Hip Hop at UNITEHERE! Midwest Leadership School

* This is another piece I am posting for historical interest/documentation purposes. It was never finished/published when it was first written, but I am throwing it up here because it was a powerful experience for me for which I am grateful. It was also an interesting and unique attempt to integrate cultural organizing into 21st century union organizing.

On October 3^rd, 2007, UNITEHERE! Leadership School at William’s Bay, Wisconsin graduated three Hip Hop Congress regional directors: J.R Flemming, Kamikaze, and myself, Julie C. The school, dedicated to developing leadership among the ranks of the UNITEHERE! workers and union reps, focused on education, labor history, and strategic political planning in the context of labor organizing in a new era. At first glance, the Hip Hop delegation’s presence might raise a few eyebrows on both Hip Hop and the labor union’s end. After all, the most recognizable Hip Hop activists tend to gravitate to much more popular, visible causes than labor organizing. But as president and executive director of HHC, Shamako Noble wrote, “It’s one thing to talk about Black/Brown Unity. It’s a whole different thing to look at the decimations of factories in the Rust Belt, the influx in immigration, tie them both back to NAFTA, and to recognize that both groups were essentially shafted by the same move.” In reality, the marriage is not as unlikely as it seems. Furthermore, if we, as the Hip Hop generation in the U.S., are truly to connect to the revolutionary movement that Hip Hop has become in places like Cuba, Venezuela, Nigeria, and South Africa, it is time to look towards a model of Hip Hop activism that is deeper and more transformative than the star-power of our more popular artists.  

For the HHC camp at Wisconsin, the connection wasn’t hard to see. Southern regional director Kamikaze pointed out how, “through hip hop, we can mobilize folks in the trenches, ‘cause a lot of people in the trenches are working folks as well.” In fact, the HHC delegation wasn’t the only Hip Hop in the building- Mario, a UNITEHERE! rep from Chicago who was at the school, is a graph writer, as well as a fan of one of my hometown Hip Hop groups, Boom Bap Project. This attests to the fact that many artists find themselves supplementing their income with day jobs with low wages, and no healthcare benefits, and many workers are artists when they end their shifts. But even where that direct connection doesn’t exist, knowledge of the struggle is still crucial. “The labor movement in this country is a second and third cousin to hip hop activism,” says Kamikaze, “The education is a necessary tool and a necessary piece of our education as hip hop activists.” 

“The trade labor force is a culture just like Hip Hop is a culture,” asserts J.R. Flemming, HHC’s Midwest regional director, “these cultures are a part of the very same modern day economic war, are under attack by the same system, and the same people whose intentions have always been the same: exploitation for profit.” 

Hip Hop heads understand exploitation for profit, having watched our own artistic practices and cultural principles become commodified by the music and advertising industries. Hip Hop artists, struggling to sell their music against the forces of the industry’s market monopolies and media conglomerates, feel this even more. Understanding the interrelatedness of this phenomenon to UNITE HERE!’s struggle isn’t a stretch. The leadership of the new labor movement is facing a difficult question: how to ensure their constituency of low-wage workers, many of whom are immigrants and people of color, a fair share of the American pie in an era where corporate profits are up 98% from 2001, but 60% of wages are either stagnant or on the decline? Quite a bit has changed in this country from a few decades ago, where a strike and some collective bargaining could yield lasting results. What was called the ‘Social Contract’ – the agreement that if one worked hard, they could have healthcare, good pay, and a place to live, deteriorated under the heavy hand of capitalist greed. NAFTA, and similar “free-trade” policies across the world resulted in the exportation of countless jobs overseas, to countries whose government class agreed to not burden corporate profits with human rights. Inside our own borders, the federal government began protecting the rights of corporations more than the rights of the laborers that sustain them, enabling management to fire workers for causing too much of a ruckus. Couple those realities with the technological advances that have automated machines performing jobs both skilled and unskilled workers used to hold, and you get the full picture. Both a living wage, human rights, and common decency, became things that had to be forcefully negotiated and fiercely protected by the needle trade, textile, restaurant, and hotel workers that UNITE HERE! represents, as well as for most artists in the general workforce, exploited workers, the unemployed, and the expontenially growing, “surplus population” across the globe.

(The rest of this is unfinished notes)

Hip Hop: poverty, education, police terrorism, gentrification, racism, the criminal justice system, drugs, etc., the economy in this era of globalization and free market fundamentalism, which is why UNITEHERE!’s leadership schools focus on political education from both a national and international perspective. 

Draft Washington State Hip Hop Congress Proposal

* This document was an email I sent out in July of 2007 to all parties named. I was brand spanking new to the nonprofit world, and really just in the beginning of my relationship with most of the individuals/groups named. Grand visions. Needless to say, this particular idea never came to fruition. 

Proposal: 

Establish a Washington State Chapter of Hip Hop Congress, collectively owned and operated by influential stakeholders in the Seattle Hip Hop Community, with the authority to do business as a foreign not-for-profit corporation in the state of Washington as Hip Hop Congress, Block Union Teamsters, 206 Zulu, Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council, and Dope Emporium.

Mission:

Through the vehicle of Hip Hop culture, Hip Hop Congress mobilizes, organizes, and empowers our communities through promoting civic engagement, cooperative economic self-determination, social responsibility, and cultural creativity. 

Vision:

The establishment of a regional and national infrastructure to strengthen and unify existing movements and emerging forces in Hip Hop to support cultural, economic, and social justice advancement.

