as teenagers living together in the North Bay, the two would often record at a studio on 45th Street in North Oakland, and spend nights with Ray Luv’s uncle, who lived on 66th Avenue in East Oakland. Soon after, Shakur would move into his own apartment on MacArthur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937617\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937617\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ray Luv (center left) and Money B sit on stage near a sign unveiling for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By that time, the city was an established hub for artistry and activism. Within Oakland rap circles, Ray Luv credits Too $hort, Richie Rich, MC Hammer, Shock G, Money B, Chopmaster J and DJ Fuze as those who identified potential in Strictly Dope, and provided the group with encouragement and support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13927349']Oakland is also where Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa would eventually donate her time and resources to Roses in Concrete, a school named after a Tupac poem. And it’s in Oakland where the lasting influence of the Black Panther Party — of which Shakur’s mother, Afeni, was a member — permeated the community and infused Shakur’s spirit and lyrics. (Fred Hampton Jr., son of assassinated Black Panther deputy chairman Fred Hampton, attended Friday’s ceremony.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shakur often sprinkled local references throughout his songs and videos, including “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927810/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-shakur-ethel-love\">Brenda’s Got a Baby\u003c/a>,” which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927810/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-shakur-ethel-love\">filmed in a downtown Oakland alley\u003c/a>. In the 1993 film \u003cem>Poetic Justice\u003c/em>, costarring Janet Jackson, Shakur plays a disillusioned postal worker who aspires to become a musician. In the semi-autobiographical narrative, he ditches a rote life elsewhere in order to pursue his creative dreams in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937619\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 speaks during a street renaming ceremony for Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Evolution of Tupac’s Legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the past year, Shakur’s legacy has been repeatedly revisited. The Emmy-nominated Hulu series \u003cem>Dear Mama\u003c/em> chronicled Shakur’s relationship with his mother, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/23762/you-cant-kill-the-revolution-davey-d-on-tupacs-mother-afeni-shakur\">Afeni Shakur\u003c/a>, and multiple events commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including \u003ca href=\"https://thegrio.com/2023/09/15/rep-kamlager-dove-celebrates-50-years-of-hip-hop-on-anniversary-of-tupac-shakurs-death/\">congressional recognition\u003c/a>, have elevated Shakur’s importance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_11696060']This year’s most seismic development, however, is the Sep. 29 arrest of Duane Keith Davis, the lead suspect accused in Shakur’s 1996 murder. On Nov. 2, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/us/tupac-murder-suspect-duane-davis-court-appearance/index.html\">Davis pleaded not guilty in a Las Vegas courtroom\u003c/a>, and at the time of this writing, the outcome is yet to be determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shooting is one of modern music’s biggest unsolved cases, further adding to the complexity of Shakur’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tupac’s mother and family definitely want justice on his behalf. I want justice on his behalf,” Ray Luv said. “I hope they get the culprits and give us the story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937624\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fatima Adcock poses for a selfie in front of the ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., after an unveiling ceremony on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As was evident at Friday’s ceremony, despite his gangster image and oft-misinterpreted “T.H.U.G L.I.F.E” adage, Shakur regularly spoke about brotherly love, unity and peace — something for which Ray Luv and others hope he is equally remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want [Tupac Shakur Way] to be a safe space for women, children, human beings. We want to lead with that message of peace,” Ray Luv said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Oakland is a great place to have a message like this from someone like Tupac.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "'Tupac Shakur Way' Unveiled in Oakland as Rap Icon Gets His Own Street | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The City of Oakland has officially honored \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/tupac-shakur\">Tupac Shakur\u003c/a>, one of the most paramount figures in hip-hop history, with his own street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a star-studded ceremony on Friday, Nov. 3, “Tupac Shakur Way” was unveiled near Lake Merritt along a portion of MacArthur Boulevard, where the superstar lived in the early 1990s, in front of enthusiastic family members, former collaborators and fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Attendees of the event included Bay Area icons like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/e-40\">E-40\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mc-hammer\">MC Hammer\u003c/a>, Spice 1, Money B, Richie Rich, B-Legit, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/davey-d\">Davey D\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/sway-calloway\">Sway Calloway\u003c/a>. Shakur’s siblings Mopreme and Sekyiwa, his earliest manager Atron Gregory, and various community representatives were also present, including members of the Black Panther Party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937626\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-Tupac.Shakur.Way-Group-21-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sekyiwa Shakur, joined by Ray Luv, E-40, Money B, MC Hammer, Sway Calloway, Fred Hampton Jr. and others, speaks onstage during a ceremony honoring her brother Tupac Shakur in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Shakur’s music played from large speakers to a head-nodding audience, numerous icons who knew him closely spoke about his influence and time in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money B, who recorded and performed alongside Shakur in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/digital-underground\">Digital Underground\u003c/a>, said that Shakur’s apartment on MacArthur was “the first set of keys Tupac ever had to anything. Him and Big D created most of the music for \u003cem>2Pacalypse Now\u003c/em> right there. It was like a [music] factory.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calloway, host of Sway’s Universe, told the crowd that “Tupac confirmed to me what my role would be in the culture. We started spreading what we do in the Bay Area to the rest of the world. He stood ten toes down for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some spoke of Shakur’s fun-loving nature. E-40 recalled the origin of one of his many nicknames when Shakur “told me he was Makaveli. And I’m like, ‘Well, I’m Fonzarelli.” Richie Rich said that when Shakur called the house, his mom mistakenly thought his name was “tube socks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a recurring theme was Shakur’s importance not only to Oakland but to hip-hop culture at large. Oakland councilmember \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/news/2023/press-release-the-renaming-of-tupac-shakur-way\">Carroll Fife\u003c/a> said, “This is to preserve what Tupac was trying to tell us. Pouring into solutions. What he stood for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937618\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937618\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-03-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Sekyiwa Shakur, Mopreme Shakur and Mutulu Shakur, members of Tupac Shakur’s family, attend a street renaming ceremony for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The street naming was largely spearheaded by Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa, councilmember Fife, hip-hop historian \u003ca href=\"https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/nyer-of-the-week/2023/08/05/new-yorker-of-the-week--leroy-mccarthy--hip-hop-historian\">Leroy McCarthy\u003c/a> and one of Shakur’s closest friends, rapper \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/therealrayluv/\">Ray Luv\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are streets in this country named after slave owners. Those aren’t people you should be naming streets after,” said Ray Luv, a member of \u003ca href=\"http://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop/timeline#tupac-moves-to-santa-rosa-attends-the-poetry-circle-and-forms-strictly-dope\">Shakur’s early group Strictly Dope\u003c/a>, in a phone interview before the event. “With this street naming, I just wanted to make sure my friend is represented properly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Friday’s renaming follows a succession of beloved hip-hop legends being honored in recent years — from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936776/e-40-gets-the-key-to-the-city-of-vallejo-and-a-street-named-in-his-honor\">E-40 in Vallejo\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13922616/too-short-way-street-sign-unveiled-oakland\">Too $hort in East Oakland\u003c/a> to the Notorious B.I.G in Brooklyn and the Wu-Tang Clan in Staten Island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his 25 years, Shakur lived in numerous cities, including New York City (where he was born), Baltimore, Marin City, Santa Rosa, Richmond and Los Angeles. But it’s in Oakland where, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPASfhfK8jM\">a candid interview\u003c/a>, the rapper said he learned “game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I saw [the game] living in Oakland, I saw it thriving in Oakland,” Shakur said. “That was in no other city I lived in. So I give all my love to Oakland. If I’ma claim somewhere, I’ma claim Oakland.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937620\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937620\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-14-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MC Hammer speaks during a street renaming ceremony for Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Oakland’s Influence on Tupac\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to Ray Luv, Oakland had a huge influence on Shakur’s artistic development and political mindset.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The birth of hip-hop [for us] was based right here in Oakland, around Digital Underground,” he said. “Oakland was the perfect place. It was culturally diverse, but also musically rich. Trying to find a sound and build a brand, it was the best place we could’ve hoped to launch from.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as teenagers living together in the North Bay, the two would often record at a studio on 45th Street in North Oakland, and spend nights with Ray Luv’s uncle, who lived on 66th Avenue in East Oakland. Soon after, Shakur would move into his own apartment on MacArthur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937617\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937617\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-02-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ray Luv (center left) and Money B sit on stage near a sign unveiling for ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>By that time, the city was an established hub for artistry and activism. Within Oakland rap circles, Ray Luv credits Too $hort, Richie Rich, MC Hammer, Shock G, Money B, Chopmaster J and DJ Fuze as those who identified potential in Strictly Dope, and provided the group with encouragement and support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Oakland is also where Shakur’s sister Sekyiwa would eventually donate her time and resources to Roses in Concrete, a school named after a Tupac poem. And it’s in Oakland where the lasting influence of the Black Panther Party — of which Shakur’s mother, Afeni, was a member — permeated the community and infused Shakur’s spirit and lyrics. (Fred Hampton Jr., son of assassinated Black Panther deputy chairman Fred Hampton, attended Friday’s ceremony.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shakur often sprinkled local references throughout his songs and videos, including “\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927810/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-shakur-ethel-love\">Brenda’s Got a Baby\u003c/a>,” which was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13927810/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-shakur-ethel-love\">filmed in a downtown Oakland alley\u003c/a>. In the 1993 film \u003cem>Poetic Justice\u003c/em>, costarring Janet Jackson, Shakur plays a disillusioned postal worker who aspires to become a musician. In the semi-autobiographical narrative, he ditches a rote life elsewhere in order to pursue his creative dreams in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937619\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-11-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">E-40 speaks during a street renaming ceremony for Tupac Shakur Way in Oakland, Calif., on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>The Evolution of Tupac’s Legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In the past year, Shakur’s legacy has been repeatedly revisited. The Emmy-nominated Hulu series \u003cem>Dear Mama\u003c/em> chronicled Shakur’s relationship with his mother, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/23762/you-cant-kill-the-revolution-davey-d-on-tupacs-mother-afeni-shakur\">Afeni Shakur\u003c/a>, and multiple events commemorating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, including \u003ca href=\"https://thegrio.com/2023/09/15/rep-kamlager-dove-celebrates-50-years-of-hip-hop-on-anniversary-of-tupac-shakurs-death/\">congressional recognition\u003c/a>, have elevated Shakur’s importance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This year’s most seismic development, however, is the Sep. 29 arrest of Duane Keith Davis, the lead suspect accused in Shakur’s 1996 murder. On Nov. 2, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/us/tupac-murder-suspect-duane-davis-court-appearance/index.html\">Davis pleaded not guilty in a Las Vegas courtroom\u003c/a>, and at the time of this writing, the outcome is yet to be determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shooting is one of modern music’s biggest unsolved cases, further adding to the complexity of Shakur’s life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Tupac’s mother and family definitely want justice on his behalf. I want justice on his behalf,” Ray Luv said. “I hope they get the culprits and give us the story.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937624\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231103-TupakShakurWay-25-BL-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fatima Adcock poses for a selfie in front of the ‘Tupac Shakur Way’ in Oakland, Calif., after an unveiling ceremony on Nov. 3, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As was evident at Friday’s ceremony, despite his gangster image and oft-misinterpreted “T.H.U.G L.I.F.E” adage, Shakur regularly spoke about brotherly love, unity and peace — something for which Ray Luv and others hope he is equally remembered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want [Tupac Shakur Way] to be a safe space for women, children, human beings. We want to lead with that message of peace,” Ray Luv said.\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 great place to have a message like this from someone like Tupac.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "PHOTOS: Embracing Día de los Muertos in Oakland's Fruitvale District",
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"headTitle": "PHOTOS: Embracing Día de los Muertos in Oakland’s Fruitvale District | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>On Sunday, Oct. 29, the \u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/\">Unity Council\u003c/a>, an important cultural and resource hub in the Fruitvale District, orchestrated one of the Bay Area’s grandest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/dia-de-los-muertos\">Día de los Muertos\u003c/a> celebrations at Oakland’s Fruitvale Village. The non-profit has become the driving force behind this annual free extravaganza which draws nearly 100,000 attendees each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Danza Azteca, tours of altars (ofrendas), lowriders and street vendors, the festival provides space to utilize art and cultural traditions as tools for community healing and remembering late loved ones. After all, that’s what Día de los Muertos is all about — although it gets commonly mistaken as “Mexican Halloween.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937448\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937448\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raquel Gonzales (left) and Angeles Marquez attend the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Día de los Muertos is a Mexican tradition that dates back thousands of years to the Aztecs and other Indigenous communities in what is now central Mexico. These communities saw, and still see, death as an integral part of life. The tradition bridges the living and the deceased by using offerings, like a late loved one’s favorite food, cups of water, marigolds and more placed on a dedicated altar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the tradition became a mixture of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion, and Spanish culture. Since being blended into European religion, Día de los Muertos, originally honored during the summer season, now coincides with All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937447\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937447\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danza Azteca performs a traditional Aztec ceremony at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the Fruitvale streets brimmed with milky aromatic smoke, marigolds and sugar skulls, KQED’s Paloma Abarca and photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured the essence of Día de los Muertos, highlighting how participants pay tribute to their late loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937469\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937469\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sirena Covarrubias attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the second time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Covarrubias the look she wore to the festival was a way to pay homage to catrinas and honor her ancestors. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937479\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chloe Reyes (left) and her aunt Nevaeh Branco pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ‘I dress up every year because my grandmother loves everything about the culture and I thought this was a great way to honor her memory,’ Nevaeh Branco said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the third time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Día de los Muertos is special to Canales because it reminds her of growing up in Mexico and her cultural background. ‘Es una hermosa tradición,’ Canales said of the beautiful traditions she experienced celebrating the holiday in Mexico City. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval created an ofrenda to honor several members of her family at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937464\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathalie Castro poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Castro, celebrating Día de los Muertos allows her to feel connected to loved ones who have passed away and think about what it means to be an ancestor for future generations. ‘This is something that keeps us tied to the land and tied to each other,’ Castro said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karmen Gomez and her niece Berdie Farias pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Gomez has traveled from Stockton several times to attend the festival. ‘It’s one of my favorite festivals,’ Gomez said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937459\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937459\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evelyn Orantes poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Orantes works as a consultant for The Unity Council to coordinate the altars on display at the festival. She modeled her Día de los Muertos after a Catrina decoration she helped create for one of the booths at the festival. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937440\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A xoloitzcuintli roams the grounds of the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. According to Aztec mythology, xoloitzcuintli dogs are said to guard the living and guide souls through the underworld. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937453\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julie Palacios poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Palacios has attended the festival every year since 1994 and has enjoyed seeing the festival grow over the years. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937446\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937446\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danza Azteca performs a traditional Aztec ceremony at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval poses for a portrait in front of an ofrenda she created at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Her altar honors several members of her family, including her mother and grandparents. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erika Gil and Felipe Kishimoto Vieira pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ‘Día de los Muertos to me is just representing our culture,’ Erika Gil said. ‘Admiring our ancestors, our fallen ones and giving respect to them. Giving them a safe and loving passage to the afterlife.’ \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937484\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jose Paris traveled from Los Angeles to perform at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Paris, the holiday allows him to feel as though his ancestors are walking among him. ‘They are able to come and visit you and you feel their spirits,’ Jose Paris said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: Emily Honran, D’Angelo Ramirez, Victor Ramirez and Manny Ramirez pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937454\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937454\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adriana Gomez (left) and Carmen Diaz pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Celebrating the holiday reminds Gomez of growing up in Aguascalientes, Mexico. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937436\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marisela Chavez Nava made an ofrenda in honor of her son Eduardo Yobani Nava Chavez at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Several of her son’s belongings, including a motorcycle helmet signed by friends and family, adorn the altar. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937450\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: Hortensia Muñoz, Lulu ReBoyoso, Ana Picasso and Esther Brambila pose for a portrait in front the Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) ofrenda. MUA is a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women with a mission to grow personal and community power to achieve social and economic justice. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval created an ofrenda to honor several members of her family at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Indigenous rituals, face paintings and altars took over Oakland's Fruitvale Village at this year's festival. ",
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"title": "PHOTOS: Embracing Día de los Muertos in Oakland's Fruitvale District | KQED",
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"headline": "PHOTOS: Embracing Día de los Muertos in Oakland's Fruitvale District",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>On Sunday, Oct. 29, the \u003ca href=\"https://unitycouncil.org/\">Unity Council\u003c/a>, an important cultural and resource hub in the Fruitvale District, orchestrated one of the Bay Area’s grandest \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/dia-de-los-muertos\">Día de los Muertos\u003c/a> celebrations at Oakland’s Fruitvale Village. The non-profit has become the driving force behind this annual free extravaganza which draws nearly 100,000 attendees each year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with Danza Azteca, tours of altars (ofrendas), lowriders and street vendors, the festival provides space to utilize art and cultural traditions as tools for community healing and remembering late loved ones. After all, that’s what Día de los Muertos is all about — although it gets commonly mistaken as “Mexican Halloween.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937448\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937448\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-13-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Raquel Gonzales (left) and Angeles Marquez attend the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Día de los Muertos is a Mexican tradition that dates back thousands of years to the Aztecs and other Indigenous communities in what is now central Mexico. These communities saw, and still see, death as an integral part of life. The tradition bridges the living and the deceased by using offerings, like a late loved one’s favorite food, cups of water, marigolds and more placed on a dedicated altar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, the tradition became a mixture of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion, and Spanish culture. Since being blended into European religion, Día de los Muertos, originally honored during the summer season, now coincides with All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937447\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937447\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-12-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danza Azteca performs a traditional Aztec ceremony at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As the Fruitvale streets brimmed with milky aromatic smoke, marigolds and sugar skulls, KQED’s Paloma Abarca and photographer Estefany Gonzalez captured the essence of Día de los Muertos, highlighting how participants pay tribute to their late loved ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937469\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937469\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-37-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sirena Covarrubias attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the second time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Covarrubias the look she wore to the festival was a way to pay homage to catrinas and honor her ancestors. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937479\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-47-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chloe Reyes (left) and her aunt Nevaeh Branco pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ‘I dress up every year because my grandmother loves everything about the culture and I thought this was a great way to honor her memory,’ Nevaeh Branco said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937452\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-18-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amalia Canales attends the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale for the third time on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Día de los Muertos is special to Canales because it reminds her of growing up in Mexico and her cultural background. ‘Es una hermosa tradición,’ Canales said of the beautiful traditions she experienced celebrating the holiday in Mexico City. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937474\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-45-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval created an ofrenda to honor several members of her family at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937464\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937464\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-33-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nathalie Castro poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Castro, celebrating Día de los Muertos allows her to feel connected to loved ones who have passed away and think about what it means to be an ancestor for future generations. ‘This is something that keeps us tied to the land and tied to each other,’ Castro said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-29-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Karmen Gomez and her niece Berdie Farias pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Gomez has traveled from Stockton several times to attend the festival. ‘It’s one of my favorite festivals,’ Gomez said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937459\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937459\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-26-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Evelyn Orantes poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Orantes works as a consultant for The Unity Council to coordinate the altars on display at the festival. She modeled her Día de los Muertos after a Catrina decoration she helped create for one of the booths at the festival. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937440\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-5-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A xoloitzcuintli roams the grounds of the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. According to Aztec mythology, xoloitzcuintli dogs are said to guard the living and guide souls through the underworld. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937453\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937453\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-19-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Julie Palacios poses for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Palacios has attended the festival every year since 1994 and has enjoyed seeing the festival grow over the years. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937446\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937446\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-11-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danza Azteca performs a traditional Aztec ceremony at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937472\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-43-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval poses for a portrait in front of an ofrenda she created at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Her altar honors several members of her family, including her mother and grandparents. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937481\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937481\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-49-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Erika Gil and Felipe Kishimoto Vieira pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. ‘Día de los Muertos to me is just representing our culture,’ Erika Gil said. ‘Admiring our ancestors, our fallen ones and giving respect to them. Giving them a safe and loving passage to the afterlife.’ \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937484\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937484\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-41-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jose Paris traveled from Los Angeles to perform at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. For Paris, the holiday allows him to feel as though his ancestors are walking among him. ‘They are able to come and visit you and you feel their spirits,’ Jose Paris said. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937460\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-27-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: Emily Honran, D’Angelo Ramirez, Victor Ramirez and Manny Ramirez pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937454\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937454\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-21-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Adriana Gomez (left) and Carmen Diaz pose for a portrait at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Celebrating the holiday reminds Gomez of growing up in Aguascalientes, Mexico. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937436\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marisela Chavez Nava made an ofrenda in honor of her son Eduardo Yobani Nava Chavez at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. Several of her son’s belongings, including a motorcycle helmet signed by friends and family, adorn the altar. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937450\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-15-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left: Hortensia Muñoz, Lulu ReBoyoso, Ana Picasso and Esther Brambila pose for a portrait in front the Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) ofrenda. MUA is a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women with a mission to grow personal and community power to achieve social and economic justice. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937473\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-800x1200.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-44-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maricela Sandoval created an ofrenda to honor several members of her family at Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Meet the Emo Drag King Who's Bending the Gender Binary",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Born and raised in Oakland, Helixir Jynder Byntwell did drag as a hobby until August 2022. That’s when they quit their job, won the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfdragkingcontest.com/bios.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SF Drag King of the Year\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> competition, and became a professional king, all in the span of a week. Since then, they’ve joined the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://rebelkingsoakland.squarespace.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rebel Kings of Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a performance troupe based at the White Horse Bar. They’ve also participated in several well-attended performances in New York and in the Bay Area, most recently at the Castro Street Fair. Byntwell’s performances are always fun, always flamboyant, and more often than not, very emo.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When asked to talk about their relationship to emo and rock music, they said, “I’ve always been, like, ostracized for being Black and also being into rock… To then be on a stage and I’m like, lip synching to “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I Write Sins, Not Tragedies,”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like being validated and being seen. I love this music. These people love this music… I’m being celebrated in my fullness and not being made fun of.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/77/2023/10/Helixir-Byntwell-Chandelier-800x1198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Helixir Byntwell wearing a performance outfit with a false chest. (Kane C. Andrade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of course, being a Black, trans performer doesn’t come without its hardships. Byntwell credits a lot of their success to their drag father and fellow Rebel Kings of Oakland member, Vera. As they put it, having a drag family, or even a found family in general, is often a necessary resource for queer people, especially trans people, to find love and support outside of a childhood family that may not have been as forgiving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Byntwell, who goes by Jenji out of drag, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is also a \u003ca href=\"https://booksy.com/en-us/1045161_jenji-the-barber_barber-shop_134730_oakland\">barber\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, specializing in gender affirming hair cuts. They guarantee their clients a welcoming and inviting space, where people don’t have to worry about being judged for a chosen style, whether or not the style fits the public perception of someone’s gender. Leaving room for self-expression without unnecessary boundaries is central to the many ways in which Helixir Jynder Byntwell fosters joy for LGBTQ+ people in their community.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They describe their perception of queer joy, and how it feels to exist uninhibited: “I feel my happiest when I’m not self-conscious about how I look, what people are thinking about me, what I’m wearing, how this is sitting. It’s like, if I can’t be myself, then what am I doing. I don’t know, queers, we just do it right… We know what the risk is, but we have to be happy.”\u003c/span>\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=KQINC5517858615&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My mom told me a long time ago, you’re not for everybody and everybody’s not for you. And I think that helps me, especially in my art, because I’m like… If you don’t like it and you want me to be a certain way, then it’s not for you. And I’m comfortable to walk away because I’m not about to be untrue to, like- this is my art. I’m doing it for fun! So why would I like, be put into a box? Like we’re living outside the binary. So like, why keep going back?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hey listeners! My name is Sheree and I’m a production intern on Rightnowish. I’ll be your host for this episode.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since I moved to San Francisco, a lot of my time has been spent seeking a sense of belonging and community. Visiting the museum in the Castro, feeling the bass under my feet at Jolene’s, and watching drag kings perform at the White Horse Bar in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No matter where I go, nothing creates community more than finding people who make me feel welcome.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I spoke to Helixir Jynder Byntwell, who won SF’s 2022 Drag King of the Year. Even in times like \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">these\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with lawmakers trying to ban drag performances, there are so many places filled with love and understanding, and so many people creating queer joy for themselves and for others! Helixir is one of those people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I… I was doing, um, Oaklash, uh, this past May, and I was super… I was like, going through it. Life was life-ing. My situationship had ended, it was just bad. Everything was bad. And I.. I was super sad, but it was also like the best day because it was like, all my friends were here at this festival, and it’s the community celebrating drag in a time where like, we’re being attacked, you know, and we’re just being joyous and sharing our art with everyone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, we’re bending the gender binary with Helixir Jynder Byntwell. They’re a professional drag king, queer barber, and self-proclaimed emo daddy. We’ll talk about the art of drag performance, found family, and more, right after this.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year you won S.F. Drag King of the Year…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I wanna give it up, number one, this year’s drag king… Helixer!… \u003cem>[Crowd cheering and applause] \u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What changed for you after you won? Like, what was the turning point in that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Um, It… it wasn’t even just in drag, it was also like my personal life. Like, I had quit my job two days before I won the competition, and I didn’t know what my next step was and I’m a very, like, logical person. I never make, like, rash decisions. But, I quit my job and then two days later I won the competition and it was like affirmation that I was going in the right direction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, I started to move with the knowledge that I knew what was best for myself and that the confidence that I had really was self-assurance, because like, I had to believe in myself. I had to believe that it was possible for me to quit my job and then be a queer barber and a drag king.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Your name, Helixir Jynder Byntwell, is a play on words. It literally has the word gender bent in your name. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes! Thank you. People don’t be knowin. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Really? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Oh, that was the first thing I picked up on when I saw it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you. No, I appreciate that. Yeah. So.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So what is it about your name and the way you express yourself that brings you joy? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, Helixir, I wanted it to be a play on words, but also, like, clean enough to where I can, like, work anywhere. You know what I’m saying? So Helixir like, he licks her, if you nasty. Um, and then “Jynder Byntwell” I wanted people to know from my name that like… It’s not going to be like, I don’t know, like this hyper masculine drag king. It’s like I’m doing the whole gender bending thing and like, I’m doing it well. So like, gender bent well. I thought of it myself. \u003cem>[laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Um, and, I feel like every time I perform, I stay authentic to that. So it’s like… I always blend like, you know, I have like my masculine brows, but then I’ll have my feminine eyeshadow and then I’ll have masculine contour, but then I’ll add glitter. Then I got lip gloss, but I got my mustache. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I like getting to accentuate what I want to when I want to, and never feeling like I have to present a certain way because like, people have this expectation of like, what drag kings are. So, um, if you are more masculine leaning, you have to fight to express that masculinity. So, a lot of people think you have to dive deep and be like, I have to be like an alpha male. I got to be that guy. But I’m like, It’s okay to be a soft boy. Like, I’m sad. I cry all the time. \u003cem>[laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When thinking about masculinity, that is not something that is allowed. You’re not allowed to be soft. You’re not allowed to be un-manly or you should be stoic. And it’s like I’m showing people you can literally do whatever you want. Like, I look super masculine. And then when I walk to the bar, I’m like, ‘Excuse me, Sorry. Hello?’ You know, and it’s like, it’s okay. Like there are no rules. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was your, like, first in-person performance and how did it feel to perform, like, for people to their faces for the first time? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay, so my first in-person performance was November of 2020. I had just performed digitally before that. And so when you’re making a digital number, you can pause the camera, you can rerecord, you could change your outfit. But with live performance, what you see is what you get. So I was like, There is no room for error. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve since learned that like, I mean, I prefer live performance just because, like, you get to interact with the crowd and that’s where it’s at for me. Because I get people to, like, let loose and like, have a good time and like, either rock out or laugh or like, scream and it’s like… I had so much support backstage from Vera, Jota Mercury, Tyson Check-in, Luke Modelo. These are like all drag legends in the Bay Area that I didn’t even know. But, like, that was my first show and they were all just so welcoming. And when I went out there, I was doing Fall Out Boy, Where is Your Boy Tonight/Grand Theft Autumn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where is your boy tonight, I hope he is a gentleman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …Like one of those songs where you just rock out, you let loose. There’s, like, a guitar solo, and I brought my actual guitar. I was, like, running around and, like, the strap broke. But I was like, still, like, running around holding it and like, everybody singing along because, like, everybody’s emo. And, literally, like, the wave of adrenaline that goes through one’s body, like, so many of us are, like, self-conscious. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And we don’t want people to look at us or like, you know, like, we don’t want to become aware that we’re being observed by other people and being perceived. And so like to then put yourself on the spot when you like, you’re someone who’s socially anxious, you know, It’s like. It’s literally insane, but then you finish and you’re like woah. That was the best thing. You know what I mean? Like, it’s.. I can’t even describe like \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was about to ask how you would describe it. Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like, euphoric and. Even, like right before, like a like a gig that I’m super, super nervous to do. Right before I had to be like, look, you’re Helixir Jynder Byntwell. You know who you are. Like, don’t don’t start this. Like, you got this. I’m like, You’re that boy. Let’s go!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then I go out there, and then I have a great time. And it’s like when people know the song and they’re singing along. Sometimes people are like, ‘Oh, my God, that was my favorite song,’ you know? And when you’re able to connect with the art that you’re watching, it makes it that much better. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> How do you put your performances together? Like, from the outfits to the makeup to choosing the mixes… like, how does that process usually work? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Usually it starts with the song, like, I’ll hear a song. And then I can, like, see the choreo in my head. And then sometimes I want, like, specific moments to happen. So, like, let’s say, um, I do this cover of “Stacy’s Mom,” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[A jazz-style cover of Stacy’s Mom plays under the sound of cheering, and applause]\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …and since it’s old timey, I wear like, slacks, suspenders, a dress shirt, sometimes a tie. Um, a little newspaper boy hat, like the Kangol and like, sparkly shoes. And then there’s, like, a little, like, harmonica bit. And so I have, like, a harmonica in my pocket. And I take it out during it. I, like, bounce around and stuff. Depending on what the song’s talking about, I can usually build a story. You know, um, make a man out of you from Mulan. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mhmm. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> There’s a cover, [laughs] and it’s like a… it’s a emo cover. And that song is, like, about being in the military. So I wear, like, camo shorts, I wear the silicone chest, I wear like, a white tank top. And then I have, like, a bandana around my head. So I’m, like, walking around like a big meat head. And I’m like, being satirical about like… like the masculinity. It’s like, ‘Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?’ It’s like I’m really, like, showing how silly that is, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And like for the instrumental parts, I’m like, How can I fill this time? You know? ‘Cause you have to you have to do something, you can’t just stand there. Unless you want to and it’s, like, abstract. But yeah, I… like how can I feel up this time? And it’s like, I can do a back roll, I can do some push ups and like there’s like a shirt rip moment that I do because it’s like, super intense. And I try to think like, what will get like crowd reactions, you know, or what wouldn’t they expect.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in your instagram bio, you describe yourself as an emo daddy. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Tell me about your emo-ness. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay, so um. It’s weird like, everything that my drag is, is ironically turning into everything that I am in my like, personal life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s like, emo, it’s soft, it’s sensitive and… That being said, I’ve always been, like, ostracized for being Black and also being into rock. And so it’s like, being at somewhere like the Oasis and then performing for their emo nights and like, they’re booking me because, like, I have branded myself as like the emo daddy local sad boy. And it’s like to then be on a stage and I’m like, lip synching to “I write sins, not tragedies”. And everybody is cheering me on and, it’s like being validated and being seen and it’s like… I love this music. These people love this music. It’s so many people of color, so many queer people, and everyone’s like trans. And it’s like I’m being celebrated in my fullness and not being made fun of. