On Youth Violence, Conferences, and Rap-olutionaries

Youth violence is not a new issue in King County, and prevention-focused, multi-agency public policies are not new strategies to tackle it. The earliest of such efforts I could find in this city date back to 1989, and funding for it has now, after over two decades of repackaging and rearrangement, collapsed into the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. Still, though, the problem persists. After performing and speaking with a group of young women at Powerful Voices, whose program was funded in part by SYVPI, I began delving back into research on the politics and paper trails of youth violence prevention work, and building with a number of dedicated youth and cultural service workers from different organizations and agencies across the city. One of these people was my B-Girl Media and 206 Zulu comrade Sista Hailstorm, who was asked to speak on August 19th, 2011, at a Gang Prevention Conference organized by the City of Seattle, King County Human Services, and SU’s KC Prevention and Outreach Work Group. Finding many commonalities in the moral, cultural, political, economic, and bureaucratic challenges people with integrity face doing this work, we decided to use this event as a platform to air these issues, as well as connect with others seeking alternatives to these systems. Here’s a summary of what happened, some attendee feedback, and some expertise critique:

The first speaker was Dr. Johnny Lake, a charismatic academic and cultural awareness trainer from Oregon by way of Tennessee. He emphasized through personal narrative and anecdotal references the importance of cultivating positive, proud cultural identity and self-esteem. This was followed by the only representatives working on the ground in Seattle: the community panel of Youth 180’s Gabriel Ladd, Keenan Allen, and Sista Hailstorm.(Photo from left to right: Dr. Johnny Lake, Keenan Allen, Gabriel Ladd, Sista Hailstorm.) The Youth 180 folks spoke about their mentorship model and the importance of community-based leadership development, while Sista Hailstorm went hard on multi-generational deep systemic violence waged against marginalized communities, and importance of addressing this in a discussion on youth violence. There was much more, and the community panel was a highlight of the conference, so I urge people to check out at least this part of the audio, which should be up on SU’s Social Work website soon. The final keynote, Dr. James Garbarino, is an author and academic who testifies on behalf of inmates on death row. The data he presented included statistical, scientific, and other evidence-based support for meaningful prevention work.

So what did attendees get out of it? I asked Hassan Hassan, an independent entrepreneur who has taken on youth service in the Somali and African youth community as a dedicated volunteer. “The conference had good intentions,” he said, “but I feel they missed the target when it came to interacting with us as local community grassroots representatives, to listen to our needs and perspectives.” Dione Johnson, co-director of the Multi-Media Center, a youth-led media literacy and production resource network echoed this sentiment saying, “The conference could have done a better job of inviting community organizations on the ground doing the work, but I liked how the panelists that were there did draw on positive models. We need more purpose-driven programming in contrast to violence-focused programming, because we need to call into being what we want.” She also pointed out the lack of youth participants, stressing that, “If we keep leaving young people out of the conversation, we are going to keep having the problem.” Liz Ali, who started Mother’s Outreach Movement, a woman-centered community support network, in 2008 after her son PJ was killed said, “I liked how relationships and culture were emphasized by presenters, and I appreciated Keenan on the panel giving his perspective as a youth touched by violence that has turned that around. I would have liked to see more youth participants.” (*See video footnote at the bottom of this article for youth perspectives!)

For an out-of-town, expertise perspective, I hit up Aquil Basheer of Maximum Force in LA, a former Black Panther with 35 years of violence prevention work under his belt. Too often, he said, such conferences are filled with empty rhetoric: “We rap-olutionaries, as opposed to revolutionaries, we like to hear ourselves talk. We got to stop talking so much and start bringing real measurables and deliverables to the table.” To accomplish these ends, Basheer emphasized the importance of community involvement in the planning stages of such events saying, “Before you do any conference, you need to get a specific needs list from the people on bottom up perspective so you can come with a blueprint to move forward. When we’re at the conference, we have to make sure we’re leaving with a time-oriented plan, a 5, 10, 15 point bullet-hit list of instructions and specific action items so we leave out the room with solutions and answers.”