Theory of Change:

By bridging gaps between academic, activist, and entrepreneurial networks within the cultural base of Hip Hop, we provide the platform to identify, address, and impact critical issues affecting our constituency. 

Interim Objectives of the Organization:

1) Provide a communications and public relations infrastructure within Seattle Hip Hop that strengthens and maximizes impact of our endeavors through presenting a unified front to the broader community. 

2) Develop tax-structure and fundraising strategy to seek public funding, grants, sponsorships, and revenue generation opportunities, consistent with mission of this organization, to fund operational budgets for programs and events directed by Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council, 206 Zulu, Union Block Teamsters, Media Coalition, and Dope Emporium chairs, as well as others designated by the Board. 

3) Develop programs to collectively strengthen and empower locally-accountable urban arts media in the Northwest including but not limited to 1) seeking opportunities to fund production and promotion of independent urban arts media outlets, and 2) seeking opportunities to provide technological and informational resources to support the development of infrastructure within existing independent urban arts media. 

4) Encourage the professional development of our constituency through 1) supporting in part travel expenses to events that provide important education and networking opportunities within our sector, including but not limited to Hip Hop Congress National Conference, The H2ed Hip Hop Education Summits, The National Hip Hop Political Convention, The Universal Zulu Nation Anniversary, music conferences, etc. 2) providing trainings, workshops for skills.

Initial Process

Step 1: Hammering down the legalities of incorporating in Washington State so that directors of existing programs (e.i. Block Union Teamsters, 206 Zulu, Dope Emporium, and Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council) are satisfied with the governance of the chapter, as well as the impact of incorporation on their respective organizations. This will involve a series of meetings and close communications between interim executive members, and with Jordan Bromley, who is the lawyer and member of Hip Hop Congress’s national Board of Directors. At the end of this process, we will have specified the necessary powers and liberties of the Washington State Hip Hop Congress BOD in relationship to HHC National, as well as specified powers, liberties, and responsibilities of the executive committee members and program directors. 

Interim Board of Directors 

Executive Officers:

President and Chairman of the Board: Jamal “Jace Ecaj” Farr

Secretary: Amanda “Beloved1” Cumbow

Interim Treasurer: Jen Johnson, Seattle Debate Foundation

Vice President: Julie Chang Schulman

Vice President: Daniel “Khazm” Kogita

Vice President: Kwame “Wyking” Garrett

Vice President: Ghetto Prez

Other Officers:

Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council Program Director: Kwame “Wyking” Garrett

206 Zulu Program Director: Daniel “Khazm” Kogita

Union Block Teamsters Program Director: Ghetto Prez

Media Coalition Program Director: Julie Chang Schulman 

Dope Emporium Program Director: Jamal “Jace Ecaj” Farr

Step 2: Nominate other vested stakeholders in the broader Seattle Hip Hop Community to serve on the Board of Directors. The target constituency is those responsible for cultural production in the Northwest Hip Hop Community. This cluster includes individual artists and arts collectives, cultural organizations, academia and the campus, education and youth service organizations, the local music and entertainment industry, and the activist organizations that centralize their work around Hip Hop. In addition to providing more opportunities for resource-sharing, collaboration, cross promotions, and networking within the Seattle Hip Hop Community, the collective reach of the organization should also serve as a rapid response mechanism to educate, inform, and mobilize our constituencies around critical issues which impact the region, such as police brutality, nightlife legislation, media policy, housing justice and gentrification, city politics, etc., which should be kept in mind during this process. People must be elected to the founding BOD of the Washington State Chapter by a unanimous vote from the interim executive committee. 

Step 3: Finalization of legal documents, final amendments to organizational structure, etc. 

Twomp Newsletter 1

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Summer 2007

The Twomp Newsletter 1



Spotlighting the unification, strength, and mobilization of Northwest Hip Hop Culture and surrounding communities



Notes from the Editor: Seattle Hip Hop is moving at a furious pace here on the tip of the West coast, the mighty 2-0-6, where the community continues to set precedence in youth service, activism, solidarity and artistic excellence in urban arts culture. Be sure to cop the new long awaited albums of Laura "Piece" Kelley-Jahn and Silas Blak! Shouts to the new University of Washington Hip Hop Congress Chapter. Also, check for the TWOMP radio show, Volume 3, featuring Piece, Unexpected Arrival, The Parker Brothaz, Sonny Bonoho, and much more coming soon!





Spring 2007



* DV and Raj: Hip Hop a Catalyst for Police Brutality Organizing Efforts

* Seattle Hip Hop Community Survey Launched

* Swagger Fest 2007

* Seattle Hip Hop Demands Media Justice

* Union Block Teamsters Update



The Twomp Newsletter c 2007

Send questions and comments to Juliec.206@gmail.com







Seattle Hip Hop Community a Catalyst for Police Brutality Organizing Efforts



Seattle police department's continual targeting of communities of color and lack of accountability for police misconduct and violence is at the forefront of organizing efforts in Seattle Hip Hop. In September of last year, Seattle Hip Hop pioneer DJ DV-One was assaulted by police officers attempting to inquire about his 14 year old daughter who was being detained. DV-One now faces felony assault charges and $15,000 dollars in fines. Last month, emcee, spoken word poet, and teaching Hip Hop artist Rajnii Eddins was wrongfully arrested while trying to find out why his student was being detained. Rapid response from the Hip Hop and spoken word communities packed courtrooms in both cases, and has drawn widespread attention to the ongoing issue of police brutality in this city.



