February 02, 2008
Local to Global Networking for the Northwest Hip Hop Community
February 2008
B Girl Media206 Zulu
Notable January Recaps
The breakdown of last month's events...
-Project Mayhem and Laced Up launched the first episode of Water, on January 23rd at Columbia City Theater in South Seattle, a Northwest Hip Hop collaborative production that defied all odds, keeping community-building its core momentum. It was grind-level Hip Hop at its best, with some of Seattle"s most underrated, top-notch crews. "All Independent local artists, $15 bucks at the door, in the South End and it worked," said Open Hands of SleepWalkers , an emcee duo who, along with Waves of the Mind make up Mind Movas. Combine Mind Movas with Alpha P, BYC, and B-Girl Media , and that's the backbone of Project Mayhem, a conglomerate crew who, along with MadK and others are central organizers of 206 Zulu. Confused? It doesn't matter. As a diverse collaboration of some of Seattle's most networked artists, crews, and supporters, Water was a multifaceted Hip Hop Powerhouse, built from the ground up.
"The vision was connecting everyone with everyone," said Andrew Rotherford of BYC, key organizer of the event, "and cultivating a powerful shift with that energy."The film photographer and editor linked up with Jeremy "Jerm" DuBois of Alpha P to produce Water after they caught the spark exploring a new film idea. Drawing from years of relationships, family ties, and the concrete network the collective boasts, the duo pulled together a line-up as fluid as movement and invited the town to break bread courtesy of Princess Franada Catering, build, and rock with some of Seattle Hip Hop's best kept jewels.
From the opening music spun by DJ Intro Cuts of Poster Midget, to the final tracks cut by DJ Audeos of NW Gear, the collective brought it hard. Illtop, GodSpeed, Good Medicine, LaRue, and Project Mahyem, blessed the mic with Amos Miller and Language Arts as special guests. BYC (Money Mike, BeNo, B-Boy CleanUp, and Apple 1) held down the floor along with Mikeski from FunkySneakers and Remi from FraggleRock.
Respect to the 206 Zulu Camp along with GCL1 of 21st Century Martial Arts and Block Teamsters Union for holding down the security and William Brody of Red, White, and Boot Productions for holding down the stage management, and shouts to Yirim Seck, King Khazm, Sista Hailstorm, Rogue Pinay, Lulu Carpenter, Jai Bird, Mario, Jen Johnsen, Macklemore, Merm, and everyone else who came through and brought their people together to kick off the launch of Water. Check the next episode of Water, on February 27th featuring I.Gang, Black Senate, and Parker Brothaz of Block Teamster's Union, and 4BC Musik's Silent Lambs Project, when we bring it to Neumos on Capitol Hill.
R.I.P Antwoyn Elijah King, age 19 * January 20th, 2008
-Shouts out to Wyking of Remix Marketing and Seattle Hip Hop Youth Council for winning the MLK King County Hip Hop Pioneer's Award on January 19th, an event that was a part of the county's MLK Celebration. Laura "Piece" Kelley-Jahn and Jen Johnson from Seattle Debate Foundation were also honored as finalists, and Hip Hop debaters from Seattle and Tacoma, along with teaching artist and debate coach Rajnii Eddins graced the stages at both events. What? You didn't know that Martin Luther King Jr. County had Hip Hop Awards? Don't feel bad because most award finalists themselves didn't know until few weeks before the ceremony itself. What do winners get? A plaque, some recognition, semi-good publicity opps if media picks it up, and hopefully a platform to address some important issues impacting Hip Hop's constituency in the region. Here's what Wyking had to say:
"I appreciate the work that we've been doing in our community with hip-hop being recognized and honored witht he MLK County Hip-Hop Award. I don't think there is anything more MLK than hip-hop so I think it's a supreme opportunity to challenge people's perception of what hip-hop is and also what Dr. King stood and gave his life for. A lot of people talk MLK but they are far from his walk. If this is going to be MLK County we need it to be that in principle and policies not just name. We need to get away from the Rufus King Plantation policies and politics that are displacing us from our communities and miseducating and sentencing our children to incarceration and death. Dr. King stood up and took sacrifices for what he thought was right. We are in a time where people need to stand up be willing to put something on the line to make our communities and world better."
Musica Entertainment's CEO Tony Benton said he started the Seattle awards five years ago to reach out to city government and dispel stereotypes about local hip-hop venues, according to an article in Tacoma's News Tribune.
"There was essentially a misunderstanding of what hip-hop was," said Benton , also the community affairs director for Clear Channel's Puget Sound radio stations, which include hip- hop-oriented KUBE-FM (93.3). "It's more than just gangsta rap music." Benton said he believes progress has been made in Seattle.
...the talk sounds good, but you've got to appreciate the irony of this exerpt given the role media conglomerates like Clear Channel have knowingly played in perpetuating stereotypes through 'ish like payola ...are these words of an insider, an ill-informed reformist, or just another person who's full of it? Folks can read more about the awards ceremony from Marian Liu at the Seattle Times .