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So much of my drag has been healing and there’s like, photos where I’m like full emo rage, like hands on my head, like mid scream, and people are like throwing up like the rock sign and like screaming and like holding their friends. And it’s like, that is what it’s about. Like, it’s about community, it’s about feeling seen. It’s about expressing who you are.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Growing up and doing drag and finding my community. It’s like we’re all the people that were made fun of. And it’s like, yeah, like we were cool and everybody else wasn’t. And like, they couldn’t see that we were cool, but now we found each other and there’s strength in that. We’re creating art. We’re like, making it so that other, like… like youth now can see us living in our authenticity and be like, ‘That’s possible.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Speaking of just being.. being a black queer performer, how do you find that affects how you’re perceived in drag? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m very, like, flamboyant, you know? And I feel like sometimes people don’t see that or they don’t want to see my femininity because they’re focusing on the masculinity because, like, they perceive me to be female and I guess like, assume like I’m a lesbian or assume like, well, since I’m like, not born male, I must want to be like extreme male, you know, same thing like when you’re like a lesbian and people are like, ‘Oh, uh, you want to be a man, right? So let me treat you like you’re a man.’ And it’s like I’m a drag king But I never said like, I was trying to be this, like, hyper dude, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like so many different people who are now performers have been like, you showed me. I don’t have to be like like, I don’t have to play up toxic masculinity to be a drag king, and I thought that’s what I had to do. And I’m like, I didn’t use to perform female songs because I was afraid of like losing that, like, masculinity aspect. But it’s like, who cares?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Helixir is also a member of the Rebel Kings of Oakland, a drag king troupe that’s been active for a little over ten years now. Since 2010, the Rebel Kings have performed twice a month at the White Horse Bar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though they welcome experienced kings and newcomers alike, the whole point of all of their performances is to show people a “gender-bending exploration through performance art.” I watched one of their shows, and at the end, all of the performers got up on stage and took this big, happy, drag family photo, with the drag parents standing in the center.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I was looking for people to interview, someone gave me the contacts of you and two other drag kings. One of them was Lotus Boy and the other was Vera. And Vera left a note saying that their kids come first. And so I’m wondering, how did you find your drag family? What did it feel like to find them?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay, so I was a drag orphan for a long time. I didn’t have a drag parent. And so, the first day that I went out in drag in person outside of my house was March 2020. That’s when I met Vera. And so I expressed interest in, you know, performing for the Rebel Kings. And then they told me to sign up for the waitlist and then the… the shutdown happened. And so when they had their virtual show, Vera reached out to me. And so, like even my first in-person show, like Vera invited me to do so it’s like… As much as they are like, a great friend to me, like they do feel paternal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being queer like I said, being black, being AFAB… It’s like you don’t always find… being trans, like you don’t always find community. And especially like just being a person on earth. It’s like you don’t always get support. Like a lot of us are so isolated, especially after like, the last three years. So it’s like, when you find a complete stranger who like,. Shows up and supports you for no reason other than the fact that, like they appreciate your art and like, they literally just want to see you shine. It’s like [sighs] Oh, you know what you call it, but it’s just like it’s just love.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes, like, our own parents don’t accept us. So when you have, like, someone else who’s not even, like, your biological family being like, ‘I accept you and I love you,’ like, that can literally change, like the course of people’s whole, you know, everything. Yeah, like having a drag family’s literally better than a high paying job. [laughs] In this economy, that’s saying a lot. [laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What makes the Bay Area drag scene unique?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area is very good at like, being equal, you know what I mean? So it’s like when you’re booked, you don’t feel like, ‘I shouldn’t be in the dressing room because I’m a king and I need to earn my spot.’ It’s like, I’m a person. People are saying hi to me, they’re making sure I’m taken care of. And we’re very like, nurturing like people, um, whether it’s showrunners or like the owners or like the bartenders. Everybody takes care of each other. They’re like, Do you need anything? Do you need help? Like all of us help each other backstage, like, get ready. And that’s something my mom, um, has commented on, coming to my shows with me is that when you’re backstage, everybody’s helping everybody. Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, well, you’re… you’re another performer. So, you know, I’m about my coin and I can’t help you’ cause, you know, it’s like, no…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was a drag queen. Um, we were doing a show together. It’s Ida Knowe, and she was going to do a moment where she puts on roller skates. So she comes backstage, like during the chorus, like where it’s like, instrumental. Then me and my drag son, Fender, drop to our knees backstage, rip off her boots, put on the roller skates, tie them, and then like, send her out there. And it’s like she could have had to do that by herself. But it’s like, we are such a community out here where it’s like, we’re going to make your number as good as it can be. Like as fast as, like, efficient. Because we want your art to turn out how you want it in your head because, like, it’s your brainchild, you know? So, like, we’re really out here just trying to make it work for each other. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How would you describe queer joy, and what does that feel like for you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Queer joy is existing, completely uninhibited, unrestricted and fully. Like before I knew just like, just how queer I was or like that I was trans. Every time I would go to the Castro and I was in a gay club, I would just feel like, so at home, so safe. Everybody just wants to have a great time. Everybody’s like checking on each other. Like, our community takes care of each other. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel my happiest when I’m not self-conscious about how I look, what people are thinking about me, what I’m wearing, how this is sitting. It’s like, if I can’t be myself, then what am I doing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t know, queers, we just do it right. We’re just like, we know what the risk is, but we have to be happy. And I feel like specifically queer joy is like a form of like, revolution because it’s like… The world is trying to beat us down. And like, despite that, we’re still rising and we’re still showing up and we’re still existing and, like, smiling and laughing and loving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d like to give a big thank you to Helixir Jynder Byntwell. Your performances and your flamboyant, colorful drag is masculine, feminine, funny, and captivating all at once. They’re also a barber at Salon 3155 on Mission Street, specializing in gender affirming haircuts. You can book an appointment with them on instagram at jenjithebarber, spelled J-E-N-J-I. You can \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">also \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">watch them perform with Rebel Kings of Oakland, or you can check out their profile for more updates on when they’ll be performing near you.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t forget to follow their main profile on instagram at Helixirdrag. That’s H-E-L-I-X-I-R D-R-A-G.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, I want to shoutout the people who helped make this happen. Thanks for not making me get y’all coffee. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This Rightnowish episode was hosted by me, Sheree Bishop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beale is our engineer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team also includes Pendarvis Harshaw, Marisol Medina Cadena, and Xorje Olivares\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Born and raised in Oakland, Helixir Jynder Byntwell did drag as a hobby until August 2022. That’s when they quit their job, won the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfdragkingcontest.com/bios.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">SF Drag King of the Year\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> competition, and became a professional king, all in the span of a week. Since then, they’ve joined the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://rebelkingsoakland.squarespace.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rebel Kings of Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a performance troupe based at the White Horse Bar. They’ve also participated in several well-attended performances in New York and in the Bay Area, most recently at the Castro Street Fair. Byntwell’s performances are always fun, always flamboyant, and more often than not, very emo.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When asked to talk about their relationship to emo and rock music, they said, “I’ve always been, like, ostracized for being Black and also being into rock… To then be on a stage and I’m like, lip synching to “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I Write Sins, Not Tragedies,”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like being validated and being seen. I love this music. These people love this music… I’m being celebrated in my fullness and not being made fun of.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_955\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-955\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/77/2023/10/Helixir-Byntwell-Chandelier-800x1198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1198\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Helixir Byntwell wearing a performance outfit with a false chest. (Kane C. Andrade)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Of course, being a Black, trans performer doesn’t come without its hardships. Byntwell credits a lot of their success to their drag father and fellow Rebel Kings of Oakland member, Vera. As they put it, having a drag family, or even a found family in general, is often a necessary resource for queer people, especially trans people, to find love and support outside of a childhood family that may not have been as forgiving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Byntwell, who goes by Jenji out of drag, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">is also a \u003ca href=\"https://booksy.com/en-us/1045161_jenji-the-barber_barber-shop_134730_oakland\">barber\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, specializing in gender affirming hair cuts. They guarantee their clients a welcoming and inviting space, where people don’t have to worry about being judged for a chosen style, whether or not the style fits the public perception of someone’s gender. Leaving room for self-expression without unnecessary boundaries is central to the many ways in which Helixir Jynder Byntwell fosters joy for LGBTQ+ people in their community.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They describe their perception of queer joy, and how it feels to exist uninhibited: “I feel my happiest when I’m not self-conscious about how I look, what people are thinking about me, what I’m wearing, how this is sitting. It’s like, if I can’t be myself, then what am I doing. I don’t know, queers, we just do it right… We know what the risk is, but we have to be happy.”\u003c/span>\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=KQINC5517858615&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My mom told me a long time ago, you’re not for everybody and everybody’s not for you. And I think that helps me, especially in my art, because I’m like… If you don’t like it and you want me to be a certain way, then it’s not for you. And I’m comfortable to walk away because I’m not about to be untrue to, like- this is my art. I’m doing it for fun! So why would I like, be put into a box? Like we’re living outside the binary. So like, why keep going back?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>[Music]\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hey listeners! My name is Sheree and I’m a production intern on Rightnowish. I’ll be your host for this episode.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since I moved to San Francisco, a lot of my time has been spent seeking a sense of belonging and community. Visiting the museum in the Castro, feeling the bass under my feet at Jolene’s, and watching drag kings perform at the White Horse Bar in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">No matter where I go, nothing creates community more than finding people who make me feel welcome.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I spoke to Helixir Jynder Byntwell, who won SF’s 2022 Drag King of the Year. Even in times like \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">these\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, with lawmakers trying to ban drag performances, there are so many places filled with love and understanding, and so many people creating queer joy for themselves and for others! Helixir is one of those people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I… I was doing, um, Oaklash, uh, this past May, and I was super… I was like, going through it. Life was life-ing. My situationship had ended, it was just bad. Everything was bad. And I.. I was super sad, but it was also like the best day because it was like, all my friends were here at this festival, and it’s the community celebrating drag in a time where like, we’re being attacked, you know, and we’re just being joyous and sharing our art with everyone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today, we’re bending the gender binary with Helixir Jynder Byntwell. They’re a professional drag king, queer barber, and self-proclaimed emo daddy. We’ll talk about the art of drag performance, found family, and more, right after this.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Last year you won S.F. Drag King of the Year…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I wanna give it up, number one, this year’s drag king… Helixer!… \u003cem>[Crowd cheering and applause] \u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What changed for you after you won? Like, what was the turning point in that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Um, It… it wasn’t even just in drag, it was also like my personal life. Like, I had quit my job two days before I won the competition, and I didn’t know what my next step was and I’m a very, like, logical person. I never make, like, rash decisions. But, I quit my job and then two days later I won the competition and it was like affirmation that I was going in the right direction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, I started to move with the knowledge that I knew what was best for myself and that the confidence that I had really was self-assurance, because like, I had to believe in myself. I had to believe that it was possible for me to quit my job and then be a queer barber and a drag king.\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Your name, Helixir Jynder Byntwell, is a play on words. It literally has the word gender bent in your name. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes! Thank you. People don’t be knowin. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Really? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Oh, that was the first thing I picked up on when I saw it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Thank you. No, I appreciate that. Yeah. So.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. So what is it about your name and the way you express yourself that brings you joy? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So, Helixir, I wanted it to be a play on words, but also, like, clean enough to where I can, like, work anywhere. You know what I’m saying? So Helixir like, he licks her, if you nasty. Um, and then “Jynder Byntwell” I wanted people to know from my name that like… It’s not going to be like, I don’t know, like this hyper masculine drag king. It’s like I’m doing the whole gender bending thing and like, I’m doing it well. So like, gender bent well. I thought of it myself. \u003cem>[laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Um, and, I feel like every time I perform, I stay authentic to that. So it’s like… I always blend like, you know, I have like my masculine brows, but then I’ll have my feminine eyeshadow and then I’ll have masculine contour, but then I’ll add glitter. Then I got lip gloss, but I got my mustache. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I like getting to accentuate what I want to when I want to, and never feeling like I have to present a certain way because like, people have this expectation of like, what drag kings are. So, um, if you are more masculine leaning, you have to fight to express that masculinity. So, a lot of people think you have to dive deep and be like, I have to be like an alpha male. I got to be that guy. But I’m like, It’s okay to be a soft boy. Like, I’m sad. I cry all the time. \u003cem>[laughs]\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When thinking about masculinity, that is not something that is allowed. You’re not allowed to be soft. You’re not allowed to be un-manly or you should be stoic. And it’s like I’m showing people you can literally do whatever you want. Like, I look super masculine. And then when I walk to the bar, I’m like, ‘Excuse me, Sorry. Hello?’ You know, and it’s like, it’s okay. Like there are no rules. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What was your, like, first in-person performance and how did it feel to perform, like, for people to their faces for the first time? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay, so my first in-person performance was November of 2020. I had just performed digitally before that. And so when you’re making a digital number, you can pause the camera, you can rerecord, you could change your outfit. But with live performance, what you see is what you get. So I was like, There is no room for error. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve since learned that like, I mean, I prefer live performance just because, like, you get to interact with the crowd and that’s where it’s at for me. Because I get people to, like, let loose and like, have a good time and like, either rock out or laugh or like, scream and it’s like… I had so much support backstage from Vera, Jota Mercury, Tyson Check-in, Luke Modelo. These are like all drag legends in the Bay Area that I didn’t even know. But, like, that was my first show and they were all just so welcoming. And when I went out there, I was doing Fall Out Boy, Where is Your Boy Tonight/Grand Theft Autumn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Where is your boy tonight, I hope he is a gentleman.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …Like one of those songs where you just rock out, you let loose. There’s, like, a guitar solo, and I brought my actual guitar. I was, like, running around and, like, the strap broke. But I was like, still, like, running around holding it and like, everybody singing along because, like, everybody’s emo. And, literally, like, the wave of adrenaline that goes through one’s body, like, so many of us are, like, self-conscious. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And we don’t want people to look at us or like, you know, like, we don’t want to become aware that we’re being observed by other people and being perceived. And so like to then put yourself on the spot when you like, you’re someone who’s socially anxious, you know, It’s like. It’s literally insane, but then you finish and you’re like woah. That was the best thing. You know what I mean? Like, it’s.. I can’t even describe like \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was about to ask how you would describe it. Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s like, euphoric and. Even, like right before, like a like a gig that I’m super, super nervous to do. Right before I had to be like, look, you’re Helixir Jynder Byntwell. You know who you are. Like, don’t don’t start this. Like, you got this. I’m like, You’re that boy. Let’s go!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then I go out there, and then I have a great time. And it’s like when people know the song and they’re singing along. Sometimes people are like, ‘Oh, my God, that was my favorite song,’ you know? And when you’re able to connect with the art that you’re watching, it makes it that much better. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> How do you put your performances together? Like, from the outfits to the makeup to choosing the mixes… like, how does that process usually work? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Usually it starts with the song, like, I’ll hear a song. And then I can, like, see the choreo in my head. And then sometimes I want, like, specific moments to happen. So, like, let’s say, um, I do this cover of “Stacy’s Mom,” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[A jazz-style cover of Stacy’s Mom plays under the sound of cheering, and applause]\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …and since it’s old timey, I wear like, slacks, suspenders, a dress shirt, sometimes a tie. Um, a little newspaper boy hat, like the Kangol and like, sparkly shoes. And then there’s, like, a little, like, harmonica bit. And so I have, like, a harmonica in my pocket. And I take it out during it. I, like, bounce around and stuff. Depending on what the song’s talking about, I can usually build a story. You know, um, make a man out of you from Mulan. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mhmm. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> There’s a cover, [laughs] and it’s like a… it’s a emo cover. And that song is, like, about being in the military. So I wear, like, camo shorts, I wear the silicone chest, I wear like, a white tank top. And then I have, like, a bandana around my head. So I’m, like, walking around like a big meat head. And I’m like, being satirical about like… like the masculinity. It’s like, ‘Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?’ It’s like I’m really, like, showing how silly that is, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And like for the instrumental parts, I’m like, How can I fill this time? You know? ‘Cause you have to you have to do something, you can’t just stand there. Unless you want to and it’s, like, abstract. But yeah, I… like how can I feel up this time? And it’s like, I can do a back roll, I can do some push ups and like there’s like a shirt rip moment that I do because it’s like, super intense. And I try to think like, what will get like crowd reactions, you know, or what wouldn’t they expect.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in your instagram bio, you describe yourself as an emo daddy. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Tell me about your emo-ness. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Okay, so um. It’s weird like, everything that my drag is, is ironically turning into everything that I am in my like, personal life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s like, emo, it’s soft, it’s sensitive and… That being said, I’ve always been, like, ostracized for being Black and also being into rock. And so it’s like, being at somewhere like the Oasis and then performing for their emo nights and like, they’re booking me because, like, I have branded myself as like the emo daddy local sad boy. And it’s like to then be on a stage and I’m like, lip synching to “I write sins, not tragedies”. And everybody is cheering me on and, it’s like being validated and being seen and it’s like… I love this music. These people love this music. It’s so many people of color, so many queer people, and everyone’s like trans. And it’s like I’m being celebrated in my fullness and not being made fun of. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So much of my drag has been healing and there’s like, photos where I’m like full emo rage, like hands on my head, like mid scream, and people are like throwing up like the rock sign and like screaming and like holding their friends. And it’s like, that is what it’s about. Like, it’s about community, it’s about feeling seen. It’s about expressing who you are.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Growing up and doing drag and finding my community. It’s like we’re all the people that were made fun of. And it’s like, yeah, like we were cool and everybody else wasn’t. And like, they couldn’t see that we were cool, but now we found each other and there’s strength in that. We’re creating art. We’re like, making it so that other, like… like youth now can see us living in our authenticity and be like, ‘That’s possible.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Speaking of just being.. being a black queer performer, how do you find that affects how you’re perceived in drag? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m very, like, flamboyant, you know? And I feel like sometimes people don’t see that or they don’t want to see my femininity because they’re focusing on the masculinity because, like, they perceive me to be female and I guess like, assume like I’m a lesbian or assume like, well, since I’m like, not born male, I must want to be like extreme male, you know, same thing like when you’re like a lesbian and people are like, ‘Oh, uh, you want to be a man, right? So let me treat you like you’re a man.’ And it’s like I’m a drag king But I never said like, I was trying to be this, like, hyper dude, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like so many different people who are now performers have been like, you showed me. I don’t have to be like like, I don’t have to play up toxic masculinity to be a drag king, and I thought that’s what I had to do. And I’m like, I didn’t use to perform female songs because I was afraid of like losing that, like, masculinity aspect. But it’s like, who cares?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Helixir is also a member of the Rebel Kings of Oakland, a drag king troupe that’s been active for a little over ten years now. Since 2010, the Rebel Kings have performed twice a month at the White Horse Bar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though they welcome experienced kings and newcomers alike, the whole point of all of their performances is to show people a “gender-bending exploration through performance art.” I watched one of their shows, and at the end, all of the performers got up on stage and took this big, happy, drag family photo, with the drag parents standing in the center.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I was looking for people to interview, someone gave me the contacts of you and two other drag kings. One of them was Lotus Boy and the other was Vera. And Vera left a note saying that their kids come first. And so I’m wondering, how did you find your drag family? What did it feel like to find them?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay, so I was a drag orphan for a long time. I didn’t have a drag parent. And so, the first day that I went out in drag in person outside of my house was March 2020. That’s when I met Vera. And so I expressed interest in, you know, performing for the Rebel Kings. And then they told me to sign up for the waitlist and then the… the shutdown happened. And so when they had their virtual show, Vera reached out to me. And so, like even my first in-person show, like Vera invited me to do so it’s like… As much as they are like, a great friend to me, like they do feel paternal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Being queer like I said, being black, being AFAB… It’s like you don’t always find… being trans, like you don’t always find community. And especially like just being a person on earth. It’s like you don’t always get support. Like a lot of us are so isolated, especially after like, the last three years. So it’s like, when you find a complete stranger who like,. Shows up and supports you for no reason other than the fact that, like they appreciate your art and like, they literally just want to see you shine. It’s like [sighs] Oh, you know what you call it, but it’s just like it’s just love.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sometimes, like, our own parents don’t accept us. So when you have, like, someone else who’s not even, like, your biological family being like, ‘I accept you and I love you,’ like, that can literally change, like the course of people’s whole, you know, everything. Yeah, like having a drag family’s literally better than a high paying job. [laughs] In this economy, that’s saying a lot. [laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What makes the Bay Area drag scene unique?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Bay Area is very good at like, being equal, you know what I mean? So it’s like when you’re booked, you don’t feel like, ‘I shouldn’t be in the dressing room because I’m a king and I need to earn my spot.’ It’s like, I’m a person. People are saying hi to me, they’re making sure I’m taken care of. And we’re very like, nurturing like people, um, whether it’s showrunners or like the owners or like the bartenders. Everybody takes care of each other. They’re like, Do you need anything? Do you need help? Like all of us help each other backstage, like, get ready. And that’s something my mom, um, has commented on, coming to my shows with me is that when you’re backstage, everybody’s helping everybody. Nobody’s like, ‘Oh, well, you’re… you’re another performer. So, you know, I’m about my coin and I can’t help you’ cause, you know, it’s like, no…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was a drag queen. Um, we were doing a show together. It’s Ida Knowe, and she was going to do a moment where she puts on roller skates. So she comes backstage, like during the chorus, like where it’s like, instrumental. Then me and my drag son, Fender, drop to our knees backstage, rip off her boots, put on the roller skates, tie them, and then like, send her out there. And it’s like she could have had to do that by herself. But it’s like, we are such a community out here where it’s like, we’re going to make your number as good as it can be. Like as fast as, like, efficient. Because we want your art to turn out how you want it in your head because, like, it’s your brainchild, you know? So, like, we’re really out here just trying to make it work for each other. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How would you describe queer joy, and what does that feel like for you?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Queer joy is existing, completely uninhibited, unrestricted and fully. Like before I knew just like, just how queer I was or like that I was trans. Every time I would go to the Castro and I was in a gay club, I would just feel like, so at home, so safe. Everybody just wants to have a great time. Everybody’s like checking on each other. Like, our community takes care of each other. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Helixir Byntwell: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I feel my happiest when I’m not self-conscious about how I look, what people are thinking about me, what I’m wearing, how this is sitting. It’s like, if I can’t be myself, then what am I doing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t know, queers, we just do it right. We’re just like, we know what the risk is, but we have to be happy. And I feel like specifically queer joy is like a form of like, revolution because it’s like… The world is trying to beat us down. And like, despite that, we’re still rising and we’re still showing up and we’re still existing and, like, smiling and laughing and loving.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Sheree Bishop: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d like to give a big thank you to Helixir Jynder Byntwell. Your performances and your flamboyant, colorful drag is masculine, feminine, funny, and captivating all at once. They’re also a barber at Salon 3155 on Mission Street, specializing in gender affirming haircuts. You can book an appointment with them on instagram at jenjithebarber, spelled J-E-N-J-I. You can \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">also \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">watch them perform with Rebel Kings of Oakland, or you can check out their profile for more updates on when they’ll be performing near you.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don’t forget to follow their main profile on instagram at Helixirdrag. That’s H-E-L-I-X-I-R D-R-A-G.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, I want to shoutout the people who helped make this happen. Thanks for not making me get y’all coffee. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This Rightnowish episode was hosted by me, Sheree Bishop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chris Hambrick is our editor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beale is our engineer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Rightnowish team also includes Pendarvis Harshaw, Marisol Medina Cadena, and Xorje Olivares\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Cesar Saldaña, and Holly Kernan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production.\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"slug": "the-hip-hop-photographer-who-makes-guests-feel-at-home",
"title": "The Hip-Hop Photographer Who Makes Guests Feel At Home",
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"headTitle": "The Hip-Hop Photographer Who Makes Guests Feel At Home | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cem>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside of a classic Queen Anne Victorian in West Oakland, photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tracibartlow/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Traci Bartlow\u003c/a> displays beautifully framed images of the people who shaped hip-hop culture here in the Bay Area, and across the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her exhibition, \u003cem>Oakland Picture Lady: Tales of the 90’s Girl\u003c/em>, features photos of Outkast and Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes and ODB, alongside images of the Luniz and Shock-G, as well as E-40 and The Click.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the photos tell a story about what life was like in growing up in Oakland, it’s her house that tells \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CxjCC5Uv62l/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">the complex story of multiple generations of Black folks\u003c/a>, land ownership and community appreciation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Traci is the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.b-lovesguesthouse.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">B-Love’s Guesthouse\u003c/a>, which is a photography museum and a boutique hotel. With its picturesque front porch and flourishing garden in the back, the building features seven different rooms that folks can rent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13920339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13920339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Traci Bartlow holds up an image of the wash house her mother once owned in East Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traci Bartlow holds up an image of the washhouse her mother once owned in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://www.alvinailey.org/school\">Ailey School\u003c/a> graduate turned \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjBa6yqRau4\">Emmy-winning dancer\u003c/a> and choreographer, Traci fell in love with the arts through what she experienced in her neighborhood as a child. Block parties and family functions introduced her to her love of dance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in East Oakland, she also saw firsthand the importance of a neighborhood hub by watching the multiple ways people would use her mother’s washhouse. It wasn’t just a laundromat but a corner store, a place to get your prom dress made or pick up your Avon order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She acquired her current home from the late Eddie Mae Holmes, a Black woman who once owned multiple properties in West Oakland. And Traci envisioned using the space for the purposes of artistic expression and community gatherings, including showcasing her work. Now B-Love’s Guesthouse stands as a home for hip-hop history and a safe haven for folks to come together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13920342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13920342 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Traci Bartlow.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traci Bartlow sits on the stairwell of her Queen Ann Victorian home in West Oakland \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp> \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=KQINC3179587234&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This episode originally aired on October 14, 2022 .\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena, Producer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hey Rightnowish listeners, it’s Marisol Medina-Cadena. As we continue to honor 50 Years of Hip-Hop, we’re bringing you an episode from our archive featuring dancer and photographer Traci Bartlow.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traci documented Bay Area dancers, rappers, and dj’s in the 90’s and still hasn’t put the camera down. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This summer, the inaugural Bay Area Hip Hop Archives honored Traci Bartlow for her contributions to the region’s Hip Hop scene. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Pendarvis Harshaw is gonna take it from here, enjoy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">] \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mic, mic check one, mic check two. Are we here? All right we’re here…Rightnowish. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Street ambience ]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Do you know what type of tree it is?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s called a bottle brush tree.Usually it’s full of these bright red flowers with skinny pistils and the hummingbirds love it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Why start here on your tour? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s in the shade and it’s a moment to get a feel for the house and the neighborhood. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey y’all, what’s happening? You’re listening to Rightnowish, a podcast about arts and culture in the bay area. I’m your partna Pen…Pendarvis Harshaw. And today, we’re gonna spend some time in West Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The neighborhood looks hella different than it did when I was coming up, but all is not lost. There’s still places and people that have weathered the market forces to maintain the character of the area. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like this Victorian house I’m standing in front of with today’s guest, Traci Bartlow. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is a Queen Anne Victorian house and it was built in 1895. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s painted white with a mix of soft yellow and sky blue accents. Potted roses and succulents line the stairwell.. and it’s got this half arch that extends from the porch and frames the door, almost like a house you’d see in a storybook. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It seems like they wanted to make it look like a castle! You know, like with the high ceilings, this beautiful arc, all of this really unique molding on the house. Everything is really grand. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci’s home is also a boutique hotel called B-Love’s Guesthouse, where you can rent a room for a day or two. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> B-Love’s Guesthouse has served as a healing space and a respite in many different ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s also a photography museum where you could spend an hour or two just soaking up the rich history. This month, Traci is exhibiting photos she shot of the Town, including images that graced the pages of historic magazines like The Source and Rap Pages.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This image here is the Hobo Junction. And I love this image because they’re selling their tapes out of a box on Telegraph Avenue. In front of the record store! That’s how we did in the nineties.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She had a front row seat to the artists who shaped both the Bay Area hip hop scene and the national hip hop scene. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These pictures are fun! Busta Rhymes and ODB. This was on the set of Busta’s music video. “Woo-ha! Got You All In Check.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay yeah.. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes, so he shot the video in \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco, and so I came out to capture photographs and… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s tight as hell. I didn’t know that.. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yep! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That’s Isha B doing ODB’s hair?! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Isha B did ODB’s hair?? What?? That’s crazy!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yep, classic history!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Woah, okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, today we’re focused on Traci Bartlow’s dope photo archive and the story behind the place where these photos are housed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So wipe your kicks at the door, hang up your coat, relax your shoulders,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and take a deep breath: we’re posting up at B-Love’s Guesthouse. Right after this…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [Outdoor Ambience]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Just a few blocks from the women of the Black Panther Party mural and west Oakland Bart station is Traci Bartlow’s home and hotel. It’s a residential street with lots of history… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I acquired this house in 2007 and I acquired the house from a team of people that would buy houses, flip them, and then sell them. They bought the house from a woman named Eddie Mae Holmes. And Ms. Holmes was an African-American woman that came to West Oakland when she was 14 years old. And, um, through her family ownership, she acquired this house, the house I now own, this house on the corner. And in 1965, she had that apartment building around the corner built and on the lower level of the apartment building, she had Holmes Barber Shop. So Ms.Holmes is one of those black women in the community that was providing in so many different ways for everyone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ms. Holmes was my friend! I used to make ginger tea and go sit in the kitchen in her house and we would watch The View in the mornings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cem>]\u003c/em> Okay! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She was my partna! And she was just really amazed by me like, ‘Oh, this is who bought the house?’ And so she was really encouraging to me as a property owner. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">About 15 years ago, Traci converted her home into a guesthouse. People can choose from one of seven rooms for an overnight stay. And at the same time, folks can enjoy the framed photos from Traci’s archives. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay here is B-Love’s Guesthouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci leads me to the kitchenette of the downstairs guest house. Above a small dining room table they’re framed black and white images of kids. I see little girls with barrettes in their hair. In another image, the camera is pointed toward a window sill where a boy with a D.A.R.E. t-shirt is joined by family members, as he looks directly into the camera while eating his cup of noodles. In the background of these images are the streets and structures of the houses in East Oakland– they too are featured characters in the composition of these images. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This photo collection. Ah, this all from the neighborhood? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are from my neighborhood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The brick cell phone? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I mean, the hairdo, of course, in the fashion. But the brick cell phone and the leaning like “Talk to me and Imma talk back.” That’s what she looks like. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This one. This one as well with the cross colors and then this Benz and even the Lack behind it\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The photos are a time machine, instantly transporting me back to the East Oakland that I knew as a youth. Outfits that my sister used to rock. And facial expressions looking like kids I used to kick it with. Squinting, I look for a familiar face or two.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are people that I grew up with. You know, we went to middle school and high school together. My mother owned the laundromat on 98th and Birch, and so everyone would come and do their laundry at my mom’s laundromat. And her business wasn’t just where you can do your laundry. It was like a community center \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where my mom had a sewing machine in the corner and she would do alterations and she would make prom dresses and make outfits for people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She also sold Avon, and um we had a little store in the back where you could buy candy and chips and sandwiches, and I would make homemade cookies and we would have those ghetto Icees, you know, like Kool-Aid in a cup. So people were always coming to the laundromat. They were like, Miss Bartlow, did you? Can you hem the skirt? And is my Avon ready? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taken by the beauty of her community and the joy of capturing it on film, Traci started a photography business, shooting people’s portraits and printing them for $2. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And if I didn’t see people in the neighborhood, when I would bring them, I would be like, ‘Oh, stop by the wash house and pick up your order of photos.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Even before she got into photography, Traci was already into the arts. At age 19, Traci was awarded a scholarship to study dance at New York’s Alvin Ailey Dance Center. A dancer since a kid, she was inspired by both the entertainers she saw on TV and the way folks moved in her community– the family gatherings and community kickbacks–so, this was a dream come true. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is a picture of my mom escorting me to audition for the Alvin Ailey School when I was 19 years old. We’re at the 34th Street Station in New York City. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And she’s beaming. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She’s beaming! Yes! My mom was very supportive of my dance career.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After finishing the two year professional dance training program, she took performing gigs across the globe. One thing led to another and Traci dabbled in modeling before picking up the camera herself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I would also find myself at modeling shoots and just be like, ‘What kind of light is that? Oh, that’s a diffuser? What does that do?’ So I was interested in the hardware of photography. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was just like this natural progression of me knowing about photography and wanting to learn more and also the way I would study magazine layouts. Then I had this eye for how I wanted to capture a photograph. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci made her way back to Oakland and this time she \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">really\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> picked up the film camera. She saw the beauty and life in her neighbors and wanted to document that with the same eye and artfulness that fashion magazine photographers did. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> My neighbors were amused with me. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like, ‘You’ve been living in New York City. Oh you want us to pose?’ Like, so I would always have my camera. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If it was a holiday, a cook, a cookout, kind of holiday. Memorial Day, 4th of July. I would just come outside and take pictures and hang out. So when they saw me, they’re like, ‘Heyyyy! \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Picture time! Yeah, here come the photo lady, l\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">et’s get ready. She’s going to take our picture!’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci’s background in dance soon became the focus of her photography. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m self-taught, so I started photographing other dancers. And you’ll see many images from this photo shoot, because this was an assignment I gave myself to practice with high speed film. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We make our way from guest room to guest room, photos hung everywhere. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s this one black and white image of teenage b-boy dancers in throwback gear: one is rocking a visor, another in a pair of Marvin the martian shorts– just dripping with youthful 90s flavor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In front of a brick wall, one guy is doing a crazy handstand and the other is seen jumping 3 feet off the ground hitting a pose. In spite of all the movement, everything is captured in crisp detail, no blur. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And the dancers are two of the members of Housing Authority. And Housing Authority was this bad ass crew of all male dancers from Oakland and Richmond, Black and brown men. And they were running things in the nineties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> One of the dancers in the photo is Fly Styles who went on to be a successful backup dancer and choreographer for musicians like Usher and Missy Elliot. Same goes for other Town folks that Traci has photographed in the 90s. Most are now thriving in the entertainment world or powerhouses in the local arts and culture scene. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Aisha Bilal, Layla Jenkins, Asha Karima and Ingrid Best. We were at \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DeFremery Park \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">at an event there. This is 1997. We were having a conversation. And in that moment, I just stepped back from the cipher and leaned down and captured this photograph of them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Black and white, the posture, arms across, you know, like stoic for the most part and angled up. You’re like looking up at them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> My tentative title for this one is “Giant” because of how larger than life these women are, not only in the photograph, but in real life. They have all been just very powerful and dynamic in their lives, in their families, in their communities, in business. It’s really amazing just to see who these women are even today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Look, she really has a house full of anecdotal stories about artists at every turn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Here we are… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Entering the next room. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So this is one of the rooms that I rent out for B-Love’s Guesthouse, and people are just, like, rejuvenated and just excited to have a good night’s rest in this comfortable plush queen bed surrounded by all this art, these high ceilings, chandelier, and just this big picture window that brings so much morning sunlight into the room.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You’ve got some legends in here. Like, that’s a portrait of Shock G, the late. And this is the Luniz it looks like. That’s fresh out of high school Luniz. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That picture was taken backstage as Summer Jam… mhmmm \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is ’97. So this is yeah, post “I Got Five On It.”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> They are still riding that wave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mm. Mm mm.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> O\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ne of the things I would do as a photographer in starting out and being self-taught is, I would get a great photo of an artist. I would look on the liner notes of their album and find out who the management was, send them the photo with the cover letter and introduce myself. Sometimes I would write with a ballpoint pen on the back of the photo, like “photo by Tracy Barlow. Copyright 1994.” \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> To break into the industry, Traci had to put herself out there. And with all those portraits that she shot of her neighbors, dancer friends, and hip hop artists on the rise– that became her portfolio of work that she carried with her in a Walgreens photo album just waiting for that right moment when she’d have to pull it out.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And so I talked my way into Chi Modu’s office! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The late Chi Modu is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">thee\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> late ‘90s hip-hop photographer. He famously photographed Biggie, Eazy-E, Mobb Deep, Nas, members of the Wu Tang Clan, and Tupac. His artwork is culture visualized. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I said, ‘I’m from Oakland, and if I get pictures of the scene in Oakland, then maybe you could publish them in your magazine?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he looked at this portfolio with all these faces from deep East Oakland, and he was like, ‘You have a good eye.’ He said, ‘Let’s do it. You capture photos of the scene. Maybe we’ll publish them.’ And the first photo that was published was this image of Hiero at Hip Hop on the Green, and this was published in the Source Magazine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music ] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hip Hop On the Green was this dope outdoor concert that was held in the East Bay throughout the 90s. And Traci was there to document it! Her photos of the event helped spread awareness of Bay Area Hip Hop Culture to the rest of the country. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From Hip Hop On the Green…look at E-40. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Oh, Mail Man time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mail Man! Okay, Slurricane. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, the Mossie. B-legit.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Suga-T\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oooh, look at the finger waves. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes and the Cross Colours. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nice! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It should be noted that while Traci is fully in community with folks, she’s largely doing this on her own: Her photos. Her home. Her idea. And her actualization. She’s not waiting around for someone to give her a platform or to recognize her contributions to the culture, she’s just doing it herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in a place where Black folks have been under-resourced, overpoliced, locked-up and pushed out of the Town for decades, for her to hold space for herself, her work and her community? Cmon, man, we’ve gotta recognize the power in that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m amazed that I survived foreclosure. There was many moments of just the spirit of detachment. This may not work out. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I would come home. Those notices were posted on my front door. This house is up for auction on the county courthouse steps at 6 a.m.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After surviving foreclosure, Traci opened up her space, allowing people to rent out rooms. The guests? It started with her network of artist friends… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was like, Well, I think I’m going to start renting out rooms to people that I know that are coming to town for residencies, for conferences, for events, for direct actions. Like these are people that I know come to the Bay Area for these different things. I know all the African dance festivals. I know the B Boys, I know the film festivals, I know the National Poetry Slams. Like, that’s my life! Artists and activism is my life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s beautiful… to have it come almost naturally, like from your experience is poured into you and also it benefits the larger community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, there are people in this neighborhood that have been here for a long time, as well as a mix of new people that are coming in. So to honor this history of the black experience in West Oakland is really important to me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The house itself is preserving history. And then within the house you have history on the walls. And it’s not all historical, it’s forward moving, like you have people coming through in real time\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…who are \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">culture makers, people, cultural icons, you know. And so I just wanted to get a sense of some of the people who’ve come through here.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes!!! Norma Miller, the queen of swing! The Lindy Hop champion! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">S\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">he’ll be like,’ Nope, I don’t want to be at the Marriott.’ She’s like, ‘I want to be at B-Love’s Guesthouse.’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Because it was like she wanted to be immersed in Black culture.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">B-Girl FaTara from New York. She came out for a breaking event here in Oakland. And she said, ‘I’ve stayed at so many AirBnbs, but this is like a Black house, like the incense you have burning, the beans you got cooking, like it smells and feels like the house of an African American person.’\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So people are coming here and they may be in this gentrified neighborhood, but they’re like, Oh, but this is I, this is the Black lady’s house! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> ‘Thank you’ doesn’t do justice, man. I want to offer my sincere appreciation to Traci Bartlow. Thank you for your art, your hospitality and for your time. Also, thanks for being a pleasant community member, just a delightful person to see at an event and around the Town. Thank you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can find more information at b-lovesguesthouse.com or \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blovesguesthouse/#\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">blovesguesthouse on Instagram. \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traci’s instagram is tracibartlow and we’ll add a link to more information on her photo exhibit to the show notes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Time to give credit where it’s due:\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marisol Medina-Cadena came with me and Traci on this tour, and then produced this joint. Thank you Marisol. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Suzie Racho and Jen Chien edited this one, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beal engineered this one. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ryce Stoughtenborough is our engagement intern and Justin Ebramehimi and Ria Garewal are the engagement leads. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ethan Toven Lindsey, Jen Chien and Holly Kernan are the KQED execs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks! Much love and peace to you. Till’ next time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Traci Bartlow's home is a showcase for her work and holds the history of her West Oakland neighborhood.",
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"title": "The Hip-Hop Photographer Who Makes Guests Feel At Home | KQED",
"description": "Inside of a classic Queen Anne Victorian in West Oakland, photographer Traci Bartlow displays beautifully framed images of the people who shaped hip-hop culture here in the Bay Area, and across the nation. While the photos tell a story about what life was like in growing up in Oakland, it's her house, which is a photography museum and a boutique hotel, that tells the complex story of multiple generations of Black folks, land ownership and community appreciation.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cem>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside of a classic Queen Anne Victorian in West Oakland, photographer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/tracibartlow/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Traci Bartlow\u003c/a> displays beautifully framed images of the people who shaped hip-hop culture here in the Bay Area, and across the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her exhibition, \u003cem>Oakland Picture Lady: Tales of the 90’s Girl\u003c/em>, features photos of Outkast and Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes and ODB, alongside images of the Luniz and Shock-G, as well as E-40 and The Click.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the photos tell a story about what life was like in growing up in Oakland, it’s her house that tells \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CxjCC5Uv62l/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==\">the complex story of multiple generations of Black folks\u003c/a>, land ownership and community appreciation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Traci is the owner of \u003ca href=\"https://www.b-lovesguesthouse.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">B-Love’s Guesthouse\u003c/a>, which is a photography museum and a boutique hotel. With its picturesque front porch and flourishing garden in the back, the building features seven different rooms that folks can rent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13920339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13920339\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Traci Bartlow holds up an image of the wash house her mother once owned in East Oakland. \" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04426.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traci Bartlow holds up an image of the washhouse her mother once owned in East Oakland. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://www.alvinailey.org/school\">Ailey School\u003c/a> graduate turned \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjBa6yqRau4\">Emmy-winning dancer\u003c/a> and choreographer, Traci fell in love with the arts through what she experienced in her neighborhood as a child. Block parties and family functions introduced her to her love of dance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Born and raised in East Oakland, she also saw firsthand the importance of a neighborhood hub by watching the multiple ways people would use her mother’s washhouse. It wasn’t just a laundromat but a corner store, a place to get your prom dress made or pick up your Avon order.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She acquired her current home from the late Eddie Mae Holmes, a Black woman who once owned multiple properties in West Oakland. And Traci envisioned using the space for the purposes of artistic expression and community gatherings, including showcasing her work. Now B-Love’s Guesthouse stands as a home for hip-hop history and a safe haven for folks to come together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13920342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13920342 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-800x535.jpg\" alt=\"Traci Bartlow.\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-800x535.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-1020x682.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446-1536x1027.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/DSC04446.jpg 1616w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Traci Bartlow sits on the stairwell of her Queen Ann Victorian home in West Oakland \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp> \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=KQINC3179587234&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This episode originally aired on October 14, 2022 .\u003c/em>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Marisol Medina-Cadena, Producer: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hey Rightnowish listeners, it’s Marisol Medina-Cadena. As we continue to honor 50 Years of Hip-Hop, we’re bringing you an episode from our archive featuring dancer and photographer Traci Bartlow.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traci documented Bay Area dancers, rappers, and dj’s in the 90’s and still hasn’t put the camera down. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This summer, the inaugural Bay Area Hip Hop Archives honored Traci Bartlow for her contributions to the region’s Hip Hop scene. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Pendarvis Harshaw is gonna take it from here, enjoy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Music\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">] \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mic, mic check one, mic check two. Are we here? All right we’re here…Rightnowish. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Street ambience ]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Do you know what type of tree it is?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s called a bottle brush tree.Usually it’s full of these bright red flowers with skinny pistils and the hummingbirds love it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Why start here on your tour? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s in the shade and it’s a moment to get a feel for the house and the neighborhood. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey y’all, what’s happening? You’re listening to Rightnowish, a podcast about arts and culture in the bay area. I’m your partna Pen…Pendarvis Harshaw. And today, we’re gonna spend some time in West Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The neighborhood looks hella different than it did when I was coming up, but all is not lost. There’s still places and people that have weathered the market forces to maintain the character of the area. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like this Victorian house I’m standing in front of with today’s guest, Traci Bartlow. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is a Queen Anne Victorian house and it was built in 1895. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s painted white with a mix of soft yellow and sky blue accents. Potted roses and succulents line the stairwell.. and it’s got this half arch that extends from the porch and frames the door, almost like a house you’d see in a storybook. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It seems like they wanted to make it look like a castle! You know, like with the high ceilings, this beautiful arc, all of this really unique molding on the house. Everything is really grand. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci’s home is also a boutique hotel called B-Love’s Guesthouse, where you can rent a room for a day or two. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> B-Love’s Guesthouse has served as a healing space and a respite in many different ways. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It’s also a photography museum where you could spend an hour or two just soaking up the rich history. This month, Traci is exhibiting photos she shot of the Town, including images that graced the pages of historic magazines like The Source and Rap Pages.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This image here is the Hobo Junction. And I love this image because they’re selling their tapes out of a box on Telegraph Avenue. In front of the record store! That’s how we did in the nineties.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She had a front row seat to the artists who shaped both the Bay Area hip hop scene and the national hip hop scene. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These pictures are fun! Busta Rhymes and ODB. This was on the set of Busta’s music video. “Woo-ha! Got You All In Check.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay yeah.. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes, so he shot the video in \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">San Francisco, and so I came out to capture photographs and… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s tight as hell. I didn’t know that.. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yep! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That’s Isha B doing ODB’s hair?! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Isha B did ODB’s hair?? What?? That’s crazy!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yep, classic history!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Woah, okay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, today we’re focused on Traci Bartlow’s dope photo archive and the story behind the place where these photos are housed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So wipe your kicks at the door, hang up your coat, relax your shoulders,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">and take a deep breath: we’re posting up at B-Love’s Guesthouse. Right after this…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [Outdoor Ambience]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Just a few blocks from the women of the Black Panther Party mural and west Oakland Bart station is Traci Bartlow’s home and hotel. It’s a residential street with lots of history… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I acquired this house in 2007 and I acquired the house from a team of people that would buy houses, flip them, and then sell them. They bought the house from a woman named Eddie Mae Holmes. And Ms. Holmes was an African-American woman that came to West Oakland when she was 14 years old. And, um, through her family ownership, she acquired this house, the house I now own, this house on the corner. And in 1965, she had that apartment building around the corner built and on the lower level of the apartment building, she had Holmes Barber Shop. So Ms.Holmes is one of those black women in the community that was providing in so many different ways for everyone. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ms. Holmes was my friend! I used to make ginger tea and go sit in the kitchen in her house and we would watch The View in the mornings. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cem>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/em>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cem>]\u003c/em> Okay! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She was my partna! And she was just really amazed by me like, ‘Oh, this is who bought the house?’ And so she was really encouraging to me as a property owner. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">About 15 years ago, Traci converted her home into a guesthouse. People can choose from one of seven rooms for an overnight stay. And at the same time, folks can enjoy the framed photos from Traci’s archives. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Okay here is B-Love’s Guesthouse.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci leads me to the kitchenette of the downstairs guest house. Above a small dining room table they’re framed black and white images of kids. I see little girls with barrettes in their hair. In another image, the camera is pointed toward a window sill where a boy with a D.A.R.E. t-shirt is joined by family members, as he looks directly into the camera while eating his cup of noodles. In the background of these images are the streets and structures of the houses in East Oakland– they too are featured characters in the composition of these images. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This photo collection. Ah, this all from the neighborhood? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are from my neighborhood.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The brick cell phone? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I mean, the hairdo, of course, in the fashion. But the brick cell phone and the leaning like “Talk to me and Imma talk back.” That’s what she looks like. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">laughs\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This one. This one as well with the cross colors and then this Benz and even the Lack behind it\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The photos are a time machine, instantly transporting me back to the East Oakland that I knew as a youth. Outfits that my sister used to rock. And facial expressions looking like kids I used to kick it with. Squinting, I look for a familiar face or two.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> These are people that I grew up with. You know, we went to middle school and high school together. My mother owned the laundromat on 98th and Birch, and so everyone would come and do their laundry at my mom’s laundromat. And her business wasn’t just where you can do your laundry. It was like a community center \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where my mom had a sewing machine in the corner and she would do alterations and she would make prom dresses and make outfits for people. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She also sold Avon, and um we had a little store in the back where you could buy candy and chips and sandwiches, and I would make homemade cookies and we would have those ghetto Icees, you know, like Kool-Aid in a cup. So people were always coming to the laundromat. They were like, Miss Bartlow, did you? Can you hem the skirt? And is my Avon ready? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taken by the beauty of her community and the joy of capturing it on film, Traci started a photography business, shooting people’s portraits and printing them for $2. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And if I didn’t see people in the neighborhood, when I would bring them, I would be like, ‘Oh, stop by the wash house and pick up your order of photos.’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Even before she got into photography, Traci was already into the arts. At age 19, Traci was awarded a scholarship to study dance at New York’s Alvin Ailey Dance Center. A dancer since a kid, she was inspired by both the entertainers she saw on TV and the way folks moved in her community– the family gatherings and community kickbacks–so, this was a dream come true. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is a picture of my mom escorting me to audition for the Alvin Ailey School when I was 19 years old. We’re at the 34th Street Station in New York City. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And she’s beaming. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> She’s beaming! Yes! My mom was very supportive of my dance career.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After finishing the two year professional dance training program, she took performing gigs across the globe. One thing led to another and Traci dabbled in modeling before picking up the camera herself. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I would also find myself at modeling shoots and just be like, ‘What kind of light is that? Oh, that’s a diffuser? What does that do?’ So I was interested in the hardware of photography. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was just like this natural progression of me knowing about photography and wanting to learn more and also the way I would study magazine layouts. Then I had this eye for how I wanted to capture a photograph. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci made her way back to Oakland and this time she \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">really\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> picked up the film camera. She saw the beauty and life in her neighbors and wanted to document that with the same eye and artfulness that fashion magazine photographers did. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> My neighbors were amused with me. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like, ‘You’ve been living in New York City. Oh you want us to pose?’ Like, so I would always have my camera. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If it was a holiday, a cook, a cookout, kind of holiday. Memorial Day, 4th of July. I would just come outside and take pictures and hang out. So when they saw me, they’re like, ‘Heyyyy! \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Picture time! Yeah, here come the photo lady, l\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">et’s get ready. She’s going to take our picture!’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Traci’s background in dance soon became the focus of her photography. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m self-taught, so I started photographing other dancers. And you’ll see many images from this photo shoot, because this was an assignment I gave myself to practice with high speed film. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We make our way from guest room to guest room, photos hung everywhere. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s this one black and white image of teenage b-boy dancers in throwback gear: one is rocking a visor, another in a pair of Marvin the martian shorts– just dripping with youthful 90s flavor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In front of a brick wall, one guy is doing a crazy handstand and the other is seen jumping 3 feet off the ground hitting a pose. In spite of all the movement, everything is captured in crisp detail, no blur. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And the dancers are two of the members of Housing Authority. And Housing Authority was this bad ass crew of all male dancers from Oakland and Richmond, Black and brown men. And they were running things in the nineties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> One of the dancers in the photo is Fly Styles who went on to be a successful backup dancer and choreographer for musicians like Usher and Missy Elliot. Same goes for other Town folks that Traci has photographed in the 90s. Most are now thriving in the entertainment world or powerhouses in the local arts and culture scene. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Aisha Bilal, Layla Jenkins, Asha Karima and Ingrid Best. We were at \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">DeFremery Park \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">at an event there. This is 1997. We were having a conversation. And in that moment, I just stepped back from the cipher and leaned down and captured this photograph of them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Black and white, the posture, arms across, you know, like stoic for the most part and angled up. You’re like looking up at them. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> My tentative title for this one is “Giant” because of how larger than life these women are, not only in the photograph, but in real life. They have all been just very powerful and dynamic in their lives, in their families, in their communities, in business. It’s really amazing just to see who these women are even today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Look, she really has a house full of anecdotal stories about artists at every turn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Here we are… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Entering the next room. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So this is one of the rooms that I rent out for B-Love’s Guesthouse, and people are just, like, rejuvenated and just excited to have a good night’s rest in this comfortable plush queen bed surrounded by all this art, these high ceilings, chandelier, and just this big picture window that brings so much morning sunlight into the room.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You’ve got some legends in here. Like, that’s a portrait of Shock G, the late. And this is the Luniz it looks like. That’s fresh out of high school Luniz. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> [laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That picture was taken backstage as Summer Jam… mhmmm \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is ’97. So this is yeah, post “I Got Five On It.”\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> They are still riding that wave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mm. Mm mm.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> O\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">ne of the things I would do as a photographer in starting out and being self-taught is, I would get a great photo of an artist. I would look on the liner notes of their album and find out who the management was, send them the photo with the cover letter and introduce myself. Sometimes I would write with a ballpoint pen on the back of the photo, like “photo by Tracy Barlow. Copyright 1994.” \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> To break into the industry, Traci had to put herself out there. And with all those portraits that she shot of her neighbors, dancer friends, and hip hop artists on the rise– that became her portfolio of work that she carried with her in a Walgreens photo album just waiting for that right moment when she’d have to pull it out.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And so I talked my way into Chi Modu’s office! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The late Chi Modu is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">thee\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> late ‘90s hip-hop photographer. He famously photographed Biggie, Eazy-E, Mobb Deep, Nas, members of the Wu Tang Clan, and Tupac. His artwork is culture visualized. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I said, ‘I’m from Oakland, and if I get pictures of the scene in Oakland, then maybe you could publish them in your magazine?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And he looked at this portfolio with all these faces from deep East Oakland, and he was like, ‘You have a good eye.’ He said, ‘Let’s do it. You capture photos of the scene. Maybe we’ll publish them.’ And the first photo that was published was this image of Hiero at Hip Hop on the Green, and this was published in the Source Magazine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music ] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hip Hop On the Green was this dope outdoor concert that was held in the East Bay throughout the 90s. And Traci was there to document it! Her photos of the event helped spread awareness of Bay Area Hip Hop Culture to the rest of the country. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">From Hip Hop On the Green…look at E-40. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Oh, Mail Man time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mail Man! Okay, Slurricane. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, the Mossie. B-legit.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Suga-T\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oooh, look at the finger waves. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes and the Cross Colours. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Nice! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It should be noted that while Traci is fully in community with folks, she’s largely doing this on her own: Her photos. Her home. Her idea. And her actualization. She’s not waiting around for someone to give her a platform or to recognize her contributions to the culture, she’s just doing it herself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And in a place where Black folks have been under-resourced, overpoliced, locked-up and pushed out of the Town for decades, for her to hold space for herself, her work and her community? Cmon, man, we’ve gotta recognize the power in that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m amazed that I survived foreclosure. There was many moments of just the spirit of detachment. This may not work out. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I would come home. Those notices were posted on my front door. This house is up for auction on the county courthouse steps at 6 a.m.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> After surviving foreclosure, Traci opened up her space, allowing people to rent out rooms. The guests? It started with her network of artist friends… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I was like, Well, I think I’m going to start renting out rooms to people that I know that are coming to town for residencies, for conferences, for events, for direct actions. Like these are people that I know come to the Bay Area for these different things. I know all the African dance festivals. I know the B Boys, I know the film festivals, I know the National Poetry Slams. Like, that’s my life! Artists and activism is my life. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s beautiful… to have it come almost naturally, like from your experience is poured into you and also it benefits the larger community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, there are people in this neighborhood that have been here for a long time, as well as a mix of new people that are coming in. So to honor this history of the black experience in West Oakland is really important to me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The house itself is preserving history. And then within the house you have history on the walls. And it’s not all historical, it’s forward moving, like you have people coming through in real time\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">…who are \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">culture makers, people, cultural icons, you know. And so I just wanted to get a sense of some of the people who’ve come through here.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Traci Bartlow:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yes!!! Norma Miller, the queen of swing! The Lindy Hop champion! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">S\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">he’ll be like,’ Nope, I don’t want to be at the Marriott.’ She’s like, ‘I want to be at B-Love’s Guesthouse.’\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Because it was like she wanted to be immersed in Black culture.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">B-Girl FaTara from New York. She came out for a breaking event here in Oakland. And she said, ‘I’ve stayed at so many AirBnbs, but this is like a Black house, like the incense you have burning, the beans you got cooking, like it smells and feels like the house of an African American person.’\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So people are coming here and they may be in this gentrified neighborhood, but they’re like, Oh, but this is I, this is the Black lady’s house! \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[laughs] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> ‘Thank you’ doesn’t do justice, man. I want to offer my sincere appreciation to Traci Bartlow. Thank you for your art, your hospitality and for your time. Also, thanks for being a pleasant community member, just a delightful person to see at an event and around the Town. Thank you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can find more information at b-lovesguesthouse.com or \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/blovesguesthouse/#\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">blovesguesthouse on Instagram. \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Traci’s instagram is tracibartlow and we’ll add a link to more information on her photo exhibit to the show notes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Time to give credit where it’s due:\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marisol Medina-Cadena came with me and Traci on this tour, and then produced this joint. Thank you Marisol. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Suzie Racho and Jen Chien edited this one, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Christopher Beal engineered this one. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ryce Stoughtenborough is our engagement intern and Justin Ebramehimi and Ria Garewal are the engagement leads. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ethan Toven Lindsey, Jen Chien and Holly Kernan are the KQED execs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m your host Pendarvis Harshaw! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks! Much love and peace to you. Till’ next time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rightnowish is a KQED production \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"title": "Back That Azz Up, Oakland: Juvenile to Perform at the Fox Theater",
"headTitle": "Back That Azz Up, Oakland: Juvenile to Perform at the Fox Theater | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936542\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1297\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rapper Juvenile performs during the Collegrove Tour at the Oakland Arena on Nov. 10, 2016 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s been nearly 25 years since New Orleans rapper Juvenile released his megahit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYqmQPklI_0\">Back That Azz Up\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means for a quarter-century now, people have been running to the dance floor at the sound of the strings that start one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. Produced by Mannie Fresh, the seductive beat and celebratory lyrics have provided a soundtrack for generations of folks looking to shake what their momma gave ’em. The song followed the smash single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww9VlmXKYgs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ha\u003c/a>,” both off of Juvenile’s multiplatinum album \u003cem>400 Degrees\u003c/em>, which signified the rise of the Cash Money Records empire as they took over for the ’99 and the 2000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nieYw00ee-Y\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this landmark album, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh and an accompanying live band are scheduled to perform at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxtheateroakland.net/events/juvenile-20-october-2023/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox Theater in Oakland\u003c/a> this Friday, Oct. 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juvenile, whose summer 2023 performance at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kes2P4IC2bQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a> has racked up nearly six million views, has performed a few shows in the Bay Area before. Those include a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11956265/heiro-day-2016-lineup-too-short-juvenile-invisibl-skratch-piklz-just-blaze-many-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2016 Hiero Day set that filled the block\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN6C9COoTZc\">KMEL’s Legends of Summer Jam concert\u003c/a> in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a show that \u003cem>didn’t\u003c/em> fully happen — at the Oakland Arena in January of 2000, while Juvenile was part of the Cash Money group the Hot Boys — remains legendary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13923938']Before the Hot Boys set, multiple physical altercations erupted in the audience after a group of young men rushed toward the stage. Folding chairs were thrown, one person was pushed from the balcony and gunshots were reported inside and outside the venue. The concert was canceled on the spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the conflicts had nothing to do with Juvenile, the Hot Boys or Cash Money, that event left an indelible mark on their Bay Area fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was my first concert,” says the Da Boy Dame, Def Jam artist and A&R of Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG). About 12 years old at the time, Dame and his cousins had received tickets to the concert as a Christmas gift. Excited, the whole crew coordinated their clothes in preparation for the show. “We all had our jean outfits, and we thought we was Cash Money that day,” he tells me on a recent phone call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936543\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720.png 480w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720-160x240.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Da Boy Dame, Def Jam artist and A&R of Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Da Boy Dame)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dame recalls seeing the opening acts, the Ruff Ryders and Ginuwine. “The next thing you know, \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/15/concert.fight/index.html\">Oakland made national CNN headlines\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple outlets, including MTV and \u003cem>The Washington Post,\u003c/em> covered the unfortunate event, which resulted in approximately 25 injuries — and left a young Dame disappointed that he didn’t to see his favorite artists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Decades later, Dame has helped orchestrate Juvenile’s return to Oakland at the Fox Theater on Friday, and is slated to be an opening performer. “That’s really why I always try to do things with Juvie and Mannie, because I feel like we never really got the chance to see it while everything was on fire,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11954252']In addition to an intimate set by Juvenile and Mannie Fresh, Dame says the show will feature a few special guest appearances from veteran Bay Area artists. For concertgoers looking to tap back into a landmark era for hip-hop, the show is guaranteed to to be a time machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Twenty-five years ago — that was probably the best time in a lot of people’s lives,” says Dame. “I think this is going to be a time when people can relax and enjoy themselves and embrace the nostalgia of the music, the parties, and everything that came along with the ’99 and 2000.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Juvenile and Mannie Fresh perform with a live band on Friday, Oct. 20, at the Fox Theater in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://thefoxoakland.com/events/juvenile-231020\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936542\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936542\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1297\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-800x540.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-1020x689.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-160x108.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/Juvenile.full_-1536x1038.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rapper Juvenile performs during the Collegrove Tour at the Oakland Arena on Nov. 10, 2016 in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s been nearly 25 years since New Orleans rapper Juvenile released his megahit “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYqmQPklI_0\">Back That Azz Up\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means for a quarter-century now, people have been running to the dance floor at the sound of the strings that start one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time. Produced by Mannie Fresh, the seductive beat and celebratory lyrics have provided a soundtrack for generations of folks looking to shake what their momma gave ’em. The song followed the smash single “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww9VlmXKYgs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ha\u003c/a>,” both off of Juvenile’s multiplatinum album \u003cem>400 Degrees\u003c/em>, which signified the rise of the Cash Money Records empire as they took over for the ’99 and the 2000.\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/nieYw00ee-Y'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/nieYw00ee-Y'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this landmark album, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh and an accompanying live band are scheduled to perform at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.foxtheateroakland.net/events/juvenile-20-october-2023/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox Theater in Oakland\u003c/a> this Friday, Oct. 20.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Juvenile, whose summer 2023 performance at \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kes2P4IC2bQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR’s Tiny Desk\u003c/a> has racked up nearly six million views, has performed a few shows in the Bay Area before. Those include a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/11956265/heiro-day-2016-lineup-too-short-juvenile-invisibl-skratch-piklz-just-blaze-many-more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2016 Hiero Day set that filled the block\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN6C9COoTZc\">KMEL’s Legends of Summer Jam concert\u003c/a> in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Before the Hot Boys set, multiple physical altercations erupted in the audience after a group of young men rushed toward the stage. Folding chairs were thrown, one person was pushed from the balcony and gunshots were reported inside and outside the venue. The concert was canceled on the spot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the conflicts had nothing to do with Juvenile, the Hot Boys or Cash Money, that event left an indelible mark on their Bay Area fans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was my first concert,” says the Da Boy Dame, Def Jam artist and A&R of Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG). About 12 years old at the time, Dame and his cousins had received tickets to the concert as a Christmas gift. Excited, the whole crew coordinated their clothes in preparation for the show. “We all had our jean outfits, and we thought we was Cash Money that day,” he tells me on a recent phone call.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936543\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 480px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936543\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720.png 480w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/img_8318_720-160x240.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Da Boy Dame, Def Jam artist and A&R of Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group. \u003ccite>(Courtesy Da Boy Dame)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Dame recalls seeing the opening acts, the Ruff Ryders and Ginuwine. “The next thing you know, \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnn.com/2000/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/15/concert.fight/index.html\">Oakland made national CNN headlines\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple outlets, including MTV and \u003cem>The Washington Post,\u003c/em> covered the unfortunate event, which resulted in approximately 25 injuries — and left a young Dame disappointed that he didn’t to see his favorite artists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Decades later, Dame has helped orchestrate Juvenile’s return to Oakland at the Fox Theater on Friday, and is slated to be an opening performer. “That’s really why I always try to do things with Juvie and Mannie, because I feel like we never really got the chance to see it while everything was on fire,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In addition to an intimate set by Juvenile and Mannie Fresh, Dame says the show will feature a few special guest appearances from veteran Bay Area artists. For concertgoers looking to tap back into a landmark era for hip-hop, the show is guaranteed to to be a time machine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Twenty-five years ago — that was probably the best time in a lot of people’s lives,” says Dame. “I think this is going to be a time when people can relax and enjoy themselves and embrace the nostalgia of the music, the parties, and everything that came along with the ’99 and 2000.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Juvenile and Mannie Fresh perform with a live band on Friday, Oct. 20, at the Fox Theater in Oakland. \u003ca href=\"https://thefoxoakland.com/events/juvenile-231020\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Oakland’s First and Only Haitian Restaurant Is a Knockout",