With the plethora of youth initiatives currently on the table, including Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, the Seattle University Youth Initiative, the King County Sheriff Office Gang Intervention Initiative, and the King County Juvenile Justice Initiative, it would seem there are ample resources to accomplish this task. But if communities are not authentically aware of or engaged in the process, the results will not be consistent, sustainable, or transformative in the lives of our youth.

As a final ironic point in this conversation about violence and violence prevention, it should be noted that the hosting institution, Seattle University, has a president who was reportedly complicit by omission in the perpetuation of abuse to a whole Native community in Alaska. The story is here, and I could not do this report-back without pointing this out, as systemic violence and abuse and its impact should not be neglected, and settlement in the court of law does and should not equate dismissal in the court of public opinion. This is why as youth service workers seek to reform and adapt the existing service structure, we should, as a community, seek to create self-reliant solutions outside of the system that created these cycles.

In closing, I’d like to acknowledge Tanya Kim, from the City of Seattle for working to bring us to this table, and I hope that in the future, our new coalition of community-rooted youth and cultural services workers can help bridge the conference/community/youth divide.

(*Video footnote)
Since much of the feedback from attendees included wanting more youth perspective, my Project Mayhem/Think Tank brother Mic Flont, emcee from the group Waves of the Mind, offered to gather some brief interviews from his students in Katalyst, a Hip Hop & Social Justice youth education program housed in WAPI. He asked youth of different ages, genders, areas, and backgrounds three questions, and we uploaded it to Youtube. Here is the footage:



For more information about any mentioned people or organizations, or to find out how to get involved, email juliec.206@gmail.com.

Jewels Hunter- Moment in Time

Check my very dear friend, Jewels Hunter's BRAND NEW long-awaited release!

Natural Causes Tour Coming to Blend w/Seattle Hip Hop Scene

Peace folks! So it's no secret I been dragging on the blog lately, but I am happy to report lots of listens for my new EP Sliding Scale, and I hope yall will continue to check that out, download, donate, and share with friends! It'd pressure on season! So speaking of which, I got like 8 million shows coming up in July (Check my bandcamp for those dates!), it's like I'm doing a tour in my own city hahaha, BUT there's only ONE that there's a press release for (thank Sir Doxington of Greg and Jerome for that, y'all) so I figured I'd post it up for y'all to read and enjoy. Come through, it's gonna crack off.



For Immediate Release: July 7th, 2011
gregandjerome@gmail.com
http://mikeeagle.net

Natural Causes Tour Coming to Blend w/ Seattle Hip Hop Scene
Next Generation of LA Underground Legends Joins Northwest Artists at Chop Suey

Los Angeles's favorite Hip Hop agitators, next generation of underground legends, and purveyors of the seductively sarcastic non-genre of "art rap" are topping off their Natural Causes tour with a well-anticipated stop at Chop Suey in Seattle, Washington. Hosted by the NO FILLER Presents event collective, Open Mike Eagle, Redd Foxx (Alpha MC & VerBS), and Los Feo Faces will be joined July 21st with Seattle artists Julie C, Graves 33, Three Ninjas & Tangentbot, and Greg & Jerome, for an explosive evening of Hip Hop merriment and wonder.

Headlining the tour is Open Mike Eagle, of the pioneering LA Hip Hop crew Project Blowed, an artist poised to become a movement in his own right, as a voracious lyricist and co-founder of the pivotal Thirsty Fish and the Swim Team crews. His new LP "Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes", released this June, is a testimony to his originality, vision, and domineering mic presence. Joining him on tour is Redd Foxx, a duo consisting of Alpha MC & VerBS, two of Los Angeles's hardest working emcees, also of Swim Team and Hellfyre Club, and artists from Los Feo Faces, another hard-hitting emcee powerhouse featuring a roster that stretches from Hawaii, through Texas, Colorado, Cali and back. The Seattle welcoming committee consists of Julie C, first lady of the legendary Alpha P crew, the 206's favorite renaissance man, Graves 33, the cloaked crusaders Greg & Jerome, and the mysterious Three Ninjas & Tangentbot.