-The same time the Hip Hop Awards were crackin' off, Pinay SA , CARA (Communities Against Rape and Abuse), Youth Speaks Seattle, 206 Zulu, KBCS, Bayan-USA, Hip Hop Congress, and B-Girl Media presented INDAYOG 2, the second annual all women's Hip Hop show to a PACKED house at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, featuring performances by Chief Sealth Filipino Youth Club, Melissa Noelle Green, Beyond Reality, Piece, Beloved1, Gigi, Southern Komfort, Kontagious, Onion, Julie C, DJ B-Girl Chillz, SKIM, and more!
" Indayog is a manifestation of the thoughts and emotions that build up inside me from years of being made to feel silent and invisible," said Rogue Pinay of Pinay SA, organizer of the event, " [last year's] show was a discovery of female voices in the hiphop community and the resulting barrage of energy that burst forth...[this year's event] is a more focused and intentional space to address the intersection of current issues that affect me on a daily basis- imperial agression, gentrification, violence against womyn and the commodification of our art (and hiphop in particular), which are all tools of state repression."
In preparing the program for the night's event, Pinay SA asked performers to answer the question: Why would you do a show on state repression? Here are some of exerpts of some answers:
"Hip Hop is a progressive social movement, with revolutionary origins, and subersive potential. Created as a reaction to the systematic deconstruction of the civil rights movement, hip hop functions as a safe space for urban youth seeking refuge from crime and drug culture."
-Laura "Piece" Kelley-Jahn
"State repression most drastically affects those who see what is wrong in the system and are planning or working to change it. Many artists fit in this catagory by definition. We are both educating and inspiring audiences while also working to effectively counteract repressive tactics."
-Angela "El Dia" Dy
"Division itself dilutes power and continues to draw borders between groups of people who are struggling. If everybody decided to work together and support each other as a whole, we could take back out power in the local and regional music markets."
-DJ B-Girl Chillz
"Just as energy cannot be destroyed, but only transferred from one form to another, oppressive societies and governments must be redeemed, starting with individuals. I believe Hip Hop offers a form of redemption..that's why I'm an emcee and b-girl, and that's why I'm part of Indayog II, the rhythm of movement."
-Beloved1
-Chukundi "DJ Kun Luv" Salisbury of Seaspot Media Group and Seaspot.com was keynote speaker in Cleveland High School's 2008 MLK Celebration, as a part of the ongoing partnership between Seaspot Media Group and the Family Empowerment Institute. See the press release here.
-Silas Blak of the legendary Silent Lambs Project dropped a video this month for the song "Breathe Easy (Mind Click)," featuring Yirim Seck . The song is from Blak's solo album "Silas Sentinnel." Click Here to Purchase!
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mYbshT9
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
Report on Genocide in Kenya
January 4th 2008– Fresh Coast Global Report on Genocide in Kenya
Though you wouldn't know it from listening to most corporate media outlets, social movements and social justice have always been an inherent theme of Hip Hop music and culture since it ever was. We know authentic Hip Hop is just as vocal about issues of inequity, and human rights as it is about ballin' and having fun. This is why Hip Hop Culture grew to be such a global phenomenon so quickly-The fact that in this globalized world, we got globalized issues. Hip Hop is the cultural platform from which some folks have come to understand and combat these issues, sometimes more effectively than standard means. What happened during the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya last year may be a good example of what I mean by this.
The World Social Forum is an annual gathering of social justice activists, groups, and organizers from around the world that meet to coordinate their work to build stronger movements for the greater good. Now, juxtaposed with the fact that most Kenyan citizens couldn't afford to attend the forum their own country was hosting, some would find this ironic. For others, the determination to tell the truth about why was deadly. Davey D, a Hip Hop journalist reported from the ground that dozens of youth from the Korogocha slums showed up at the forum to protest and block the entrance to the Social Forum food court. They laid out handmade signs that read 'The World Social Forum Has Been Hijacked' , 'reduce Prices for Kenyans' and 'No Capitalism for People in the Ghetto,' and told listeners that a corrupt Kenyan government in bed with corporations were exploiting the opportunity to host the WSF for personal profit. In the days following, Hip Hop artists/activists inspired by the youth, formed an organization called The Undugu International Committee, to begin ground work for an African World Social Forum. Sadly enough, the protest that was their inspiration was lethal. After following a tip he received during the Forum's closing ceremony, the journalist later confirmed that two of the organizers from the protest had been killed by police. Was it due to their refusal to accept the hypocrisy and their drive to let the truth be told?
Headlines from CNN yesterday, January 3rd read "'Genocide on a Grand Scale' in Kenya.' This week alone, 75,000 people in Kenya have been displaced by the violence that erupted in protest after the current President was declared reelected to office. Maybe we could ask them that question, because we surely we couldn't ask the 300 Kenyans who killed last Thursday, very likely by government forces, after their white flags, olive branches, and picket signs were met with tear gas and water cannons. In response to the upheaval, Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako called for a recount and independent investigation into the election, and diplomats are rushing to Kenya as you are hearing me say this to mediate. One woman on the National Hip Hop Political Convention listserve wrote in response to the CNN coverage, "If Americans were like Kenyans we might not be in Iraq right now & Bush/Cheney most definitely wouldn't be in office obliterating our freedoms. What if we had responded the same way when the system was rigged in Bush's favor in 2000 & again in 2004?"