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"content": "\u003cp>Frantz Felix was tired of how the only time Americans ever seemed to talk about Haiti was in connection to some humanitarian disaster: a massive earthquake or mind-boggling act of government malfeasance. He wanted to show another side to his country of birth — the richness of its culture, the deliciousness of its foodways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Felix opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.tchaka.online/\">T’chaka\u003c/a>, Oakland’s first and only Haitian restaurant, in the former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">Miss Ollie\u003c/a>’s location in Old Oakland. And it only took one bite into a single dish — the unspeakably succulent chunks of fried, citrus-marinated pork known as griot (aka griyo) — for me to fully embrace what appears to be the restaurant’s central thesis: that Haitian food is freaking amazing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Felix, the path toward opening one of the Bay Area’s most exciting new restaurants started when he was a seven-year-old learning how to cook in his mother’s kitchen in Haiti. For the first 10 years after he relocated to the Bay Area, Felix was the kind of enthusiastic home cook that friends and family were always encouraging to open a restaurant — until finally, in 2009, he started selling Haitian food on weekends on the local festival circuit. Eventually, he parlayed that business into a food truck called Caribbean Spices, and then in 2019, seven months before the COVID lockdown hit, he opened a \u003ca href=\"https://caribbeanspicessanrafael.com/\">restaurant in San Rafael by the same name\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>T’chaka, on the other hand, is Felix’s most ambitious project yet. One of the reasons the new restaurant’s arrival is so heartening is because of its specific location: T’chaka’s predecessor at this corner spot at Swan’s Market was Miss Ollie’s, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">a beacon for Afro-Caribbean cooking\u003c/a> until it closed last year. For more than 10 years, Miss Ollie’s was a destination restaurant for Caribbean folks from all over the Bay Area, including Felix, who says he always appreciated the love that the chef, Sarah Kirnon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2019/07/24/food-spirituality-and-healing-chef-sarah-kirnons-personal-connection-to-haiti\">showed for Haitian cuisine\u003c/a> in particular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s like a pioneer to us,” he says, noting how few Caribbean restaurants existed locally when Miss Ollie’s first opened 11 years ago. “I take it as an honor to be in that location.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a kind of poetry to the city’s only Haitian restaurant taking up that mantle, but it’d all be for naught if the food didn’t actually hit. And hit it does, again and again. The aforementioned griot is essentially a flawless dish — deeply flavorful, juicy and tender with charred, crispy edges. I consider myself something of a pork connoisseur, and I’d easily put the dish at the very top of the top tier, especially once you factor in the A+ accompaniments. There were excellent rice and peas, sweet and savory plantains, the bright and tangy slaw known as pikliz and a punchy, mustard-hued house-made scotch bonnet hot sauce so delicious you’ll want to drizzle it on everything (and then buy a bottle to bring home).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plainly stated, the dish is a knockout. It’s easy to see why it’s the national dish in Haiti — the first thing they’ll serve you after you get off the plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936341\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee.jpg\" alt=\"Saltfish and ackee: a scramble of ackee fruit (which looks like scrambled eggs) served on a blue plate with white rice, plantains and pikliz.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saltfish and ackee, a classic Caribbean brunch staple. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For first-timers to the cuisine, Felix explains that all of the Caribbean islands use more or less the same ingredients and spices, but what sets Haitian cooking apart is the marination of the meats and the particulars of the cooking process — which, in Felix’s view, yields a particularly succulent take on jerk chicken and a lighter, more toothsome version of rice and peas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to say the other islands don’t cook well,” he says. “But for sure, Haitian food is one of the best foods in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wouldn’t even consider wading into the dangerous waters of adjudicating whether Haitian jerk chicken is better than the Jamaican version, or measuring how Haitian curry goat stacks up to its Bajan or Trinidadian counterparts. Suffice it to say that even though the griot ranks up there with the best things I’ve eaten this year, it might not have even been my favorite dish at T’chaka. That honor goes to the braised oxtails, a dish I’ll order anytime I see it on a menu, and this was as good as it gets — meaty beyond expectation, with all of the soft, gelatinous bits cooked to such a state of jiggly lusciousness that sucking on the bones was pure pleasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936342\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936342\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of Haitian-style braised oxtails, served with a mound of rice and peas, tostones and pikliz.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">T’chaka’s take on Caribbean braised oxtails is as good as it gets. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were also piping-hot fritters called akra, which imbued grated taro root with all the comforting qualities of a fast-food hash brown patty, but with no hint of grease. On the Sunday brunch menu, there was the Haitian version of saltfish and ackee, a fruit with the acidity of a tomato and the texture and appearance of scrambled eggs — delicious over plain white rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13910410,arts_13931303,arts_13931115']\u003c/span>All that and I haven’t even yet had a chance to try some of the more uniquely Haitian dishes on the menu — the crispy fried goat served on the bone, or the weekend-only t’chaka, the restaurant’s namesake dish, a soup made with beans, corn and salted pork. Felix chose the name to honor his mother, who passed away earlier this year. “My mom taught me pretty much everything,” he says. T’chaka was her favorite dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As delicious as the food at T’chaka is, Felix says his ambitions go even deeper than that. Every week, he says, it seems like there’s another negative news story about Haiti, and he wants his restaurant’s sun-dappled patio to be an antidote to all of that — a chance for diners in Oakland to get a taste of Haiti’s beautiful culture and amazing history of \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-haitian-revolution-and-the-hole-in-french-high-school-history\">anti-colonial resistance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider myself an ambassador for Haiti,” Felix says. “I want to prove to them that Haiti is one of the best countries in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tchaka.online/\">T’chaka\u003c/a> is open Wed. through Sat. for lunch and dinner (11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–9 p.m.) and Sun. for all-day brunch (11 a.m.–6 p.m.). It’s located at Swan’s Market, 901 Washington St. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Frantz Felix was tired of how the only time Americans ever seemed to talk about Haiti was in connection to some humanitarian disaster: a massive earthquake or mind-boggling act of government malfeasance. He wanted to show another side to his country of birth — the richness of its culture, the deliciousness of its foodways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Felix opened \u003ca href=\"https://www.tchaka.online/\">T’chaka\u003c/a>, Oakland’s first and only Haitian restaurant, in the former \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">Miss Ollie\u003c/a>’s location in Old Oakland. And it only took one bite into a single dish — the unspeakably succulent chunks of fried, citrus-marinated pork known as griot (aka griyo) — for me to fully embrace what appears to be the restaurant’s central thesis: that Haitian food is freaking amazing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Felix, the path toward opening one of the Bay Area’s most exciting new restaurants started when he was a seven-year-old learning how to cook in his mother’s kitchen in Haiti. For the first 10 years after he relocated to the Bay Area, Felix was the kind of enthusiastic home cook that friends and family were always encouraging to open a restaurant — until finally, in 2009, he started selling Haitian food on weekends on the local festival circuit. Eventually, he parlayed that business into a food truck called Caribbean Spices, and then in 2019, seven months before the COVID lockdown hit, he opened a \u003ca href=\"https://caribbeanspicessanrafael.com/\">restaurant in San Rafael by the same name\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>T’chaka, on the other hand, is Felix’s most ambitious project yet. One of the reasons the new restaurant’s arrival is so heartening is because of its specific location: T’chaka’s predecessor at this corner spot at Swan’s Market was Miss Ollie’s, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13910410/miss-ollies-oakland-closing\">a beacon for Afro-Caribbean cooking\u003c/a> until it closed last year. For more than 10 years, Miss Ollie’s was a destination restaurant for Caribbean folks from all over the Bay Area, including Felix, who says he always appreciated the love that the chef, Sarah Kirnon, \u003ca href=\"https://www.splendidtable.org/story/2019/07/24/food-spirituality-and-healing-chef-sarah-kirnons-personal-connection-to-haiti\">showed for Haitian cuisine\u003c/a> in particular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s like a pioneer to us,” he says, noting how few Caribbean restaurants existed locally when Miss Ollie’s first opened 11 years ago. “I take it as an honor to be in that location.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a kind of poetry to the city’s only Haitian restaurant taking up that mantle, but it’d all be for naught if the food didn’t actually hit. And hit it does, again and again. The aforementioned griot is essentially a flawless dish — deeply flavorful, juicy and tender with charred, crispy edges. I consider myself something of a pork connoisseur, and I’d easily put the dish at the very top of the top tier, especially once you factor in the A+ accompaniments. There were excellent rice and peas, sweet and savory plantains, the bright and tangy slaw known as pikliz and a punchy, mustard-hued house-made scotch bonnet hot sauce so delicious you’ll want to drizzle it on everything (and then buy a bottle to bring home).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plainly stated, the dish is a knockout. It’s easy to see why it’s the national dish in Haiti — the first thing they’ll serve you after you get off the plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936341\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936341\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee.jpg\" alt=\"Saltfish and ackee: a scramble of ackee fruit (which looks like scrambled eggs) served on a blue plate with white rice, plantains and pikliz.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_ackee-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saltfish and ackee, a classic Caribbean brunch staple. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For first-timers to the cuisine, Felix explains that all of the Caribbean islands use more or less the same ingredients and spices, but what sets Haitian cooking apart is the marination of the meats and the particulars of the cooking process — which, in Felix’s view, yields a particularly succulent take on jerk chicken and a lighter, more toothsome version of rice and peas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not going to say the other islands don’t cook well,” he says. “But for sure, Haitian food is one of the best foods in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wouldn’t even consider wading into the dangerous waters of adjudicating whether Haitian jerk chicken is better than the Jamaican version, or measuring how Haitian curry goat stacks up to its Bajan or Trinidadian counterparts. Suffice it to say that even though the griot ranks up there with the best things I’ve eaten this year, it might not have even been my favorite dish at T’chaka. That honor goes to the braised oxtails, a dish I’ll order anytime I see it on a menu, and this was as good as it gets — meaty beyond expectation, with all of the soft, gelatinous bits cooked to such a state of jiggly lusciousness that sucking on the bones was pure pleasure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13936342\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13936342\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of Haitian-style braised oxtails, served with a mound of rice and peas, tostones and pikliz.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/10/tchaka_oxtails-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">T’chaka’s take on Caribbean braised oxtails is as good as it gets. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were also piping-hot fritters called akra, which imbued grated taro root with all the comforting qualities of a fast-food hash brown patty, but with no hint of grease. On the Sunday brunch menu, there was the Haitian version of saltfish and ackee, a fruit with the acidity of a tomato and the texture and appearance of scrambled eggs — delicious over plain white rice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>All that and I haven’t even yet had a chance to try some of the more uniquely Haitian dishes on the menu — the crispy fried goat served on the bone, or the weekend-only t’chaka, the restaurant’s namesake dish, a soup made with beans, corn and salted pork. Felix chose the name to honor his mother, who passed away earlier this year. “My mom taught me pretty much everything,” he says. T’chaka was her favorite dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As delicious as the food at T’chaka is, Felix says his ambitions go even deeper than that. Every week, he says, it seems like there’s another negative news story about Haiti, and he wants his restaurant’s sun-dappled patio to be an antidote to all of that — a chance for diners in Oakland to get a taste of Haiti’s beautiful culture and amazing history of \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-haitian-revolution-and-the-hole-in-french-high-school-history\">anti-colonial resistance\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I consider myself an ambassador for Haiti,” Felix says. “I want to prove to them that Haiti is one of the best countries in the world.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tchaka.online/\">T’chaka\u003c/a> is open Wed. through Sat. for lunch and dinner (11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–9 p.m.) and Sun. for all-day brunch (11 a.m.–6 p.m.). It’s located at Swan’s Market, 901 Washington St. in Oakland.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>D’Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Christian Riley didn’t realize that Raphael Saadiq was planting the seeds for a Tony! Toni! Toné! reunion when he arranged a photoshoot earlier this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He said a few times before, so we never paid that much attention to it until this fool put up a big-ass billboard in Oakland, and I had to see it through social media,” said vocalist and bass guitarist Wiggins, who wondered if the image was Photoshopped. “I thought someone was playing tricks, morphing our picture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13935776']Saadiq, the lead singer and guitarist of the beloved R&B group, gathered the trio together, free of any outside influence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t tell any of the managers or team or anybody because I just wanted it to be us … I wanted to be in a room where the only power structure was one, two and three,” said Saadiq of his bandmates who are also family: Wiggins is his brother and Riley is their cousin. “We have to be us first before we could talk to anybody because that’s what happened the last time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cut to last month, when Tony! Toni! Toné! kicked off their ‘Raphael Saddiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Tone! Just Me And You Tour 2023,’ the first road trip featuring the three original members in nearly 30 years. The trio, who grew up in Oakland and have remained influential in its music scene, will perform three shows in the Bay Area: Nov. 14 and 15 at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre, and Nov. 17 at the Masonic in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been really cool, like rehearsals and the actual shows, just playing together again on a stage,” said Riley, who plays drums and keyboard. “A lot of times, we do production and studio work. But just actually being together, you feel the energy, you feel the love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not all: the Tonyies, as they call themselves, are currently planning a new project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13935441']“There’s going to be another album … but I thought we need to really hone in on what we’re doing for touring and then go home and then take like two days off, and then start on the album,” said Saadiq, who once served as a member of Prince’s touring band.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We got a lot of material and now we just want to make sure that we put out the right energy through our music,” added Wiggins, who founded an Oakland recording studio and helped develop some of the biggest names in modern R&B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blending R&B, jazz and traces of gospel, the trio — all alumni of Castlemont High School — burst onto the music scene with their 1988 debut album, \u003cem>Who?,\u003c/em> featuring songs like “Baby Doll” and “Little Walter.” But it was their 1990 New Jack Swing-infused track “Feels Good,” off their sophomore LP, \u003cem>The Revival\u003c/em>, that gave the group mainstream success, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfoxsfhi-kk\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\nThey released two more studio projects together, with party hits like “Let’s Get Down,” featuring DJ Quik, and timeless slow jams including “Whatever You Want,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” “(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow” and “Anniversary,” a standard in the Black music romance canon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always wanted a song like ‘Chestnuts’ like Nat King Cole, something that everybody played at some point, and ‘Anniversary’ was that type of song. I knew the subject matter wasn’t one that I thought was dated, but you couldn’t tell me that it was going to be this type of song,” said Saadiq. “When it comes on and couples grab each other, we know that it took on a whole different life that we couldn’t see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blood relatives also couldn’t predict how their success would affect their relationship. The Tonyies went their separate ways after their fourth album, 1996’s platinum-selling \u003cem>House of Music\u003c/em>. Fame, finances, miscommunication and creative differences were unsustainable for the group. However, Saadiq is hesitant to use the word “breakup.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13810633']“I didn’t call them and go, ‘I quit! I’m mad at you guys!’ It wasn’t even like that. We’d been around each other our whole life,” said Saadiq. “What everybody saw as a breakup wasn’t really a breakup; we just noticed that we weren’t making music at that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiggins and Riley toured under the group’s name between 1998 and 2018, with Amar Khalil taking over lead singing duties. Riley played on tracks for artists like Will Smith and Alicia Keys, and still collaborated with Saadiq on various songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiggins, meanwhile, opened his West Oakland recording studio House of Music, where he produced and helped grow young artists who would become some of today’s brightest young stars, including Zendaya, H.E.R., Kehlani and even Destiny’s Child: he signed the group to his label Grass Roots Entertainment in 1994, back when they were known as Girls’ Tyme. He’s also worked with some of the biggest names in Bay Area hip-hop, including Too Short, Messy Marv and The Coup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saadiq achieved remarkable solo success with five solo studio albums, fashioning hits like “Ask of You,” “Be Here” featuring D’Angelo, “Get Involved” with Q-Tip and “Love That Girl.” He produced big records like Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life” and two of D’Angelo’s biggest songs, “Lady” and “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” and also worked with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and TLC. In 2000, he joined En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest to form the supergroup Lucy Pearl, resulting in the popular song “Dance Tonight.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYWuAw_aCZY\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\nSaadiq has also had hits with both Beyoncé and Solange Knowles: In 2016, he executive produced Solange’s critically acclaimed album \u003cem>A Seat at the Table\u003c/em>. And earlier this year, he was involved in Beyoncé’s \u003cem>Renaissance\u003c/em> project, helping write and produce “PURE/HONEY” and the Grammy-winning “CUFF IT” (its funky guitar rhythm was originally created for a potential Tony! Toni! Toné song, he has said).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While their careers have thrived separately, Saadiq and Riley, both 57, and Wiggins, 62, say they’re relishing in their reunion. The family members vow not to let outside influences like managers, record executives and the entertainment business as a whole drive them apart again, realizing that time — at least in the professional sense — is no longer a luxury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s been really cool to hear younger kids sample our music and make new songs with our music,” Riley said. “It’s like it lives on and you have a whole new generation that actually knows about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saadiq agrees and is trying to live in the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did always feel the love from our peers and fans and people just in general — it felt really good,” he said. “But it feels different now — we feel the love. We can actually step outside of who we are, and then actually smell the roses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Emma Silvers contributed reporting.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“There’s going to be another album … but I thought we need to really hone in on what we’re doing for touring and then go home and then take like two days off, and then start on the album,” said Saadiq, who once served as a member of Prince’s touring band.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We got a lot of material and now we just want to make sure that we put out the right energy through our music,” added Wiggins, who founded an Oakland recording studio and helped develop some of the biggest names in modern R&B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blending R&B, jazz and traces of gospel, the trio — all alumni of Castlemont High School — burst onto the music scene with their 1988 debut album, \u003cem>Who?,\u003c/em> featuring songs like “Baby Doll” and “Little Walter.” But it was their 1990 New Jack Swing-infused track “Feels Good,” off their sophomore LP, \u003cem>The Revival\u003c/em>, that gave the group mainstream success, peaking at No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.\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/Jfoxsfhi-kk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/Jfoxsfhi-kk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\nThey released two more studio projects together, with party hits like “Let’s Get Down,” featuring DJ Quik, and timeless slow jams including “Whatever You Want,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” “(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow” and “Anniversary,” a standard in the Black music romance canon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve always wanted a song like ‘Chestnuts’ like Nat King Cole, something that everybody played at some point, and ‘Anniversary’ was that type of song. I knew the subject matter wasn’t one that I thought was dated, but you couldn’t tell me that it was going to be this type of song,” said Saadiq. “When it comes on and couples grab each other, we know that it took on a whole different life that we couldn’t see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The blood relatives also couldn’t predict how their success would affect their relationship. The Tonyies went their separate ways after their fourth album, 1996’s platinum-selling \u003cem>House of Music\u003c/em>. Fame, finances, miscommunication and creative differences were unsustainable for the group. However, Saadiq is hesitant to use the word “breakup.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I didn’t call them and go, ‘I quit! I’m mad at you guys!’ It wasn’t even like that. We’d been around each other our whole life,” said Saadiq. “What everybody saw as a breakup wasn’t really a breakup; we just noticed that we weren’t making music at that time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiggins and Riley toured under the group’s name between 1998 and 2018, with Amar Khalil taking over lead singing duties. Riley played on tracks for artists like Will Smith and Alicia Keys, and still collaborated with Saadiq on various songs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiggins, meanwhile, opened his West Oakland recording studio House of Music, where he produced and helped grow young artists who would become some of today’s brightest young stars, including Zendaya, H.E.R., Kehlani and even Destiny’s Child: he signed the group to his label Grass Roots Entertainment in 1994, back when they were known as Girls’ Tyme. He’s also worked with some of the biggest names in Bay Area hip-hop, including Too Short, Messy Marv and The Coup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saadiq achieved remarkable solo success with five solo studio albums, fashioning hits like “Ask of You,” “Be Here” featuring D’Angelo, “Get Involved” with Q-Tip and “Love That Girl.” He produced big records like Erykah Badu’s “Love of My Life” and two of D’Angelo’s biggest songs, “Lady” and “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” and also worked with Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige and TLC. In 2000, he joined En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest to form the supergroup Lucy Pearl, resulting in the popular song “Dance Tonight.”\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/dYWuAw_aCZY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/dYWuAw_aCZY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #ffffff\">p\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\nSaadiq has also had hits with both Beyoncé and Solange Knowles: In 2016, he executive produced Solange’s critically acclaimed album \u003cem>A Seat at the Table\u003c/em>. And earlier this year, he was involved in Beyoncé’s \u003cem>Renaissance\u003c/em> project, helping write and produce “PURE/HONEY” and the Grammy-winning “CUFF IT” (its funky guitar rhythm was originally created for a potential Tony! Toni! Toné song, he has said).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While their careers have thrived separately, Saadiq and Riley, both 57, and Wiggins, 62, say they’re relishing in their reunion. The family members vow not to let outside influences like managers, record executives and the entertainment business as a whole drive them apart again, realizing that time — at least in the professional sense — is no longer a luxury.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think it’s been really cool to hear younger kids sample our music and make new songs with our music,” Riley said. “It’s like it lives on and you have a whole new generation that actually knows about you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saadiq agrees and is trying to live in the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did always feel the love from our peers and fans and people just in general — it felt really good,” he said. “But it feels different now — we feel the love. We can actually step outside of who we are, and then actually smell the roses.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the early 2000s, the underground DVD business was a major conduit of culture. Through films I purchased from my neighborhood independent DVD retailer, I got insight into the backstory of hip-hop artists and street culture all across the United States.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the films that showcased some of the overlooked inner-city Black communities of this country during that time period, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952526/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included an early depiction of hyphy culture as I knew it to be — hyper aggressive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the “hyphy movement” spread in years to come, the way the culture was shown deviated drastically from the origins of the term. It was made palatable for mainstream audiences and sellable for record labels. A lot of people outside of the region, and even people within the Bay Area, grew to think of hyphy as more comical than militant. And with that, some of the artists began to cater to that image, almost becoming caricatures themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an avid Bay Area hip-hop consumer, this impacted me directly. But the people who were working behind the scenes, making media and contributing to the culture, were hit even harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode, filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cashoutrichkid/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aquis “Cash Out Quis” Bryant\u003c/a> discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre’s former manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seasidestretch/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chioke “Seaside Stretch” McCoy\u003c/a> shares insight on how Dre’s murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the “hyphy movement” and ran with it. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ritaforte/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rita Forte\u003c/a>, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after a bad experience working for a local radio station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3978396932&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the early 2000s, the “Independent” DVD business was booming, discs were being sold in barbershops and train stations around the country. I’d get mine from a set of twin brothers who used to slang burnt CDs and DVDs on the corner of Alcatraz and Market street in North Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All I needed was a few bucks and I could purchase anything they had– animated children’s movies, raunchy adult flicks or even blockbuster films. But what caught my attention were the underground documentaries about hip-hop and the streets of America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Locally, there were joints like Go Dumb USA, Oakland Gone Wild, and High Side’N 1 & 2. These films took viewers to a world not readily shown in the mainstream or silver screen, which gave insight to stories of street culture in America. I loved that kind of media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, as a young journalist, that wasn’t the kind of media I was making. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if I was talking about similar topics, my work was a little more, um, mainstream. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2006, through Oakland’s Youth Radio, I wrote and published an audio commentary for National Public Radio. It was about the cycle of birth and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Radio Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says the problems are all related.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My commentary was partially inspired by my friend Willie Clay, who had been killed in January of that year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Will was my boy, and to be putting on a button-up and these hard-bottom shoes to put him in a casket, it just didn’t seem real.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>I was proud to honor a friend’s story on national airwaves. And, at the same time, I was hella frustrated: none of the homies were going to hear it. You’d be farfetched to find a group of teenage Black men riding around slappin’ their local NPR station. I felt confined. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was doing stories about my community, but they were being made palatable for predominantly white middle class audiences. I wanted to tell stories that would be on the local hip-hop radio station, or on BET. I wanted to make a hood classic, like the bootleg DVDs people were selling. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, I didn’t have a lane for that. So, I was using what channels I had to tell stories of what I was experiencing. And I was just one of the many folks in my circle trying to make note of what was happening around us. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then some of my Youth Radio folks did a piece for NPR all about the Hyphy Movement. This one featured my longtime friend, well-known Oakland-based educator and event host, Leon Sykes:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The hyphy movement is an act of free living. It’s like having the Holy Ghost. Something just comes over you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, Leon talked about the spirit and… some of that goofy stuff too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can’t stop, you hear a song, we get hyphy to Mary Had a Little Lamb,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Mary Had a Little Lamb plays for a few seconds, before being interrupted by a record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a lil comical. But it was dope to hear my patnas talk about an aspect of our region’s hip-hop culture on a national program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that story was one of a handful of pieces that came from national outlets– from your MTVs and BETs, to print publications like XXL, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian– they all did specials on the hyphy movement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After years of neglect and underreporting from major media platforms, the Bay Area’s hip-hop scene was once again in the limelight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when the hyphy movement went mainstream, it changed things. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that’s what capitalism does to culture, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> First time I saw “hyphy” in the media was on those hood DVDs from the early 2000s, and it looked a lot different than the national depiction. There was a film series that originally debuted in 2004 named Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2F9H0Vrcs&t=4648s\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">America is a cold place, everywhere you go, it’s the same. The only thing that changes is the slang a muthafucka talks and the weather a muthafucka’s getting money in. Coast to coast, street to street, projects to projects. War to war, zone to zone, side to side, hood to hood this is the blockumentary.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movies featured the grimiest hoods, the biggest guns, and the heaviest regional accents. There was rapping, fashion, cars, drugs, and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood changed everything for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to showing me what was happening in the neighborhoods all around this country, the footage on the double disc DVD showed the streets of the Bay Area as I knew them to be: fast, hyperactive, and enticingly dangerous.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was so juiced when I found out this film, a portal into what was going on in pockets of Milwaukee, Baltimore, Memphis and more, was created by someone from the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was going to Black neighborhoods. I was going to low income neighborhoods. I was going to the highest crime rated neighborhoods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s filmmaker Aquis Bryant, aka Cash Out Quis.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a stocky brown brotha, who’s bald with low-cut facial hair, raised on the west coast of the United States in the mighty town of Vallejo, California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis tells me during a recent phone call, that back in the day when he was making this film, he didn’t really have a goal beyond just trying to see how people were \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">getting it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> all across the United States. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The only way you could see how a person was living was to actually go there and see with your own two eyes. It was where, back then, you know, each different region, each different city, everybody had their own particular fashion and slang because the Internet wasn’t merging things. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Quis left Northern California to document what was really happening in working class Black communities around the country. And people let their guard down and showed him things that were going on in their hoods, And Quis captured it on camera,while carrying our region with him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man bringing that Bay Area flag, I was received well, for the simple fact that, you know, the Bay Area is one of the only, like regions in the United States of America that’s not gang banging, as far as like Bloods and Crips.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I slid around the country neutral, you know what I’m saying. I didn’t have any ties to anything that could have been opposing. You know what I mean? Then on top of that, I kept me a nice sized sack of that California weed, that was, you know what I’m saying, is a plus\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, you know, purple was hot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, speaking of weed, the content of the films: drugs, guns and all of that, it toed the line of self incrimination. But in reality, Quis was simply going to places where cameras aren’t often rolling, and people were eager to show him how they were living. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from Hood 2 Hood]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hell yeah, here ya’ll from man?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 1, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check this out mayne, this is yo number one player, Ed Lover from Milton Street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 2, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Respect it or accept it, cause you ain’t gon’ check it. On my momma. Three fingers. You see it. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was like a first of its kind since it was pre YouTube. It was like a whole, like, generation of people that that was their first time traveling out of their areas \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I personally needed to see those other neighborhoods. Through this documentary I saw glimpses of spots like Little Rock, Omaha and Gary, Indiana, locations I’d heard about, but I couldn’t tell you anything about. It made me feel connected. Like, their hood is just like our hood. And their stories aren’t getting widely told either. And the Bay isn’t the only slept on region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if it was a bit sensational, it was dope to see my area mentioned as a part of this bigger story of hip-hop and street culture in America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first of Quis’ three-part Hood 2 Hood documentary series was filmed a few years prior to the explosion of the quote “hyphy movement.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It shows what “hyphy” was before it became mainstream enough to be mentioned on NPR. And unfortunately, like many things in popular culture, it took a tragic incident to get the hyphy movement on the national map… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Halloween night 2004, Andre Hicks, beloved rapper known to fans and loved ones as Mac Dre, was killed after performing at a show in Kansas City, Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His death led to him becoming the patron saint of the hyphy movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – Thizzle Dance by Mac Dre]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To this day, when his music comes on, people turn hands to form T’s and Thizz dance in his honor. “Do it for Mac Dre,” is a battle cry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His life’s story is legendary: after achieving early stardom as a rapper in the late 80s and early 90s, he was sent to prison for conspiracy to rob a bank. He didn’t budge when pushed to snitch on his comrades. And after he was released, he reinvented himself and made music that impacted a generation of kids of all races from this region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis says Dre’s passing kicked off a new chapter in the story of the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The hyphy stuff really starts like we had been doing it, but it didn’t really get on like a national, national scene until like after Dre died, it was picking up steam… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mac Dre’s music was foundational. And the photos and videos his Thizz Nation camp produced gave visuals to culture of the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis looks at Mac Dre’s Treal TV 1 and Treal TV 2 as landmark films of that era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah man, it was just a build up and then, you know, it start like, bringing our culture to, like, the forefront.you know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news of Mac Dre’s death sent a wave of grief through the Bay, but no one felt it like the folks inside of Dre’s camp. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mac Dre, before his passing, it was just– he was, he was releasing music at a different pace than everybody else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Chioke McCoy, aka Seaside Stretch, a promoter and manager who’s worked with a little bit of everybody, from San Francisco’s pop star 24k Goldn to one of Atlanta’s coldest lyricists and political activists, Killer Mike. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch started off working with Mac Dre after a chance meeting on a flight from Vegas back to the Bay. The two linked there, but didn’t become formal partners until a few years later. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was literally when Thizz entertainment started. So that was somewhere around – formerly working with him – somewhere around like 2002, 2003.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch started with promoting for Mac Dre, and over the years he’s worked with the motherload of artists from Northern California. In 2006, Stretch was focused on working with North Oakland’s Mistah F.A.B. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Things were active in the Bay musically back then, but Stretch says the culture didn’t make sense to outsiders. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think that at the time everybody felt as if the bay was being ignored, blackballed, hated on, or whatever. But in reality, the Bay Area was just going to its own beat of its own drum, didn’t play by anybody else’s rules, didn’t kiss no ass, didn’t do any of the things that other people would do to get on. Meaning that like Bay artists weren’t moving to New York or moving to L.A. or like Atlanta. They wasn’t doing none of that. They was waiting for people to come to the Bay. And I think that at the time it was like, ‘well, if they don’t fuck with us, then we’ll just do our own thing.’ So I think the 2006 was a culmination of doing your own thing and it paying off where you were not not concerned with what was going on on the outside.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch says that the term “hyphy”, commercially, wasn’t reflective of what was happening in neighborhoods across Northern California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was presented in a way that would be more friendly to everybody. You know what I mean? Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different than what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, ‘Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time.’ No, that meant that they were destructive and violent, you know what I am saying? So, I think that, you know, it was marketed in the way that, you know, that corporations do to sell a product, which was the music so… That’s the results of what people seen and what people lived were two different things. But I think it became a self-fulfilling prophecy where the people who were a part of the culture ended up changing things to fit what was sellable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch says the first time he even heard the term “hyphy movement” was through a marketing scheme Warner Brothers put together for the Fairfield-based group, The Federation. And the next time Stretch heard the term was also through the media.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was like a little doc called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hype on Hyphy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And it was dubbed “the Hyphy movement” and they were trying to put it in context. I think it was on BET or something to kind of show everybody what this new big thing is, because at the time there was also the snap movement that was going on in Atlanta, which was very successful and very commercially successful. And you can kind of, you know, that was being exposed to the world already. You also had what was going on in Houston, which was being exposed to the world already. So this was, oh a prepackaged, another movement we can put together and get behind, show the world, you know what I’m saying, and capitalize off. And that’s the first time I heard the term “hyphy movement.” You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Prepackaged movement.” “Capitalize off it.” Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I recall the BET documentary, as well as the Rap City series BET did, where they highlighted Hyphy for a week. Mixed emotions: while our lifestyle was in the limelight, the story wasn’t quite right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A more accurate depiction came from Oakland’s Sway Calloway, as he hosted a special on the Bay for MTV’s My Block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The episode starts with a nod to historical hip-hop figures, with cameos from MC Hammer and members of the Almighty Hieroglyphics. They were posted in the Dubs, a couple blocks from where my friend Will was killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Sway Calloway: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up world, welcome to My Block: The Bay, now this show is extremely important to me because this is literally my block, East Oakland 23rd Ave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They do segments with E-40 and Too Short, as well as Zion-I and Nump. At one point, San Francisco’s San Quinn tells Sway, “I’m part of the hyphy movement, but my raps ain’t funny.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In another segment Keak Da Sneak explains how Hyphy is another way of saying hyperactive. Stretch, who had seen “hyphy” become commodified, also looked to Keak for the origins of the term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – That’s My Word by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“…doing hella shit at one time,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Arguably one of the biggest hyphy songs, That’s My Word, he says, “doing hella shit at one time. My definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” [laugh] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the Godfather of hyphy, gave you his definition of what it was. As somebody from East Oakland, I think that he would probably be qualified to define what hyphy was. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – T-shirts, Blue Jeans, and Nikes by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the early 2000s, you could drive through East Oakland, bank a right on Bancroft and hear this Keak Da Sneak song blappin’ out of the speakers in front of a record store and cultural hub, named Moses Music.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the person on the ones and twos was probably Rita Forte– formerly known as DJ Backside. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I literally asked the owner, who’s- his name was Moses, could I set up my turntables and just come on a Saturday and just DJ right outside, like for the public, just for free. Just so that people can see me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to spinning at the record store and breaking local artists’ records, Rita used to spin at parties and functions I attended. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She has locs now, but back then Rita, a taller brown-skinned sista would often wear her hair straightened to shoulder length or rock a baseball hat. She’d also wear these shirts that read “Got Bay?” with a question mark, a play off the old school Got Milk? Commercial. And she had a mixtape series of the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then Rita was also traveling around the country, taking the Town with her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Different cities would want me to come to their city and play a Hyphy set. You know, at first I didn’t catch on. I thought they just wanted to hire me. I don’t know, sometimes I’m that naive, but when they sent me the flier, it would say like Hyphy set by DJ Backside. I was like, Oh, you know.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it worked for her, taking Rita from spinning records in East Oakland to spinning the globe. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got to travel internationally. I got to travel to Taiwan and to Germany, and those gigs definitely, they wanted me to play the Hyphy set. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when you went to Germany and you were playing like white Ts, blue jeans and Nike’s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah it was great.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What was that like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They were rocking to it. I mean, they knew that what I was coming to play. So there was definitely people in the crowd who knew it. There were people in the crowd who were, as I remember, you know, requesting certain songs, ‘Play that um E-40’ or whatever. You know, sometimes it would be a song that I would just be like, ‘For real? You know that?’ I mean, Hyphy– it stretched. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy stretched but it was also confining. Through her travels, Rita saw the limitations as it was a regional sound that was different than most other hip-hop at the time, especially on the East Coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anytime I would go to New York, I would like drop by like probably at least five or six different record labels. It was a lot of kind of executives that I think we’re kind of like, you know, I don’t know if I would say hating, but just like being ‘what is this hyphy thing?’ And to be honest, I still think a lot of them still, you know, wonder what hyphy was, to this day. I feel like I had a recent conversation with someone and they were like,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah, I never really understood it. I mean, are you guys still hyphy?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Never really got it,’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know? So when I hear that, I’m not too surprised because I don’t think we were the best translators of the movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Rita, she tried taking that into her own hands.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I would come back to the Bay, I’d be like, ‘Yo, Keak, this is what you know, you need to do this in your video,’ or FAB or, you know, Too $hort, whatever. Just any time I could have like, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a little word or conversation with any of the artists, I’m like, ‘You need to make a video for this.’ You know what I mean? ‘You need to show.’ There’s so many hyphy songs that did not get videos, that was hugely a downfall.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s efforts to push the Bay’s culture also led to her getting a show on air as a DJ and host with 106.1 KMEL, the Bay Area’s leading hip-hop station. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having her own slot as a DJ and host on KMEL was huge for Rita’s career. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But she felt like they were short-changing her with the time slot they offered. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I thought that was kind of odd uh just hearing it. I was like 12 to 2 am, who am I gonna– on a Friday night? Like, what? Y’all can’t give me something, you know, in the daytime or something? You know that’s, that’s definitely what I was thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita eventually took the gig, working from midnight Friday night until 2am Saturday morning. And it worked for her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was on there every week, you know, at that time slot. And it turned out to be a cool timeslot, to be honest with you. People was getting out the club on a Friday night and they was turning me on, you know? So it was good. So I don’t know if they thought about that or what, but like it turned out to be an excellent timeslot.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so KMEL definitely did that for me. It definitely elevated my career as a DJ, my success. I got opportunities, like I was saying, traveling, being on BET, working with all the artists in the Bay, working with artists outside of the Bay. And my show, not only was I a DJ, I was also an on air personality, so I also got to speak. So I would do interviews and everything like that. And I mean, that is some… that is some power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Rita joined KMEL, the station was going through some \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.daveyd.com/articleradiosucks.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turbulent times.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the years prior, it had been absorbed by the major media conglomerate, Clear Channel. Then, Management fired some very well-liked on-air hosts. Local artists were upset that the place known as “The People’s Station” wasn’t playing local music as much anymore. And\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/kmel-tunes-into-cry-for-community-input-2677235.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> community organizers\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">met with station reps to discuss the station’s content, amongst other things. Plus, there were competing hip-hop stations in the same market that were growing in popularity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I didn’t really understand that whole thing to the depth that I think I should have. Umm, You know, I’ll say the word, you know, cause eventually, maybe like six or eight months later, you know, I think someone said the word to me. They were like, yeah, like ‘You were like a pawn. You know, you were a chess piece.’ You know, you know, ‘You were used in this situation” and really, like putting it that clear to me. I was like, Ohhhhhh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita felt like her hiring was a part of the station’s attempt to show the community’s involvement. And then when she wasn’t needed anymore, things shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s timeslot got moved back one hour and shortened. She was now on from 2am-3am on Saturday mornings, a relatively dead time. She took the change in stride, even took to Myspace to encourage her followers to tune in to her new and improved time of 2am. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also changed her personal schedule, she’d go to clubs or events before her radio show. Or sometimes just pull up to the station and sleep out front in her car until it was time to go on air.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One night I was in my car, sleeping, and I overslept. And I woke up, I remember, I woke up at three, at three, like on the dot, right after when my show was ending. And I was just like, [sigh] I just, I just knew it. I was like, that’s it. They’re going to use this. This is the end. And that’s exactly what happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita was let go from KMEL after she missed her DJ slot, and she never worked in radio again. She feels like she was blackballed back then, and to this day she still feels the weight of that time. After all that she did for the hyphy movement, she didn’t really get that in return. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The fact that I was one of the biggest proponents of the hyphy movement. Again, I was traveling, I was getting hired outside. You know, I was one of the very few DJs doing that, like on large scales, like BET, like wearing my “Got bay?” shirt, you know, on TV, you know, shouting out these artists. Turf Talk, I remember when I came back from BET, Turf Talk was like, ‘Man, you shouted me out on BET!’ Like it was a big deal, you know. So I was out there campaigning for hyphy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was just hard to really figure out like, what was real and what wasn’t and who had my back and who didn’t. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As an avid consumer of Bay Area hip-hop, man, I had no idea this was happening behind the scenes. But As I talk to folks about this era, it’s clear Rita’s story of the highs and lows of that period aren’t rare. Lots of people had career changing experiences back then. Numerous artists had projects shelved and contracts fall through. Clubs where shootings occurred were shut down. Rappers, dancers and models got caught up in fast money and drugs, things that didn’t last long. But for some folks like Rita, the dreams that didn’t pan out then, led to new opportunities today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking back at it now, do you feel like that incident led to your career trajectory changing? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Absolutely. I mean, we’re sitting in the career trajectory change right now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were sitting in the office of her graphic design and T-shirt printing company, The Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After being DJ Backside for for 10-11 years, I learned a lot about choosing a name because that name was ooh spicy! So I really wanted to take the time of choosing a name for this next endeavor, the Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Olive Street in East Oakland is where Rita’s family has owned property for three generartions.And through her family, Rita’s developed a deep religious devotion and a sincere appreciation for the stories in the Bible. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my faves, though, of course, is the story of Noah and the Arc, and specifically the part of that story where, you know, they’re out there, it’s raining, pouring, and Noah sends out a dove and the dove comes back with a olive branch in it’s mouth signifying that there’s hope, there’s land out there, there’s a tree out there, and to keep going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even though Rita is no longer spinning records or interviewing hip-hop artists live on the radio, some of the people she met back then are clients of her printing company. They use shirts to campaign for office, memorialize loved ones, or promote an upcoming project – I guess that’s storytelling on a different scale.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rita herself is still channeling the spirit of the soil and telling the story of a kid from East Oakland. But now it’s through an entity that she owns.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While capitalism can corrupt culture, you’re never gonna stop the independent entrepreneurs from telling their story. Especially out here, the home of slangin’ tapes out the trunk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Next time, on the final episode of Hyphy Kids Got Trauma, we discuss this generation as a whole, and the philosophy written in graffiti that inspired this project:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… Pretty much, it turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Sheree Bishop, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, Cesar Saldaña, Katie Sprenger, Ryce Stoughtenborough and Nastia Voynovskaya. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, and so many more. Keep it lit, peace. \u003c/span>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "With filmmaker Aquis Bryant, Mac Dre's former manager Chioke McCoy, and Rita Forte (DJ Backside).",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 3, ‘From DVDs to MTV’ | KQED",
"description": "In this episode, filmmaker Aquis "Cash Out Quis" Bryant discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre's former manager, Chioke "Seaside Stretch" McCoy shares insight on how Dre's murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the "hyphy movement" and ran with it. And Rita Forte, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after bad experience while working for a local radio station.",
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"socialDescription": "In this episode, filmmaker Aquis "Cash Out Quis" Bryant discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre's former manager, Chioke "Seaside Stretch" McCoy shares insight on how Dre's murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the "hyphy movement" and ran with it. And Rita Forte, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after bad experience while working for a local radio station.",
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"headline": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 3, ‘From DVDs to MTV’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the early 2000s, the underground DVD business was a major conduit of culture. Through films I purchased from my neighborhood independent DVD retailer, I got insight into the backstory of hip-hop artists and street culture all across the United States.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the films that showcased some of the overlooked inner-city Black communities of this country during that time period, \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952526/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary\u003c/a>\u003c/em>, also included an early depiction of hyphy culture as I knew it to be — hyper aggressive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the “hyphy movement” spread in years to come, the way the culture was shown deviated drastically from the origins of the term. It was made palatable for mainstream audiences and sellable for record labels. A lot of people outside of the region, and even people within the Bay Area, grew to think of hyphy as more comical than militant. And with that, some of the artists began to cater to that image, almost becoming caricatures themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an avid Bay Area hip-hop consumer, this impacted me directly. But the people who were working behind the scenes, making media and contributing to the culture, were hit even harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this episode, filmmaker \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cashoutrichkid/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aquis “Cash Out Quis” Bryant\u003c/a> discusses the era before hyphy went nationwide. Mac Dre’s former manager \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/seasidestretch/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chioke “Seaside Stretch” McCoy\u003c/a> shares insight on how Dre’s murder pushed the culture into the spotlight; and how the industry subsequently took the “hyphy movement” and ran with it. And \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/ritaforte/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rita Forte\u003c/a>, a former radio host known as DJ Backside, opens up about the highs of taking the hyphy sound around the world, and the lows of seeing her DJ career come crashing down after a bad experience working for a local radio station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC3978396932&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\n \u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the early 2000s, the “Independent” DVD business was booming, discs were being sold in barbershops and train stations around the country. I’d get mine from a set of twin brothers who used to slang burnt CDs and DVDs on the corner of Alcatraz and Market street in North Oakland.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">All I needed was a few bucks and I could purchase anything they had– animated children’s movies, raunchy adult flicks or even blockbuster films. But what caught my attention were the underground documentaries about hip-hop and the streets of America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Locally, there were joints like Go Dumb USA, Oakland Gone Wild, and High Side’N 1 & 2. These films took viewers to a world not readily shown in the mainstream or silver screen, which gave insight to stories of street culture in America. I loved that kind of media. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, as a young journalist, that wasn’t the kind of media I was making. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if I was talking about similar topics, my work was a little more, um, mainstream. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2006, through Oakland’s Youth Radio, I wrote and published an audio commentary for National Public Radio. It was about the cycle of birth and death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Radio Announcer:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Radio’s Pendarvis Harshaw says the problems are all related.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My commentary was partially inspired by my friend Willie Clay, who had been killed in January of that year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Will was my boy, and to be putting on a button-up and these hard-bottom shoes to put him in a casket, it just didn’t seem real.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>I was proud to honor a friend’s story on national airwaves. And, at the same time, I was hella frustrated: none of the homies were going to hear it. You’d be farfetched to find a group of teenage Black men riding around slappin’ their local NPR station. I felt confined. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was doing stories about my community, but they were being made palatable for predominantly white middle class audiences. I wanted to tell stories that would be on the local hip-hop radio station, or on BET. I wanted to make a hood classic, like the bootleg DVDs people were selling. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, I didn’t have a lane for that. So, I was using what channels I had to tell stories of what I was experiencing. And I was just one of the many folks in my circle trying to make note of what was happening around us. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then some of my Youth Radio folks did a piece for NPR all about the Hyphy Movement. This one featured my longtime friend, well-known Oakland-based educator and event host, Leon Sykes:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">: The hyphy movement is an act of free living. It’s like having the Holy Ghost. Something just comes over you. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, Leon talked about the spirit and… some of that goofy stuff too. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Leon Sykes, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You can’t stop, you hear a song, we get hyphy to Mary Had a Little Lamb,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Mary Had a Little Lamb plays for a few seconds, before being interrupted by a record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a lil comical. But it was dope to hear my patnas talk about an aspect of our region’s hip-hop culture on a national program. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that story was one of a handful of pieces that came from national outlets– from your MTVs and BETs, to print publications like XXL, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian– they all did specials on the hyphy movement. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After years of neglect and underreporting from major media platforms, the Bay Area’s hip-hop scene was once again in the limelight. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But when the hyphy movement went mainstream, it changed things. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And that’s what capitalism does to culture, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> First time I saw “hyphy” in the media was on those hood DVDs from the early 2000s, and it looked a lot different than the national depiction. There was a film series that originally debuted in 2004 named Hood 2 Hood: The Blockumentary. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez2F9H0Vrcs&t=4648s\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">America is a cold place, everywhere you go, it’s the same. The only thing that changes is the slang a muthafucka talks and the weather a muthafucka’s getting money in. Coast to coast, street to street, projects to projects. War to war, zone to zone, side to side, hood to hood this is the blockumentary.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The movies featured the grimiest hoods, the biggest guns, and the heaviest regional accents. There was rapping, fashion, cars, drugs, and more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hood 2 Hood changed everything for me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to showing me what was happening in the neighborhoods all around this country, the footage on the double disc DVD showed the streets of the Bay Area as I knew them to be: fast, hyperactive, and enticingly dangerous.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was so juiced when I found out this film, a portal into what was going on in pockets of Milwaukee, Baltimore, Memphis and more, was created by someone from the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was going to Black neighborhoods. I was going to low income neighborhoods. I was going to the highest crime rated neighborhoods.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s filmmaker Aquis Bryant, aka Cash Out Quis.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s a stocky brown brotha, who’s bald with low-cut facial hair, raised on the west coast of the United States in the mighty town of Vallejo, California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis tells me during a recent phone call, that back in the day when he was making this film, he didn’t really have a goal beyond just trying to see how people were \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">getting it\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> all across the United States. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The only way you could see how a person was living was to actually go there and see with your own two eyes. It was where, back then, you know, each different region, each different city, everybody had their own particular fashion and slang because the Internet wasn’t merging things. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Quis left Northern California to document what was really happening in working class Black communities around the country. And people let their guard down and showed him things that were going on in their hoods, And Quis captured it on camera,while carrying our region with him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man bringing that Bay Area flag, I was received well, for the simple fact that, you know, the Bay Area is one of the only, like regions in the United States of America that’s not gang banging, as far as like Bloods and Crips.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I slid around the country neutral, you know what I’m saying. I didn’t have any ties to anything that could have been opposing. You know what I mean? Then on top of that, I kept me a nice sized sack of that California weed, that was, you know what I’m saying, is a plus\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At that time, you know, purple was hot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, speaking of weed, the content of the films: drugs, guns and all of that, it toed the line of self incrimination. But in reality, Quis was simply going to places where cameras aren’t often rolling, and people were eager to show him how they were living. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Clip from Hood 2 Hood]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hell yeah, here ya’ll from man?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 1, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check this out mayne, this is yo number one player, Ed Lover from Milton Street. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Person 2, in clip: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Respect it or accept it, cause you ain’t gon’ check it. On my momma. Three fingers. You see it. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was like a first of its kind since it was pre YouTube. It was like a whole, like, generation of people that that was their first time traveling out of their areas \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I personally needed to see those other neighborhoods. Through this documentary I saw glimpses of spots like Little Rock, Omaha and Gary, Indiana, locations I’d heard about, but I couldn’t tell you anything about. It made me feel connected. Like, their hood is just like our hood. And their stories aren’t getting widely told either. And the Bay isn’t the only slept on region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even if it was a bit sensational, it was dope to see my area mentioned as a part of this bigger story of hip-hop and street culture in America. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The first of Quis’ three-part Hood 2 Hood documentary series was filmed a few years prior to the explosion of the quote “hyphy movement.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It shows what “hyphy” was before it became mainstream enough to be mentioned on NPR. And unfortunately, like many things in popular culture, it took a tragic incident to get the hyphy movement on the national map… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On Halloween night 2004, Andre Hicks, beloved rapper known to fans and loved ones as Mac Dre, was killed after performing at a show in Kansas City, Missouri. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His death led to him becoming the patron saint of the hyphy movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – Thizzle Dance by Mac Dre]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To this day, when his music comes on, people turn hands to form T’s and Thizz dance in his honor. “Do it for Mac Dre,” is a battle cry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">His life’s story is legendary: after achieving early stardom as a rapper in the late 80s and early 90s, he was sent to prison for conspiracy to rob a bank. He didn’t budge when pushed to snitch on his comrades. And after he was released, he reinvented himself and made music that impacted a generation of kids of all races from this region. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis says Dre’s passing kicked off a new chapter in the story of the Bay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The hyphy stuff really starts like we had been doing it, but it didn’t really get on like a national, national scene until like after Dre died, it was picking up steam… \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mac Dre’s music was foundational. And the photos and videos his Thizz Nation camp produced gave visuals to culture of the Bay Area. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quis looks at Mac Dre’s Treal TV 1 and Treal TV 2 as landmark films of that era.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Quis Bryant: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah man, it was just a build up and then, you know, it start like, bringing our culture to, like, the forefront.you know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news of Mac Dre’s death sent a wave of grief through the Bay, but no one felt it like the folks inside of Dre’s camp. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mac Dre, before his passing, it was just– he was, he was releasing music at a different pace than everybody else.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s Chioke McCoy, aka Seaside Stretch, a promoter and manager who’s worked with a little bit of everybody, from San Francisco’s pop star 24k Goldn to one of Atlanta’s coldest lyricists and political activists, Killer Mike. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch started off working with Mac Dre after a chance meeting on a flight from Vegas back to the Bay. The two linked there, but didn’t become formal partners until a few years later. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was literally when Thizz entertainment started. So that was somewhere around – formerly working with him – somewhere around like 2002, 2003.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch started with promoting for Mac Dre, and over the years he’s worked with the motherload of artists from Northern California. In 2006, Stretch was focused on working with North Oakland’s Mistah F.A.B. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Things were active in the Bay musically back then, but Stretch says the culture didn’t make sense to outsiders. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I think that at the time everybody felt as if the bay was being ignored, blackballed, hated on, or whatever. But in reality, the Bay Area was just going to its own beat of its own drum, didn’t play by anybody else’s rules, didn’t kiss no ass, didn’t do any of the things that other people would do to get on. Meaning that like Bay artists weren’t moving to New York or moving to L.A. or like Atlanta. They wasn’t doing none of that. They was waiting for people to come to the Bay. And I think that at the time it was like, ‘well, if they don’t fuck with us, then we’ll just do our own thing.’ So I think the 2006 was a culmination of doing your own thing and it paying off where you were not not concerned with what was going on on the outside.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Stretch says that the term “hyphy”, commercially, wasn’t reflective of what was happening in neighborhoods across Northern California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was presented in a way that would be more friendly to everybody. You know what I mean? Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different than what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, ‘Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time.’ No, that meant that they were destructive and violent, you know what I am saying? So, I think that, you know, it was marketed in the way that, you know, that corporations do to sell a product, which was the music so… That’s the results of what people seen and what people lived were two different things. But I think it became a self-fulfilling prophecy where the people who were a part of the culture ended up changing things to fit what was sellable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stretch says the first time he even heard the term “hyphy movement” was through a marketing scheme Warner Brothers put together for the Fairfield-based group, The Federation. And the next time Stretch heard the term was also through the media.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was like a little doc called \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Hype on Hyphy\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And it was dubbed “the Hyphy movement” and they were trying to put it in context. I think it was on BET or something to kind of show everybody what this new big thing is, because at the time there was also the snap movement that was going on in Atlanta, which was very successful and very commercially successful. And you can kind of, you know, that was being exposed to the world already. You also had what was going on in Houston, which was being exposed to the world already. So this was, oh a prepackaged, another movement we can put together and get behind, show the world, you know what I’m saying, and capitalize off. And that’s the first time I heard the term “hyphy movement.” You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Prepackaged movement.” “Capitalize off it.” Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I recall the BET documentary, as well as the Rap City series BET did, where they highlighted Hyphy for a week. Mixed emotions: while our lifestyle was in the limelight, the story wasn’t quite right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A more accurate depiction came from Oakland’s Sway Calloway, as he hosted a special on the Bay for MTV’s My Block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The episode starts with a nod to historical hip-hop figures, with cameos from MC Hammer and members of the Almighty Hieroglyphics. They were posted in the Dubs, a couple blocks from where my friend Will was killed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clip of Sway Calloway: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What’s up world, welcome to My Block: The Bay, now this show is extremely important to me because this is literally my block, East Oakland 23rd Ave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They do segments with E-40 and Too Short, as well as Zion-I and Nump. At one point, San Francisco’s San Quinn tells Sway, “I’m part of the hyphy movement, but my raps ain’t funny.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In another segment Keak Da Sneak explains how Hyphy is another way of saying hyperactive. Stretch, who had seen “hyphy” become commodified, also looked to Keak for the origins of the term.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – That’s My Word by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“…doing hella shit at one time,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Arguably one of the biggest hyphy songs, That’s My Word, he says, “doing hella shit at one time. My definition of hyphy is Thizzing and sniffing lines.” [laugh] \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the Godfather of hyphy, gave you his definition of what it was. As somebody from East Oakland, I think that he would probably be qualified to define what hyphy was. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music – T-shirts, Blue Jeans, and Nikes by Keak Da Sneak]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a sunny Saturday afternoon in the early 2000s, you could drive through East Oakland, bank a right on Bancroft and hear this Keak Da Sneak song blappin’ out of the speakers in front of a record store and cultural hub, named Moses Music.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the person on the ones and twos was probably Rita Forte– formerly known as DJ Backside. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I literally asked the owner, who’s- his name was Moses, could I set up my turntables and just come on a Saturday and just DJ right outside, like for the public, just for free. Just so that people can see me. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to spinning at the record store and breaking local artists’ records, Rita used to spin at parties and functions I attended. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She has locs now, but back then Rita, a taller brown-skinned sista would often wear her hair straightened to shoulder length or rock a baseball hat. She’d also wear these shirts that read “Got Bay?” with a question mark, a play off the old school Got Milk? Commercial. And she had a mixtape series of the same name.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then Rita was also traveling around the country, taking the Town with her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Different cities would want me to come to their city and play a Hyphy set. You know, at first I didn’t catch on. I thought they just wanted to hire me. I don’t know, sometimes I’m that naive, but when they sent me the flier, it would say like Hyphy set by DJ Backside. I was like, Oh, you know.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it worked for her, taking Rita from spinning records in East Oakland to spinning the globe. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I got to travel internationally. I got to travel to Taiwan and to Germany, and those gigs definitely, they wanted me to play the Hyphy set. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So when you went to Germany and you were playing like white Ts, blue jeans and Nike’s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah it was great.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> What was that like? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They were rocking to it. I mean, they knew that what I was coming to play. So there was definitely people in the crowd who knew it. There were people in the crowd who were, as I remember, you know, requesting certain songs, ‘Play that um E-40’ or whatever. You know, sometimes it would be a song that I would just be like, ‘For real? You know that?’ I mean, Hyphy– it stretched. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy stretched but it was also confining. Through her travels, Rita saw the limitations as it was a regional sound that was different than most other hip-hop at the time, especially on the East Coast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anytime I would go to New York, I would like drop by like probably at least five or six different record labels. It was a lot of kind of executives that I think we’re kind of like, you know, I don’t know if I would say hating, but just like being ‘what is this hyphy thing?’ And to be honest, I still think a lot of them still, you know, wonder what hyphy was, to this day. I feel like I had a recent conversation with someone and they were like,\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah, I never really understood it. I mean, are you guys still hyphy?’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Yeah’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">‘Never really got it,’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know? So when I hear that, I’m not too surprised because I don’t think we were the best translators of the movement.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Rita, she tried taking that into her own hands.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I would come back to the Bay, I’d be like, ‘Yo, Keak, this is what you know, you need to do this in your video,’ or FAB or, you know, Too $hort, whatever. Just any time I could have like, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">a little word or conversation with any of the artists, I’m like, ‘You need to make a video for this.’ You know what I mean? ‘You need to show.’ There’s so many hyphy songs that did not get videos, that was hugely a downfall.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s efforts to push the Bay’s culture also led to her getting a show on air as a DJ and host with 106.1 KMEL, the Bay Area’s leading hip-hop station. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having her own slot as a DJ and host on KMEL was huge for Rita’s career. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But she felt like they were short-changing her with the time slot they offered. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I thought that was kind of odd uh just hearing it. I was like 12 to 2 am, who am I gonna– on a Friday night? Like, what? Y’all can’t give me something, you know, in the daytime or something? You know that’s, that’s definitely what I was thinking.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita eventually took the gig, working from midnight Friday night until 2am Saturday morning. And it worked for her. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was on there every week, you know, at that time slot. And it turned out to be a cool timeslot, to be honest with you. People was getting out the club on a Friday night and they was turning me on, you know? So it was good. So I don’t know if they thought about that or what, but like it turned out to be an excellent timeslot.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so KMEL definitely did that for me. It definitely elevated my career as a DJ, my success. I got opportunities, like I was saying, traveling, being on BET, working with all the artists in the Bay, working with artists outside of the Bay. And my show, not only was I a DJ, I was also an on air personality, so I also got to speak. So I would do interviews and everything like that. And I mean, that is some… that is some power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Rita joined KMEL, the station was going through some \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.daveyd.com/articleradiosucks.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turbulent times.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In the years prior, it had been absorbed by the major media conglomerate, Clear Channel. Then, Management fired some very well-liked on-air hosts. Local artists were upset that the place known as “The People’s Station” wasn’t playing local music as much anymore. And\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/kmel-tunes-into-cry-for-community-input-2677235.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> community organizers\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">met with station reps to discuss the station’s content, amongst other things. Plus, there were competing hip-hop stations in the same market that were growing in popularity.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I didn’t really understand that whole thing to the depth that I think I should have. Umm, You know, I’ll say the word, you know, cause eventually, maybe like six or eight months later, you know, I think someone said the word to me. They were like, yeah, like ‘You were like a pawn. You know, you were a chess piece.’ You know, you know, ‘You were used in this situation” and really, like putting it that clear to me. I was like, Ohhhhhh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita felt like her hiring was a part of the station’s attempt to show the community’s involvement. And then when she wasn’t needed anymore, things shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita’s timeslot got moved back one hour and shortened. She was now on from 2am-3am on Saturday mornings, a relatively dead time. She took the change in stride, even took to Myspace to encourage her followers to tune in to her new and improved time of 2am. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also changed her personal schedule, she’d go to clubs or events before her radio show. Or sometimes just pull up to the station and sleep out front in her car until it was time to go on air.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One night I was in my car, sleeping, and I overslept. And I woke up, I remember, I woke up at three, at three, like on the dot, right after when my show was ending. And I was just like, [sigh] I just, I just knew it. I was like, that’s it. They’re going to use this. This is the end. And that’s exactly what happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rita was let go from KMEL after she missed her DJ slot, and she never worked in radio again. She feels like she was blackballed back then, and to this day she still feels the weight of that time. After all that she did for the hyphy movement, she didn’t really get that in return. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The fact that I was one of the biggest proponents of the hyphy movement. Again, I was traveling, I was getting hired outside. You know, I was one of the very few DJs doing that, like on large scales, like BET, like wearing my “Got bay?” shirt, you know, on TV, you know, shouting out these artists. Turf Talk, I remember when I came back from BET, Turf Talk was like, ‘Man, you shouted me out on BET!’ Like it was a big deal, you know. So I was out there campaigning for hyphy. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was just hard to really figure out like, what was real and what wasn’t and who had my back and who didn’t. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As an avid consumer of Bay Area hip-hop, man, I had no idea this was happening behind the scenes. But As I talk to folks about this era, it’s clear Rita’s story of the highs and lows of that period aren’t rare. Lots of people had career changing experiences back then. Numerous artists had projects shelved and contracts fall through. Clubs where shootings occurred were shut down. Rappers, dancers and models got caught up in fast money and drugs, things that didn’t last long. But for some folks like Rita, the dreams that didn’t pan out then, led to new opportunities today. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Looking back at it now, do you feel like that incident led to your career trajectory changing? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Absolutely. I mean, we’re sitting in the career trajectory change right now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We were sitting in the office of her graphic design and T-shirt printing company, The Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After being DJ Backside for for 10-11 years, I learned a lot about choosing a name because that name was ooh spicy! So I really wanted to take the time of choosing a name for this next endeavor, the Olive Street Agency. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Olive Street in East Oakland is where Rita’s family has owned property for three generartions.And through her family, Rita’s developed a deep religious devotion and a sincere appreciation for the stories in the Bible. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rita Forte: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of my faves, though, of course, is the story of Noah and the Arc, and specifically the part of that story where, you know, they’re out there, it’s raining, pouring, and Noah sends out a dove and the dove comes back with a olive branch in it’s mouth signifying that there’s hope, there’s land out there, there’s a tree out there, and to keep going.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even though Rita is no longer spinning records or interviewing hip-hop artists live on the radio, some of the people she met back then are clients of her printing company. They use shirts to campaign for office, memorialize loved ones, or promote an upcoming project – I guess that’s storytelling on a different scale.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Rita herself is still channeling the spirit of the soil and telling the story of a kid from East Oakland. But now it’s through an entity that she owns.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While capitalism can corrupt culture, you’re never gonna stop the independent entrepreneurs from telling their story. Especially out here, the home of slangin’ tapes out the trunk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Next time, on the final episode of Hyphy Kids Got Trauma, we discuss this generation as a whole, and the philosophy written in graffiti that inspired this project:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Rich Iyala, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas. Hyphy children got trauma and I put that on mommas… Pretty much, it turned into a chant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Sheree Bishop, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sayre Quevedo, Cesar Saldaña, Katie Sprenger, Ryce Stoughtenborough and Nastia Voynovskaya. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at BayAreaHipHop.com\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks, and so many more. Keep it lit, peace. \u003c/span>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"slug": "house-party-meets-church-in-ian-kelly-and-drew-bangas-soulful-of-it",
