I * believe women *trust survivors *lived in Minneapolis for one year *worked on an event there within the Hip Hop and Art communities *the event was centered on Women in Hip Hop, B-Girls, Lady Graffiti Artists, "Female" DJs...
The event was called B-Girl Be, it took place at @intermedia_arts and was founded/organized by women either from or in the Hip Hop community in Minnesota. I worked on research, sponsorship, booking artists/speakers alongside the rest of the all-women/femme committee. U know who
did not sponsor the event? U know who was NEVER there? It was @rhymesayers. Furthermore, I used to be the business manager of MF DOOM, for many years. He had a preexisting relationship with RSE and I rarely but sometimes interacted with them. I loved Los Nativos, signed to RSE...
I mainly kept to myself in Minnesota, and to my circle of B-Girl Be associates. I did however meet DJ Stage One, I-Self Devine, Mazta I, Toki Wright and a few of the RSE cats as I often attended shows or went out to see @djstageone spin. He is one of my favorite DJs/People. ...
I never had problems in Minnesota, until I met a few guys who happened to be signed to RSE. I had an incident with one who is now being named an abuser. He never had the chance to get close enough to me to abuse me, I-Self Devine always had my back & he was there that day. ...
I will go on to say that I love both @KevinBeacham and @MusabOnTheReal as humans, as people, they are both wonderful in their own ways and I do know them both in person. Interactions I had in the past with other RSE employees/execs were less than savory. I had heard about RSE's
deplorable treatment of women and of woman/femme artists. They did my friend @PsalmOne dirty. In my opinion, also, they have always employed a pattern of tokenism - one woman artist at a time please! I was only in Minnesota for one year, but I was in the streets, in the arts ...
community (both fine art/gallery world and in the Graffiti community as well), I was at the shows/clubs/parties, I was among the community. I met EVERYONE because I was coming from LA/TheBay/NewYork music biz world, and Minny is a TINY market so I left no stone unturned there...
I am a fan of @sarocthemc & I am glad there's a way to support her new music without giving money to RSE. I am concerned that my old friend @Evidence from @dilatedpeoples may still be affiliated with Rhymesayers. There is NO other option but to #BoycottRhymesayers & divest/defund
Coachella. I'd been the very first year ever, when it was held in Summer. It was ONE HUNDRED TWENTY DEGREES FAHRENHEIT and I was running from stage to stage taking pics and documenting for platform.net (the original website of crafted by the grafted!!)
performing inside a hot dusty sweaty tent, his plastic Elvis/Jermaine Jackson wig literally & figuratively melting into his actual scalp... It was a menagerie of dusty filthy barefoot patchouli-scented mixed with underarm-funk whitewimminz with like ... 50 BIPOC dancing on beat.
Flash forward so so many years to the @coachella with the MadVillain performance. Imagine myself, DOOM, @madlib and assorted people from stonesthrow-whateverthefuck backstage in "VIP" which is still a dusty field with some airstream trailers. Standing around, shooting the shit.
I'm going to be giving the FLOWERS today to one of my most Beloved loved ones. Before he stopped eating pork, he was the ONLY man for whom I'd ever make pork sausage or pork chops ... now he eats more healthy & enjoys a lot of soups.
PLEASE feel free to chime in with your favorite songs, videos, images, memories, FILMS, TV SHOWS, books, etc. Let's give it UP today in the name of the Lo Lifes, BIC VIC LO, @ThirstinHowl3rd the original PoloRican ... a man with a thousand names and a hundred thousand raps. ...
At the studio/lab in Medina/Brooklyn I constantly played music. There was a used music shop down the road. Prior to moving to NY for work at Complex, I had come to visit to stay with my Play Brother JASE and his at the time lady. ...
So when the job came up, and DOOM and GRIMM required for me to move to NY, all at once...I asked play bro bro and he said come live there and get a place in his building. I did and it became the studio, the office, the mixing/mastering lab, of course the kitchen/restaurant, etc.
I purchased a CD changer stereo my first day then filled it with 25 of my favorites. This "Dropped" and it was old yet new ... I had all the discs in the changer along with 3 SADE discs, 3 Anita Baker discs, and some Soul/Oldies compilations. NO RAP.
Every day, until November 1 (Dia de Los Muertos) I'm going to be sharing food resources online vis-a-vis DOOM. One of his missions was to "feed the children like Sally Struthers" and the mission continues.
This is just one organization, but you can visit their site to learn more. EVERYONE has a local food bank & it is very rewarding to volunteer there.
DOOM was interested in healthy food as well. We talked a lot about agriculture & how food grown nowaday does not have the nutrition that the foods of our Grands & Great-Grands used to have.
Best food U can BUY? Find it here at your local farmer's market.
I was more impressed by Frukwan & DJ Prince Paul, being a huge Stetsasonic fan, myself. I often greeted them + the dozens of artists signed to Gee Street or with label deals under them, like Tragedy Khadafi's 25 II Life label. One day Prince Paul was in office so was Chubb Rock.
This was 1997. SO MANY YEARS LATER, I was driving DOOM on one of many trips up top. He asked me if we could drive far, I said sure, and we ended up at the home and studio of Prince Paul. I sat, as I always did, working on articles for work (Complex at that time) while DOOM...