Maybe the circumstances aren't that dire yet for the comfy citizens of the US, Hip Hop or not, but for the homeless folks in Tent City, temporarily up the block from me in the Central District of Seattle, it might be. And maybe, if Hip Hop is the lense through which we view the struggle in Kenya, and the Philippines, and the Republic of Lakotah, we can better understand the nature of the struggles we are facing in our own communities, how they are related to the global movement, and what it would mean to truely overcome. Maybe.
-Julie C
Julie C is an emcee from the legendary Alpha-P crew, as well as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Hip Hop Congress
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mZsN9zw
Though you wouldn't know it from listening to most corporate media outlets, social movements and social justice have always been an inherent theme of Hip Hop music and culture since it ever was. We know authentic Hip Hop is just as vocal about issues of inequity, and human rights as it is about ballin' and having fun. This is why Hip Hop Culture grew to be such a global phenomenon so quickly-The fact that in this globalized world, we got globalized issues. Hip Hop is the cultural platform from which some folks have come to understand and combat these issues, sometimes more effectively than standard means. What happened during the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya last year may be a good example of what I mean by this.
The World Social Forum is an annual gathering of social justice activists, groups, and organizers from around the world that meet to coordinate their work to build stronger movements for the greater good. Now, juxtaposed with the fact that most Kenyan citizens couldn't afford to attend the forum their own country was hosting, some would find this ironic. For others, the determination to tell the truth about why was deadly. Davey D, a Hip Hop journalist reported from the ground that dozens of youth from the Korogocha slums showed up at the forum to protest and block the entrance to the Social Forum food court. They laid out handmade signs that read 'The World Social Forum Has Been Hijacked' , 'reduce Prices for Kenyans' and 'No Capitalism for People in the Ghetto,' and told listeners that a corrupt Kenyan government in bed with corporations were exploiting the opportunity to host the WSF for personal profit. In the days following, Hip Hop artists/activists inspired by the youth, formed an organization called The Undugu International Committee, to begin ground work for an African World Social Forum. Sadly enough, the protest that was their inspiration was lethal. After following a tip he received during the Forum's closing ceremony, the journalist later confirmed that two of the organizers from the protest had been killed by police. Was it due to their refusal to accept the hypocrisy and their drive to let the truth be told?
Headlines from CNN yesterday, January 3rd read "'Genocide on a Grand Scale' in Kenya.' This week alone, 75,000 people in Kenya have been displaced by the violence that erupted in protest after the current President was declared reelected to office. Maybe we could ask them that question, because we surely we couldn't ask the 300 Kenyans who killed last Thursday, very likely by government forces, after their white flags, olive branches, and picket signs were met with tear gas and water cannons. In response to the upheaval, Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako called for a recount and independent investigation into the election, and diplomats are rushing to Kenya as you are hearing me say this to mediate. One woman on the National Hip Hop Political Convention listserve wrote in response to the CNN coverage, "If Americans were like Kenyans we might not be in Iraq right now & Bush/Cheney most definitely wouldn't be in office obliterating our freedoms. What if we had responded the same way when the system was rigged in Bush's favor in 2000 & again in 2004?"
Maybe the circumstances aren't that dire yet for the comfy citizens of the US, Hip Hop or not, but for the homeless folks in Tent City, temporarily up the block from me in the Central District of Seattle, it might be. And maybe, if Hip Hop is the lense through which we view the struggle in Kenya, and the Philippines, and the Republic of Lakotah, we can better understand the nature of the struggles we are facing in our own communities, how they are related to the global movement, and what it would mean to truely overcome. Maybe.
-Julie C
Julie C is an emcee from the legendary Alpha-P crew, as well as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Hip Hop Congress
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mZsN9zw
NW Hip Hop Congress January Bulletin
Friday, January 04, 2008
NW Hip Hop Congress Jan. Bulletin
Current mood: accomplished
NW Hip Hop Congress January Bulletin
Northwest Hip Hop is ready to take 2008 by storm. For starters, the Seattle's Hip Hop Congress community chapter is officially on and popping, and as the incorporation and licensing process wraps up, we are ready to put some serious development behind the exponential growth defining the scene. The NW Hip Hop Congress network is a powerful coalition group made of some of the region's most thorough Hip Hop organizations, including 206 Zulu-the Seattle's chapter of Universal Zulu Nation (www.206Zulu.com ) and the Block Teamsters Union (www.blockteamstersunion.com ), artist crews and collectives, such as Project Mayhem, Alpha-P, and the Think Tank, and community-based nonprofits like Reclaim the Media ( www.reclaimthemedia.org ), CARA (www.cara-seattle.org ), and Seattle Debate Foundation (www.seattledebate.org ).
