The 65th Square: Chess and Hip-Hop Culture

here is an interesting article about the social links between chess and hip hop cultures. maybe we need a chess day at eosa! :^)

http://www.thechessdrum.net/65thSquare/65_marapr02.html

Chess has been perceived as the game of the "nerds," the term for a person characterized as a socially-detached genius. Of course, chess suffers from this image problem in that much of the international community writes chess off as an esoteric game that they could not possibly understand. At the youth level, it's not "cool" to be a nerd these days. Take the following quote from an article written by Miranda PynePyne refers to a study done by Leeds University Lecturer Tony Sewell about Caribbean youth... titled, "Does Black Culture Hurt Black Boys?" In the article,

what does hip hop mean to you ?

*
when younger
hip hop was a channel
through which i found myself
my older brother introduced me
became addicted
in high school
could not be found
without headphones transporting me
to another space & time
of hip hop
filtering out & finding emcees
that spoke truths to me
deejays that rocked & moved me
at the heart
a soundtrack & style of life
began to breathe it
to this rhythm i walked
soon found the source of the beat
pumping & circulating my blood
from within
hip hop started a dialogue
opening a window of
passage over a bridge
expressway
to a free way
i started writing poetry
to be spoken
to be living
connecting to the outside
drumming internal rhyme schemes
flowing trains of thought
developing metaphor
i found my voice
at this time i would go
with my homegirl to
break dance comps & although
i never really danced much-
usually took photos
carefully watching & observing
this soul expression
physical translation of the music-
i found community
an understanding of this powerful movement
we were a part of
this beat is in my heart
still moves inside me to rise with it
over the hate
often claimed in its name
& forward to innovate
illuminate my truths
& spread the love
through art
*

Some of my work

One new composition is made from bits and pieces of many others, and the art and the message lies in their selection and the way they are reassembled

As of lately i've been really interested in the phenomina of the remix. This intigue came about from the hearing the many manifestions of Keak da sneaks "super hyphy." There is almost one remix of this landmark song on each new keak release. I began to question the intent of a remix, why make so many version of a single song? Also many remixes feature guest artists, what purpose does a guest artist serve and to a greater extent why does hip hop make use of guest artist more frequntly than any other genre of music. I linked the practice of guest artist back to hip hop cultures history in community building; fostering a cross polination of ideas between like minds. Here some of the information regarding remixing. the link provided also makes some interesting connections concerning remix culture and aesthitic.


the idea of creating musical 'remixes' appears to originate in popular music much earlier than this, in the work of Jamaican dub producers working in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Pioneering producers such as Lee Perry, King Tubby, and Scientist made an art form out of taking prerecorded rhythm tracks and rearranging them into a piece of music, a new version as they called it.

The DJ/producer/remixer-centered music culture of Jamaica was later transmitted to the United States [via the Jamaican immigrant community in New York City, from which many of the early hiphop DJs came] and to the United Kingdom as well [via the large numbers of Jamaican immigrants who began arriving from the 1950s onward]. Early hiphop DJs such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa furthered the line of experimentation of the early dub producers, constructing live musical performances out of bits and pieces of recorded performances from the past.

This is a major conceptual leap: making music on a meta-structural level, drawing together and making sense of a much larger body of information by threading a continuous narrative through it. This is what begins to emerge very early in the hiphop tradition in works such as Grandmaster Flash's pioneering mix recording Adventures on the Wheels of Steel.

The importance of this cannot be overstated: in an era of information overload, the art of remixing and sampling as practiced by hiphop DJs and producers points to ways of working with information on higher levels of organization, pulling together the efforts of others into a multilayered multireferential whole which is much more than the sum of its parts.

One new composition is made from bits and pieces of many others, and the art and the message lies in their selection and the way they are reassembled and connected.

http://ethnomus.ucr.edu/remix_culture/remix_history.htm

Keak da Sneak: King of the super hyphy

The second image of the hyphy series. All of the secondary imagery aside from the "super hyphy" text are derived from oakland. The intenet was to create an image which reflected the bay area and more specifically a work that would appeal to oakland residents. Again, enjoy.

E-40: ambassador of the bay

This is from a series of hyphy paintings that i did as a self directed project. I was intereseted in fusing design elements with standard painting. Accordingly I thought hyphy would be an appropriate subject matter for my aesthetic intent. As a long time resident of the bay area i've witenssed the emergence of hyphy as a musical phenomina, as a response i wanted to create a series that focused on the founders of the movement. Further i wanted to create art that would resonante with the community that reside. The series is a call and resposne to current events that are defining our community. Enjoy and please Let me know what you think.

OH to get to the flickr
It's
user name: eosa_cca
password: hiphop

:)

Hi everyone
I finally found out how this thing works:)
I posted the pictures from the first day here's a sample

I got to read what unity and pernima said about the re-definition of Hip Hop vs. Hip-Pop. I agree, I see how Hip-Hop is community building, but I would still argue Hip-Hop cannot be separated/autonomous from what It has become or how it has been co-opted from mainstream culture. The emphasis on Community helped me understand what people meant by making the observation that Hip-Hop is organic food.