As a response to this outcry, the Seattle chapter of the NAACP hosted a community meeting earlier this week, where about thirty people gathered and formed committees for an action coalition around the issue. "What we saw at this gathering was an outcry of the brutality that has been happening over the years that has gone unaddressed," says emcee and teaching artist Amanda "Beloved1" Cumbow, who is also the chair of the newly-formed communications committee. Beloved1 maintains that the greater purpose of the coalition is to organize the efforts and energies behind these individual incidents into a cohesive force. "We must present a united front to the politicians and the police department to get legislative changes," she asserts.



The police brutality action coalition is asking for the community's continuing input, support, and participation in this process. While the NAACP is an important ally in this battle, it was the voices, effort, and expertise of the people on the ground that has brought them to the table, and it will be that of the people who ultimately determine the extent of structural change that will come. For more information on how to support this process, or to voice your own experiences and concerns with police brutality, email Beloved313@gmail.com



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Seattle Hip Hop Community Survey Launched



Hip Hop Congress and Seattle University professor Dr. Mako Fitts have teamed up to launch the Seattle Hip Hop Community Survey. This pioneering effort is among the first of its kind which attempts to empirically identify the scope and needs of our diverse community in order to provide a well-needed research base for cultural organizing economic empowerment on the ground level with Hip Hop from a local to global perspective.



Students from Fitts' undergraduate pop culture class will be setting up interviews and surveying 200 movers and shakers in the Seattle Hip Hop scene, artists, promoters, journalists, educators, youth organizers, activists, and advocates alike. Students will also be going to shows and community meetings and submitting write-ups for local Hip Hop news sources such as 206zulu.com. The survey is anonymous and collects basic demographic and occupational information, assessments on the quality and availability of resources for the development of the local scene, and asks participants to rank the impact of issues and concerns such as racial, gender, and sexual discrimination as well as police brutality in their lives.. As a staple principle of community-based research, the information collected will be publicly owned and utilized to aid in the development of initiatives that will benefit the urban arts community as a whole in the region. Data will also be offered as a resource for urban arts community-based organizations in the city to quantifiably measure the impact of their work and demonstrate its value.



The survey is, in part, based on the cluster-model used in a report commissioned by Seattle's Office Economic Development called the Economic Impact of Seattle's Music Industry, which showed that the core of Seattle's music industry generates nearly 8,700 direct jobs in over 2,600 businesses, and 2,000 jobs in 335 music-related businesses at an average annual wage of $22,771 dollars per year. However, because the city's report largely neglected Hip Hop as part of the local music industry cluster (I counted one Hip Hop promotions company out of hundreds of other sources), it failed to show the rapidly growing connection between the independent music scene and the youth service sector in the city that is more prevalent in Hip Hop than any other musical genre. By utilizing the insight and experiences of Hip Hop artists, educators, and grassroots organizers, the Hip Hop Community survey was crafted to represent the full spectrum of Hip Hop cultural production emerging from the region, demonstrate its impact.



The survey is also an important step to bridging the gap between community and the campus in a time where the status quo has academia eons away from the reality faced by Hip Hop artists, educators, activists, and cultural organizers. While the works of folks like Jeff Chang and Bakari Kitwana have provided an important historical and theoretical framework to validate Hip Hop studies in the academic world, the transition from theory to practice remains largely unrealized. Projects that connect students and academic institutions with surrounding communities in mutually empowering ways is a movement towards making meaningful use of the academic study of Hip Hop Culture.



To promote the survey as a model for Hip Hop communities in other regions, the survey its results will be presented at the 2007 Hip Hop Congress National Summit in Athens, Ohio, July 4th-8th. For more information on this, email Juliec.206@gmail.com.



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Swagger Fest 2007: Seattle's most Flossy and Fly



If you were in the Emerald City on May 2nd and weren't at Chop Suey for Swagger Fest, I extend my regrets to you, because you missed some of the most dynamic, energy-packed performances Seattle has to offer. With Vitamin D on the ones and twos, Neemah of Unexpected Arrival hosting, and an arsenal of emcees from Soul Guerilla, Sportn' Life Records, and Union Block Teamsters, Swagger Fest did much more than live up to its name.



Setting it all off was J. Pinder, from Sportn' Life, who warmed up the young crowd at this all-ages event with tracks from his up-coming album "Back Pack Theory." J. Pinder was followed by a short guest appearance from Live Wire (NYC) of the Hip Hop Project. (If you haven't yet checked a screening of the Hip Hop Project, you can catch it next Tuesday, the 8th at AMC Uptown Cinemas in Seattle). However, things really lit up when Sportn' Life's Fatal Lucciauno hit the spotlight. With his plain hoodie concealing a neck full of chains, and his shouts out to his mama and sister in the crowd, Fatal boasted an irresistible charisma on the stage that was amplified by his power-packed performance. Fatal Lucciauno's debut album "The Only Forgotten Son" hits the stores this summer.



As the crowd grew, so did energy in the building, and by the time Parker Brothaz from the Union Block Teamsters took their spot in the limelight, it was officially on and cracking. So deliciously hood with it, the duo puts a 206 twist on crunk and hyphie, redefining what you thought was Northwest flavor. The Parkers' tracks are laced with style, wit, and contagious braggadocio. One my favorites from the set was "Hoodoptalistic," a freshcoast remake of the Outkast classic that had the crowd wildin'. If you don't pick up a copy of "Play Your Position 6" featuring the Parker Brothaz at www.myspace.com/therealparkerbrothaz, you are most definitely missing!