Our independent urban arts media partners include Zulu Radio and Fresh Coast Radio on 91.3fm KBCS Community Radio (www.kbcs.com ), Hip Hop 101 Television on Seattle Community Access Network ( www.myspace.com/hiphop101), and the Coolout Network (www.cooloutnetwork.com ). Here is only a fraction of what's been crackin' off:
This year, NW Hip Hop Congress was happy to officially welcome B-Girl Bench (www.bgirlbench.com ) and B-Girl Media, spearheaded by DJ B-Girl Chillz to our family. B-Girl Bench is a space for women to hone their craft, build with their community, and to develop transformative leadership from a local to global perspective. As the women in Hip Hop movement started gaining a lot of steam this year, B-girl became a pivotal force, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Beyond being a digital distribution guru and Hip Hop music director at Oseao.com, B-girl herself has been a staple in the Seattle music scene since 2001 as a DJ, breaker, producer, and hip hop teaching artist who has also been known to rip a few mics every once in a while. Her long awaited album Love or Fate?? featuring Piece, Toni Hill, Jerm, Asun, Julie C., Sista Hailstorm, Khanfidence, Phreewill, Cyreeta, DJ WD40, Sage Nomad, and Forrest is set for release this January 16th.
Read more about Seattle women in Hip Hop including DJ B-Girl Chillz, Onion and the Ladies 1st Collective at Hidmo, and Julie C here in the latest issue of the Seattle Weekly. ( http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-12-26/music/ladies-first-spotlight-s-seattle-hip-hop-s-best-feemcees.php )
On campus, the Seattle Central Community College chapter was founded by 206 Proof contributor (www.206proof.com ) and true to life Hip Hop junkie Jawn, under the advisory of Seattle Hip Hop organizing vet and 206 Zulu member Sam Chesneau. SCCC's chapter used 2007 to kick off their fundraising and outreach campaign. Aisha Becker-Burrow founded the region's very first high school chapter at Lakeside High after her hugely successful sweet sixteen bash at Youngstown Cultural Center themed "Hip Hop is Dead: Bring Back the Old School." This event, co-facilitated by B-Girl Bench, was a far cry from MTV's Super Sweet Sixteen. Aisha not only selflessly organized the event as a fundraiser for Hip Hop Congress, she also used it as a platform to spread awareness on the issue of police terrorism by inviting DJ DVONE and Rajnii Eddins to speak about their experiences as victims of brutality and abuse of power from the Seattle Police Department. See footage of "Hip Hop is Dead: Bring Back the Old School" including performances by Choklate, Piece, Rajnii, Silent Lambs Project, and DV One in the B-Girl Bench Ezine! (http://www.bgirlbench.com/ezine.html)
University of Washington's Hip Hop Congress affiliates have been working hard to build on the international platform of movement Hip Hop culture has become. With the help of Georgia Roberts, Hip Hop literary scholar, and Scott Macklin of Open Reel, Seattle artist/activists DJ Kuhnex and Rev from Blue Magic Entertainment as well as Madeline aka the Lioness from the group Canary Sing are headed to South Africa to produce a documentary on music and social motivation in South Africa. Working with South African artists and organizers including, Bulelani Futshane, Godessa, Zubz, Proverb, J-Bux, Teba, DJ Azhul, DJ Eazy, and HHC's own Rushay Booysen, they hope to use the documentary to spread awareness on the power of culture in affecting change on global issues. "For me, what's really interesting is how visually and with audio we are able to share and through sharing we are able to build," says Rushay, who is music editor for the project. Rushay, who has been active in Port Elizabeth's Hip Hop community for 18 years, see's his role as facilitating a process of life experience and reality both for visiting students, and for future viewers of the documentary. "I'm just a link that links the common purpose," he states. They are looking for support for this project, and further collaborative opportunity so to get down, email kuhnex@gmail.com, and to contact Rushay email rushhiphop@gmail.com .
Aaron "DJ Kuhnex" Jacob and Jamil "Rev" Suleman, have also been getting national recognition for "Bruce Lee Dedication," a class they've piloted on the University of Washington campus. The tangible objective of the class is to get something on campus dedicated to the memory of Bruce Lee, but the actual objective is much broader. "This is to start the dialogue of why students of color are not represented in the first place," says Rev, "this is about eradicating the symbolism of European domination on college campuses in general." For more information on this contact: yung.rev@gmail.com .
Seattle Hip Hop Summit Youth Council has also been making major waves in the region. This year, in addition to launching a new website, ezine, and newsletter, they've invested in the next generation of Hip Hop leadership with "Hiphopreneurs: CEOs in Training," a professional development club at Seattle vocational institute, and a Hip Hop Writer's Group at the Rainer Beach branch of Seattle Public Libraries. SHHSYC has also started a weekly young artist showcase at Waid's Place on 12th & Jefferson in Seattle, hosted by Genieva Arunga, J. Infinite, M-Famous, and Angel, the young stars that some of y'all may remember from Hip Hop Congress's National Conference in Athens, Ohio. For more information on Seattle Hip Hop Summit Youth Council contact wyking@gmail.com
Seeing as how this update is admittedly Seattle-Centric, be on the look-out for more regional information in the next issue, including shouts from the Evergreen College's HHC Chapter in Olympia, Washington, updates from the newly launched Tacoma Urban Debate League Program, and hopefully, an introduction to our new partners in the PDX, Mic Crenshaw and the Global Family Network Mission. If I missed you in this update, don't worry - holler at me and I'll getcha next round. Be sure to check the list below for events in the Northwest and music you don't wanna be without…. with that, I'm ghost. One!