The night will be a promising blend of two scenes, sprinkled with some extra surprises and titillating secret special guests. Open Mike Eagle said, "I always look forward to playing Seattle. It's one of the last outposts in the war on mediocre music. It's certainly the Capital of the miraculous rap forest that is the Pacific Northwest."

Check out the promotional video for the "Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes" LP here:



Event Information:
Thursday, July 21st, 2011- SEATTLE, WA
Natural Causes Tour @ Chop Suey
1325 E. Madison Street
8pm - $7 - 21+ (Presale available)

DOWNLOAD MY EP SLIDING SCALE

I know I know, I've totally fallen off my blogging game these past few months, but check it out. I DROPPED AN EP! I had a BLAST at the record release at the epic Stop Bitin' at Lofi on May 31st, and I wanna give big ups to everyone involved. (I will list in an edit!) For now, download THIS. NOW. Did I mention it's FREE? Unless you wanna donate ;)

How Can Hip Hop Save the World? Lessons from a Seattle Youth Service Scandal

On March 3rd, I was invited to speak at an intimate panel at Seattle University called "How Can Hip Hop Save the World?" The gathering, brought together by SU's Mary Pauline Diaz, featured Mako Fitts, Ready C from my crew Alpha P, and myself, as well as about 10 student participants. I didn't know what to expect, but I was inspired by the topic, ensuing conversation, and current events to write this article up.

(Photo: Kool Herc, founder of Hip Hop, currently fighting the American healthcare system.)

Before addressing how Hip Hop can save the world, you first have to determine whether it can, and what "Hip Hop" means to begin with. Now although we could debate cultural memory, nommo, and collective experience all day, the truth is that the only thing that brings most of us together under the umbrella of "Hip Hop" is that we, as artists, engage in the artistic practices deemed by Afrika Bambaataa to be the elements of Hip Hop: bboy/girling, emceeing, graffiti, Djing, beat-making, etc. Of course cultural production in Hip Hop is not just limited to that, it also includes secondary extensions of this. For example, independent media/websites/shows such as Seaspot, Flava News, Coolout Network, Untappedmuzik, All Power to the Positive, Seattle Hip Hop Street Fights, Street Sounds, Boombox FM, She Ready Radio, and Zulu Radio are included here as well as bloggers like those at Raindrophustla, Chul Gugich from 206up, Hugh from Blogsiswatching.com, and Miss Casey Carter, writers like Marian Liu and Jonathan Cunningham, even online forum mafiosos like the habitue of 206Proof are Hip Hop cultural producers. Promoters/venues/functions are also hugely important to Hip Hop cultural production (think Dope Emporium, UmojaFest, Obese Productions, an institution like Stop Biting at Lofi (shouts to Introcut), or Ladies First, formally at Hidmo, etc.) Extending even farther out, we can include fashion (think Mint Factory Clothing or CrisisNW Gear), photography (like Ruf Top Productions, and Jennifer Mary), and a plethora of others. Through this lens, Hip Hop CREATES communities around these artistic practices and acts of cultural production. The question then shifts from "Can Hip Hop save the world?" to "Can communities save the world?" and of course, the answer here is yes. But what role does Hip Hop have in this?

As an artist, and like a lot of artists and cultural producers out here in the Northwest Hip Hop scene, I believe in community accountability to the youth. We do not just understand and create art about issues of gentrification, poverty/job creation, educational reform, healthcare, and youth violence prevention, we organize and mobilize for positive changes within our spheres of influence around these issues, for their benefit. I've worked with organizations who turn crack houses into community centers and throw Hip Hop Leadership Conferences (Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council & Umojafest P.E.A.C.E. Center), organizations who connect artists with schools, play cafeterias and gymnasiums, and organize city-wide Youth Summits (206 Zulu), collectives who throw multi-day free all-ages Hip Hop festivals with youth showcases (Dope Emporium), business owners who turn their restaurants into activists hubs and performance spaces, who launch community empowerment projects (Hidmo), and I've been blessed to connect with other collectives, organizations, and crews in cities across the country who share the same priorities and mission in this work. (Shouts to DeBug in San Jose, W.I.T in Kentucky, J.U.I.C.E and GorillaMic in Los Angeles, IMAN & Coalition to Protect Public Housing in Chicago, B Girl Be in Minneapolis, W.E.A.P in Oakland, and all trues in the PPEHRC, UZN, HHC networks). There's power in this groundswell.

