On the way from the Town to the City

I was in the City today (City is Bay talk for San Francisco, the Town is Bay talk for Oakland ;) and was coming out of the BART train station there on Powell street, when I heard this cat singing a song on a guitar that sounded familiar, it wasn't until I paid my fare that I realized he was singing a guitar acoustic version of Cali Swag's "Teach Me How to Dougie". I can't front I'm not a fan of the radio/video version, not on some ol hip-hop puritan $hit, but just aint feelin it in a "let me hear the next release you got, cuz this one aint doin it for me" kinda thing...In any event I heard this dude rocking the acoustic version of the song, and it sounded kind of dope. So I dubbed a clip to share with ya'll, and promised to pass the clip along for (an)other(s). Dig it...

sOuL in Bolivia...more to come.

Oakland/The Town/Snapshot pieces

Abacush the dilema: to download or support the obscure reggae dubness...

As an artist you sometimes find the funkiest and most unexpected inspiration from the most random of places. Yesterday I was listening to WeFunk radio episode 620 and tripped on a track they played by some group called Abacush, whose song was of the same title. It's a dope reggae song that turned dub at the end, like so many reggae cuts do, but this one sparked my interest for some reason. Perhaps it was the Cush reference or the obscurity of the group that got me, or the the mighty dubbness of it all towards the end (me and the dub/reggae have a close relationship on a feelin' heart and soul thing) plus the song was dropped in the most obtuse and comfortable of places, after a horace andy cut and before a pharrell from the neptunes/n.e.r.d one - talk about a diverse mix of music....anywho, as I digress I found it to be a bad ass reggae track and wanted to be able to listen to it on the go in the ride, the headphones and what not, so I was at a dilemma: do i dub it right off of the WeFunk site and risk being taken to court by the record industry like that poor lady in Minnesota who had to pay 1.5 million for downloading 24 songs, or do I support the artist by looking for them on amazon or itunes etc and pay the .99cents for the mp3?? I decided to look them up on the web to buy their song thinking they were an obscure group and deserved the dap and support. When I did I found nothing to download, nothing! Site after site, didn't offer anything to purchase but I was able to gather from blogs and youtube that the group was an all female group that did their thing in the 80's, but as far as download?? Nada! Nothing but this YouTube clip. So I'm dubbin it and sharing it with ya'll. If anyone comes across a site selling their stuff please do share! In the mean time, enjoy and lets all celebrate great music!

"You have to be into hip-hop to go underground!"

Minna Gallery graph shot SF!

"You have to be into hip-hop to go underground" wise words spoken by a music cat I build sound with. On the surface it struck me like it was the heaviest shit because of it's simplicity yet almost profound truth hidden in the statement. Feel it for a second: Hip-Hop is now like many storefront sneaker boutiques. While walking by... the occasional hip-hopper see's a rapper in the storefront (top 40 listed, on your "hip-hop and r&b, quiet storm" station) manickan rocking the image they can get with, maybe the beat makes em dance, they girl loves the dude on the mic especially after the dj spun that single @ the party last night, so they walk inside the store maybe not even being able to identify with the message, the lyrics just surface enough to make em nod they heads, no questions without simple answers etc. They get the latest sound casting a spell and go on they way....Meanwhile the discerning hip-hop listener, fan, beat lover etc walks by the same boutique hears the same cat standing in the store front window, knows his music is used to it, and recollects how they too begun with that in they rap starter kit, but decide to go into the boutique store, but not for the storefront mcee, they since have since moved on, they walk through the store, sliding through the hangers on racks, vinyl in stacks looking for that thing that takes them back, yet inspires the new. The same cadence aint gonna save it from being deleted off of they mp3 player, so they figure they must search for that different pitch, abstract with a twist hard, refreshing reminding them why they love "that thing" by the time they look up to find what it is they are drawn to they are in the basement of the boutique.