The evening reached a peak with Dyme Def, a group of young emcees from Soul Guerilla who are rapidly becoming Seattle Hip Hop favorites across the board. With their vitality, spitfire delivery, and banging production from Bean One, the trio boasts the kind of stage show that keeps an audience wildin'. Tracks from their new album "Space Music" are a marriage of audacity and mic mastery, broad-based commercial appeal met with the undeniable skills of authentic emceeing. Check 'em for yourselves at www.myspace.com/defdyme.



Although younger folks at the show began trickling off around midnight, undoubtedly because of school the next morning, the hundred-some people who remained were blessed with an impressive finale by Sportn' Life's crown jewel and Co-CEO, D. Black. Before the beat even dropped, the "Teflon Don," had the crowd chanting his name and throwing up Sportn' Life "L's." But it isn't the lights, the dramatic intro music, the fog machine, or the slick 'fit (dark sunglasses and a black shirt adorned with golden marijuana leaves) that makes Black's stage presence so demanding. The aura of confident superstardom D. Black emanates commands the attention of the crowd, and his rock-solid stage show full of favorites from his album "The Cause and Effect," seals the deal. Plus he wrote a whole hook about how you can't f*** wit him. For more information on D. Black and other Sportn' Life artists and releases, visit www.sportnlife.net.



In a time where the Don Imus incident has hood-fabulous Hip Hop facing an all-out assault from both mainstream media and old-guard Hip Hop cultural preservationists, and even Russell Simmons is recommending censorship of the "misogynistic words 'bitch' and 'ho,'" as well as the N-bomb, Swagger Fest was a reminder that it's not all about controlling content when it comes to mitigating the impact of artistic expression in pop culture. Yes, there was some glorified materialism, arrogance, some unflattering commentary on promiscuous young women, and some harsh realities of Seattle's hoods, plagued by drugs, guns, and gang violence reflected in the music, but the undeniable positive energy and sense of pride and community in the building that night trumps all claims that artists that speak on such are irresponsible and unaccountable to their audience. For example, Sportn' Life Record's notable success with connecting to their audiences through not just shows but events like community barbeques and smaller gatherings, are not solely marketing devices but rather are very deliberate efforts to cultivate a sense of family in the scene. Spearhead of Union Block Teamsters, the Ghetto Prez serves on the Public Defender's Association board, is a volunteer firefighter, and routinely speaks to youth in classrooms.



In the words of Fearce Villain from Dyme Def, "Hip Hop can only be done one way, and that's from the heart." We don't need voices censored in Hip Hop, we need the commercial corporations' waning chokehold on the game fully squashed and replaced with a thriving, diverse, independent music industry that authentically stems from the source of Hip Hop, the community. We need Northwest artists to sell thirty-plus thousand records on the regular in their own backyards. We need the media to stop reacting to words used by mainstream artists, and start creating local celebrities that have both the power and accessibility to influence our youth in a positive way, even if their content is controversial. So Seattle, damn what they sayin', and get cha swagger on…..



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Seattle Hip Hop Demands Media Justice



While mainstream media and the hip hop press have been scrambling to respond to Don Imus, the Seattle Hip Hop community has focused its attention on cultivating more lasting, structural changes in the struggle towards media justice. In late March, 206 Zulu and Reclaim the Media hosted a NW Hip Hop Community Town Hall to address the FCC Payola Settlement in late March, and to develop a statement of response. Drawing upon Universal Zulu Nation's Bring Back the Balance Campaign, the 2004 Seattle Statement on Radio, and Youth Media Council's report "Is KMEL the Real People's Station?" participants identified four areas to prioritize in organizing enforcement efforts. We will move to ensure that:



1) High quality local artists are not given the backseat to national artists when it comes to radio airplay.

2) Local youth run Hip Hop organizations such as 206 Zulu, Seattle Youth Council, the Think Big Foundation, and Seattle Urban Debate League get access to radio airwaves for outreach and community education

3) The presence of relevant public affairs/news be available in hip hop programming so local issues impacting youth such as police brutality, gentrification, and violence can be addressed in a widely accessible public forum

4) The impact of negative, repetitive messaging delivered to youth through mainstream Hip Hop be mitigated by the presence of local artists who have a better understanding of local issues and a higher level of accountability to the audience.



This project is a continuing effort with a two tiered focus of 1) increasing the visibility and capacity of those independent urban outlets that already adhere to these principles and 2) holding corporate media outlets accountable to the common good they are supposed to serve. Our next steps on this project are to define measurables for each of the four areas. Big ups to folks from Odd Fellas, 4BC Musik, Highline Community College, Pusher Promotions, Worldwide Confined, Seattle University, Seattle Urban Debate League, Think Big Foundation, The Temple of Hip Hop, Music Inner City, KBCS, Silent Lambs Project, and Mel Hart Enterprises who were there. For more information on media justice in the Northwest check out www.reclaimthemedia.org. On how to get down with this project, shoot me an email at juliec.206@gmail.com.