Through my travels, connecting with "Hip Hop" communities across the country, I've also learned that the national policies and initiatives enacted locally on a state, county, & city level have created common struggles & challenges for us. Broadening our perspective on these issues to include the struggles of communities outside our scene allows us to see how these issues manifest in different cities, and facilitates better understanding on how we can enact change in Seattle. One example of this is HUD Block Grants that wiped out public housing in virtually every urban community across the country, shrouding the reality of gentrification and urban economic displacement under the guise of "private-public partnerships". Another very recent example is the Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (YVPI). Most don't know that at the time this was launched in Seattle two years ago, former Mayor Nickels was the President of the National Council of Mayors, and it's not a stretch to say his decision to entrust the Seattle Urban League with a no-bid multi-million dollar grant for executing the project locally was in no small part due to the "New Deal" partnership for the Conference of Mayors and the National Urban League announced at their centennial celebration.

Two years ago, at the time this happened, I was working with Umojafest P.E.A.C.E Center, Mother's Outreach Movement, Hip Hop Congress, and a collective of over 20 other local Hip Hop and youth advocacy organizations in the Unite for Youth Coalition, who were very much in the trenches of youth violence prevention work. The coalition members were also very concerned with the city's move to hand these desperately needed funds over to the Urban League, an organization with questionable leadership, a history of unsavory community appropriation, and virtually no track record of notable violence prevention work. Plus at the same time, the city of Seattle was proposing to build a $110 million dollar jail, and the new Seattle School District Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson (who was just fired March 3rd by the school board over the recent scandal) was proposing to shut down six schools. We organized, and began contacting people in the mayor's office, on the school board, and in the Urban League, and our concern only grew. As community organizers and youth service workers, we were uncomfortable with 1) the disconnect of these conversations 2) the Seattle School District's questionable management of public funds and their inability to keep schools open 3) the lack of transparency, really the shroud of secrecy over the Urban League's plans for the violence prevention money. Two years ago, we staged demonstrations, put out articles on the issue, and did our best to engage our communities in the conversation, for the interest of the youth. Were we successful in raising awareness and asking questions? Yes. Were we able to prevent the scandalous debacle that ensued? No.

Today, two years later, after at least four schools are closed, the Seattle Times front page is riddled with stories about the Seattle School District's financial scandal, how over a million dollars was handed over to vendors that never did anything but get the money, and how the single largest recipient of that money was the Seattle Urban League. This all came out after the Urban League quietly lost the YVPI contract in January, after they spent $900,000 with little to show for it. (Here's the city's performance evaluation for the larger half of that amount). I'd be interested to hear how this played out in other cities.

Despite all this, ours was not a lost battle. Quite the contrary, the pressure and spotlight put on Former Mayor Nickels and his administration came right before elections season. Hip Hop ran its own candidate, Wyking Garrett, for the purposes of putting these and other critical issues on the table, and coalitions of urban youth organizations like the Young Voter's League were hosting their own candidate forums at which Nickels was virtually absent. Although Wyking lost in primaries, the face time we bought with other candidates won us a huge platform to educate others on what was going on in the community, and it was out of these conversations that Mayor McGinn surfaced as a favored pick among young voters. It is the presence of this new mayor which has eventually lead to the space for transparency in the YVPI, as well as for new leadership to emerge from the community. We should not forget or downplay this victory, even if it did take some time, but we should also strive to mobilize quicker, stronger, and more effectively next time by taking key lessons from what went down in our own backyard:

1) Be proactive in creating and/or contributing to the growth of institutional alternatives to the status quo. (Instead of trying to use the master's tools to dismantle the plantation. This applies to the dying music industry & corporate media model as well as activism and youth service.)

