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Davey D's FNV Newsletter
In Today's Issue: October 18 2000
Davey D's FNV Newsletter
In Today's Issue: October 24 2000
* Bambaataa To Remake Renegades of Funk
* Hype Williams To Do Hip Hop Soap Opera
* Eminem Banned from Canada???
*Sheriff Blasts Black Community and C-Murder
*Willie Brown Vs Sega and Graffiti Art
*Common & Black Eyed Peas Wreck Shop at KMEL Jam Session
*BEP Singer Kim 'Kimmy Kim' Hill Speaks Out
*Give Mos Def His Props For Bamboozle
*Grand Wizard Theodore Represents at Zulu Anniversary
*Philly Represents Big Time w/ Rome & Jewels*
Send comments, questions and concerns to
mailto:kingdave@sirius.com
The FNV Newsletter
written by Davey D
http://www.daveyd.com
http://www.rapstation.com
c 2000
All Rights Reserved
Record label heads hit me off with news items, press releases and
record release dates and info..
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****Hip Hop Round Up: [Bambaataa, Hype Williams, Eminem, C-Murder]******
 Afrika Bambaataa is making his presence felt in the Bay Area this week. Not only will he be lecturing at the San Francisco State's popular Hip Hop class, but he will also be making an appearance at the African American Cultural Resource Center later that night for a performance and lecture on Hip Hop. However, it is late in the night that Bam will really be putting things down. He along with longtime Bay Area funkateers will be doing a remake of the classic 'Renegades of Funk'. East Palo Alto resident and longtime Hip Hop/funk artist Funky Man is the man co-ordinating the efforts. Paris, Boots of the Coup, Shock G and Humpty Hump of Digital Underground have all been lined up to make this happen. Funky Man who can be heard on KPFA Wednesdays and Friday nights doing The Big Thang Hip Hop Show and The History of Funk show respectively noted that its been a long time coming to remake this song. 'I am a Renegade of Funk' Funky Man insisted. Thus far the record looks to be something everyone can sink their teeth into. I can't wait to hear how Bam's part comes out.. We'll keep you posted as to when it drops.
Congratulations are in order to Hip Hop film director Hype Williams. He has just signed a deal with UPN Television network to develop a 'Hip Hop Soap Opera'. The network executives are liken the project to an urban version of Melrose Place...I'm a big fan of Hype's video work.. He hopefully will be surrounded by some dope writers who will make this project happen in a compelling way that doesn't rely upon embarrassing stereotypes...
Eminem may have a difficult time crossing the Canadian border. Apparently his brash lyrical content on songs like 'Kill You' violate Canada's Criminal Code. It is illegal to communicate statements that promote hatred against any identifiable group other than in private conversation. If this law is enforced Em's CDs could be pulled and his performances cancelled. The woman leading the charge is a Toronto woman named Valerie Smith. She has filed a complaint to T-Dots Hate Crime Unit... Maybe its me...but doesn't Canada show all types of R rated movies where there's violence directed toward an identifiable group? Maybe Em should rename his album Private Conversations Em is Having With Dr Dre'. I'm began to wonder about all these attempts to shut down Hip Hop. Either these are elaborate promotional schemes or we are soon to have some sort of legislation that comes down hard on certain types of artists..
 Since we're on the topic, C-Murder and New Orleans's entire African American Community has come under fire by Sheriff Harry Lee. Last week he held a press conference and blasted the African American community for tolerating gangsta rap. The Sheriff had recently come under fire for hiring an officer who was caught on tape using the word 'Nigger'. Lee's hiring decision had gotten him branded as a racist. In his press conference he took the Black community to task by asking why the community wasn't more outraged about the recent murder of a Black woman by three Black males as opposed to who he hires. He is quoted in the local paper as saying, "If they can go ballistic because I hired someone with seven months to go, you'd think a young mother would rate more than a page-three paragraph in the Times-Picayune." Lee went on to ask, "Why is it so bad for a white man to use the 'N-word' while a black man can make pots full of money and no one questions him at all?" .
Lee was referring to a recently released song by C-Murder called 'Down For My Niggas'.