Note from Editor: Save Internet Radio! The final decision of the three judges that make up the Copyright Royalty Board may not be so final. Their heavily disputed decision to drastically increase internet radio rates has come up against some democratic resistance. Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., and Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., on Thursday introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act. You have helped get the fight for the small broadcaster to the house. Please continue to support this timely legislation by visiting www.Savenetradio.org and getting your reps to co-sponsor.



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Union Block Teamsters Update



Seattle's first Hip Hop artist union, the Union Block Teamsters are on a roll. Their logo has been finalized, so be on the look out for posters and T-shirts, as well as a compilation album. In the meantime, the Teamsters have been performing, promoting, and doing radio interviews all across the state. Do4Self Records opened for 2 Live Crew in Yakima, Washington, Gator opened for Twister in Spokane, Washington, and the collective will soon be opening for Yung Buck. In addition, Union Block Teamsters have launched their DVD project, which will include videos from Do4Self and Parka Brothaz, as well as interviews with union members, local DJs, and other "industry tastemakers." Ghetto Prez of Sea-Sick Productions, who spearheads the Teamsters Union, says the DVD is a way to cultivate personal connections between the artists and their audience. "It's more than just listening to the songs," he says, "we get into their personal characters." The DVD project is also bigger than the Teamsters, the Prez asserts. "It's about supporting the local scene, getting DJs some exposure." Be on the look out for both the compilation album and DVD this summer. The Union Block Teamsters meet Thursday nights at Vito's. For more information email g-prez@seasick.com.

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mWOwdHq

Seattle Hip Hop Community a Catalyst for Anti-Police Brutality Organizing Efforts

Seattle police department's continual targeting of communities of color and lack of accountability for police misconduct and violence is at the forefront of organizing efforts in Seattle Hip Hop. In September of last year, Seattle Hip Hop pioneer DJ DV-One was assaulted by police officers attempting to inquire about his 14 year old daughter who was being detained. DV-One now faces felony assault charges and $15,000 dollars in fines.

Last month, emcee, spoken word poet, and teaching Hip Hop artist Rajnii Eddins was wrongfully arrested while trying to find out why his student was being detained. Rapid response from the Hip Hop and spoken word communities packed courtrooms in both cases, and has drawn widespread attention to the ongoing issue of police brutality in this city.

As a response to this outcry, the Seattle chapter of the NAACP hosted a community meeting earlier this week, where about thirty people gathered and formed committees for an action coalition around the issue. "What we saw at this gathering was an outcry of the brutality that has been happening over the years that has gone unaddressed," says emcee and teaching artist Amanda "Beloved1" Cumbow, who is also the chair of the newly-formed communications committee. Beloved1 maintains that the greater purpose of the coalition is to organize the efforts and energies behind these individual incidents into a cohesive force. "We must present a united front to the politicians and the police department to get legislative changes," she asserts.

The police brutality action coalition is asking for the community's continuing input, support, and participation in this process. While the NAACP is an important ally in this battle, it was the voices, effort, and expertise of the people on the ground that has brought them to the table, and it will be that of the people who ultimately determine the extent of structural change that will come. For more information on how to support this process, or to voice your own experiences and concerns with police brutality, email Beloved313@gmail.com

Listen to Seattle community members speak out about Rajnii's case following the hearing on The Twomp. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

For day to day updates and information on DV One and Rajnii Eddins, log onto:
http://www.myspace.com/supportdvone and
http://www.myspace.com/rajniicares

Open Letter to NW Hip Hop on Fighting for Media Rights

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Spring 2007 News
Seattle Hip Hop It's Time to Ride on KUBE 93

An Open letter to Northwest Hip Hop,

Let's get our heads right. It's time to put aside all our petty differences and historical beefs, regionalized dramas, paranoia, jealously, and whatever else keeps folks divided in this community. The fact is none of us are getting major radio play, the bullshit on mainstream radio is hurting all of us in terms of public interest in Hip Hop, and we can either stay clamourin at the bottom of the barrel, OR learn how to work together, create our own distribution networks, empower the media alternatives that do play our music, and demand something better from KUBE 93. There's no reason why Northwest artists can't sell 20,000 units regularly, except the fact that our lack of unity allows the very sharp, very organized corporations to bop us over and over, creating all this in-fighting and nonsense. Let's get over that for a second and look at what we're up against:

Today, four radio companies agreed to payola settlement with FCC. Clear Channel, CBS Radio, Entercom, and Citadel have tentatively agreed to pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists as part of a consent decree with the FCC.

Looks like the FCC is making these media conglomerates play our music! Sounds good right? Don't be fooled.

Industry watchdogs like Davey D from Hard knock Radio have been tracking this mess develop from the gate and they say the major labels have been ready for months to counteract this settlement. "The industry already has a bunch of former major label people who set up a quote unquote independent record consortium," says Davey D, "and that's the people they are gonna pull from. They ain't gonna pull from the local guy on the corner who needs a shot. You could play Lil Jon, Justin Timberlake, E-40, all of whom are now considered independent artists. It ain't gonna be dRED.i or Blue Scholars, it's gonna be key people connected to the industy and maybe they'll toss one person in there to look like they're doing something."

Paul Porter from Industry Ears scoffed at the settlement in an interview from earlier today with FreeMix Radio (you can peep it at www.voxunion.com). "The public, we have nobody representing us and that's how deals like this get cut, plain and simple." Porter goes on to expain how corportate interests and the RIAA's involvement got the FCC to walk away from making a formal agreement for independent airplay as a part of the consent decree. "Basically," Porter expains, "they are leaving it up to the broadcasters to police themselves, nobody is investigated, and this is another whitewash."