Julie C is an emcee from the legendary Alpha-P crew, as well as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Hip Hop Congress, assistant chapterhead of 206 Zulu, and Co-Director for Reclaim the Media. Scholar at ya girl at juliec.206@gmail.com
January 5th Ladies 1st Spring 2008 Kick Off @ Hidmo
Communities Against Rap and Abuse, the Ladies 1st Collective, and B-Girl Bench are kicking off the 2008 monthly all-women's Hip Hop showcase at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine Restaurant (20th and Jackson) with Seattle Hip Hop veteran Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn and Hip Hop Congress's own Beloved1 and DJ B-Girl Chillz on the 1s and 2s. The event goes from 8pm-10pm and is followed by an after party by Boom Box. For more info visit www.myspace.com/seattleladiesfirst.
January 5th Freestyle Battle Championship @ Chop Suey
Seaspot and Block Teamsters Union present the final for "Wednesday night life Freestyle Battle Championship" for a grand prize of $4,500 in cash and prizes. Celebrity guest judges include Devin the Dude, Cool Nutz, Certified, Mr.DOG, Emmanuel, Neema, Sonny Bonoho, Mr. Yon, I.Gang, Evergreen Ent., Jay Barz. All ages/21+ bar on 1325 Madison from 8pm-2am. For more info visit www.myspace.com/footworkmedia.
January 5th The Return of Foot Traffic @ Lo Fi
Come experience the revival of this classic 206 subterranean Hip Hop event with Mind Movers, Alpha P, DJ B-Girl Chillz, and Elefaders. 21+ Free!!!
January 19th Indayog II @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle
Pinay Sa Seattle, Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA), Youth Speaks Seattle, 206 Zulu, Hiphop Congress, 91.3 KBCS Community Radio, B-Girl Bench, and BAYAN USA, proudly announces the second annual Indayog All-Women's Hip Hop Show. "This year's Indayog strives to honor the rich history of hip-hop and its revolutionary tradition by focusing on the counteracting of state repression through art," stated rogue pinay, emcee and cultural chair for Pinay SA. This years event will feature performances from Skim, Piece, Beyond Reality, Melissa Noelle Green, El Dia, Julie C, rogue pinay, Beloved1, DJ B-Girl Chillz and more. Contact: rogue.pinay@gmail.com.
January 23rd Water @ Columbia City Theater
The 206Zulu fam at Crisisnw.com present "Water" on Wednesday from 8pm-2am at the Columbia City Theater at 4916 Rainier Avenue South. This all ages/bar with ID function features some of the freshest NW Hip Hop including Alpha-P, Geo of Blue Scholars, Gabriel Teodros, Khingz, Godspeed, LaRue, Ill Top, Mind Movers, BYC Crew, and DJ Audeos. Free entrée served with $15 admission! Contact: juliec.206@gmail.com .
February 2nd Ladies 1st @ Hidmo
Communities Against Rap and Abuse, the Ladies 1st Collective, and B-Girl Bench bring you Southern Komfort, SKIM, and DJ Kylea at this edition of Ladies' First, monthly all-women's Hip Hop showcase at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine Restaurant (20th and Jackson) from 8pm-10pm.
February 9th It's Bigger than HIP HOP @ Portland, OR
The Portland Black Intelligencer, a Hip Hop Congress Oregon partner presents Portland, Oregon's 2nd Annual Youth Summit "It's Bigger than HIP HOP" at 126 NE Alberta from 8-11pm. This year's event will include a keynote address from Professor Griff of Public Enemy, as well as an evening concert with local artists with $10 donation. For more information call (503) 781-5313 or email pbitruth@yahoo.com.
February 15th to 17th 206 Zulu 4th Anniversary @ Festival Sundiata
206 Zulu is celebrating its 4th Anniversary and Black History Month with four days of Hip Hop, showcasing some of today's emerging artists from the Northwest and beyond! The main events, held on the 16th & 17th will be in conjunction with Festival Sundiata at the Seattle Center. This all-ages event is FREE to the public. In addition to the musical performances, 206 Zulu will host a break battle (dance competition), art/graff showcase, and educational-orientated workshops and panels. Additionally, 206 Zulu will host a series of after-parties as well as Zulu Nation specials on local urban media sources to add to the weekend experience. Contact: khazma@gmail.com .