2) Leverage the political process by running our own Hip Hop candidates who will put our issues and interests into the forefront. (Instead of raking up election year funding by remaining operatives for existing political parties.)

3) Keep building Hip Hop as an effective medium for community education and mobilization. (Think unionizing teaching artists and Hip Hop youth service workers, building coalitions between our businesses, collectives, and organizations, and creating "rapid response" networks on youth policy issues among our independent media outlets.)

Hip Hop is a vast & powerful network. We should not shy away from being active in changing the world from the ground up. The above is only one example of the small atrocities committed daily, and the role our community of cultural producers can and needs to play in intervening and recreating. Even here in our seemingly isolated, burgeoning scene, we are a part of a larger movement with larger aspirations, and there are many reminders of this. (Take our comrades in the Hip Hop communities of North Africa for example). There's a lot of answers to the question "How Can Hip Hop Save the World?", but the most important answer is in the alignment of all our efforts and the clarity of our collective vision.

Julie C is a teacher, cultural advocate, and emcee. Her upcoming E.P Sliding Scale is dropping May 2011 from the indy label B Girl Media. Email her at Juliec@hiphopcongress.com, and comment on this story and others at www.Julie-C.com.

The Novel of Feb. 2011

Y'all are going to be mad at the length of the February report, but don't trip. Just remember my solo E.P. is dropping in May, breeze through all the paragraphs below, check out all the artists you haven't heard, scan write-ups of events you might have missed, revel in your shout out, leave a comment, and CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER. Beyond the all the exciting events that went down in the 206 and 425 this month, I was able to spend the last week of February in LA working with B Girl and networking with some very talented, amazing folks, so do take advantage, and let's bridge this I-5 gap a little bit. I'm so appreciative of the people I know, those I've had the pleasure to meet for the first time this month, and the events and shows I've been blessed to participate in, so since I love my life so much, and you should love yours too, here's the theme-video of the month, the BRAND NEW OFFICIAL Black Stax's "I Love My Life" Now for your regularly scheduled review of February, 2011:

Saturday the 5th, I swung down to the Theorem at Electric Tea Garden to watch live produced sets from OC Notes, and Dead Noise with DJ Sho Nuph, and WD40, murdering the turntables. I don't make it to enough non-emcee events, and this night was a definite reminder why I should. HEAT.

I also finally got to connect with my girl, Monica Crystal, a lovely, talented vocalist, and some of the musicians in her band at a jam session way out in Mill Creek. The guitarist/bassist Richie and the other emcee there, Rhino, have a band called Corner State, definitely worth the check out, these cats are dope. Be on the look out for upcoming collabs between Miss Crystal's band, Empress Omni, and me, because we will be lighting up a stage together near you real, real soon.

February 10th marked my very first Everett show at Shotzies up north. I wanna give a super big shout to G Red for getting me out of the Seattle city limits for this one, which was a nice change of scenery, as well as to my girl Sista Hailstorm for rocking with me. We shared the bill with Everett's Royal-T, J Black, Mr. Benjamin, Sir Sleepy, Cali's Hollywood, hosted by James. Also got to connect with DJ Nanino, from Boombox 90.7fm (he invited me to cohost an all female spotlight show with him, so be on the lookout for that in a few weeks!), as well as Madshroom, Corndog, and Wizdum from Black Magic Noize.

