Hip Hop Stand Up...

...and take up the torch for Haiti in its hour of emergency need.

go to: http://www.yele.org/

"This is the time for the diaspora to step up...my urgency right now is a cry for freedom saying we really need a sate of emergency right now...i can't ask yall to help me if i don't help myself"- Wyclef Jean

"Unite; for combination is stronger than witchcraft." - Toussaint L'Ouverture

“I was born a slave, but nature gave me a soul of a free man….” - Toussaint L'Ouverture

“In overthrowing me, you have done no more than cut down the trunk of the tree of the black liberty in St-Domingue-it will spring back form the roots, for they are numerous and deep.” - Toussaint L'Ouverture

"Reality Matters" Hip Hop Talk Show Debut - Listen to Podcast!

Thanks to all that tuned in last night to listen to the broadcast debut of Reality Matters. I appreciate all the love and positive feedback!

Please express your support for Reality Matters to become part of KPFK's regular weekly programming schedule by sending emails to KPFK's programming department at comments@kpfk.org.


If you missed the show last night, or want to hear it again, the podcast will be available for the next few weeks at the following link:

Pilot Programming, Tue, January 05, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010 11:00 PM

Pilot Programming - KPFK 90.7 FM

I will be hosting another episode soon, and will post information when time/date are determined.

Thanks again to all guests and artists featured on last night's show!

New Hip Hop Talk Show "Reality Matters" debuts tomorrow on KPFK 90.7fm - Tune in and Support!

Tune in to the 1-hour pilot of my new hip hop talk show "Reality Matters" on KPFK, Pacifica Radio! KPFK serves the greater Los Angeles area and streams 24 hours a day via the internet, providing listeners with progressive and independent news, talk & music.

The pilot show features interviews from community artists and educators promoting activism through hip hop, progressive agendas, and hip hop pedagogy in communities and campuses across the country!

As the on-air host for "Reality Matters", my vision is to bring my Sociology and Hip Hop classes to the radio airwaves, providing critical analysis of current social issues through a hip hop lens. The goal is also to make stronger connections to the hip hop community, with the show as a platform to highlight and promote the work of local community activists and artists.

So tune in and support the show and I will continue to provide updates on upcoming broadcasts!

To comment or express your support for the show? Please send emails to: comments@kpfk.org



PILOT SHOW INFO:

Day: Tuesday 1/5/2010
Time: 11pm PST (1 hour)
To Listen in Los Angeles: 90.7fm KPFK
To Listen Live on the Web or access show archive: http://www.kpfk.org/

Re-Air Date: TBD but pilot will re-air in the next few days during an afternoon slot for daytime audience. When date is determined, I will post update.

Guests:
Dr. Ayo Alabi, Professor of Sociology at Orange Coast College
Dr. Ebony Utley, Professor of Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach
DLabrie, artist, president of RonDavoux Records, and national outreach coordinator, Hip Hop Congress
Maurice "Soulfighter" Taylor, artist, Poetic Network, Community Against Hate, and east coast regional director, Hip Hop Congress
Rahman Jamal, artist, educator and west coast regional director of Hip Hop Congress
Sarah Harris, educator and board member, Hip Hop Congress

Hip Hop Congress
Website: http://www.hiphopcongress.com/
Join their Facebook Group!
Follow on Twitter!

Featured Artists/Songs:
Mic Holden - "It's On!'
http://www.myspace.com/micholden4president

Shamako Noble - "Deeper"
http://shamakonoble.com/

DLabrie feat. Adisa Banjoko - "Life Strategies"
http://www.myspace.com/dlabriemusic


We are capable of bearing a great burden, once we discover that the burden is reality and arrive where reality is. – James Baldwin

Boogie down productions is made up of teachers
The lecture is conducted from the mic into the speaker
Who gets weaker? the king or the teacher
Its not about a salary its all about reality
Teachers teach and do the world good
Kings just rule and most are never understood - KRS One

2010: A New Year, A New Decade...Time to Try Anew

May 2010 be a reflection of our collective actions for peace and sustenance for all.

I honestly believe that if we all focused more on

action over debate,

and service over leadership and politics,

we would not only see the changes we want to see in our world,

we would be it.

Because it is as relevant today as it was when I wrote it this time of year three years ago, I would like all to revisit this essay:

Rise up Hip Hop Nation: Making 2007 the Year of Sustainable Change

EXCERPT:

In it I state:

On the eve of a new year, I'd like to begin by offering peace and respect to everyone everywhere. While many are celebrating the holiday season, many more are suffering. Some are reflecting on the year gone by, while others are just praying the New Year will bring new possibilities for joy, peace, sustenance and justice. This is the time of year for reflection on the past and resolutions for the future. For me, this annual process led me to important questions. How can we make 2007 the year of sustainable change? What concrete steps can we take to address what ails our communities and our global village more broadly? Wherever we are in life, whether blessed or oppressed, affluent or struggling, the condition of the global village will directly affect us all sooner or later, and it is in our best interest to work towards sustainable change.

The first thing we must do is realize that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. We can no longer wish for better and act the same, maintaining status quo by default. To get out of the hell that corporate greed, concentrated power, western imperialism, religious fanaticism, and “ideology over reality” have created, we must get specific about what it will take to realize people power. "It is not enough to be compassionate, you must act" (14^th Dalai Lama, 1992). And here are a few specific things you can do:

1. Pick one local issue and one global issue that you will educate your self about and stay informed!

2. Join two organizations

3. Mentor one child (For parents, mentor your children fully and completely).

4. Sign at least one petition a month.

5. Recognizing that all media is framed (left/right, conservative/liberal), get your news from multiple media sources. By doing this, you will learn to separate facts from ideology.

6. Attend three community meetings or rallies a year or volunteer at community service centers at least three times a year.

7. Be a conscious consumer.

8. Vote.

9. Make a sincere effort to communicate across class, color and generational lines.

10. FORGIVE.

The essay goes into more detail for each point, so please go to the title link above to read it in its entirety.

As the ball dropped on 2009, millions listened and sang along to this song...it has become the "THEME" of renewed hope in humanity to start each new year...so for today and everyday, let's celebrate the infinite possibilities humanity brings...year in and year out...

Happy New Year Fam.