TV and Radio
-Friday Morning 1am-3am Fresh Coast Radio with your hosts DJ B-Girl Chillz and Julie C on 91.3 KBCS Community Radio, streaming live online from www.kbcs.fm
-Friday Evening 9pm-10pm Hip Hop 101 TV broadcasting live on SCAN Channel 29/77, streaming online at www.scantv.org
-Saturday Evening 10pm-1am Zulu Radio with your hosts DJ WD40, Gabriel Teodros, and King Khazm on 91.3fm KBCS Community Radio, streaming live online from www.kbcs.fm
Featured Artists and Music
BC Musik along with The Silent Lamb Project presents the long awaited solo album by Silas Blak, titled "Silas Sentinel." This solo album emulates all the elements of a classic. With his first single "Please Calm Down" Silas Blak rouses the senses as he uses his word play to hypnotize all audiences. The Silas Sentinel Album is not for rookies as his voice is used as an instrument and the energy he conveys slices you to the core. You are immediately swept away with his lyrical genius in such songs as "Never Peace, One Thin Rhyme, The Coop, Permanent Relaxer and Bombs Work." Silas Blak's musik is also referenced as awakening old slave mentalities and liberating socially conscience people to the next level. The Silas Sentinel album brings a new era to hip hop addressing the state of affairs and what we communicate from the average Joe's, the whack emcee's to the socially aware. Available courtesy B-Girl Media through iTunes: (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=269503600&id=269503537&s=143441 )
Seattle Hip Hop veteran Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn's newest release Street Smartz is the story of a true school b-girl, the soundtrack to Piece's one woman play. Representing true Hip Hop through theater, music, spoken word, and her very own street style, get a glimpse into the reality and life of this undeniably talented artist. All of the tracks on the album Street Smartz were produced, arranged, composed, written and created by Piece, featuring the Queen's Ransom players. Piece's hot new album, Street Smartz, out now on iTunes courtesy B-Girl Media:
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mZHqMhO
NW Hip Hop Congress Jan. Bulletin
Current mood: accomplished
NW Hip Hop Congress January Bulletin
Northwest Hip Hop is ready to take 2008 by storm. For starters, the Seattle's Hip Hop Congress community chapter is officially on and popping, and as the incorporation and licensing process wraps up, we are ready to put some serious development behind the exponential growth defining the scene. The NW Hip Hop Congress network is a powerful coalition group made of some of the region's most thorough Hip Hop organizations, including 206 Zulu-the Seattle's chapter of Universal Zulu Nation (www.206Zulu.com ) and the Block Teamsters Union (www.blockteamstersunion.com ), artist crews and collectives, such as Project Mayhem, Alpha-P, and the Think Tank, and community-based nonprofits like Reclaim the Media ( www.reclaimthemedia.org ), CARA (www.cara-seattle.org ), and Seattle Debate Foundation (www.seattledebate.org ).
Our independent urban arts media partners include Zulu Radio and Fresh Coast Radio on 91.3fm KBCS Community Radio (www.kbcs.com ), Hip Hop 101 Television on Seattle Community Access Network ( www.myspace.com/hiphop101), and the Coolout Network (www.cooloutnetwork.com ). Here is only a fraction of what's been crackin' off:
This year, NW Hip Hop Congress was happy to officially welcome B-Girl Bench (www.bgirlbench.com ) and B-Girl Media, spearheaded by DJ B-Girl Chillz to our family. B-Girl Bench is a space for women to hone their craft, build with their community, and to develop transformative leadership from a local to global perspective. As the women in Hip Hop movement started gaining a lot of steam this year, B-girl became a pivotal force, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Beyond being a digital distribution guru and Hip Hop music director at Oseao.com, B-girl herself has been a staple in the Seattle music scene since 2001 as a DJ, breaker, producer, and hip hop teaching artist who has also been known to rip a few mics every once in a while. Her long awaited album Love or Fate?? featuring Piece, Toni Hill, Jerm, Asun, Julie C., Sista Hailstorm, Khanfidence, Phreewill, Cyreeta, DJ WD40, Sage Nomad, and Forrest is set for release this January 16th.