On February 13th, Hustle Feet First and Bump Local presented the well-anticipated throwback Valentine's Skate Party, masterminded by Jerm Dee and Zach the Barber, and it was HISTORICAL. A big yellow bus swooped up some of Seattle's finest artists and tastemakers from Lofi, including Rufio, Meli from Obese Productions, Kitty Wu, Cassandra, Haj, O.C Notes, Saqqara, Feven, Larue, King Khazm, Joc, Didit, Kylie, Beloved1, BBoy Jonathan from BYC, Jerz, Mookie, Anwar, and more, and took us to Auburn Skate Connection where we all tried to keep our balance to the tunes of DJ Topspin and 100Proof. The ride there was craaackking, with beatboxin' and three separate cyphers all the way south, and will probably remain one of my fondest Seattle Hip Hop memories for a long, long time! The whole night was truly a feat of genuine community-building, unity, and fun. Watch out for the next installment of this event, as it is sure to catch on and grow. I've already been hearing rumors that part two is in the planning stages.

On February 17th, we headed out to West Seattle for One Time for Your Mind at the Skylark. This show, organized by Page One, featured Kay Bee (check his new video for the track "Do What You Feel" here!), Lojique, Greg & Jerome, Saturday Morning Cartoon, and myself, ft. Hailstorm, Jerm D, Korvus Blackbird, and Bandanaz, as well as Graves 33, and the infinitely fantastic DJ SeaBefore aka "Captain Save a Show". We turned this little venue out that night, so I wanna send super big shouts to everyone who came through a supported us, including Jamal Revels, Jewelz Hunter, Third Eye Bling, Neebor, Cassandra, Dione from the Multimedia Center, the homies from Honozulu, and everyone else. It was a blast! Also, speaking of Saturday Morning Cartoon, remember that collabo cut featuring myself called "Something Brand Nu" I debuted in last month's review? Check out this video of the track, with animation by David Toledo.

That weekend, beginning on Friday the 18th, 206 Zulu's 7th Anniversary was in full effect! The celebration kicked off with an all-day youth summit at Vera project, which brought over 100 high schoolers from different schools in the area together to learn, create, and connect over Hip Hop Culture. I was blessed to be asked to rock a few tracks and speak to the youth, along with Jus Moni, Massiah, Star, Suntonio Bandanaz, Massive Monkees, Big World Breaks, and more. It was super live. That evening, I performed with Bandanaz, along with Neema, Endrwon from Portland, and Massiah, just MINUTES before the legendary Percee P took the stage at Washington Hall! All this was going down as the BBoys and Girls lit up the floor beneath us, and the graff writers tore up the canvas out front. Big ups to 206Zulu for making our city shine as always.

That night was also Larue's going away bash at Chop Suey, and what a night that was! DJ Intylekt (check out his new blog by clicking the link), DJ Swervewon, Yirim Seck, Black Stax, and the man of the hour himself joined forces to bring Seattle a farewell show to remember! The vibe was sexy, sophisticated, and grown, as some of the town's most seasoned artists delivered a potent and powerful showcase to a packed house. Larue sent himself off in style, and although he will be missed as he packs up and heads to Florida, we can't be too sad because we know no one ever leaves the young town for long!

The Los Angeles Section:

While in LA, B-Girl and I caught up with the Hip Hop Congress homie DLabrie who was out and about promoting his new mixtape "Operation Upgrade Vol 2" dropping free this month (www.DLabrie.com) and his debut album MR NETW3RK dropping 5/31. He was hitting the All Star Weekend industry parties and as always running late, but we got our deep dish on. If you don't know Labrie, you will soon, cause if he's not currently at or leaving your city, he's on his way.

On Tuesday, February 22nd, LA I was grateful to score a feature slot at "Natural High", a weekly open mic in Culver City at the Industry Cafe & Jazz (thank you so much to Shamako Noble, and Tamika for hooking this up!) When I walked in, "Natural High" bandleader Hank G was holding down the venue, playing guitar and drums at the same time he was rapping and singing, with a 6 year old rhythmic genius, Singha, playing bongos. It was nuts! Soon, he was joined by the host, OSmith, a very talented vocalist and emcee, warming up the stage as the band behind him grew every minute. The vibe was so authentically dope, I was happy to ditch my beats and do my tracks over their music. Although I didn't catch everyone who was up there that night, notable emcees, singers, poets, and musicians that touched the stage included Mark Minor, Ayce Sly, Lady Basco, Ms. Sho (also Cali Quake football player #28), Verbs, Jazz Oh, Substance TGL, Spiv, Ashley-Dominique, Devi Wonder, and of course my girl Kandi Cole. I gotta send extra love to Jazz and Devi for opening up their home to us for the afterparty kicking it. These are incredibly gifted individuals, and hopefully we can get them to come join us up here on the tip of the west coast very soon.