The stairs that led them down had the words "underground" graphiti'd on the brick wall. Incense burning, they know the simple will no longer do for them, and not only that when they tell their top 40 friends about the kicks they picked they have a hard time following the flow, the delivery got them scratching their heads. See they never went past the cash register in that boutique never seen what it looks like when it aint for a deal, money, or fame- never thirsted for more, as they are still chewing on the mass produced and well marketed. Like how your first beers might have been a Mickies, or Corona but you learned to appreciate the finer pilsners, pale ales and malts got hipped to the red stripes, fat tires, graduating to guiness with chocolate. when ya into hip-hop the beginners brew fades and you learn about the complex tastes of the underground giving meaning to the statement: "You have to be into hip-hop to go underground!"

Maytha Alhassen: The Liquor Store Wars

Maytha Alhassen: The Liquor Store Wars

i came across this article that talks about cultural dynamics between black folks in oakland and the arab muslim liquor store owners that proliferate the inner city neighborhoods in the O. besides the author's ability to interview arab store owners in a candid fashion because of her shared ethnic background, the article also impressed me with some unknown stats about my city "The sheer over saturation of liquor stores, an illegal presence that in Oakland totals 326, which is 54 over the number permitted by the law" Combining poverty and access to alcohol while missing the presence of grocery stores poses a real problem, let alone the inner-racial tensions that are created along the way - has been on the minds of many in the social justice movements, let alone in the fabric of  hip-hop (ice cube's "black korea" comes to mind) this article continues the conversation.

Rakim Allah Freestyle

This is the kind of shit I grew up on from the Bay to NY. Classic Rakim!!

Kwik Way: an Oakland Original

There's no telling my story without mentioning the Oakland classic burger joint Kwik Way. The beginning of the sOuL tale says that when moms was pregnant with me she had tremendous cravings for their burgers and corn dogs- that was the late 70's. In the 80's, as a kid pops and I would go here and while waiting for the order to go I would climb on the stair step brick pillars. Known for their greasy fries which sometimes were better ate with a fork and thin hamburgers with some special red sauce this was the taste of my youth!

As much of an Oakland iconic symbol I feel Kwik Way is, its also a good example of what's happened in the town. The pic above is the Kwik Way by Lake Merritt and Grand Lake theater, sometime a while back. I know the pic is old because it's now an empty shell, closed down. No longer serving that greasy goodness and has been this way for at least 5 years. Word has it the original owners are selling the location to Giant Burger (wtf??!!) and that for over a decade the city of Oakland had always wanted to get rid of the spot (rumored to have desired a McDonalds franchise as a replacement!) . As the demographics of the city has changed (many of the black residents have been pushed out for various reasons gentrification being one of them) so have the tastes. The newer yuppie crowd have brought with them cute boutiques where the owners often look and stare at me as if I don't belong, to free range chicken wraps (that I ironically love) , these new neighbors did not take to my childhood favorite eatery. I've seen this happen to all sorts of places in North, West & East Oakland, MB mall demolished to build bigger Kaiser facilities, The Serenader is now a tattoo bar going from an OG hangout spot where the older dudes would call you "young blood" and they wasn't talking about gang bangin - to a place that plays obnoxious rock music as if to highlight the shift. I feel like something has been lost, all except for this picture and the memories of a rich past that I still cherish...

Hello World

Hello world! This is the first of many posts, and updates as I've been meaning to get this going, reach out to ya as I march towards this next sOuL record to be dubbed "The Unspoken Word" Things are moving, though not as fast I would like the pace seems right. I'm finding that I got a bit of a perfectionist thang in me. Writing and rewriting these lyrics as if they might be the last testament of this journey on the urban landscape, pounding these rhythms, mixing then remixing, deconstructing to construct...

More than ever this has turned into the outlet I always knew it was- like jumping jacks my music is like health care for my spirit. Dreams are to be nurtured, especially when the daily grind tries to drain it out of ya! So I'm writing, reciting, bringin it!

Stay up and ready ya'll!
more to come...