"title": "House Party Meets Church in Ian Kelly and Drew Banga's 'Soulful of It'",
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"headTitle": "House Party Meets Church in Ian Kelly and Drew Banga’s ‘Soulful of It’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Very few rappers in Northern California have shown the persistent discipline and sincerity of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13846175/ian-kelly-and-the-role-of-the-bay-area-expatriate\">Ian Kelly\u003c/a> in recent years. And very few hip-hop producers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13859615/rightnowish-rap-producer-drew-banga-on-music-and-fatherhood\">Drew Banga\u003c/a>‘s eclectic musicality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s no surprise then that \u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em> — the one-off collaboration project between the two Oaklanders — is pure love and rhythmic fun. The new 10-track release is church music flipped into hip-hop that reflects on mortality, Bay Area childhood and family communion. As Ian Kelly explained it to KQED, the effort is a “ghetto gospel.”\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=3649000951/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>“It’s really two Oakland kids coming together with Town and church influences,” Kelly says. “Drew’s church influence is way heavier than mine, but I drew from a place of remembering those moments where East Oakland and spirituality collided for me. The way I look at [\u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em>] is like a church and a house party got let out at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 25, the pair of musicians shared their feel-good project with a crowd of first-time listeners at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/innerdesiresongrand/\">Inner Desires\u003c/a>, a sleek, purple-lit streetwear boutique on Grand Avenue in Oakland. The crowd at the release party included members of hip-hop groups Trey Coastal and MacArthur Maze, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13906706/the-year-larussell-called-his-shot\">LaRussell\u003c/a>‘s go-to producer Tope and other cultural factors from around the East Bay. As the music played, everyone bobbed in unison, and the venue became so packed that onlookers had to peek in from the sidewalk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13811388\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13811388\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Drew Banga started his career with the goal of becoming a tour bassist but now has ambitions to top the charts.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Drew Banga started his career with the goal of becoming a tour bassist but now has ambitions to top the charts. \u003ccite>(Kristina Bakrevski )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em> is as smooth as advertised — and harmoniously anchored by the vocal additions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isaiahwitdahair/?hl=en\">Isaiah Mostafa\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/msjanehandcock/?hl=en\">Death Row Records’ Jane Handcock\u003c/a>. Whether it’s a West Coast, synth-heavy cruising jam like “Monday Thru Sunday” or the acoustic riffs on “Distance,” the lyrics are grounded in introspection and romanticized musings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a surfeit of uptempo beats (the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900085/stunnaman02-and-the-big-steppin-energy-in-the-room\">Stunnaman02\u003c/a>-featuring “Bounce”) and Bay Area braggadociousness (“All This Game”) for those in need of hyphy’s holy ghost. “Off the Porch” is a second-summer anthem, with a slow, sing-along group hook accenting Drew Banga’s bass guitar: “Hop off the porch, no baby boy anymore / I’ve been outside, outside, baby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the album, Kelly’s sharp-witted poetics and Drew Banga’s live instrumentation create a gravitational pull of joy — bringing many circles together in the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just feels good to connect with the soil and community,” Kelly says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Oakland rapper and producer teamed up for a smooth project they're calling a 'ghetto gospel.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Very few rappers in Northern California have shown the persistent discipline and sincerity of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13846175/ian-kelly-and-the-role-of-the-bay-area-expatriate\">Ian Kelly\u003c/a> in recent years. And very few hip-hop producers have \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13859615/rightnowish-rap-producer-drew-banga-on-music-and-fatherhood\">Drew Banga\u003c/a>‘s eclectic musicality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s no surprise then that \u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em> — the one-off collaboration project between the two Oaklanders — is pure love and rhythmic fun. The new 10-track release is church music flipped into hip-hop that reflects on mortality, Bay Area childhood and family communion. As Ian Kelly explained it to KQED, the effort is a “ghetto gospel.”\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=3649000951/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>“It’s really two Oakland kids coming together with Town and church influences,” Kelly says. “Drew’s church influence is way heavier than mine, but I drew from a place of remembering those moments where East Oakland and spirituality collided for me. The way I look at [\u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em>] is like a church and a house party got let out at the same time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Sept. 25, the pair of musicians shared their feel-good project with a crowd of first-time listeners at \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/innerdesiresongrand/\">Inner Desires\u003c/a>, a sleek, purple-lit streetwear boutique on Grand Avenue in Oakland. The crowd at the release party included members of hip-hop groups Trey Coastal and MacArthur Maze, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13906706/the-year-larussell-called-his-shot\">LaRussell\u003c/a>‘s go-to producer Tope and other cultural factors from around the East Bay. As the music played, everyone bobbed in unison, and the venue became so packed that onlookers had to peek in from the sidewalk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13811388\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13811388\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"Drew Banga started his career with the goal of becoming a tour bassist but now has ambitions to top the charts.\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/KQED_Drew-28-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Drew Banga started his career with the goal of becoming a tour bassist but now has ambitions to top the charts. \u003ccite>(Kristina Bakrevski )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Soulful of It\u003c/em> is as smooth as advertised — and harmoniously anchored by the vocal additions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/isaiahwitdahair/?hl=en\">Isaiah Mostafa\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/msjanehandcock/?hl=en\">Death Row Records’ Jane Handcock\u003c/a>. Whether it’s a West Coast, synth-heavy cruising jam like “Monday Thru Sunday” or the acoustic riffs on “Distance,” the lyrics are grounded in introspection and romanticized musings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a surfeit of uptempo beats (the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13900085/stunnaman02-and-the-big-steppin-energy-in-the-room\">Stunnaman02\u003c/a>-featuring “Bounce”) and Bay Area braggadociousness (“All This Game”) for those in need of hyphy’s holy ghost. “Off the Porch” is a second-summer anthem, with a slow, sing-along group hook accenting Drew Banga’s bass guitar: “Hop off the porch, no baby boy anymore / I’ve been outside, outside, baby.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the album, Kelly’s sharp-witted poetics and Drew Banga’s live instrumentation create a gravitational pull of joy — bringing many circles together in the process.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It just feels good to connect with the soil and community,” Kelly says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "hyphy-kids-got-trauma-pt-2-we-dance-different",
"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 2, ‘We Dance Different’",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the spring of 2006, I filmed and posted a video to Youth Radio’s YouTube page titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdst63FWSCs\">Stomper Go Dumb\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The video shows the Oakland A’s mascot, a big plush elephant in a baseball jersey and hat, dancing to a song titled “Happy To Be Here,” off of E-40’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> album. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">E-40 delivers lyrics that speak of surviving hard times and losing loved ones along the way. As the music plays, Stomper glides through the parking lot, dancing with the people, one with the letters “RIP” airbrushed on their shirt. A few folks hug each other and smile. This video clip, only a minute in length, is a window into a world where dance and jubilation meet mourning and sadness.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title='Youth Radio: Stomper \"Go Dumb\"' width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdst63FWSCs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the “hyphy movement,” and even prior to having its own name, the style of dance now commonly known as turfin’ or\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turf dancing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> provided an outlet for young folks in Oakland. They could party to their favorite music, have fun by physically telling stories, and express themselves while\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> taking up room on the floor\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through appearances in big-time music videos and participation in dance battles at places like Deep East Oakland’s Youth Uprising Center, young folks not only got to show their moves — they were also able to honor their deceased loved ones.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this episode, we talk to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/turfinentertainment/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeriel Bey\u003c/a>, the person credited with coining the term “turfin’,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jackyj510/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jacky Johnson\u003c/a>, a founding Youth Uprising staff member, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zeusdadunka/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus El, \u003c/a>my longtime friend and a well-known turf dancer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13935479\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-800x623.jpg\" alt=\"Jeriel Bey teaches Turf Dancing classes at Berkeley High School in 2007.\" width=\"800\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-800x623.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1020x795.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-160x125.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-768x599.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1536x1197.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-2048x1596.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1920x1496.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeriel Bey teaches turf dancing classes at Berkeley High School in 2007. \u003ccite>(Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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=KQINC4775019711&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the spring of 2006, there was this video posted on Youtube titled “Stomper Go Dumb.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[chatter, shouting, and cheering from the Stomper Go Dumb video]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The clip is less than a minute long, but it shows something that’s really important. It’s shot in a parking lot. It’s Stomper, the Oakland A’s mascot– a big gray plush elephant in white pants and a forest green and gold baseball jersey. And he’s out there giggin’ to an E-40 song. Ears flapping, feet sliding, arms waving, Stomper is in full party mode, and so are the folks around him. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behind the camera is me. In the footage, Stomper gets close to the camera, daps me up, then he proceeds to glide across the pavement, pausing momentarily to act as if he’s ghostriding the whip, and then he thizz dances. Another guy in an airbrushed white-t stands next to him, giggin’ as well. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The guy’s shirt has the letters RIP boldly written next to an illegible name. And they’re all dancing to E-40’s “Happy to Be Here.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Happy to be Here by E-40 plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The track is off of 40’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">album, one of the few slower tracks off of his landmark project, which is chock full of high energy party anthems. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But in that moment, as we’re posted in front of E-40’s album release party at Tower Records, it’s this song that plays as the A’s mascot is showing off his gigs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">People are dancing and laughing, embracing each other and celebrating, despite having the letters RIP and their friends’ names written across their chest. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Happy to be Here by E-40 fades in]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Oooh; it’s gloomy out here, dark days ahead\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">God got my back but the devil he want my head”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After I shot the video, I posted it to the YouTube page for Youth Radio, now known as YR Media. I was a baby reporter working with them at the time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And with this video racking up half a million views, and hella people using this footage as GIFs on social media platforms, it was clear that I’d documented something significant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deeper than a dancing elephant, it was a window into the culture. I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In that video of Stomper dancing to an E-40 song, the mascot does a few more dance moves, and then gives an extended embrace to a brotha with cornrows in a black leather jacket. The person inside the Stomper mascot outfit is saying what’s up to my right hand man, Jesus El, Zeus as we call him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s just a couple inches taller than me, born exactly three weeks before me, and we’re a lot alike. We’re socialites; neither of us can stay away from a party. Oakland proud, we both love the town and constantly get caught up in our own thoughts about how to save it – and the world, for that matter.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While I chose to sit down and write for a living, Zeus chose to fly. A trained gymnast, for over a decade he worked for the NBA, majority of that time was with the Golden State Warriors as an acro-dunker. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[hip-hop music echoes inside of stadium with a cheering crowd]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That means that at halftime of a game he’d come out with his crew – the Warriors’ Team Thunder dunk team – and run across the court, bounce off a trampoline, elevate higher than the rim, catch the ball mid-air, wink at the camera, and then dunk the ball before safely returning to earth. Outside of that, he’s also a well-known dancer from West Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I got this photo in my text message today. What’s going on here?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, man, that’s crazy. That’s a throwback. So this photo is of me dancing at Youth Uprising in a dance battle. Uh, and I look super young and skinny.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We grew up in different parts of the Town, and met during a 7th grade summer program– cracking jokes on the back of the bus. And after twenty-plus years, we haven’t stopped cracking jokes since. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The jordans – are those the fake Jordans we got? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think those was the fake Jordans.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fake Jordans.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yours was fakers than mine though.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Faker? How they– if they fake, they fake. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If they fake they fake, but yours… your Jordan had buttcheeks. Remember that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was facing the wrong way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was facing the wrong way and he had the buttcheeks showing. Mine, I could at least, you know, well I was getting away with it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You just gotta pull the jeans down.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had to pull the jeans– yeah, I had to wear the big jeans over him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003ci> \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in ‘06 we were broke community college students taking classes at Laney in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zeus had dreams of becoming an NBA mascot, and was simultaneously developing his own acro-dunking team. I was focused on doing journalism, and had just got accepted to Howard University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So while I was spending the year getting ready for college on the east coast and getting my journalism chops up, Zeus was building his own legacy, both in the Town and around the globe. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been to China ten times, been to Italy, um, Rome, Japan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mexico…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He adds England, Budapest, and all of North America. He’s performed for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, holds a couple Guinness World Records, and in 2005 he performed in front of some of the biggest names in the business at the NBA All Star game in Denver, Colorado.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I met Destiny’s Child. They like, room was right next door to ours. Jay-Z, Chris Tucker, we met so many different people…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zeus got his start after being mentored by the late Sadiki Fuller, the guy who wore the Thunder mascot costume for the Golden State Warriors. And that’s how Zeus got to know other mascots– like Stomper. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Zeus’ main inspiration came from superheroes in movies and television shows. In his own way, Zeus was a superhero when he was on the court. And just like any superhero, he’d be treated differently when he took the cape, or um, uniform off. He would leave the old Warriors arena in East Oakland and he’d transition, like Superman to Clark Kent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I had times where I’m having the day of my life. Like, I just did a new dunk, I’m the first person to do it. I do it in front of people. I make it. I’m feeling like on cloud nine…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …and then I get back, you know everybody leaving the BART, and uh people don’t have to notice me—I’m not tripping off of that. But then, you know, people clutching they purse or, you know, like, just trying to, like, stand away from me, you know what I mean. I’m like, bruh, you was just clapping for me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Just like that, you was just clapping for me, and now I’m just another nigga that may bring harm your way and that’s trauma within itself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s trauma in that duality of physically showing joy, and being celebrated and then getting hit with the weight of reality. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In order to escape it, Zeus would literally leave. He found solace in seeing the world. But despite the freedom he felt traveling back then, Zeus knew he had to keep his stories close to the chest because of how smirkish people can be. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember just traveling like, I mean, soon as, aw man, soon as I touch that airplane: Oakland is in Oakland. I’m going global, I’m out. Right?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then when I come home, I have to pretend like I’m not that person.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You gotta dumb it down? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I gotta dumb it down all the time. Because, one, people… people who speak too highly of themselves are typically the ones who end up shot first, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They typically the ones that people target. It could be jealousy. It could be hate. It could be all kind of stuff. But people who… sometimes you got to just stay under the radar to survive. That’s how we survived this long.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> As confining as that might seem, it was kind of the code, still is. The Town is a place where you gotta stay low even as you come up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But on the contrary, Zeus was getting his limelight on the hoop courts. And outside of that, he was cutting up on the dancefloor– that’s where he really escaped, specifically, through the art of turf dancing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Turf Dancing is an acronym called Taking Up Room on the Floor that was coined by Jeriel Bey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So turf dancing, it’s a style of dance that derives from Oakland. And it’s storytelling and it’s certain moves that you do, but it’s storytelling. It’s waving, gliding, all of that but it’s a certain swag that comes with it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But before it was even called turfing, it was called hitting it or touching it or fucking wit it. Like, ‘fuck wit it bruh’, ya know what im saying? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel Bey, raised between Oakland and LA, is a marketing minded brother who had turf dancing, lightweight, land on his doorstep.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They know me as the godfather of turf dancing. I coined the phrase, a lot of people are like ‘you didn’t coin the phrase!’ But you know coining is something you use before anybody else use it. So I used it in both, in print and on my fliers, you know, my events, you know, just… I knew long ago just from having a lot of internships that, you know, you brand yourself, you know how to brand myself. So I definitely am known for that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel was a party promoter, who was living in West Oakland and that’s where, two young dudes from the neighborhood, Demtrius Zeigler and Cory Johnson AKA Scooby, would hang around his house.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Those are the two first kids I met and then those two kids brought every other kid around me. You know, these kids, like, 14, 15, with sawed off shotguns in their backpacks. Like, bad but good kids, they just needed some focus. And the only thing they all knew that they all knew how to do was dance. Guns, and money, drugs and all, they all was coming in front of the house, dancing with me. And so my thing was like, okay, I got to give back and give ’em something to do.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dance sessions brought about dope moves, clean gigs and hyped reactions. The problem was: the dance they were doing didn’t really have a name. There were notable moves: the drop, the airwalk, the old school Brookfield. But the overall dance style was kinda just a part of Oakland culture. That’s how we moved. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, at the same time, the terms folks were using to describe the dance style weren’t exactly marketable to the venues Jeriel was looking to work with. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was like man, I can’t sell this as ‘fucking with it’ or ‘giggin’. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Jeriel started brainstorming, and during a conversation with one of his cousins, it all clicked. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Man, I got these youngstas in front of the house, you remember Demetrius and Scooby? They be ‘fuckin wit it’ and shit, you know, they all be dance differently: the East Oakland, the West Oakland, you know? They all dance different. Like I said, like different turfs and they all dance different…Man, how does turf dancing sound? He was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s it. That’s, that’s it right there!’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so that’s what it was. Everywhere the little homies was going, ‘What ya’ll doing?’ We turf dancing, we turf dancing. And that’s how it stuck. Even when I did community events in the City, I made sure they put it on the fliers, we turf dancing. We’re not “hyphy dancers,” hyphy was kind of like the energy, the spirit, the movement. But, you know, turfing is how we was able to separate ourselves from the energy, you know, we was turf dancing. We wasn’t hyphy dancing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turf dancing – a mixture of boogaloo, poplock, pantomime, and being player while moving on beat – was something different than just going 18 dummy like some might imagine when we’re talking “hyphy” dancing. I mean, that was a part of it, but it was deeper than just shaking yo’ dreads. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Echo of E-40 saying “Shake them dreads.”]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was a world of Bay Area storytelling through dance, complete with signature moves from certain neighborhoods. Hence the name “turf” dancing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And people would dance everywhere, at the bus stop, the house party, The candy shop – which was this fake-teenager-club-function thing that didn’t serve alcohol but was somehow still full of faded teenagers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We hit it at the sideshow, on a car, in a car. In the school hallway, acting as if you were a car. And, at your local community center, specifically this one called Youth Uprising. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Youth Uprising opened in 2005, it was this sleek looking youth center located on 87th and MacArthur in East Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A huge-freshly painted state of the art building with bright colors that stood in contrast to the surrounding apartment buildings and the adjacent school – Castlemont High School– an institution that had been under-resourced for years, and it showed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inside of Youth Uprising, the building was well-decorated with artwork and photos. They offered healthy meals to teenagers who came from the surrounding community, as well as employment and educational resources. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d go up there and kick it in the music studios or attend discussions about the state of the community. And I’d also hit the dance battles they threw– turf dance battles. Here’s founding Youth Uprising staff member Jacky Johnson. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We stopped publicizing them after a while. We would just like announce the day of we were gonna do it because they would just get so like crazy. Like, our little amphitheater would just be packed. And we would see, like, young people running down the hill across MacArthur from, um, up the hill just run cutting through like, backyards to run over to the center.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacky is a longtime community advocate who works at the intersection of social justice and entertainment. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the day, she got her start as a young adult on the staff of Youth Uprising. One of her tasks was to organize and promote the turf dance battle events. And through that, she saw how important dancing was to the culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The crowd fueled the dancers. The dancers fueled the crowd. Like it was just this perfect mixture of just a showing of what, um, Oakland, of what the Bay Area’s energy is about. And I just think of that time, I always reflect on, you can’t, you know, I, I hope that young people or, you know, other generations, they’ll have their own moments like that, but that, to me, that just feels like a moment that couldn’t… couldn’t be duplicated.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dance battles would be roughly once a month, and they’d garner all kinds of attention. Makes sense, we didn’t have much else to do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of this culture was born out of a void. There weren’t many places in Oakland where folks could congregate for large scale-hip-hop events, and it had been that way. Because of previous conflicts and altercations at shows, hip-hop concerts were constantly under threat of being banned or over-policed in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of artists and promoters would turn to the Bay Area suburbs and central valley to do hip-hop events. But Youth Uprising was one of the venues in Oakland working to connect young fans to the local stars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> A lot of artists would stop through and perform, and I think they loved being able to connect with the young people and be a source of inspiration. And then the young people were excited because they never knew who was gonna stop by and what was gonna happen next.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, that was me, one of the young folks juiced to be at the center. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I initially started by catching the bus up there after hearing about it from friends. But when I got my car, this plum colored Chrysler Sebring with a functional sunroof and dysfunctional sound system, I was there. Well, until the transmission died, then I was back on the bus. But either way, I was fasho pulling up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’d bounce out with the same camcorder I filmed Stomper going dumb with, show love to the security guards, and then, as a young journalist trying to get on, I’d find my way to interviewing folks like E-40, Mistah FAB, Vidal White, Too $hort, The Husalah, The Jacka and later, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. I have a few photos from back then, not much video. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I look back at the few photos I have of myself from back then? Man, I was in it! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Specifically this one photo of me sitting in the audience of a dance battle, wearing an oversized t-shirt, baggy jeans, and those knock off Jordans that Zeus roasted me about, while holding on to that camcorder. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I was in it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was one of the many young folks who ascribed to a culture that was having its moment in the sun, despite the ever-present dark clouds. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the day, Jeriel Bey taught classes at Youth Uprising. In addition to that, he choreographed dances for music videos and performances. He also threw dance events–including battles between cities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right before one event in Los Angeles, Demetrius Zigler, who used to hang out in front of Jeriel’s house, was killed. In response, Jeriel and his dance team, the Architeckz, danced in the battle in Demetrius’ honor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I remember us all having this sweater, his picture, like, you know, on the hoodies, which is synonymous with losing someone on the street. So we had him on our hoodies. We drove down to L.A.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel and his team won the battle, but they did so while mourning their friend. Full of mixed emotions, they made the drive back to Northern California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m tired, everybody is sleep in the van. I get a call, I think, from Jacky Johnson. She’s like, ‘Yeah, you know, E-40 heard about your guy being killed, and um and they want to put you on this video called, Tell Me When to Go.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I said, the song I’d been hearing on the Radio? She goes ‘Yeah. They’re shooting in West Oakland right now.’ I’m like, damn, I live in West Oakland like we’re all by the train station. What? That’s three blocks away from me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Cool. I wake up everybody, I’m like a man we finna go shoot a video. ‘What video?’ Tell Me When to Go. ‘What?!’ We smash to West Oakland, we pull up to the house, we take a little hoe baths and shit, wash our faces and shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They get to the set, and 40, Lil Jon and the production team are moving through scenes. The iconic opening of the video, with a circle of folks going dumb on the ground shaking their dreads? That’s not them. That’s another dance crew. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After rushing to the set, rehearsing an impromptu routine and getting ready for their light, Jeriel and the Architeckz almost get skipped over. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And they was like ‘We gon’ give you one shot, let me see what y’all got.’ And then the rest is history. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The black and white footage from the video shows the group forming a semicircle, with the opening facing the camera. They dance aggressively, hittin’ signature turf dance moves as well as shaking their dreads. The majority of them are wearing the hoodies dedicated to Demetrius. Dancing in his honor, they left an impression on the filmmakers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We shot like three more times after that. And before the video came out, it was, ‘Oh, good job, Architects,’ oh, E-40, people loved us, ‘Oh, ‘Demetrius, rest in peace, Demetrius, aww community community,’ but as soon as that muthafucka hit MTV, it was like, ‘Man them niggas ain’t really from Oakland tho.’ It’s all the hate and then the bullshit came.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">People were congratulating them on the video set, but were critical once the video came out. Jeriel says that other artists, dancers and people from the Bay Area hip-hop community made comments about the fact that Jeriel is originally from LA, or that the Architeckz weren’t that tight. Jeriel was shocked.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s when I realized, like, yo, people can love you on the way up, but the envy is a muthafucka. Envy will get you killed out here when people feel like they deserve more than you and I experienced all that shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel says people were envious of the Architeckz success. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, really it was misguided anger – a byproduct of the lack of resources. If there were more limelight, everyone could shine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But that video being on MTV, and the media attention that was focused on the hoods of the Bay Area during the Hyphy Movement came on the heels of years of media neglect. So folks were hungry, vying for an opening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some artists were over-promoting this hyphy thing. A few big media platforms, clothing lines, club promoters, even community centers were selling it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Zeus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man, to be honest with you, I don’t think Youth Uprising would have been that impactful if it wasn’t for the dance culture, because a lot of people were showing up for the dance culture and staying for the resources, you know what I mean?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacky saw it differently, and has the same sentiments as Zeus. After the dance battles, how do you connect folks with counseling, healthcare and other resources? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We’re like, okay, well how do we move these young people into our programming? And that would sometimes be a challenge because I think sometimes we felt really- I felt for sure stressed out about like, okay, like are we doing enough if they’re coming here and they’re not going into a, you know, career and education program.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The whole situation made Jacky frustrated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You have to hit these deliverables. It’s like, how do you, like, okay, you get this amount of money now go and transform somebody’s life as they’ve, yeah, experienced all this trauma and need all of the- these things, or the fact that we all are going through our own shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Youth Uprising center has gone through its ups and downs, but it still stands today. And back when it first opened, even with all of the elements at play, the center was a beacon for kids like me and Zeus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We on the bus, catching the 57 from West Oakland all the way to 88 and MacArthur, and this is when it was super turfed out. I’m talking about real hood, so we up there battling cats, Like around the stage it was like 300 people, like hanging over, just having hella fun tho. But you would have different people from different sides of the city come out and battle each other. And that’s how you earned your respect. Like with dancing, you earn your respect because you’re \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">way\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> somewhere in somebody else’s hood, and you could be battling they friend. But if you raw, they gon be like you raw bruh. Like I still know people to this day from me meeting them at Youth Uprising.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those experiences. That community. Those intangibles. They don’t show up in a fiscal report. They show up in people’s memories. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have mental pictures of audiences going wild after someone hit a backflip during a dance battle, fond memories of meeting a new crush after the conclusion of an event. And I even have one picture from that day that E-40 pulled up for a photo shoot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We really wanted to create a safe space from the violence, safe space from the police, um, where we kind of held it down and it was just this raw energy. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Uprising was one of the many nonprofits that both invested in, and benefited from the culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Its location, resources, and connections to big name-artists made it significant. But the youth programs, they were just a Band-Aid in the face of generations of neglected neighborhoods and people living in poverty. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The trauma that we inherited existed long before we did, and still, we found joy in the middle of all that. Some of the moments turned into photos, others are invisible memories that are stories waiting to be told. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the stories – the way they were told, who told them and what stories were not told – well that’s another layer to the trauma. We’ll get into all of that in the next episode.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different to what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time. No, that means that they were destructive and violent, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, Cesar Saldaña, Sayre Quevedo, Katie Sprenger, Nastia Voynovskaya, and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://bayareahiphop.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">BayAreaHipHop.Com\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Demtrius Zigler, and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Host Pendarvis Harshaw takes a look at Turfin' with Jeriel Bey, Jacky Johnson, and Jesus El.",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 2, ‘We Dance Different’ | KQED",
"description": "In this episode, we talk to Jeriel Bey, the person credited with coining the term, "Turfin'," Jacky Johnson, a founding Youth Uprising staff member, and Jesus El, my longtime friend and a well-known turf dancer. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the spring of 2006, I filmed and posted a video to Youth Radio’s YouTube page titled “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdst63FWSCs\">Stomper Go Dumb\u003c/a>.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The video shows the Oakland A’s mascot, a big plush elephant in a baseball jersey and hat, dancing to a song titled “Happy To Be Here,” off of E-40’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> album. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">E-40 delivers lyrics that speak of surviving hard times and losing loved ones along the way. As the music plays, Stomper glides through the parking lot, dancing with the people, one with the letters “RIP” airbrushed on their shirt. A few folks hug each other and smile. This video clip, only a minute in length, is a window into a world where dance and jubilation meet mourning and sadness.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title='Youth Radio: Stomper \"Go Dumb\"' width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdst63FWSCs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Before the “hyphy movement,” and even prior to having its own name, the style of dance now commonly known as turfin’ or\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932887/turf-dancing-oakland-street-dance\"> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">turf dancing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> provided an outlet for young folks in Oakland. They could party to their favorite music, have fun by physically telling stories, and express themselves while\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> taking up room on the floor\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Through appearances in big-time music videos and participation in dance battles at places like Deep East Oakland’s Youth Uprising Center, young folks not only got to show their moves — they were also able to honor their deceased loved ones.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this episode, we talk to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/turfinentertainment/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jeriel Bey\u003c/a>, the person credited with coining the term “turfin’,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/jackyj510/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jacky Johnson\u003c/a>, a founding Youth Uprising staff member, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zeusdadunka/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesus El, \u003c/a>my longtime friend and a well-known turf dancer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13935479\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-800x623.jpg\" alt=\"Jeriel Bey teaches Turf Dancing classes at Berkeley High School in 2007.\" width=\"800\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-800x623.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1020x795.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-160x125.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-768x599.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1536x1197.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-2048x1596.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/GettyImages-1408863565-scaled-1-1920x1496.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeriel Bey teaches turf dancing classes at Berkeley High School in 2007. \u003ccite>(Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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=KQINC4775019711&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, Host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the spring of 2006, there was this video posted on Youtube titled “Stomper Go Dumb.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[chatter, shouting, and cheering from the Stomper Go Dumb video]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The clip is less than a minute long, but it shows something that’s really important. It’s shot in a parking lot. It’s Stomper, the Oakland A’s mascot– a big gray plush elephant in white pants and a forest green and gold baseball jersey. And he’s out there giggin’ to an E-40 song. Ears flapping, feet sliding, arms waving, Stomper is in full party mode, and so are the folks around him. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behind the camera is me. In the footage, Stomper gets close to the camera, daps me up, then he proceeds to glide across the pavement, pausing momentarily to act as if he’s ghostriding the whip, and then he thizz dances. Another guy in an airbrushed white-t stands next to him, giggin’ as well. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The guy’s shirt has the letters RIP boldly written next to an illegible name. And they’re all dancing to E-40’s “Happy to Be Here.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Happy to be Here by E-40 plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The track is off of 40’s \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">album, one of the few slower tracks off of his landmark project, which is chock full of high energy party anthems. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But in that moment, as we’re posted in front of E-40’s album release party at Tower Records, it’s this song that plays as the A’s mascot is showing off his gigs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">People are dancing and laughing, embracing each other and celebrating, despite having the letters RIP and their friends’ names written across their chest. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Happy to be Here by E-40 fades in]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Oooh; it’s gloomy out here, dark days ahead\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">God got my back but the devil he want my head”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After I shot the video, I posted it to the YouTube page for Youth Radio, now known as YR Media. I was a baby reporter working with them at the time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And with this video racking up half a million views, and hella people using this footage as GIFs on social media platforms, it was clear that I’d documented something significant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Deeper than a dancing elephant, it was a window into the culture. I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is Hyphy Kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In that video of Stomper dancing to an E-40 song, the mascot does a few more dance moves, and then gives an extended embrace to a brotha with cornrows in a black leather jacket. The person inside the Stomper mascot outfit is saying what’s up to my right hand man, Jesus El, Zeus as we call him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s just a couple inches taller than me, born exactly three weeks before me, and we’re a lot alike. We’re socialites; neither of us can stay away from a party. Oakland proud, we both love the town and constantly get caught up in our own thoughts about how to save it – and the world, for that matter.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While I chose to sit down and write for a living, Zeus chose to fly. A trained gymnast, for over a decade he worked for the NBA, majority of that time was with the Golden State Warriors as an acro-dunker. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[hip-hop music echoes inside of stadium with a cheering crowd]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That means that at halftime of a game he’d come out with his crew – the Warriors’ Team Thunder dunk team – and run across the court, bounce off a trampoline, elevate higher than the rim, catch the ball mid-air, wink at the camera, and then dunk the ball before safely returning to earth. Outside of that, he’s also a well-known dancer from West Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I got this photo in my text message today. What’s going on here?