On the 23rd, Kandi Cole brought us to the show in Silverlake at a spot called Little Temple, where we got to meet Devious, founder of (SIS)TEM: an LA female emcee conglomerate, and see some local cats rock. The night marked the release of Medusa's new single "Chocolet Giddy Up." In addition to DJ Tommy Blak, Val the Vandal, and the queen of LA underground herself, we saw some cold performances from Alter'd Ego, 5 Footaz (This is a raid! Everybody lay down and behave...), and Tabernacle.

Couple days later, on the 25th, I got in the studio with Veteran Eye from Veteran Assassins and Kandi Cole, laying some HEAT. I also got to reconnect with the super duper fresh n dope DJ Eskimo One, and got to meet North Carolina's Luv Jonz too. Rapping, laying tracks, eating some amazing BBQ, and chilling with good folks? Hard to beat, for real. Be on the look out for that track and more...

On February 26th, Spiv, one of the artists we connected with at Natural High invited me to come out and rock at "The Grind" presented by GorillaMic and Streets of Venice at Westfield/ Fox Hills mall, hosted by Verbs & Ashley-Dominique. It was too good an opportunity to pass up! The all ages event featured prizes and giveaways, live silk screening, henna tattoos, hair cuts from Snagneto (also a dope emcee!), half pipe S.K.A.T.E Competition, Live Art by Annie Preeze, Rae Kiaha, and more, as well as music from myself, The Sirens, CHUUWEE, Belvi, Richard Wright, and Kleeo Williams, plus selectas DJ Lord Ron and DJ Swoops.

The Extra Shout Out Section:

Big ups to indy journalists and singer/emcees Entrigue and Vivid from UntappedMusik for interviewing me before the Skate Party. It was great talking to these savvy sistas, and Seattle, stay on the look out for their new mag and website spotlighting untapped Northwest talent, linked above! I also have to send tons of love to the amazing Jen from Jennifer Mary Photography, and Danielle Wolfe, M.A.C Makeup extraordinaire for HOOKING ME UP on my photoshoot this month. (And also to Roderick Johnson of FlavaNews for hooking up the cameras!) If any of y'all artists need flicks or makeup, these are the people to get at! Also thank you Page One of Mean Mouse Designs for my super official ambigram and business cards.

In addition, I wanted to shout out all the LA People I didn't quite catch up with on this round: MP from 90.7fm KPFK and Rebels to the Grain, DJ Cheddy, and Big Rube, Mykill Miers, Asher Underwood from Mind of Makaveli, Lamar Glover from J.U.I.C.E., DJ Mark Luv from Zulu, and Seven Davis, Jr. I'm sorry I missed y'all, but I'll be back soon if I don't see you in the 206 first.

Jan Recap- All City Jump Off, Hip Hop Period/Kitchen, and More!

Happy Lunar New Year of the Rabbit. If the remainder of 2011 goes how January went, moves are bout to be made! Since I've been in the lab brewing up some new projects for your listening pleasure...(expect in the next few months the brand new JulieC E.P, a new Knox Family project, and the extra new Murder She Wrote featuring myself, Sista Hailstorm, and DJ BGirl), I thought it a good time to reach out, reconnect, and give a shout to all the folks that make Seattle Hip Hop what it is!

Lemme start off my recap showing love to my fam, Greg and Jerome, for allowing me to rock with them at Faire Gallery on the 10th. This small, intimate joint was a going away show for a comic, but it was also my first performance of the New Year, and my first time rocking at Faire. Prior to my young 24 bar feature, I was able to check a duo from Everett's Black Magic Noize, for the first time too. Dope cats, definitely worth a listen.