Read more about Seattle women in Hip Hop including DJ B-Girl Chillz, Onion and the Ladies 1st Collective at Hidmo, and Julie C here in the latest issue of the Seattle Weekly. ( http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-12-26/music/ladies-first-spotlight-s-seattle-hip-hop-s-best-feemcees.php )
On campus, the Seattle Central Community College chapter was founded by 206 Proof contributor (www.206proof.com ) and true to life Hip Hop junkie Jawn, under the advisory of Seattle Hip Hop organizing vet and 206 Zulu member Sam Chesneau. SCCC's chapter used 2007 to kick off their fundraising and outreach campaign. Aisha Becker-Burrow founded the region's very first high school chapter at Lakeside High after her hugely successful sweet sixteen bash at Youngstown Cultural Center themed "Hip Hop is Dead: Bring Back the Old School." This event, co-facilitated by B-Girl Bench, was a far cry from MTV's Super Sweet Sixteen. Aisha not only selflessly organized the event as a fundraiser for Hip Hop Congress, she also used it as a platform to spread awareness on the issue of police terrorism by inviting DJ DVONE and Rajnii Eddins to speak about their experiences as victims of brutality and abuse of power from the Seattle Police Department. See footage of "Hip Hop is Dead: Bring Back the Old School" including performances by Choklate, Piece, Rajnii, Silent Lambs Project, and DV One in the B-Girl Bench Ezine! (http://www.bgirlbench.com/ezine.html)
University of Washington's Hip Hop Congress affiliates have been working hard to build on the international platform of movement Hip Hop culture has become. With the help of Georgia Roberts, Hip Hop literary scholar, and Scott Macklin of Open Reel, Seattle artist/activists DJ Kuhnex and Rev from Blue Magic Entertainment as well as Madeline aka the Lioness from the group Canary Sing are headed to South Africa to produce a documentary on music and social motivation in South Africa. Working with South African artists and organizers including, Bulelani Futshane, Godessa, Zubz, Proverb, J-Bux, Teba, DJ Azhul, DJ Eazy, and HHC's own Rushay Booysen, they hope to use the documentary to spread awareness on the power of culture in affecting change on global issues. "For me, what's really interesting is how visually and with audio we are able to share and through sharing we are able to build," says Rushay, who is music editor for the project. Rushay, who has been active in Port Elizabeth's Hip Hop community for 18 years, see's his role as facilitating a process of life experience and reality both for visiting students, and for future viewers of the documentary. "I'm just a link that links the common purpose," he states. They are looking for support for this project, and further collaborative opportunity so to get down, email kuhnex@gmail.com, and to contact Rushay email rushhiphop@gmail.com .
Aaron "DJ Kuhnex" Jacob and Jamil "Rev" Suleman, have also been getting national recognition for "Bruce Lee Dedication," a class they've piloted on the University of Washington campus. The tangible objective of the class is to get something on campus dedicated to the memory of Bruce Lee, but the actual objective is much broader. "This is to start the dialogue of why students of color are not represented in the first place," says Rev, "this is about eradicating the symbolism of European domination on college campuses in general." For more information on this contact: yung.rev@gmail.com .
Seattle Hip Hop Summit Youth Council has also been making major waves in the region. This year, in addition to launching a new website, ezine, and newsletter, they've invested in the next generation of Hip Hop leadership with "Hiphopreneurs: CEOs in Training," a professional development club at Seattle vocational institute, and a Hip Hop Writer's Group at the Rainer Beach branch of Seattle Public Libraries. SHHSYC has also started a weekly young artist showcase at Waid's Place on 12th & Jefferson in Seattle, hosted by Genieva Arunga, J. Infinite, M-Famous, and Angel, the young stars that some of y'all may remember from Hip Hop Congress's National Conference in Athens, Ohio. For more information on Seattle Hip Hop Summit Youth Council contact wyking@gmail.com
Seeing as how this update is admittedly Seattle-Centric, be on the look-out for more regional information in the next issue, including shouts from the Evergreen College's HHC Chapter in Olympia, Washington, updates from the newly launched Tacoma Urban Debate League Program, and hopefully, an introduction to our new partners in the PDX, Mic Crenshaw and the Global Family Network Mission. If I missed you in this update, don't worry - holler at me and I'll getcha next round. Be sure to check the list below for events in the Northwest and music you don't wanna be without…. with that, I'm ghost. One!
Julie C is an emcee from the legendary Alpha-P crew, as well as Northwest Regional Coordinator for Hip Hop Congress, assistant chapterhead of 206 Zulu, and Co-Director for Reclaim the Media. Scholar at ya girl at juliec.206@gmail.com
January 5th Ladies 1st Spring 2008 Kick Off @ Hidmo
Communities Against Rap and Abuse, the Ladies 1st Collective, and B-Girl Bench are kicking off the 2008 monthly all-women's Hip Hop showcase at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine Restaurant (20th and Jackson) with Seattle Hip Hop veteran Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn and Hip Hop Congress's own Beloved1 and DJ B-Girl Chillz on the 1s and 2s. The event goes from 8pm-10pm and is followed by an after party by Boom Box. For more info visit www.myspace.com/seattleladiesfirst.
January 5th Freestyle Battle Championship @ Chop Suey
Seaspot and Block Teamsters Union present the final for "Wednesday night life Freestyle Battle Championship" for a grand prize of $4,500 in cash and prizes. Celebrity guest judges include Devin the Dude, Cool Nutz, Certified, Mr.DOG, Emmanuel, Neema, Sonny Bonoho, Mr. Yon, I.Gang, Evergreen Ent., Jay Barz. All ages/21+ bar on 1325 Madison from 8pm-2am. For more info visit www.myspace.com/footworkmedia.
January 5th The Return of Foot Traffic @ Lo Fi
Come experience the revival of this classic 206 subterranean Hip Hop event with Mind Movers, Alpha P, DJ B-Girl Chillz, and Elefaders. 21+ Free!!!