So what should we do?

-Instead of everyone jumping up at once to be the one or two local artists that MIGHT get their song played once or twice outside of Future Flavors on KUBE 93, we gotta organize local artists, record labels, promotors, and advocates to collectively put the pressure on folks like Eric Powers through petitions, organized protests, marches, rallies, or boycotts. The experience of folks like Gordon Curvey and influence of people like Jonathan Moore, reguardless of anyone's opinions of them, are critical in ensuring sustainable success.

-We may have to organize media monitoring of KUBE 93 to make sure the music they are playing is representative of the Hip Hop they claim to be. Of course we know it is not. But, Hip Hop is a culture recognized by United Nations, and it is on the people of this culture and community to set the standards. No one will do it for us, certainly not the FCC.

-We need a systemized means to increase support and crosspromotions of independent media outlets that DO provide opportunites to local artists. Shows like Zulu Radio on KBCS, the Download on KHIM, the Twomp, Street Sounds, Afragenesis Network, TV like Coolout, Music Inner City, and Hip Hop 101. Websites like 206zulu.com, seaspot.com, etc. The more powerful these independent outlets are, the more capacity they have to help artists. I propose the establishment of a Urban Arts Independent Media Coalition.

-Start collectively utilizing our networks and set up exchanges with artists, indy media outlets, and activists in other cities. We can bypass all this BS. We got Universal Zulu Nation, National Hip Hop Political Convention, Hip Hop Congress, Temple of Hip Hop, and numerous other international networks that have never been systemized for music distribution on a grassroots level!! We are at a place in Hip Hop's short history where the circles are becoming smaller, national organizers from different regions are in regular communication with each other, and this is very very possible. But it will take a great deal of coordination and organization to make this work.

-Utilize the international Media reform movement to our advantage. Our interests as independent artists and activists are the same as theirs. Local groups like Reclaim the Media who are piloting the Northwest Community Radio Network are one example.

Let's utlize some of this phenomenal creativity and genius we see manifested in NW Hip Hop and apply that to the structures we are operating in. It's time to change the game for real.


Seattle Police Strike Again Attack Another Hip Hop Artist

The following is a statement from Randee Eddins, poet, community activist and leader concerning the case of her son, Rajni. The attached MP3 in the email is a segment of the TWOMP News, audio DJ B-Girl Chillz, Merc, and I captured outside of Seattle Courthouse on the initial day of Rajnii's hearing. Please air this segment on your radio shows, burn it on your mix tapes, and post it on your websites! Please forward widely and voice your support in this continuing battle for justice and lasting change in the criminal justice system~
Julie C (emcee/ activist)

http://odeo.com/audio/11173863/view


powered by BREAKDOWN FM & ODEO


He came armed with a question. Yes, admittedly, he did do that. My
much loved only son, Rajnii Alexander Gibson-Eddins, a well-known
young Arts Educator, Performance Artist and Youth Advocate, approached
a police officer's car armed with a question.

For that, he was frisked, handcuffed, detained, arrested and charged
with obstruction of a public official. My son, who had no criminal
history; had no disrespectful bravado for the police officer who
arrested him, had nothing more in mind than the safety and security of
a young black adolescent who he had been told by one of his students
was being carted off to jail for spitting out gum.

The over the top response of the officer, R. Nelson came about,
reportedly, because he was afraid for his safety and his fellow
officers' safety. Afraid of Rajnii? Afraid of this most gentle
articulate young black man; artist educator, poet, actor, youth
advocate, community activist, and former elder foster brother to more
than 50 youth?

Afraid of his question?

"Let's examine this closely, shall we? Was it the…" excuse me
officer, I'd like to know what this child is being charged with so I
can notify her parents?"

Was it because when they told my son, my Rajnii, to move back from the
vehicle and he promptly complied, not once, not twice but 3 times but
continued to persist with the question, was that what made the officer
feel unsafe?

Was it that some police officers in certain neighborhoods have
forgotten they are paid to serve us and not paid to detain us,
humiliate us, harass us or arrest us? Ironically, my son is the
grandson and nephew of law enforcement officers; my late father was a
retired police officer and my brother is an officer with the sheriff's
department.

My son has served youth in a positive manner from Redmond to Tacoma,
co-founded a spoken word community organization to allow a culturally
diverse group of young people to flex and hone their voices in a
variety of venues.

Rajnii has performed spoken word from the Seattle City Council
chambers to Benaroya Hall, to Seattle Center, to colleges and
universities, libraries, bookstores, cafes, nightclubs, festivals,
theatres, community and cultural arts centers. He was chosen to be
part of Seattle's National Slam team for both 2004 and 2005 and
nominated for Seattle Poet Populist.

Rajnii has worked at many local Seattle area schools as both a
teaching assistant and teaching artist and volunteered thousands of
community service hours to improve the lives of our community's
youth.

Rajnii is only 26 but has already designed and implemented a
curriculum using positive hip-hop and taught a host of teachers how to
engage their disaffected students using it as a tool; has taken
students into the studio out of his own pocket and cheered them on at
their every effort to realize their artistic dreams.

Rajnii is considered a fierce mc in the hip-hop community, he writes
and performs his songs, his style, his way and definitely knows how to
rock the mic and move a crowd. He has been on countless albums to
support his peers with both lyrics and singing. He is known
affectionately by family and friends and the wider youth advocacy
community as the Peace Bringer'.