Hip Hop Music

During the early 1970s, it came to the attention of DJs that the percussion parts of music; the break-beat; were most popular for dancing. DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash both independently isolated and repeated these parts of the music for the purpose of all-night dance parties. The favorite types of music were traditionally the breaks from funk songs, often featuring percussion. This was later developed and refined and included cutting.

Rapping then developed as MCs would talk over the music to promote their DJ, other dance parties, or take light-harted jabs at other lyricists. This soon developed into the rapping that appears on earlier basic hip-hop singles, with MCs talking about problems in their areas and issues facing the community as a whole. Melle Mel, a rapper/lyricist with The Furious Five is often credited with being the first rap lyricist to call himself an "MC."

By the late 1970s a myriad DJs were releasing 12" cuts where MCs would rap to the beat. Popular tunes included Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "Supperrappin'," Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks," and The Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight". In 1982, Melle Mel & Duke Bootee recorded "The Message" (officially credited to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five), a song that foreshadowed socially conscious hip hop.

Hip hop as a culture was further defined in 1983, when former Black Spades gang member Afika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force released a track called "Planet Rock". Instead of simply rapping over disco beats, Bambaataa created an innovative electronic sound, taking advantage of the rapidly improving drum machine and synthesizer technology. Many credit the sensation caused by the track as another defining moment in hip hop music and culture. The mainstream media began to focus on one of the greatest impacts of hip hop; instead of fighting with guns and knives, former gangmembers had a new way of battling — though break dancing, rapping, turntable mixing, and graffitti.By 1985, youth worldwide were laying down scrap linoleum or cardboard, setting down portable stereo and spinning on their backs in tracksuits and sneakers to music by Run DMC, LL Cool J, the Fat boys, Herbie Hancock, Soulsonic Force, Jazz Jay, Eghyptian Lover, Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and Stetsasonic, to name a few.

The 6th Annual Hip Hop Congress Conference Taking Place In July

The 6th Annual Hip Hop Congress Conference Taking Place In July
By Alexis Jeffries
Date: 3/9/2007 3:45 pm


The 6th Annual Hip Hop Congress Conference will take place in Athens, OH July 4th through July 8th, where chapters nation-wide and Hip-Hop artists will come together and discuss issues related to urban music.

The Hip Hop Congress is a non-Profit organization that was created to ignite civic action and cultural creativity within the Hip-Hop community.

With over 35 chapters throughout the country, Hip-Hop Congress works with artists, organizers, promoters and a host of other universities and institutions to unite, educate, and empower individuals through Hip-Hop music.

The goal of this year's national conference will be to continue developing a national service infrastructure alongside a variety of other national organizations, student groups, artists and partners.

Workshops are scheduled to include intensive sessions on the initial four elements of Hip-Hop, interactive discussions on Health Care, International Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop and Education, Women in Hip-Hop, Event Planning, the Recording Industry, Youth Violence and more.

Additionally, each night will feature performances showcasing independent acts.

Previous performers that have participated in Hip Hop Congress events include Ghostface, Brother Ali, Zion I, Percee P, Living Legends, Jurassic 5, Tha Jacka, DJ Crucial, Common Market, and All Natural Inc.

Organizations such as The Zulu Nation, The Temple of Hip Hop, Hip Hop Caucus, Mississippi Artists and Producers Coalition, Hip Hop Action Summit Network, and others have also been invited to attend.

The conference's current sponsors include Unite Here, SPAN, and H2A.

For more information, contact www.hiphopcongress.com

DJ Jubilee - Back That (Ass) Thang Up

heres an old video from DJ Jubilee, who can be said to be one of the originators of New Orleans Bounce, which as you can hear has had a big influence on the somewhat more recent "dirty south" style. DJ Jubilee unsuccessfully tried to sue Juvenile for his song with the same title. it's also been said DJ Jubilee has invented over 100 dances. the video is only 5:37 minutes, however the album version is close to 8:00.

so basically ... PLUR PLUR PLUR ALL AROUND!!

check this out

hei people,
check this out
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/timeline_1970s.htm
(process)

it was nice dancing amongst you all, eating pizza, hearing unity and clique spit... nice way for all of us to share the space. not much of a "college social" right?! but that's why we " call it social". please process, write about it. share with your students when you see them next monday. i hope you all are starting to make connections: with the students with yourselves, with the space...what would be fun, inovative, beautiful, to make? What is necessary? that space has great potential and needs some love, and inspiration, en fin an artist#s touch.
go to see events. here is one we are planning to go see next monday the 11th:

danny hoch workshop: march 9–13, 2007

danny hoch workshop
When Berkeley Rep audiences experienced Sarah Jones’ Bridge & Tunnel in workshop, their reactions helped prepare the piece for Broadway—where she won a Tony Award. This March, you’re invited to become part of the creative process again when Obie Award-winning solo performer Danny Hoch returns to Berkeley Rep to workshop new material before he takes it to New York.
Danny Hoch’s breakthrough work—Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop—made its world premiere at Berkeley Rep. Danny’s the founder of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, which champions artists like Sarah Jones and Will Power. Jones calls Hoch “one of the best people I’ve seen do this work,” while the New York Times commends him for “an astonishing range and command of accents” and “physical observations so acute that they alone argue that body language is as much a part of the generation as spoken language.”
This workshop will be open to the public for only four nights. With virtually no sets, lights or costumes, this workshop will free you to focus on what really matters: Hoch’s innovative storytelling and his witty, wonderfully uncanny cast of characters. Reserve your tickets now!
day & time
ticket price
with high school id
Friday, March 9 / 8PM $15 $7
Sunday, March 11 / 7PM $15 $7
Monday, March 12 / 8PM $15 $7
Tuesday, March 13 / 8PM $15 $7
Note: The Danny Hoch Workshop will last 90 minutes, with no intermission. Performances on March 9 and 11 will take place at the Gaia Theatre, 2116 Allston Way (at Shattuck Avenue); Performances on March 13 and 14 will be on Berkeley Rep’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison Street (1/2 block from Shattuck Avenue). All seating is general admission.
_____________________
ALSO let me know which of you want to go to the BAca - Shange´s, A place to Stand we are going on thurs 15th i hear is selling out, so I could resrve some seating for the class.

Theatre/Dance

Intersection & Resident Company Campo Santo
The World Premiere of a new performance project
A Place to Stand
Created from work by legendary writers Jimmy Santiago Baca & Ntozake Shange
Directed by Sean San Jose
Through March 26 @ 8pm ...
Intersection for the Arts
446 Valencia Street (between 15 & 16)
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 626-2787, www.theintersection.org

__________________
a heads up to manon#s posting for the annual Youth Speaks Poetry Slamm look out. I am proud to say I have a student that is in the finals!

--------------
alrighty, have a great week end. fill your black books... reflect, dare to dream and become inspired to create something in and of that space with your student collaborators.

peace and be blessed
G Purnima

Survival Research Laboratories

Hello y'all.
Something to look forward to:

Best,
Frederick

--------

http://www.cca.edu/calendar/all/1414

Mark Pauline: Survival Research Laboratories
Media Arts lecture
Thursday, March 15, 7:30 pm

Nahl Hall, Oakland campus
Info: 510.594.3656

Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) was conceived of and founded by
Mark Pauline in November 1978. Since then, SRL has operated as an
organization of creative technicians dedicated to redirecting the
techniques, tools, and tenets of industry, science, and the military
away from their typical manifestations in practicality, product, and
warfare.

Since 1979, SRL has staged over 45 mechanized presentations. Each
performance consists of a unique set of ritualized interactions
between machines, robots, and special effects devices, employed in
developing themes of sociopolitical satire. Humans are present only
as audience or operators.

* greetings *

if you have a chance to, i would mos definately check out the
youth speaks teen poetry slam. tickets to the grand slam finals
sell out mad quick so i would suggest purchasing online.

Semi-Finals of The 11th Annual Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam
Friday, March 9 & Saturday, March 10, 2007 :: 7 P.M.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third Street, San Francisco
Advance Tickets $10 General / $4 Youth under 20 & Elders 65 +
www.sfmoma.com
Tickets at the Door $10 General / $6 Youth under 20 & Elders 65 +
For information: 415 255 9035 / www.youthspeaks.org

Grand Slam Finals of The 11th Annual Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam
Saturday, March 17, 2007 :: 7 P.M.
The Masonic Auditorium
1111 California Street, San Francisco
$18 General / $6 Youth under 20 & Elders 65 +
www.masonicauditorium.com
415.292.9191

Hosted by Def Poetry's Beau Sia, the Grand Slam Finals also feature
2006 Slam Champ George Watsky, the one-and-only DJ Funklor, and,
of course, 17 young poets. Tickets for this history-making event are
available now at www.masonicauditorium.com or by calling 415.292.9191.
It's only $6 for youth and $18 for general admission – with your help, the
event will sell out, so get your tickets early.

peace-
-manon

theater show LETS GO OUT

Wassup y'all the play "a place to stand" should be tight, its about the life of jimmy santiago baca a poet who learned to write while in jail, im planning on going some thursday or sunday evening lets figure out a day and go in a group...its at the "intersection for the arts" sliding scale tickets

roman
romanpadilla@gmail.com

Breathing some life into this space. Were are the rest of us? Kinda makes me wonderrr...
Tha scaffolding is here. Why aren’t they building? Do they understand what Hip-Hop is? Can they teach the youth what Hip-Hop is? I need to see some more evidence. Lets see some more confidence. Understand and trust. Community: Peace, Love, and Unity.
Jump ya butt in the cypher and have some fun! Yall!
-Unity