January 19th Indayog II @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in West Seattle
Pinay Sa Seattle, Communities Against Rape and Abuse (CARA), Youth Speaks Seattle, 206 Zulu, Hiphop Congress, 91.3 KBCS Community Radio, B-Girl Bench, and BAYAN USA, proudly announces the second annual Indayog All-Women's Hip Hop Show. "This year's Indayog strives to honor the rich history of hip-hop and its revolutionary tradition by focusing on the counteracting of state repression through art," stated rogue pinay, emcee and cultural chair for Pinay SA. This years event will feature performances from Skim, Piece, Beyond Reality, Melissa Noelle Green, El Dia, Julie C, rogue pinay, Beloved1, DJ B-Girl Chillz and more. Contact: rogue.pinay@gmail.com.
January 23rd Water @ Columbia City Theater
The 206Zulu fam at Crisisnw.com present "Water" on Wednesday from 8pm-2am at the Columbia City Theater at 4916 Rainier Avenue South. This all ages/bar with ID function features some of the freshest NW Hip Hop including Alpha-P, Geo of Blue Scholars, Gabriel Teodros, Khingz, Godspeed, LaRue, Ill Top, Mind Movers, BYC Crew, and DJ Audeos. Free entrée served with $15 admission! Contact: juliec.206@gmail.com .
February 2nd Ladies 1st @ Hidmo
Communities Against Rap and Abuse, the Ladies 1st Collective, and B-Girl Bench bring you Southern Komfort, SKIM, and DJ Kylea at this edition of Ladies' First, monthly all-women's Hip Hop showcase at Hidmo Eritrean Cuisine Restaurant (20th and Jackson) from 8pm-10pm.
February 9th It's Bigger than HIP HOP @ Portland, OR
The Portland Black Intelligencer, a Hip Hop Congress Oregon partner presents Portland, Oregon's 2nd Annual Youth Summit "It's Bigger than HIP HOP" at 126 NE Alberta from 8-11pm. This year's event will include a keynote address from Professor Griff of Public Enemy, as well as an evening concert with local artists with $10 donation. For more information call (503) 781-5313 or email pbitruth@yahoo.com.
February 15th to 17th 206 Zulu 4th Anniversary @ Festival Sundiata
206 Zulu is celebrating its 4th Anniversary and Black History Month with four days of Hip Hop, showcasing some of today's emerging artists from the Northwest and beyond! The main events, held on the 16th & 17th will be in conjunction with Festival Sundiata at the Seattle Center. This all-ages event is FREE to the public. In addition to the musical performances, 206 Zulu will host a break battle (dance competition), art/graff showcase, and educational-orientated workshops and panels. Additionally, 206 Zulu will host a series of after-parties as well as Zulu Nation specials on local urban media sources to add to the weekend experience. Contact: khazma@gmail.com .
TV and Radio
-Friday Morning 1am-3am Fresh Coast Radio with your hosts DJ B-Girl Chillz and Julie C on 91.3 KBCS Community Radio, streaming live online from www.kbcs.fm
-Friday Evening 9pm-10pm Hip Hop 101 TV broadcasting live on SCAN Channel 29/77, streaming online at www.scantv.org
-Saturday Evening 10pm-1am Zulu Radio with your hosts DJ WD40, Gabriel Teodros, and King Khazm on 91.3fm KBCS Community Radio, streaming live online from www.kbcs.fm
Featured Artists and Music
BC Musik along with The Silent Lamb Project presents the long awaited solo album by Silas Blak, titled "Silas Sentinel." This solo album emulates all the elements of a classic. With his first single "Please Calm Down" Silas Blak rouses the senses as he uses his word play to hypnotize all audiences. The Silas Sentinel Album is not for rookies as his voice is used as an instrument and the energy he conveys slices you to the core. You are immediately swept away with his lyrical genius in such songs as "Never Peace, One Thin Rhyme, The Coop, Permanent Relaxer and Bombs Work." Silas Blak's musik is also referenced as awakening old slave mentalities and liberating socially conscience people to the next level. The Silas Sentinel album brings a new era to hip hop addressing the state of affairs and what we communicate from the average Joe's, the whack emcee's to the socially aware. Available courtesy B-Girl Media through iTunes: (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=269503600&id=269503537&s=143441 )
Seattle Hip Hop veteran Laura "Piece" Kelley Jahn's newest release Street Smartz is the story of a true school b-girl, the soundtrack to Piece's one woman play. Representing true Hip Hop through theater, music, spoken word, and her very own street style, get a glimpse into the reality and life of this undeniably talented artist. All of the tracks on the album Street Smartz were produced, arranged, composed, written and created by Piece, featuring the Queen's Ransom players. Piece's hot new album, Street Smartz, out now on iTunes courtesy B-Girl Media:
Read more: http://www.myspace.com/juliec206/blog#ixzz11mZHqMhO
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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 3rd, 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.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
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.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
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
===============================================================
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.
===============================================================
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…..
===============================================================
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.
===============================================================
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
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
===============================================================
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.
===============================================================
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…..
===============================================================
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.
===============================================================
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
Friday, May 4, 2007
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)