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, man, that’s crazy. That’s a throwback. So this photo is of me dancing at Youth Uprising in a dance battle. Uh, and I look super young and skinny.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We grew up in different parts of the Town, and met during a 7th grade summer program– cracking jokes on the back of the bus. And after twenty-plus years, we haven’t stopped cracking jokes since. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The jordans – are those the fake Jordans we got? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think those was the fake Jordans.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The fake Jordans.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yours was fakers than mine though.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Faker? How they– if they fake, they fake. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If they fake they fake, but yours… your Jordan had buttcheeks. Remember that?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was facing the wrong way.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He was facing the wrong way and he had the buttcheeks showing. Mine, I could at least, you know, well I was getting away with it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You just gotta pull the jeans down.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had to pull the jeans– yeah, I had to wear the big jeans over him.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cb>\u003ci> \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in ‘06 we were broke community college students taking classes at Laney in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zeus had dreams of becoming an NBA mascot, and was simultaneously developing his own acro-dunking team. I was focused on doing journalism, and had just got accepted to Howard University. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So while I was spending the year getting ready for college on the east coast and getting my journalism chops up, Zeus was building his own legacy, both in the Town and around the globe. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’ve been to China ten times, been to Italy, um, Rome, Japan, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Mexico…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He adds England, Budapest, and all of North America. He’s performed for Ripley’s Believe It or Not, holds a couple Guinness World Records, and in 2005 he performed in front of some of the biggest names in the business at the NBA All Star game in Denver, Colorado.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I met Destiny’s Child. They like, room was right next door to ours. Jay-Z, Chris Tucker, we met so many different people…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zeus got his start after being mentored by the late Sadiki Fuller, the guy who wore the Thunder mascot costume for the Golden State Warriors. And that’s how Zeus got to know other mascots– like Stomper. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Zeus’ main inspiration came from superheroes in movies and television shows. In his own way, Zeus was a superhero when he was on the court. And just like any superhero, he’d be treated differently when he took the cape, or um, uniform off. He would leave the old Warriors arena in East Oakland and he’d transition, like Superman to Clark Kent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I had times where I’m having the day of my life. Like, I just did a new dunk, I’m the first person to do it. I do it in front of people. I make it. I’m feeling like on cloud nine…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> …and then I get back, you know everybody leaving the BART, and uh people don’t have to notice me—I’m not tripping off of that. But then, you know, people clutching they purse or, you know, like, just trying to, like, stand away from me, you know what I mean. I’m like, bruh, you was just clapping for me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Just like that, you was just clapping for me, and now I’m just another nigga that may bring harm your way and that’s trauma within itself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s trauma in that duality of physically showing joy, and being celebrated and then getting hit with the weight of reality. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In order to escape it, Zeus would literally leave. He found solace in seeing the world. But despite the freedom he felt traveling back then, Zeus knew he had to keep his stories close to the chest because of how smirkish people can be. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I remember just traveling like, I mean, soon as, aw man, soon as I touch that airplane: Oakland is in Oakland. I’m going global, I’m out. Right?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then when I come home, I have to pretend like I’m not that person.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You gotta dumb it down? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I gotta dumb it down all the time. Because, one, people… people who speak too highly of themselves are typically the ones who end up shot first, right? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They typically the ones that people target. It could be jealousy. It could be hate. It could be all kind of stuff. But people who… sometimes you got to just stay under the radar to survive. That’s how we survived this long.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> As confining as that might seem, it was kind of the code, still is. The Town is a place where you gotta stay low even as you come up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But on the contrary, Zeus was getting his limelight on the hoop courts. And outside of that, he was cutting up on the dancefloor– that’s where he really escaped, specifically, through the art of turf dancing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Turf Dancing is an acronym called Taking Up Room on the Floor that was coined by Jeriel Bey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So turf dancing, it’s a style of dance that derives from Oakland. And it’s storytelling and it’s certain moves that you do, but it’s storytelling. It’s waving, gliding, all of that but it’s a certain swag that comes with it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But before it was even called turfing, it was called hitting it or touching it or fucking wit it. Like, ‘fuck wit it bruh’, ya know what im saying? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel Bey, raised between Oakland and LA, is a marketing minded brother who had turf dancing, lightweight, land on his doorstep.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They know me as the godfather of turf dancing. I coined the phrase, a lot of people are like ‘you didn’t coin the phrase!’ But you know coining is something you use before anybody else use it. So I used it in both, in print and on my fliers, you know, my events, you know, just… I knew long ago just from having a lot of internships that, you know, you brand yourself, you know how to brand myself. So I definitely am known for that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel was a party promoter, who was living in West Oakland and that’s where, two young dudes from the neighborhood, Demtrius Zeigler and Cory Johnson AKA Scooby, would hang around his house.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Those are the two first kids I met and then those two kids brought every other kid around me. You know, these kids, like, 14, 15, with sawed off shotguns in their backpacks. Like, bad but good kids, they just needed some focus. And the only thing they all knew that they all knew how to do was dance. Guns, and money, drugs and all, they all was coming in front of the house, dancing with me. And so my thing was like, okay, I got to give back and give ’em something to do.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dance sessions brought about dope moves, clean gigs and hyped reactions. The problem was: the dance they were doing didn’t really have a name. There were notable moves: the drop, the airwalk, the old school Brookfield. But the overall dance style was kinda just a part of Oakland culture. That’s how we moved. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, at the same time, the terms folks were using to describe the dance style weren’t exactly marketable to the venues Jeriel was looking to work with. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was like man, I can’t sell this as ‘fucking with it’ or ‘giggin’. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So Jeriel started brainstorming, and during a conversation with one of his cousins, it all clicked. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Man, I got these youngstas in front of the house, you remember Demetrius and Scooby? They be ‘fuckin wit it’ and shit, you know, they all be dance differently: the East Oakland, the West Oakland, you know? They all dance different. Like I said, like different turfs and they all dance different…Man, how does turf dancing sound? He was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s it. That’s, that’s it right there!’ \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And so that’s what it was. Everywhere the little homies was going, ‘What ya’ll doing?’ We turf dancing, we turf dancing. And that’s how it stuck. Even when I did community events in the City, I made sure they put it on the fliers, we turf dancing. We’re not “hyphy dancers,” hyphy was kind of like the energy, the spirit, the movement. But, you know, turfing is how we was able to separate ourselves from the energy, you know, we was turf dancing. We wasn’t hyphy dancing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turf dancing – a mixture of boogaloo, poplock, pantomime, and being player while moving on beat – was something different than just going 18 dummy like some might imagine when we’re talking “hyphy” dancing. I mean, that was a part of it, but it was deeper than just shaking yo’ dreads. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Echo of E-40 saying “Shake them dreads.”]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It was a world of Bay Area storytelling through dance, complete with signature moves from certain neighborhoods. Hence the name “turf” dancing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And people would dance everywhere, at the bus stop, the house party, The candy shop – which was this fake-teenager-club-function thing that didn’t serve alcohol but was somehow still full of faded teenagers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We hit it at the sideshow, on a car, in a car. In the school hallway, acting as if you were a car. And, at your local community center, specifically this one called Youth Uprising. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Youth Uprising opened in 2005, it was this sleek looking youth center located on 87th and MacArthur in East Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A huge-freshly painted state of the art building with bright colors that stood in contrast to the surrounding apartment buildings and the adjacent school – Castlemont High School– an institution that had been under-resourced for years, and it showed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Inside of Youth Uprising, the building was well-decorated with artwork and photos. They offered healthy meals to teenagers who came from the surrounding community, as well as employment and educational resources. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’d go up there and kick it in the music studios or attend discussions about the state of the community. And I’d also hit the dance battles they threw– turf dance battles. Here’s founding Youth Uprising staff member Jacky Johnson. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We stopped publicizing them after a while. We would just like announce the day of we were gonna do it because they would just get so like crazy. Like, our little amphitheater would just be packed. And we would see, like, young people running down the hill across MacArthur from, um, up the hill just run cutting through like, backyards to run over to the center.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacky is a longtime community advocate who works at the intersection of social justice and entertainment. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the day, she got her start as a young adult on the staff of Youth Uprising. One of her tasks was to organize and promote the turf dance battle events. And through that, she saw how important dancing was to the culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The crowd fueled the dancers. The dancers fueled the crowd. Like it was just this perfect mixture of just a showing of what, um, Oakland, of what the Bay Area’s energy is about. And I just think of that time, I always reflect on, you can’t, you know, I, I hope that young people or, you know, other generations, they’ll have their own moments like that, but that, to me, that just feels like a moment that couldn’t… couldn’t be duplicated.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The dance battles would be roughly once a month, and they’d garner all kinds of attention. Makes sense, we didn’t have much else to do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of this culture was born out of a void. There weren’t many places in Oakland where folks could congregate for large scale-hip-hop events, and it had been that way. Because of previous conflicts and altercations at shows, hip-hop concerts were constantly under threat of being banned or over-policed in Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A lot of artists and promoters would turn to the Bay Area suburbs and central valley to do hip-hop events. But Youth Uprising was one of the venues in Oakland working to connect young fans to the local stars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> A lot of artists would stop through and perform, and I think they loved being able to connect with the young people and be a source of inspiration. And then the young people were excited because they never knew who was gonna stop by and what was gonna happen next.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, that was me, one of the young folks juiced to be at the center. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I initially started by catching the bus up there after hearing about it from friends. But when I got my car, this plum colored Chrysler Sebring with a functional sunroof and dysfunctional sound system, I was there. Well, until the transmission died, then I was back on the bus. But either way, I was fasho pulling up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I’d bounce out with the same camcorder I filmed Stomper going dumb with, show love to the security guards, and then, as a young journalist trying to get on, I’d find my way to interviewing folks like E-40, Mistah FAB, Vidal White, Too $hort, The Husalah, The Jacka and later, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. I have a few photos from back then, not much video. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When I look back at the few photos I have of myself from back then? Man, I was in it! \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Specifically this one photo of me sitting in the audience of a dance battle, wearing an oversized t-shirt, baggy jeans, and those knock off Jordans that Zeus roasted me about, while holding on to that camcorder. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, I was in it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was one of the many young folks who ascribed to a culture that was having its moment in the sun, despite the ever-present dark clouds. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the day, Jeriel Bey taught classes at Youth Uprising. In addition to that, he choreographed dances for music videos and performances. He also threw dance events–including battles between cities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Right before one event in Los Angeles, Demetrius Zigler, who used to hang out in front of Jeriel’s house, was killed. In response, Jeriel and his dance team, the Architeckz, danced in the battle in Demetrius’ honor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I remember us all having this sweater, his picture, like, you know, on the hoodies, which is synonymous with losing someone on the street. So we had him on our hoodies. We drove down to L.A.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel and his team won the battle, but they did so while mourning their friend. Full of mixed emotions, they made the drive back to Northern California.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I’m tired, everybody is sleep in the van. I get a call, I think, from Jacky Johnson. She’s like, ‘Yeah, you know, E-40 heard about your guy being killed, and um and they want to put you on this video called, Tell Me When to Go.’\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Record scratch]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I said, the song I’d been hearing on the Radio? She goes ‘Yeah. They’re shooting in West Oakland right now.’ I’m like, damn, I live in West Oakland like we’re all by the train station. What? That’s three blocks away from me.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Cool. I wake up everybody, I’m like a man we finna go shoot a video. ‘What video?’ Tell Me When to Go. ‘What?!’ We smash to West Oakland, we pull up to the house, we take a little hoe baths and shit, wash our faces and shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They get to the set, and 40, Lil Jon and the production team are moving through scenes. The iconic opening of the video, with a circle of folks going dumb on the ground shaking their dreads? That’s not them. That’s another dance crew. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After rushing to the set, rehearsing an impromptu routine and getting ready for their light, Jeriel and the Architeckz almost get skipped over. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And they was like ‘We gon’ give you one shot, let me see what y’all got.’ And then the rest is history. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The black and white footage from the video shows the group forming a semicircle, with the opening facing the camera. They dance aggressively, hittin’ signature turf dance moves as well as shaking their dreads. The majority of them are wearing the hoodies dedicated to Demetrius. Dancing in his honor, they left an impression on the filmmakers. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We shot like three more times after that. And before the video came out, it was, ‘Oh, good job, Architects,’ oh, E-40, people loved us, ‘Oh, ‘Demetrius, rest in peace, Demetrius, aww community community,’ but as soon as that muthafucka hit MTV, it was like, ‘Man them niggas ain’t really from Oakland tho.’ It’s all the hate and then the bullshit came.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">People were congratulating them on the video set, but were critical once the video came out. Jeriel says that other artists, dancers and people from the Bay Area hip-hop community made comments about the fact that Jeriel is originally from LA, or that the Architeckz weren’t that tight. Jeriel was shocked.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s when I realized, like, yo, people can love you on the way up, but the envy is a muthafucka. Envy will get you killed out here when people feel like they deserve more than you and I experienced all that shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jeriel says people were envious of the Architeckz success. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And, really it was misguided anger – a byproduct of the lack of resources. If there were more limelight, everyone could shine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But that video being on MTV, and the media attention that was focused on the hoods of the Bay Area during the Hyphy Movement came on the heels of years of media neglect. So folks were hungry, vying for an opening. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some artists were over-promoting this hyphy thing. A few big media platforms, clothing lines, club promoters, even community centers were selling it.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here’s Zeus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man, to be honest with you, I don’t think Youth Uprising would have been that impactful if it wasn’t for the dance culture, because a lot of people were showing up for the dance culture and staying for the resources, you know what I mean?\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jacky saw it differently, and has the same sentiments as Zeus. After the dance battles, how do you connect folks with counseling, healthcare and other resources? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We’re like, okay, well how do we move these young people into our programming? And that would sometimes be a challenge because I think sometimes we felt really- I felt for sure stressed out about like, okay, like are we doing enough if they’re coming here and they’re not going into a, you know, career and education program.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The whole situation made Jacky frustrated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You have to hit these deliverables. It’s like, how do you, like, okay, you get this amount of money now go and transform somebody’s life as they’ve, yeah, experienced all this trauma and need all of the- these things, or the fact that we all are going through our own shit.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Youth Uprising center has gone through its ups and downs, but it still stands today. And back when it first opened, even with all of the elements at play, the center was a beacon for kids like me and Zeus.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jesus El:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We on the bus, catching the 57 from West Oakland all the way to 88 and MacArthur, and this is when it was super turfed out. I’m talking about real hood, so we up there battling cats, Like around the stage it was like 300 people, like hanging over, just having hella fun tho. But you would have different people from different sides of the city come out and battle each other. And that’s how you earned your respect. Like with dancing, you earn your respect because you’re \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">way\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> somewhere in somebody else’s hood, and you could be battling they friend. But if you raw, they gon be like you raw bruh. Like I still know people to this day from me meeting them at Youth Uprising.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those experiences. That community. Those intangibles. They don’t show up in a fiscal report. They show up in people’s memories. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have mental pictures of audiences going wild after someone hit a backflip during a dance battle, fond memories of meeting a new crush after the conclusion of an event. And I even have one picture from that day that E-40 pulled up for a photo shoot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jacky Johnson:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We really wanted to create a safe space from the violence, safe space from the police, um, where we kind of held it down and it was just this raw energy. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Youth Uprising was one of the many nonprofits that both invested in, and benefited from the culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Its location, resources, and connections to big name-artists made it significant. But the youth programs, they were just a Band-Aid in the face of generations of neglected neighborhoods and people living in poverty. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The trauma that we inherited existed long before we did, and still, we found joy in the middle of all that. Some of the moments turned into photos, others are invisible memories that are stories waiting to be told. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the stories – the way they were told, who told them and what stories were not told – well that’s another layer to the trauma. We’ll get into all of that in the next episode.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Seaside Stretch, guest: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Just the term “hyphy,” was, it meant something completely different to what it was commercialized as. You know what I mean? It it wasn’t a good thing, you know what I’m saying? Like, they didn’t say like, Oh, them kids is hyphy, and that meant that they were just dancing around having a good time. No, that means that they were destructive and violent, you know? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound design and original music by\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from Eric Arnold, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, Cesar Saldaña, Sayre Quevedo, Katie Sprenger, Nastia Voynovskaya, and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://bayareahiphop.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">BayAreaHipHop.Com\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Demtrius Zigler, and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"title": "Ballerina Misty Copeland to Premiere ‘Flower’ in Oakland",
"headTitle": "Ballerina Misty Copeland to Premiere ‘Flower’ in Oakland | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The only voices heard in \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em>, a 28-minute film produced by world-renowned ballet dancer \u003ca href=\"https://mistycopeland.com/\">Misty Copeland\u003c/a>, belong to three unhoused residents of an RV encampment in West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The choice was very much intentional — Copeland herself experienced housing and food insecurity for much of her childhood. “It can happen to anyone,” she says in an interview. “So many Americans are one paycheck away from losing their home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A film about a woman struggling to hang on to the family home she shares with her dementia-stricken mother, \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> screens on Friday, Sept. 29, as part of Oakland Ballet’s season opener at the Paramount Theatre. Copeland will be on stage to present.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuiMrxuSR2o\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copeland hopes \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> not only highlights the housing affordability crisis, but challenges the tropes of what homelessness looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film is the first for Copeland’s production company, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lifeinmotionproductions/\">Life in Motion\u003c/a>, which she co-founded with ballerina Leyla Fayyaz, an Emmy-winning producer. Also behind the scenes of \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> is a who’s-who of Bay Area-bred stars. Grammy-winning artist Raphael Saadiq composed the score, with a stirring, repeated refrain of “I’m heeeeere now” that won’t soon leave the viewer’s memory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Street dancers-turned-choreographers to the stars Rich and Tone Talauega, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.richandtoneproductions.com/\">Rich + Tone\u003c/a>, contribute their moves. Raised in Richmond, the brothers were discovered by one of Michael Jackson’s choreographers while freestyling at an Oakland club in the early ’90s. And \u003ca href=\"https://linesballet.org/lines-ballet-mission-and-purpose/alonzo-king/\">Alonzo King\u003c/a> (of San Francisco’s Alonzo King LINES Ballet), who’s known Copeland since she was a teen, also choreographs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935226\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman float in repose against a black background\" width=\"980\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2.jpg 980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-800x335.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-768x321.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Misty Copeland with co-star Babatunji Johnson in the short film ‘Flower.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Life in Motion Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local talent shines on screen, as well. Bay Area dancer \u003ca href=\"https://babatunjijohnson.com/\">Babatunji Johnson\u003c/a> co-stars with Copeland; turf dancers – including Algerion “Krow” Bryant – perform in the film; and Oakland Ballet youth appear as students in a scene where Copeland’s character teaches a ballet class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was important that we had people [who] are from the community,” says Copeland, whose husband, Olu Evans, was born and raised in Oakland. “Not necessarily for the world, but for that community to say, ‘we know that person,’ [or] ‘there’s that place – Mama’s Royal Café.’ That’s our community. That’s really us. It’s not this Hollywood facade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935227\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in a black top and hair pulled back looks up as older houses stand in the background\" width=\"1600\" height=\"670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-800x335.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-1020x427.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-1536x643.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Misty Copeland in ‘Flower.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Life in Motion Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That same intention also went into incorporating the real experiences of the three unhoused community members in the West Oakland RV encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It made sense to use that one opportunity where people speak, to give that opportunity to people who are often voiceless or overlooked,” Copeland says. “I feel like it really is the glue that brings the story together in a powerful way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_11230644']The Sept. 29 event at the Paramount Theatre also features live dance performances by Johnson, Krow, turf dancers, \u003ca href=\"https://destinyarts.org/\">Destiny Arts\u003c/a> youth and ballerina \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfballet.org/artist/angela-watson-2/\">Angela Watson\u003c/a> from Oakland. Highlights from the Oakland Ballet Company shows Luna Mexicana, Dancing Moons Festival and The Nutcracker round out the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super exciting,” Copeland says of the long-awaited Oakland premiere. “We hope that we did the community justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Flower,’ starring Misty Copeland, premieres at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The film premiere is accompanied by live performances by Oakland Ballet and others. \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandballet.org/flower/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "With a 28-minute film addressing housing insecurity, Copeland kicks off Oakland Ballet’s new season. \r\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The only voices heard in \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em>, a 28-minute film produced by world-renowned ballet dancer \u003ca href=\"https://mistycopeland.com/\">Misty Copeland\u003c/a>, belong to three unhoused residents of an RV encampment in West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The choice was very much intentional — Copeland herself experienced housing and food insecurity for much of her childhood. “It can happen to anyone,” she says in an interview. “So many Americans are one paycheck away from losing their home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A film about a woman struggling to hang on to the family home she shares with her dementia-stricken mother, \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> screens on Friday, Sept. 29, as part of Oakland Ballet’s season opener at the Paramount Theatre. Copeland will be on stage to present.\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/FuiMrxuSR2o'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/FuiMrxuSR2o'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Copeland hopes \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> not only highlights the housing affordability crisis, but challenges the tropes of what homelessness looks like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film is the first for Copeland’s production company, \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/lifeinmotionproductions/\">Life in Motion\u003c/a>, which she co-founded with ballerina Leyla Fayyaz, an Emmy-winning producer. Also behind the scenes of \u003cem>Flower\u003c/em> is a who’s-who of Bay Area-bred stars. Grammy-winning artist Raphael Saadiq composed the score, with a stirring, repeated refrain of “I’m heeeeere now” that won’t soon leave the viewer’s memory.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Street dancers-turned-choreographers to the stars Rich and Tone Talauega, aka \u003ca href=\"https://www.richandtoneproductions.com/\">Rich + Tone\u003c/a>, contribute their moves. Raised in Richmond, the brothers were discovered by one of Michael Jackson’s choreographers while freestyling at an Oakland club in the early ’90s. And \u003ca href=\"https://linesballet.org/lines-ballet-mission-and-purpose/alonzo-king/\">Alonzo King\u003c/a> (of San Francisco’s Alonzo King LINES Ballet), who’s known Copeland since she was a teen, also choreographs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935226\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2.jpg\" alt=\"A man and woman float in repose against a black background\" width=\"980\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2.jpg 980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-800x335.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-2-768x321.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Misty Copeland with co-star Babatunji Johnson in the short film ‘Flower.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Life in Motion Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Local talent shines on screen, as well. Bay Area dancer \u003ca href=\"https://babatunjijohnson.com/\">Babatunji Johnson\u003c/a> co-stars with Copeland; turf dancers – including Algerion “Krow” Bryant – perform in the film; and Oakland Ballet youth appear as students in a scene where Copeland’s character teaches a ballet class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was important that we had people [who] are from the community,” says Copeland, whose husband, Olu Evans, was born and raised in Oakland. “Not necessarily for the world, but for that community to say, ‘we know that person,’ [or] ‘there’s that place – Mama’s Royal Café.’ That’s our community. That’s really us. It’s not this Hollywood facade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935227\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1600px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13935227\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A woman in a black top and hair pulled back looks up as older houses stand in the background\" width=\"1600\" height=\"670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1.jpg 1600w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-800x335.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-1020x427.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-768x322.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/Untitled-1-1536x643.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Misty Copeland in ‘Flower.’ \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Life in Motion Productions)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That same intention also went into incorporating the real experiences of the three unhoused community members in the West Oakland RV encampment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It made sense to use that one opportunity where people speak, to give that opportunity to people who are often voiceless or overlooked,” Copeland says. “I feel like it really is the glue that brings the story together in a powerful way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Sept. 29 event at the Paramount Theatre also features live dance performances by Johnson, Krow, turf dancers, \u003ca href=\"https://destinyarts.org/\">Destiny Arts\u003c/a> youth and ballerina \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfballet.org/artist/angela-watson-2/\">Angela Watson\u003c/a> from Oakland. Highlights from the Oakland Ballet Company shows Luna Mexicana, Dancing Moons Festival and The Nutcracker round out the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s super exciting,” Copeland says of the long-awaited Oakland premiere. “We hope that we did the community justice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Flower,’ starring Misty Copeland, premieres at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The film premiere is accompanied by live performances by Oakland Ballet and others. \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandballet.org/flower/\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 1, ‘In the Building’",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Welcome to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13934874\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/a>, a four-part series about the Bay Area, hip-hop culture and the significance of the year 2006. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then I was a baby journalist, laying the foundation for my career path and getting ready for college. I was also trying to stay out of the way of the drama, while moving in and out of traffic with my patnas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We stayed out late, smoking, drinking and partying to no end. We found fun during hard times, and celebrated everyday as if it were our last– and honestly, it very well could’ve been.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In January of that year, an unfortunate chain of events in the neighborhood I hung out in led to a friend, Willie Clay, losing his life to gun violence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Around that same time, a neighborhood rap star on the rise by the name of Beeda Weeda released two projects that I listened to as a reprieve from the stress of the world. And as his music helped me to cope, it did the same for Beeda, as he not only knew Will, he was one of the last people to see him alive. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Beeda’s stock was rising, another shooting led to him relocating his studio, working with Tajai Massey of Souls of Mischief/ Hieroglyphics and opening a door to the Hiero building, a place that would allow a new generation of hip-hop artists from the community to make music. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You hear about how the murder rate was so high, how that was like one of the worst years of Oakland,” says Beeda Weeda. “But, bruh, I had so much fun.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you ask anyone who was in the Bay Area and into hip-hop in 2006, I’m sure they’ll have a story for you. As Beeda Weeda told me, “‘06 was very special, bro.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13935062\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A picnic table outside of the Manzanita Youth Center in East Oakland, inscribed with the names of people from the community who've passed. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A picnic table outside of the Manzanita Youth Center in East Oakland, inscribed with the names of people from the community who’ve passed. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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=KQINC3485225341&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In 2006, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was 18 going on 19, one year removed from high school. And\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I had a front row seat to one of the most notable times in Bay Area hip-hop history– a period often referred to as “the hyphy movement”. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was an era of uptempo-bass-heavy music, oversized airbrushed white t-shirts, candy painted cars and big-ass sunglasses — stunna shades. There was exuberant dancing, extravagant slang, and goofy party antics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The grand daddy was purple, the incredible hulk was green and the pills came in every color that Crayola has ever seen. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While it’s easy to get all nostalgic about the music and partying as a time of celebration and bliss, I’m here to discuss how the culture was fueled by pain. That year a reported \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/most-oakland-homicides-in-2006-were-shootings-2659579.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">148 people\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> were killed in Oakland. It’s the second highest annual homicide total the town has ever seen. And nationally it was much the same, as crime– specifically robberies in big cities– increased significantly from the year prior. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ambient music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think about that, in addition to the folks who I knew who were lost to substance abuse, people who were sent to jail or prison, families who lost homes, careers that were ended, and lives that were forever changed. Yeah, there’s more to the story of “the hyphy movement” than just going stupid.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I should know, I was there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[chatter of voices]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The date on my LG flip phone reads January 26, 2006. I’m staring at the digital screen, posted in the lobby of this fancy-ass hotel in downtown San Jose. Business casual attire means that I’m sporting the same button-up collared shirt, baggy khakis and Steve Madden shoes that I wear to funerals and club functions. But today, I’m at a journalism gala. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m a baby reporter, 18 years-old. The beard hasn’t connected and the hairline hasn’t receded. Folks are all dressed fancy and eating tiny sandwiches. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is journalism? \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m with my folks from New America Media’s Youth Outlook publication, a nonprofit that helps young writers get their foot into the journalism world. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m in the right place to be, but still kind of nervous. So in the middle of all the lobby chatter, I’m tucked off, hiding behind my illuminated screen of my phone. No games on that joint, no social media or internet browser either. I’m just messing with the ringtones and reading old text messages. And then— \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[phone vibrates]\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A new message from my patna Malcolm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They killed Will.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a quick call for further clarification, I hang up and I throw \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[phone cracks] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my phone, quarterback Hail Mary style– chuck that muthaf—a smooth across the room. The phone was ok. I broke.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[car door slams, engine rumbles as car drives off]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I leave the event in a drunken blur, and get a ride back to Oakland with some co-workers. Yeah, drunk at 18. But what does that mean? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean I’d been smoking and drinking since middle school– around the same time I met Willie Clay. We were classmates, and outside of school we kicked it at the Manzanita Center – a youth center on East 28th street in East Oakland, in a neighborhood we call the Dubs – or Murder Dubs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Will was part of a circle of folks who hung out there, played basketball, rode scooters. Y’all remember those Razor joints? He loved those and the motorized ones, too. We used to smoke, shoot dice, rap, crack jokes. He was a funny dude who loved the neighborhood. And last we talked, he had a baby on the way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life changed that day, for me, and a lot of folks in my circle. And that was just\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one day,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the midst of a year that would bring my friends and I some of the highest highs and the lowest lows, leaving magnificent memories and deep seated scars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Car engine rumbles]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few years ago, I was bending corners around town, when I saw a couple of words written in aerosol spray on a wall underneath an overpass: “Hyphy Kids Got Trauma.” Bingo. Say less.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the untold story. Our story. My story. There was a lot of pain and grief intertwined in that era. It was the catalyst for the exuberant lifestyle. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It made us party more aggressively, gig harder, roll fatter blunts, buy bigger bottles, stunt with all four car doors open with a RIP memorial pamphlet on the dashboard of the Buick. Ecstasy pills were popped like vitamins. And goofy glasses – they masked the weight of the reality we were facing. And somehow, that’s all the outside world saw—that goofy shit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in this podcast, I’m going to bring you into the real meaning of the word “hyphy” and why we dance a little different. We’ll talk about where the media failed us and we’ll show you what grew out of the pain. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/a/david-drake/how-did-blow-the-whistle-become-hyphys-biggest-anthem\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March 7th, 2006\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> legendary Oakland rapper Too $hort teamed up with super producer Lil Jon to drop the hit song, “Blow The Whistle.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Blow The Whistle by Too Short plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stupid slap, a bass line that could awaken gargoyles, with energetic drums and a catchy hook, it was a union of Atlanta’s popular krunk sound with the Bay Area’s hyphy wave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Tell Me When To Go by E-40 plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The very next week, on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/1629312-E-40-My-Ghetto-Report-Card\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March 14, 2006\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> legendary Vallejo rapper E-40 dropped his album, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The lead single, “Tell Me When to Go,” was also produced by Lil Jon and featured fan favorite, East Oakland rapper Keak Da Sneak. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The drums sounded like two kangaroos kicking the trunk of your car—the hook, simple, catchy and cool. The beat was another uptempo marriage of krunk and hyphy, and it also made for a classic track. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those releases were just the tip of the iceberg in a year that brought about some of the most notable hip-hop and R&B songs from my region. On a given day, I’d ride shotgun in my friend’s scraper, blasting San Francisco rappers Messy Marv or San Quinn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’d pull up next to a Classic Chevy van, custom designed with flatscreens in the headrests, sound system knockin’ East Bay rappers The Jacka or Bavgate, E-A-Ski or Mistah FAB. We’d pull up to an event and the DJ would be spinning one of the mega hits by The Pack or Keyshia Cole. I’d dip out early, hop the BART turnstile and put my headphones on, listening to Zion-I or Goapele. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was a bunch of music to pull from. But for me, the track that kicked things off in 2006 was a song called “Turf’s Up” by an artist named Beeda Weeda.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Turfs Up by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda Weeda is a neighborhood star, a fly dresser, but not overly flashy, a dark-skinned brotha with deep waves who knows a little bit of everybody. He’s a rapper and a producer, as well as an owner of a clothing brand and a line of cannabis. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in 2006, he had just released his first studio mixtape, called\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Homework,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a subsequent album, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turfology 101\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The album’s lead single, “Turfs Up” got radio play and the video had a slew of cameos. The remix featured an all star line-up from that era, including Too Short and E-40.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The song is an uptempo, braggadocious track—something to dance to, ride to, throw your neighborhood up to. For Beeda, he was simply putting his real life on wax.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We was youngstas, we couldn’t get into the club and shit like that. So like, we would just get in the car, get alcohol, just ride through the East all day trying to knock bitches, you know what I’m saying? And just, the East was our playground. We turned it to like a club on wheels, you know what I’m saying? So that’s basically what the song was just about. I was just talking about the shit that we be doing out here. And, you know, the shit just like, took off, bro. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The album also featured a few songs that spoke to trends of the time, like rippa slippas.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Rippa Slippas by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You remember the rippa slippas? That was the shoes that all the little females would get from the uh, beauty supply shit, the Chinese slippers, you know, I’m saying. So it was just like everything that literally was going on in the culture, I was just explaining shit, just you know, letting people know how we was getting down out here. You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda was painting pictures of how folks were living, from partying to pimpin’, and even the more militant mindset. On his \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Homework\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> mixtape Beeda Weeda dropped this one song that spoke directly to that radical ideology that so many young folks have here in the Bay. The track was simply called “We Ain’t Listening.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[We Ain’t Listening by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That was just the energy of Oakland. Like we was the young niggas. That’s what… what our whole mentality was. We weren’t listening to shit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A mixture of revolutionary spirit, cool player shit and mob mentality, the track exemplifies a lot of the elements that were going on at the time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was just expressing, you know, what we were going through and just giving the world a light on what we got going on. Because I always felt like Oakland was different. We was different, you know what I’m saying? I knew it was something different about us. You feel me? And I kind of just wanted to share that with the world, you know what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s right, Oakland \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">was\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> different. It was an epicenter of culture, caught in an upwind of creativity. And in 2006, at the same time, there were plenty of reasons for young folks in the Town to ignore every single word from authority figures. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland had long been under-resourced and over-policed. Families were facing predatory housing loans and rising rents. After decades of constant growth, the 2000 Census marked the last time the Black population in Oakland increased. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had homies move to Antioch, Las Vegas and Texas. I started seeing more white folks jogging through the hood. It was the onset of gentrification. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayor Jerry Brown was focused on redeveloping downtown, adding thousands of new residents and cracking down on sideshows– the illegal car shows native to the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[car engine rumbles and wheels screech]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I watched as downtown changed and new people came. Things shifted, but the sideshows remained. The police department, then entering the third year of a mandatory federal oversight, had its own issues. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I saw conflicts of all types: people in my family struggling financially, and people close to me going to fight in the War on Terror overseas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[police sirens]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And personally, for me, the biggest conflict was the community violence– that left the deepest wounds. Just weeks after my friend Will was killed, Beeda Weeda released his first project and his music helped me get through that hard time—hard for me, and arguably harder for Beeda, as he not only knew Will, he was one of the last people to see him alive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man, you know, I always say bro, what’s crazy is bro… I was supposed to be dead, bro.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That day, Beeda Weeda and a crew of folks were coming back from a performance at a party in Chico, a small town about three and a half hours north of Oakland. Rich in agriculture and full of nature, it’s a college town that sits at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, a drastic difference from Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So we slide out there. We had hella fun, did hella promoting. And I’ll never forget how it was, like because it was hella of us from the hood that went out there… just how much fun we had, bro. We didn’t have to look over our shoulders, uh, none of that shit. You know what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Beeda says that after they left and made their way back to Oakland, that energy shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bro, it was just like a dark ass cloud. It just got dark. And then I never forget like my um my big bro, he was in the front. He’s like, “alright, we back in the shit. You know, y’all keep ya’ll, put your head on a swivel. You know what I’m saying? Ya’ll know what time it is, you feel me?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The crew pulled back into Oakland and Beeda kicked up at a spot in the Dubs. He gave a friend a haircut, and then he realized it was getting late and he didn’t have his car, so he called another friend to give him a ride across town to his lady’s crib.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So my homie come pick me up. Boom, he come pick me up, take me to the West. I’m hella tired cause we were just doing hella shit, I had been up all night from being in Chico and shit, instantly pass out, right? My phone die. You feel me? So my phone go off. You know what I’m saying? I wake up in the morning, I turn my phone on. Soon as I turn my phone on my shit ringing, you feel me? [phone vibrates]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I answer it. You feel me? Like, “nigga where you at? Whoop, whoop, whoop”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m like, “Bro, I’m good.” And I just remember the nigga was like, “everybody dead”. I’m like, “huh, everybody dead?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A short period after Beeda left the neighborhood, someone came to a main intersection and started spraying bullets. Five people were hit in total. Will and another brother by the name of J-Black died. Before the shooting happened, and before Beeda left the ‘hood, he saw Will on the block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’ll never forget the look on Willie’s face when I drove… like, I just looked at him. You feel me? Like I never forget that shit, you know what I’m saying? He was just standing on the corner. I don’t know, I just looked at him, you know what I’m saying, we looked at each other. I don’t know, it was weird bro. But I’ll never forget that shit. And you know, I just be trippin’ off that shit. Like you feel me? Like I coulda been– if I would’ve been up there a little bit longer, ain’t no tellin’… you know what I’m sayin’? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As all of this was happening, Beeda’s music was blowing up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behind the scenes he was working with Tajai of the legendary Souls of Mischief hip-hop group. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re a branch of the Almighty Hieroglyphics crew– the folks who brought you the song ‘93 Til Infinity and one of the most well-known logos in hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai is a slim brown-skinned brother from East Oakland, who can get loud when it’s time. And, most times, he has a calm aura that makes sense once you learn that he’s trained in martial arts and is a full-time architectural designer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in 2006, he had been in the rap game for over a decade, and was looking to put other artists on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda Weeda’s music — specifically the song, “We Ain’t Listening” — caught Tajai’s ear. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey, guest:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It just sounded scary, like, man, oh, wow. This is… this sounds like um like, if you listen to this song, it sounds very tribal, like, hey, hey. It’s just like um when you think about rap music and you think about the stereotypes about it, it’s scary Negro music from the inner city, that song exemplified that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai says that fear factor was a driving force that made the song powerful. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like, like obviously it was music, but it was scary. And that’s, I think, what I liked about it. You know, I’m saying I felt like a suburban kid, almost like, “what is this? Oooooooh! This is what those Negroes are talking about in the… in the inner city.”\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know what I mean though? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You say scary, but you say it with a smile on your face. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, yeah, I mean because I’m, I’m Black and I’m from the inner city like, so I know it’s just young niggas letting off steam musically. You feel what I’m saying though? But that’s really what Hip Hop is in general, rapping, like we just rapping, you know what I’m saying? So to me, it exemplified the same… the same feeling that maybe, you know, Raising Hell or Rock Box or something, “dun, nuh-nuh-nuh,” you know, or uh it’s “like a jungle sometimes.” Like, it exemplified that spirit of there’s a whole other world out here that you are not being exposed to, and we’re going to make it sound beautiful over music\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few weeks after the release of Beeda’s first project, there was another shooting in the Dubs. Bullet holes rattled Beeda’s custom designed van. No one was injured, but the shooting left holes in the image of Beeda’s album cover that wrapped the vehicle. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The incident pushed Beeda, Tajai, and Beeda’s manager, J.Moe, to put a plan into play.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai and the Hieroglyphics crew own a building in East Oakland, a few miles from the Dubs. Tajai invited Beeda to start using that space as his homebase, and once Beeda had a foot in the door, he started bringing in other artists from the community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once Tajai started seeing the talent, he coulda been on some like ‘nah Beeda you doing too much,’ you feel me, ‘like, just you.’ He opened up the whole motherf—-n’ downstairs for us and was like f— it, ya’ll can have this shit down here, you know what I’m saying? And, like, that whole situation, like, basically sparked a lot of careers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai saw the Hiero building as more than just a recording studio for the East Bay’s emerging talent. It was almost like an anti-violence initiative. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean, literally, this place was so active that crime went down in the Dubs. You feel what I’m saying though, because all the criminals was here recording records, you know what I’m saying though? Like forreal though, you know what I’m saying though? I mean you know, all the factors was in here making music you know what I’m saying though?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The roster of folks who came through those doors and made music and or contributed to the culture included Philthy Rich and DJ Fresh, Moses Music, Big Hongry, and J. Stalin. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shady Nate, Tower, and the late Zoe Tha Roasta. It’s where a few years later D-LO would record and film the video for his anthem, “No Hoe.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s where I would eventually work with Jamon Dru and Young Gully to record the Grant Station Project, dedicated to Oscar Grant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was these artists who’d contribute to Bay Area hip-hop for the next decade-plus, making hyphy songs as well as mobb music, underground hits, selling thousands of records and rocking shows across the country. These were dudes from the neighborhood, making music to express pain, celebrate life and document culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But nationally, that wasn’t the narrative. The way the Bay Area culture was being depicted wasn’t exactly what was really happening on the streets. Yes, there were some goofy dances and some funny fashion. But man, it was so much deeper than just going dumb on top of cars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you ask Tajai, that rebellious hyperactive energy is really in our DNA. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mean mugging and all that kind of stuff and you know what I’m saying shaking your dreads and all that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To me it was a very African vibe, you know, I’m saying though? Dancing hard, you know what I’m saying though? Very, very within the lineage of the diaspora, like you know what I’m saying though?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I could see that. I could see that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kind of like how breakdancing is or popping or all that kind of stuff, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So to me it was more tribal like and this how our, these are tribal dances that we do out here in the Bay where we are the hyphy tribe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the people of that “hyphy tribe,” we were at war, fighting against club security and local police, fighting against East Coast hip-hop biases, and corporate run-radio stations and culture vultures, fighting against other community members, and sometimes even fighting against ourselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re talking about a generation of kids who were born into the crack-cocaine induced era of the War on Drugs, and raised by people who saw Civil Rights leaders slain. There were already issues here, as Tajai reminds us:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The trauma pre-existed the hyphy movement, and I think the hyphy movement helped to free up and help people to unpack or at least evade a little bit of the trauma.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We didn’t know it at the time, but that “unpacking” of generational trauma, was unfettered joy while dancing off a pill at a gas station, or driving on the wrong side of the road while listening to your favorite song at a high volume. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For me, it was smoking and drinking as if everyday were the weekend. It was pills and syrup. It was parties. It was riding around with my patnas, hanging out of the sunroof of this plum colored Sebring that I got from an auction–having fun, despite all of the danger and despair. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maybe we were numbing ourselves to get through the trauma. Maybe the hyphy movement kept us alive. Whatever the case, the dichotomy of that era, specifically the year 2006, left a mark that I can never erase. And I’m not the only one, just ask Beeda.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You hear about how the murder rate was so high, how that was like one of the worst years of Oakland but, bruh, I had so much fun. Like, like it didn’t seem like that, you know what I’m saying? It didn’t seem like I was around all that. You know what I mean? It just seemed like a lot of love. Like, yeah, we had our ups and downs, we was broke you know what I’m saying? But we didn’t care. We all took care of each other. ‘06 was very special, bro. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Maybe it was that contrast that created the fun, how life and death happened all at once. It made it memorable for us. And unfortunately, only a portion of the story was told, until now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the next episode, we go deeper into community and culture, the year ‘06, and why we dance a little different.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bay: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re not Hyphy dancers. Hyphy was kind of like the energy, the… the spirit, the movement. But, you know , turfing is how we was able to separate ourselves from the energy, you know, we was turf dancing. We wasn’t hyphy dancing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound designed and mixed by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eric Arnold, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, Cesar Saldaña, Sayre Quevedo, Katie Sprenger, Nastia Voynovskaya, and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">BayAreaHipHop.Com\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Will, J-Black and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Hyphy Kids Got Trauma Pt. 1, ‘In the Building’ | KQED",
"description": "In part one of Hyphy Kids Got Trauma, we land in Oakland and meet host Pendarvis Harshaw, a budding journalist at 18 years old. We see the highs and lows, the songs and scars, of the year 2006 through his eyes, and meet a few of the artists behind the music in San Francisco Bay Area hip-hop culture.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Welcome to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13934874\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/a>, a four-part series about the Bay Area, hip-hop culture and the significance of the year 2006. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back then I was a baby journalist, laying the foundation for my career path and getting ready for college. I was also trying to stay out of the way of the drama, while moving in and out of traffic with my patnas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We stayed out late, smoking, drinking and partying to no end. We found fun during hard times, and celebrated everyday as if it were our last– and honestly, it very well could’ve been.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In January of that year, an unfortunate chain of events in the neighborhood I hung out in led to a friend, Willie Clay, losing his life to gun violence.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Around that same time, a neighborhood rap star on the rise by the name of Beeda Weeda released two projects that I listened to as a reprieve from the stress of the world. And as his music helped me to cope, it did the same for Beeda, as he not only knew Will, he was one of the last people to see him alive. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As Beeda’s stock was rising, another shooting led to him relocating his studio, working with Tajai Massey of Souls of Mischief/ Hieroglyphics and opening a door to the Hiero building, a place that would allow a new generation of hip-hop artists from the community to make music. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You hear about how the murder rate was so high, how that was like one of the worst years of Oakland,” says Beeda Weeda. “But, bruh, I had so much fun.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you ask anyone who was in the Bay Area and into hip-hop in 2006, I’m sure they’ll have a story for you. As Beeda Weeda told me, “‘06 was very special, bro.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13935062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13935062\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A picnic table outside of the Manzanita Youth Center in East Oakland, inscribed with the names of people from the community who've passed. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/dscf1186-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A picnic table outside of the Manzanita Youth Center in East Oakland, inscribed with the names of people from the community who’ve passed. \u003ccite>(Pendarvis Harshaw)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\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=KQINC3485225341&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw, host: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Heads up, this podcast contains explicit language. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> In 2006, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I was 18 going on 19, one year removed from high school. And\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I had a front row seat to one of the most notable times in Bay Area hip-hop history– a period often referred to as “the hyphy movement”. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was an era of uptempo-bass-heavy music, oversized airbrushed white t-shirts, candy painted cars and big-ass sunglasses — stunna shades. There was exuberant dancing, extravagant slang, and goofy party antics. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[crowd cheering]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The grand daddy was purple, the incredible hulk was green and the pills came in every color that Crayola has ever seen. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While it’s easy to get all nostalgic about the music and partying as a time of celebration and bliss, I’m here to discuss how the culture was fueled by pain. That year a reported \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/most-oakland-homicides-in-2006-were-shootings-2659579.php\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">148 people\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> were killed in Oakland. It’s the second highest annual homicide total the town has ever seen. And nationally it was much the same, as crime– specifically robberies in big cities– increased significantly from the year prior. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ambient music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think about that, in addition to the folks who I knew who were lost to substance abuse, people who were sent to jail or prison, families who lost homes, careers that were ended, and lives that were forever changed. Yeah, there’s more to the story of “the hyphy movement” than just going stupid.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I should know, I was there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[chatter of voices]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The date on my LG flip phone reads January 26, 2006. I’m staring at the digital screen, posted in the lobby of this fancy-ass hotel in downtown San Jose. Business casual attire means that I’m sporting the same button-up collared shirt, baggy khakis and Steve Madden shoes that I wear to funerals and club functions. But today, I’m at a journalism gala. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m a baby reporter, 18 years-old. The beard hasn’t connected and the hairline hasn’t receded. Folks are all dressed fancy and eating tiny sandwiches. \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is journalism? \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m with my folks from New America Media’s Youth Outlook publication, a nonprofit that helps young writers get their foot into the journalism world. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m in the right place to be, but still kind of nervous. So in the middle of all the lobby chatter, I’m tucked off, hiding behind my illuminated screen of my phone. No games on that joint, no social media or internet browser either. I’m just messing with the ringtones and reading old text messages. And then— \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[phone vibrates]\u003c/span>\u003c/i> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A new message from my patna Malcolm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They killed Will.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a quick call for further clarification, I hang up and I throw \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[phone cracks] \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">my phone, quarterback Hail Mary style– chuck that muthaf—a smooth across the room. The phone was ok. I broke.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[car door slams, engine rumbles as car drives off]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I leave the event in a drunken blur, and get a ride back to Oakland with some co-workers. Yeah, drunk at 18. But what does that mean? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean I’d been smoking and drinking since middle school– around the same time I met Willie Clay. We were classmates, and outside of school we kicked it at the Manzanita Center – a youth center on East 28th street in East Oakland, in a neighborhood we call the Dubs – or Murder Dubs.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Will was part of a circle of folks who hung out there, played basketball, rode scooters. Y’all remember those Razor joints? He loved those and the motorized ones, too. We used to smoke, shoot dice, rap, crack jokes. He was a funny dude who loved the neighborhood. And last we talked, he had a baby on the way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life changed that day, for me, and a lot of folks in my circle. And that was just\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">one day,\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">in the midst of a year that would bring my friends and I some of the highest highs and the lowest lows, leaving magnificent memories and deep seated scars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Car engine rumbles]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few years ago, I was bending corners around town, when I saw a couple of words written in aerosol spray on a wall underneath an overpass: “Hyphy Kids Got Trauma.” Bingo. Say less.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s the untold story. Our story. My story. There was a lot of pain and grief intertwined in that era. It was the catalyst for the exuberant lifestyle. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It made us party more aggressively, gig harder, roll fatter blunts, buy bigger bottles, stunt with all four car doors open with a RIP memorial pamphlet on the dashboard of the Buick. Ecstasy pills were popped like vitamins. And goofy glasses – they masked the weight of the reality we were facing. And somehow, that’s all the outside world saw—that goofy shit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So in this podcast, I’m going to bring you into the real meaning of the word “hyphy” and why we dance a little different. We’ll talk about where the media failed us and we’ll show you what grew out of the pain. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Pendarvis Harshaw, and this is \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hyphy Kids Got Trauma\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.complex.com/music/a/david-drake/how-did-blow-the-whistle-become-hyphys-biggest-anthem\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March 7th, 2006\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> legendary Oakland rapper Too $hort teamed up with super producer Lil Jon to drop the hit song, “Blow The Whistle.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Blow The Whistle by Too Short plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stupid slap, a bass line that could awaken gargoyles, with energetic drums and a catchy hook, it was a union of Atlanta’s popular krunk sound with the Bay Area’s hyphy wave. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Tell Me When To Go by E-40 plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The very next week, on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.discogs.com/release/1629312-E-40-My-Ghetto-Report-Card\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">March 14, 2006\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> legendary Vallejo rapper E-40 dropped his album, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My Ghetto Report Card\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. The lead single, “Tell Me When to Go,” was also produced by Lil Jon and featured fan favorite, East Oakland rapper Keak Da Sneak. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The drums sounded like two kangaroos kicking the trunk of your car—the hook, simple, catchy and cool. The beat was another uptempo marriage of krunk and hyphy, and it also made for a classic track. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Those releases were just the tip of the iceberg in a year that brought about some of the most notable hip-hop and R&B songs from my region. On a given day, I’d ride shotgun in my friend’s scraper, blasting San Francisco rappers Messy Marv or San Quinn. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’d pull up next to a Classic Chevy van, custom designed with flatscreens in the headrests, sound system knockin’ East Bay rappers The Jacka or Bavgate, E-A-Ski or Mistah FAB. We’d pull up to an event and the DJ would be spinning one of the mega hits by The Pack or Keyshia Cole. I’d dip out early, hop the BART turnstile and put my headphones on, listening to Zion-I or Goapele. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There was a bunch of music to pull from. But for me, the track that kicked things off in 2006 was a song called “Turf’s Up” by an artist named Beeda Weeda.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Turfs Up by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda Weeda is a neighborhood star, a fly dresser, but not overly flashy, a dark-skinned brotha with deep waves who knows a little bit of everybody. He’s a rapper and a producer, as well as an owner of a clothing brand and a line of cannabis. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in 2006, he had just released his first studio mixtape, called\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Homework,\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a subsequent album, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Turfology 101\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The album’s lead single, “Turfs Up” got radio play and the video had a slew of cameos. The remix featured an all star line-up from that era, including Too Short and E-40.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The song is an uptempo, braggadocious track—something to dance to, ride to, throw your neighborhood up to. For Beeda, he was simply putting his real life on wax.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda, guest:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> We was youngstas, we couldn’t get into the club and shit like that. So like, we would just get in the car, get alcohol, just ride through the East all day trying to knock bitches, you know what I’m saying? And just, the East was our playground. We turned it to like a club on wheels, you know what I’m saying? So that’s basically what the song was just about. I was just talking about the shit that we be doing out here. And, you know, the shit just like, took off, bro. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The album also featured a few songs that spoke to trends of the time, like rippa slippas.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Rippa Slippas by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> You remember the rippa slippas? That was the shoes that all the little females would get from the uh, beauty supply shit, the Chinese slippers, you know, I’m saying. So it was just like everything that literally was going on in the culture, I was just explaining shit, just you know, letting people know how we was getting down out here. You know what I mean?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda was painting pictures of how folks were living, from partying to pimpin’, and even the more militant mindset. On his \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Homework\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> mixtape Beeda Weeda dropped this one song that spoke directly to that radical ideology that so many young folks have here in the Bay. The track was simply called “We Ain’t Listening.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[We Ain’t Listening by Beeda Weeda plays]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That was just the energy of Oakland. Like we was the young niggas. That’s what… what our whole mentality was. We weren’t listening to shit. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A mixture of revolutionary spirit, cool player shit and mob mentality, the track exemplifies a lot of the elements that were going on at the time. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I was just expressing, you know, what we were going through and just giving the world a light on what we got going on. Because I always felt like Oakland was different. We was different, you know what I’m saying? I knew it was something different about us. You feel me? And I kind of just wanted to share that with the world, you know what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">He’s right, Oakland \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">was\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> different. It was an epicenter of culture, caught in an upwind of creativity. And in 2006, at the same time, there were plenty of reasons for young folks in the Town to ignore every single word from authority figures. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oakland had long been under-resourced and over-policed. Families were facing predatory housing loans and rising rents. After decades of constant growth, the 2000 Census marked the last time the Black population in Oakland increased. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I had homies move to Antioch, Las Vegas and Texas. I started seeing more white folks jogging through the hood. It was the onset of gentrification. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mayor Jerry Brown was focused on redeveloping downtown, adding thousands of new residents and cracking down on sideshows– the illegal car shows native to the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[car engine rumbles and wheels screech]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I watched as downtown changed and new people came. Things shifted, but the sideshows remained. The police department, then entering the third year of a mandatory federal oversight, had its own issues. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I saw conflicts of all types: people in my family struggling financially, and people close to me going to fight in the War on Terror overseas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[police sirens]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And personally, for me, the biggest conflict was the community violence– that left the deepest wounds. Just weeks after my friend Will was killed, Beeda Weeda released his first project and his music helped me get through that hard time—hard for me, and arguably harder for Beeda, as he not only knew Will, he was one of the last people to see him alive.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Man, you know, I always say bro, what’s crazy is bro… I was supposed to be dead, bro.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That day, Beeda Weeda and a crew of folks were coming back from a performance at a party in Chico, a small town about three and a half hours north of Oakland. Rich in agriculture and full of nature, it’s a college town that sits at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, a drastic difference from Oakland. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So we slide out there. We had hella fun, did hella promoting. And I’ll never forget how it was, like because it was hella of us from the hood that went out there… just how much fun we had, bro. We didn’t have to look over our shoulders, uh, none of that shit. You know what I’m saying?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But Beeda says that after they left and made their way back to Oakland, that energy shifted. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bro, it was just like a dark ass cloud. It just got dark. And then I never forget like my um my big bro, he was in the front. He’s like, “alright, we back in the shit. You know, y’all keep ya’ll, put your head on a swivel. You know what I’m saying? Ya’ll know what time it is, you feel me?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The crew pulled back into Oakland and Beeda kicked up at a spot in the Dubs. He gave a friend a haircut, and then he realized it was getting late and he didn’t have his car, so he called another friend to give him a ride across town to his lady’s crib.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So my homie come pick me up. Boom, he come pick me up, take me to the West. I’m hella tired cause we were just doing hella shit, I had been up all night from being in Chico and shit, instantly pass out, right? My phone die. You feel me? So my phone go off. You know what I’m saying? I wake up in the morning, I turn my phone on. Soon as I turn my phone on my shit ringing, you feel me? [phone vibrates]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I answer it. You feel me? Like, “nigga where you at? Whoop, whoop, whoop”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m like, “Bro, I’m good.” And I just remember the nigga was like, “everybody dead”. I’m like, “huh, everybody dead?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A short period after Beeda left the neighborhood, someone came to a main intersection and started spraying bullets. Five people were hit in total. Will and another brother by the name of J-Black died. Before the shooting happened, and before Beeda left the ‘hood, he saw Will on the block.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> And I’ll never forget the look on Willie’s face when I drove… like, I just looked at him. You feel me? Like I never forget that shit, you know what I’m saying? He was just standing on the corner. I don’t know, I just looked at him, you know what I’m saying, we looked at each other. I don’t know, it was weird bro. But I’ll never forget that shit. And you know, I just be trippin’ off that shit. Like you feel me? Like I coulda been– if I would’ve been up there a little bit longer, ain’t no tellin’… you know what I’m sayin’? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As all of this was happening, Beeda’s music was blowing up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Behind the scenes he was working with Tajai of the legendary Souls of Mischief hip-hop group. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re a branch of the Almighty Hieroglyphics crew– the folks who brought you the song ‘93 Til Infinity and one of the most well-known logos in hip-hop.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai is a slim brown-skinned brother from East Oakland, who can get loud when it’s time. And, most times, he has a calm aura that makes sense once you learn that he’s trained in martial arts and is a full-time architectural designer. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in 2006, he had been in the rap game for over a decade, and was looking to put other artists on. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Beeda Weeda’s music — specifically the song, “We Ain’t Listening” — caught Tajai’s ear. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey, guest:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It just sounded scary, like, man, oh, wow. This is… this sounds like um like, if you listen to this song, it sounds very tribal, like, hey, hey. It’s just like um when you think about rap music and you think about the stereotypes about it, it’s scary Negro music from the inner city, that song exemplified that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai says that fear factor was a driving force that made the song powerful. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Like, like obviously it was music, but it was scary. And that’s, I think, what I liked about it. You know, I’m saying I felt like a suburban kid, almost like, “what is this? Oooooooh! This is what those Negroes are talking about in the… in the inner city.”\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You know what I mean though? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You say scary, but you say it with a smile on your face. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Oh, yeah, I mean because I’m, I’m Black and I’m from the inner city like, so I know it’s just young niggas letting off steam musically. You feel what I’m saying though? But that’s really what Hip Hop is in general, rapping, like we just rapping, you know what I’m saying? So to me, it exemplified the same… the same feeling that maybe, you know, Raising Hell or Rock Box or something, “dun, nuh-nuh-nuh,” you know, or uh it’s “like a jungle sometimes.” Like, it exemplified that spirit of there’s a whole other world out here that you are not being exposed to, and we’re going to make it sound beautiful over music\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A few weeks after the release of Beeda’s first project, there was another shooting in the Dubs. Bullet holes rattled Beeda’s custom designed van. No one was injured, but the shooting left holes in the image of Beeda’s album cover that wrapped the vehicle. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The incident pushed Beeda, Tajai, and Beeda’s manager, J.Moe, to put a plan into play.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai and the Hieroglyphics crew own a building in East Oakland, a few miles from the Dubs. Tajai invited Beeda to start using that space as his homebase, and once Beeda had a foot in the door, he started bringing in other artists from the community. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once Tajai started seeing the talent, he coulda been on some like ‘nah Beeda you doing too much,’ you feel me, ‘like, just you.’ He opened up the whole motherf—-n’ downstairs for us and was like f— it, ya’ll can have this shit down here, you know what I’m saying? And, like, that whole situation, like, basically sparked a lot of careers.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tajai saw the Hiero building as more than just a recording studio for the East Bay’s emerging talent. It was almost like an anti-violence initiative. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I mean, literally, this place was so active that crime went down in the Dubs. You feel what I’m saying though, because all the criminals was here recording records, you know what I’m saying though? Like forreal though, you know what I’m saying though? I mean you know, all the factors was in here making music you know what I’m saying though?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The roster of folks who came through those doors and made music and or contributed to the culture included Philthy Rich and DJ Fresh, Moses Music, Big Hongry, and J. Stalin. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Shady Nate, Tower, and the late Zoe Tha Roasta. It’s where a few years later D-LO would record and film the video for his anthem, “No Hoe.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s where I would eventually work with Jamon Dru and Young Gully to record the Grant Station Project, dedicated to Oscar Grant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was these artists who’d contribute to Bay Area hip-hop for the next decade-plus, making hyphy songs as well as mobb music, underground hits, selling thousands of records and rocking shows across the country. These were dudes from the neighborhood, making music to express pain, celebrate life and document culture. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But nationally, that wasn’t the narrative. The way the Bay Area culture was being depicted wasn’t exactly what was really happening on the streets. Yes, there were some goofy dances and some funny fashion. But man, it was so much deeper than just going dumb on top of cars. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you ask Tajai, that rebellious hyperactive energy is really in our DNA. \u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mean mugging and all that kind of stuff and you know what I’m saying shaking your dreads and all that. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To me it was a very African vibe, you know, I’m saying though? Dancing hard, you know what I’m saying though? Very, very within the lineage of the diaspora, like you know what I’m saying though?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I could see that. I could see that.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kind of like how breakdancing is or popping or all that kind of stuff, right?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So to me it was more tribal like and this how our, these are tribal dances that we do out here in the Bay where we are the hyphy tribe.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And the people of that “hyphy tribe,” we were at war, fighting against club security and local police, fighting against East Coast hip-hop biases, and corporate run-radio stations and culture vultures, fighting against other community members, and sometimes even fighting against ourselves.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re talking about a generation of kids who were born into the crack-cocaine induced era of the War on Drugs, and raised by people who saw Civil Rights leaders slain. There were already issues here, as Tajai reminds us:\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Tajai Massey: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The trauma pre-existed the hyphy movement, and I think the hyphy movement helped to free up and help people to unpack or at least evade a little bit of the trauma.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[Music]\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We didn’t know it at the time, but that “unpacking” of generational trauma, was unfettered joy while dancing off a pill at a gas station, or driving on the wrong side of the road while listening to your favorite song at a high volume. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For me, it was smoking and drinking as if everyday were the weekend. It was pills and syrup. It was parties. It was riding around with my patnas, hanging out of the sunroof of this plum colored Sebring that I got from an auction–having fun, despite all of the danger and despair. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maybe we were numbing ourselves to get through the trauma. Maybe the hyphy movement kept us alive. Whatever the case, the dichotomy of that era, specifically the year 2006, left a mark that I can never erase. And I’m not the only one, just ask Beeda.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Beeda Weeda: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">You hear about how the murder rate was so high, how that was like one of the worst years of Oakland but, bruh, I had so much fun. Like, like it didn’t seem like that, you know what I’m saying? It didn’t seem like I was around all that. You know what I mean? It just seemed like a lot of love. Like, yeah, we had our ups and downs, we was broke you know what I’m saying? But we didn’t care. We all took care of each other. ‘06 was very special, bro. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Maybe it was that contrast that created the fun, how life and death happened all at once. It made it memorable for us. And unfortunately, only a portion of the story was told, until now. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the next episode, we go deeper into community and culture, the year ‘06, and why we dance a little different.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Jeriel Bay: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We’re not Hyphy dancers. Hyphy was kind of like the energy, the… the spirit, the movement. But, you know , turfing is how we was able to separate ourselves from the energy, you know, we was turf dancing. We wasn’t hyphy dancing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Pendarvis Harshaw: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is Hyphy kids Got Trauma.\u003c/span>\u003cb> \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hosted by me, Pendarvis Harshaw\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Produced by Maya Cueva\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Edited by Chris Hambrick\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sound designed and mixed by Trackademics\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With support from \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eric Arnold, Jen Chien, Holly Kernan, Victoria Mauleon, Marisol Medina-Cadena, Gabe Meline, Xorje Olivares, Delency Parham, Cesar Saldaña, Sayre Quevedo, Katie Sprenger, Nastia Voynovskaya, and Ryce Stoughtenborough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This project was produced with support from PRX and is made possible, in part, by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And this is a part of KQED’s That’s My Word project, a year-long exploration of Bay Area Hip-Hop history. Find more at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/bayareahiphop\">BayAreaHipHop.Com\u003c/a>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">RIP Will, J-Black and so many more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Until next time, peace. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Rightnowish is an arts and culture podcast produced at KQED. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish\">NPR One\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I\">Spotify\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/Rightnowish-p1258245/\">TuneIn\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish\">Stitcher\u003c/a> or wherever you get your podcasts. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>=\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
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