Later that week, on the 14th was Hip Hop Period: The ReRival at Wapifasa, organized by the young n fresh emcee Dakota. I first met Dakota while teaching Urban Debate a few years ago at Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, and it's been a pleasure watching this cat blossom. Since I missed Wapi's open house, this was my first time checking out the youth organization's new digs in Columbia City and the spot is dope! The show, hosted by Gabriel Teodros, featured Rogue Pinay, ArtofVerse, Language Arts, JRain, and Los Tainos, which is a new group consisting of mi familia Mic Flont and Khingz. Shouts to Suntonio Bandanaz, Dox, Sista Hailstorm, and Korvus Blackbird for rocking with me that night. Also, big ups to Wish Curtis of Emerald Roots, Otis from Streetfights the Hip Hop Show, Cecily Madanes, and Nathan Meernik for holding down the media that night! You can check out photos from this show by Teodoro here! Be on the look out for more events coming from the WAPI youth real soon, and if you know a young person who could use some plugs, do urge them to advantage of some of the programs and services Wapi offers in the community.

On the 27th, was Hip Hop Kitchen, an invite-only networking/bread-breaking dinner party, hip hop style, hosted at the home of my girl Cassandra William, along with the ill emcee and amazing cook Dice (check her new video with Willie Joe here) and her manager K_Adele. These women, with the help of Tishauna, were throwing down some Thai in the kitchen like I've never seen done, while Cass was screening throwback War of the Words footage from years ago. It was dope connecting live with Boss Lady Jazz, Boom Box, MicPhenom, Five Flat, Tamiko from Triple R, Casey Carter, Gene Dexter, OutrageousI5, Mrdutch, RyanonaMission, Kitty Wu & Georgio Brown from Coolout Network and everyone else I may have left out. I can't wait for the next installment of this event. Good shit. Be sure to check out Seattle Soul on Blast February 19th at Chop Suey to see Dice, Choklate, Darrius Willrich, JusMoni, Zach Bruce, and more. Just to wet your whistle, here's some footage of a Hip Hop Kitchen Cypher, featuring some of the artists just mentioned (Thank you, Triple R for this!)

And FINALLY, this brings us to All City Jump Off that went down Friday, the 28th at Lofi, organized by my brother Zechariah tha Barber of AllCityChop. The AllCityChop series, part of the Barber's multifaceted BUMP LOCAL campaign, features a wide variety of Northwest artists from all corners of the Hip Hop scene, chopped n screw'd. Hosted by the charismatic and talented Lady Scribe, this show was the ILLEST I have ever seen and had the privilege to rock at Lofi. The talent was beyond palpable. The stage was shared by artists featured on 3.0 and 3.5 All City Chop mixtapes, including Luke Rain, Language Arts, Delton Son, Beloved1, Piece, Lady Tasz, Black Stax, KingDRO, Ditta Mac, Larue, Tyrone, Saturday Morning Cartoon (wanna hear a secret SMC featuring Julie C track? Click here), Helladope, Metal Chocolates (OC Notes & Rick Rude), Meez, Dougie, and G-Red. The Alpha Platoon segment of the night featured my crew's own Haj, Inkbiz, Knox Family(myself, Julie C & Jerm D), and Suntonio Bandanaz, not to mention DJ's SeaBefore, DJ Khunex, Nim Almighty, and Austin Lee. Check some footage of Black Stax rocking this night right here, posted by Lady Flava. If by now, you haven't opened www.AllCityChop.com in a new window and began your free download of the mixtape, STOP DRAGGING.

So with that, I'ma wrap this summary up with a few thoughts. Well wishes and rapid recovery to the founder of the game, Kool Herc. Check this article called "Kool Herc, Hip Hop, Healthcare, and Humanity" by Shamako Noble, for more thoughts on this issue and how it relates to our day to day. Finally, peace to all the brave men and women who have been holding it down on the streets of Egypt this month. We stand in solidarity with the global resistance. ONE LOVE.