Further, at 24, Rajnii was invited by two high schools in New York to
be their keynote speaker performing with the great eloquence, passion
and clarity he is known for and receiving standing ovations at both
events.

You see, I am the fiercely proud mother of a great son; the kind of
son, friends used to borrow as an example to their own. A son known
for his respectful demeanor, known for kindness, generosity and
humility, known for brilliant artistic talent and his uncanny ability
to engage and redirect youth toward positive pursuits.

And yet, we are here, standing at this impasse; outraged, stunned,
dismayed, apprehensive, indignant, and determined. Why should my son
have any stain on his impeccable record? Why did this officer decide
in this case that discretion was not the better part of valor?

And most importantly, when have our police gotten so frightened for
their safety that they arrest educators who demonstrate concern for a
student rather than applaud them?

After all, he was only armed with a question.

I guess the lesson the police would have our community learn here is
we must warn other educators do not approach the police armed with a
question, mothers and fathers do not, youth do not, students do not,
concerned community members do not, advocates do not, activists do
not, spoken word artists do not, performance artists do not, elders do
not, ministers do not, business owners do not approach the police
whose salary you pay armed with a question...especially if you are
black.

If you who are reading this in 2007 America are as outraged and
concerned as I am, email our Seattle mayor, our Seattle city
attorney's office, our Seattle chief of police, newspaper editors,
your community organizations, school boards, share it from your
pulpits, discuss this with your friends.

If you are able to offer any support financially please contact me at
webepoets@yahoo.com, because as a mother, a former foster mother, a
community activist and advocate for the positive development of all
youth, I recognize the issue is much greater than just my son and will
contribute where ever I can to help see the necessary changes made to
protect other youth from this debilitating experience.

However, we need to make all police departments answer to how being
armed with a simple question in America can throw any fine young man
in jail. We need to refuse to have the Rajnii's of the world
criminalized, humiliated and their positive efforts diminished due to
overzealous punitive response by those sworn to protect and serve.

Let's choose to have this conversation and seek positive resolution
about this ugly issue of racial profiling and find a new way to keep
the Officer Nelsons from overreacting.

Perhaps retraining, perhaps censure, perhaps removal from service in
the heavily populated minority community that he/they, apparently,
fear so much?

We have to remember, need to remember, it was Rajnii today and it
could very well be, you or your loved one, tomorrow.

Any and all efforts of support us in these efforts are very much appreciated.

Peace and Blessings.
Randee Eddins

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mXGLg9z

Emerald City 2006 End of the Year Wrap-Up

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Emerald City 2006 End of the Year Wrap-Up

The Emerald City 2006 End of the Year Wrap-Up

By Julie C

206 Stand Up! The Emerald City has a lot to celebrate as we bring in the New Year! As 2006 winds to a close, the momentum of the thriving Seattle Hip Hop scene is only gaining as the city gears up to solidify the Northwest's spot on the national radar.

Blue Scholars and Common Market had Seattle on the tip of the tongue of Hip Hop fans all over the country- the camp made history in the founding year of Mass Line Media as the first local Hip Hop groups to sell out Seattle's Showbox since the days of Sir-Mix-a-Lot. Gabriel Teodros' new solo joint Love Work, which will be Mass Line's third national release due February 2007, is already getting raving reviews left and right.

Choklate's self-titled CD, with production by local champs like Vitamin D, Bean One, and Amos Miller, won honeysoul.com's 2006 Best of Soul Award. Seattle's own Jake One got signed to Money Management, 206 vet DJ B-Mello was honored as the 2006 West Coast DJ of the Year at the MixShow Power Summit, Unexpected Arrival sold their 10,000th unit, and these are only a few shining examples of how the town put it down.

But beyond the stage and behind the art, Hip Hop's undeniable influence as a mobilizing force in the Northwest is also becoming an area of focus for the scene. dRED.i Movement's story, featured on daveyd.com and syndicated on KPFA's Hard Knock Radio, went beyond the pioneering local group's music, shedding historical perspective on the racial politics of police terrorism in the city. Incidents like the brutalization of DJ DV One and the FBI's harassment and monitoring of spoken word poet and long-time activist Freedom Siyam this year have brought the issue back to the forefront of community concerns.


Media Reform activism was another area where the Seattle Hip Hop community's growing presence became notable. Several events this year shaped the scene's next collective moves on the issue- Prominent icons in Seattle Hip Hop culture were spotlighted in an urban arts panel discussion before a crowd of 200 plus media reps from the region at the Northwest Community Radio Summit organized by Reclaim the Media. The discussion, moderated by Charles Mudede of The Stranger newspaper, focused on how mutual support between Hip Hop communities and independent media can cultivate activism and create better economic opportunities for young people in the city. The panel featured a mixture of artists, activists, and grassroots media reps including Silver Shadow D, dRED.i Movement's GCLI, Dr. Daudi Abe, DJ B-Girl Chillz from oseao.com, Khazm of Zulu Radio, and Miss Noni Shanay of Coolout TV Network.

Hip Hop also represented strong at the FCC Hearing on Media Ownership, where over 400 people showed up to testify against push backs on corporate ownership. Currently, leaders in the community like Jace of Silent Lambs Project, Moorpheus of dRED.i, and E.Mandisa are building with Davey D, KBCS, Reclaim the Media, and The Stranger Newspaper, on how to empower communities through creating new, more accessible media outlets, and how existing platforms can be utilized more effectively as a tool for social change.

