"I got a brave heart like the one named Shirley Chisholm." --Phife Diggy
Number 6,544 on the list of things I learned or people I heard of simply because of rap music: the fearless Shirley Chisolm. The first black woman elected to Congress, not to mention the first black person to seek a major party's nomination (in '72!), Mrs. Chisolm--an outspoken activist, champion of the underprivileged, and leader of the people, whose motto was "Unbought and unbossed"--died at the age of 80 January 3. Condolences to her family, and may her legacy live on.
"I pledge no allegiance/nigga, fuck the president speeches/I'm baptized in America and covered in leeches…"
It was brought to my attention that I hadn't mentioned word one about Immortal Technique's incendiary (somewhat) new track, "Bin Laden." Also featuring Mos Def on the ingenious hook, Tech breaks down U.S. dealings with Osama and Saddam Hussein, and vividly imagines Harlem invaded by foreign armies. His commentary is only getting sharper--expect the upcoming Middle Passage LP to make many conservative panties bunch something awful this year.
Somehow still caught up in 2004 fallout, I'm just getting to a lot of the music I didn't have the time to digest before, and it sure seems like the "Yay Area" is producing some crazy talent lately. Vallejo's Turf Talk, brought in by no less than E-40, dropped a dope album a couple months ago… and seriously, he's not fucking around. Turf's debut LP, The Street Novelist, is as hard as MC Ren frozen in carbonite, and twice as cold. The slappin' production (all strictly in the super synthed-out "mobb" vein) and Turf's gruff, vivid flow make for some great, unmistakably gangsta shit… between him and other talented Bay artists the Federation, the Frontline, and the Team (wasn't it supposed to be rock groups that were overdoing the "the" thing?), not to mention Compton's Game and Guerilla Black, the Fresh Coast should be enjoying a helluva year.
Say, the good folks over at Project Mayhem are doing a new self-titled night every Sunday before Juicy at Chop Suey. The weekly gig features live hiphop--this time from local crew Insult 2 Injury. Come January 15, get a ride down to Tacoma and support I 2 I's Zac Hendrix (who incidentally moonlights as Del's DJ), appearing alongside DJ Reign at "Just a JamRaiser," a b-boy jam and fundraiser thrown by Fab5, a T-Town nonprofit whose mission is "to enhance the leadership and academic skill of the youth and young adults in Pierce County, as well as broaden Hip-Hop as a positive medium of expression." The JamRaiser (5 bucks gets ya in, $3 with a can of food) is raising money to donate to World Vision's Tsunami Relief Fund; if (like me) you've been wondering how to somehow lend help to those who endured the worst natural disaster in modern history, here's your chance, chief. One.