Hip Hop made its mark in schools and on campus as well in 2006. Ninth Trybe Studies, a student group at the University of Washington centered around the urban arts in alternative education, is made some major moves with Hip Hop on campus, breaking academic ground, and attracting attention from several different publishers with their work. Members of the student group also collaborated with the non-profit advocacy group Justice Works! to raise awareness of racism in the criminal justice system.

Ninth Trybe faculty advisor Georgio Roberts was the featured keynote speaker at Portland State University's Hip Hop Activist Conference in November, after winning a 2006 Best and Brightest Excellence in Teaching Award for her seminar courses that looked at Hip Hop and literature, including "The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur."

In 2007, Ninth Trybe officers will be studying abroad in South Africa while laying a foundation for solidarity between South African Hip Hop communities and the Northwest. They are asking hip hop heads and activists from the surrounding communities to join this dialogue by contacting ninthtrybe@hotmail.com for more information.

Dr. Mako Fitts, faculty advisor for the Seattle University chapter of Hip Hop Congress has been busy bridging the gap between the campus and community. The assistant professor of sociology and her colleague Gary Perry have teamed up their students with local groups like Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, Tenants Union of Washington State, Central Area Senior Center, and the Central Area District Council in a service-learning project, The State of Seattle's Central District. The project raises awareness on the issue of gentrification and builds allies in the struggle to preserve the cultural legacy of the neighborhood.

While some repped Hip Hop in higher education, others utilized it as a tool to reach and teach the youth. In August of 2006, the Seattle Debate Foundation, with executive director Jennifer Johnson, made history when their two-week residential Summer Seattle Debate Institute at the University of Washington became the first Urban Debate League in the country to fully incorporate Hip Hop throughout their curriculum.

By bringing dozens of Hip Hop artists from communities around the Northwest and California together with high school, middle school, and elementary students, the foundation made strides in giving voice to over 350 young people, many underrepresented in the world of debate.

Portland Hip Hop artists Toni Hill from Siren's Echo and Mic Crenshaw partnered with the foundation in September to facilitate a rap battle and public debate on disaster relief, using Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita to examine race, class, and cultural inequalities in the United States at the National Race and Pedagogy Conference at the University of Puget Sound.

Beyond being featured in Newsweek Magazine and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, SUDL's accomplishments have been awarded with a generous grant from Comcast and will launch the Tacoma Urban Debate League in 2007 in partnership with the University of Puget Sound. For more information visit www.seattledebate.org.

206 Zulu, the Seattle Chapter of Universal Zulu Nation also brought Hip Hop to several Seattle schools this year, working with El Centro de la Raza's Hope for Youth program. Students gained knowledge and experience writing, performing, and even recording their own work while exploring concepts of race, gender, and identity.

206 Zulu also facilitated workshops in conjunction with Festival Sundiata at Seattle Center and CONSEJO Latino Youth Conference, and members participated in Elevate! Using Hip-Hop to Educate summer's teacher's institute in Cleveland, Ohio. Chapter leader Daniel "King Khazm" Kogita was also appointed as the West Coast Regional Coordinator for UZN, and honored with the 2006 Mayor's Award for Excellence in Hip Hop for Community Activism and Leadership.

For the New Year, the organization is preparing Hip Hop workshops and discussions for Highline Community College with the Latino Liberation Movement, collaborating with the Oregon Chapter of UZN to participate in Your Voice, Your Conference at Oregon Sate University, developing a new website, and is looking forward to the long-awaited return of Hip Hop 101 TV.

Tune in to Zulu Radio every Saturday night 10pm-1am at KBCS 91.3fm or broadcasted online at www.kbcs.fm, and peep www.206zulu.com and www.hiphop101.tv for updates.

Seattle Arts Commissioner, emcee, and spoken word artist Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn, got down in the classrooms too with her curriculum that has captured national recognition for its creative use of the urban arts in middle school and high school basic skills and media literacy education. This pioneer of the local teaching artist movement brought Hip Hop to five schools and three community centers this year through the youth service non-profits ArtsCorps, The Power of Hope, Nature Consortium, Seattle Young People's Project, and her own organization, the Think Big Foundation.

Piece also mounted her theatrical production "Street Smarts" at Langston Hughes Cultural Center earlier this year. The play, which spotlights local Hip Hop history and critically examines the gentrification of Seattle neighborhoods, was picked up by the African American theater company Brown Bucks Productions, and will be remounted in April.

And while we're on the topic of plays, be on the look out for the next series of Back to the Roots, the annual event from Melissa Noelle Green and Diamond Life Productions. This year's run explored Hip Hop history and generational divides through the legacy of Black American music. Green is currently working ..ment" Hip Hop Back to its Roots Pacific NW Tour, set to run from February to April.

But all this is only the tip of the iceberg. We gotta lot more wrap-ups and preludes to the New Year from Seattle greats including Remix Marketing & Communications, Coolout Network, Music Inner City TV, Seaspot.com, and Sportn' Life Records, so be on the look out for the next issue, coming soon!

Julie C is an emcee, educator, and organizer from Seattle, WA. She serves as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Hip Hop Congress, Assistant Chapter Head of 206Zulu, and Co-Director of Reclaim the Media. Hit her up at Juliec.206@gmail.com

Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mXp9454