Lee's remarks have resulted in community leaders who normally would object to the use of the N-word by rappers now defending them. They point out that C-Murder using the N- word in a song is different then a law enforcement officer with a gun and the power to arrest and detain using the word. And while I can understand the sentiment and concern echoed by the community..it doesn't totally negate the Sheriff's questions.. Why is it ok for us to disrespect ourselves and then get upset when others follow suit??? Hit me back on that one at mailto:kingdave@sirius.com
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***Willie Brown Vs Sega and Graffiti Art***
 There was a bit of a bru-haha this past weekend when San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown squared off against Sega President Peter Moore over the issue of graffiti. It all started when Sega set out to host a Graffiti Is Art Festival at Justin Herman Plaza in downtown SF. It was a way to bring attention to their new video game called Jet Grind Radio which has thus far been extremely successful in Japan. The game uses incredible graphics and allows players to do graffiti. The company insists that the graffiti is done in the context of artistic self -expression. To highlight this self expression, Sega hosted an event and had five of the best graf artist from around the country come through and compete on canvas for a 5 thousand dollar prize. The event drew more then 500 people. It also initially drew the scorn of our outspoken Mayor.
Mayor Brown publicly denounced their event as he felt that Sega was being irresponsible by glorifying vandalism. Sega's event came a month after the Mayor held a city wide summit on ways to combat graffiti. He along with other city leaders pledged to crack down on what has gotten to be a 10 million dollar a year clean up expense. The Mayor noted that over the years the 'City by the Bay' had gotten a reputation for being soft on graf writers. To add a bit of irony to this scenario, Sega's 'Graffiti is Art' contest was being held on the same date as the Mayor's 'Graffiti Clean Up Day'. Here volunteers as well as graf artist who had been caught and convicted of tagging spent Saturday morning painting over graffiti in various neighborhoods. The headline in the local paper read 'Buffers vs Taggers'
Mayor Brown and the President of Sega eventually reached and agreement and formed a truce before the event. Sega agreed to donate a nice chunk of money from sales of the Jet Grind Radio game to the Mayor's Graffiti Abatement Program..Also Sega has made it perfectly clear that graffiti is considered vandalism if it is put up on buildings without the owners permission. It is this warning that greets you when you get ready to enter into the Jet Grind Radio website.. Jet Grind Radio SF's crack down comes a year after neighboring San Jose under Mayor Ron Gonzales insisted on cracking down. Like SF, San Jose had played host to a number of events that showcased Graffiti Art and the culture behind it.. The winner of the 5 thousand dollars this past weekend was a kid named Sake.
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***Common & Black Eyed Peas Wreck Shop at KMEL Jam Session***
* Major props go out to Black Eyed Peas and Common for putting on superb performances this past weekend's sold out KMEL Jam Session. They shared the bill with R&B acts Jagged Edge and Ruff Endz who also turned in solid performances. The crowd was overwhelmingly slanted toward the R&B acts, but Will I am, Apl.de.ap and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas came through and shocked it with a four piece band that left the crowd energized and excited. Their fierce rhymes and b-boying dance moves let everyone know the high levels Hip Hop can obtain. And lets make no mistake, the fact that they had a live band did not any way, shape or form take away from them being Hip Hop. The end result was BEP came away with a lot more fans prior to walking in.
Common brought his band which he called the 'Water Babies' and let loose in a major way. He took headz on a musical journey through time as he attempted to show the evolution of music. He started in Africa, came up through the swing and jazz days and went through Jimmy Hendrix and Sly Stone. He than touched upon the musical scene during the hey days of the Black Panthers. He later highlighted the time periods of James Brown and Parliament/Funkadelic. Common ended his journey with Hip Hop. As he went through each time period, the audience was treated to a complete costume change. Common topped himself when he started doing head spins and other b-boy moves during the Hop Hop segment.
 His band was off the hook and it was apparent that the group had put in much time building chemistry and making sure things were well thought out. Unfortunately, Common suffered from a split audience. Half the people, many of them older were awestruck and totally appreciative of Common's efforts. he drew his biggest applause when he paid musical tributes to the P-Funk era. Cats was totally feeling him as I saw all sorts of OGs start dancing in the aisles. The younger [Jagged Edge] crowd were baffled and began filing out the place. One group of sistas were upset and impatient that they never heard of any of the songs Common was doing. It blew me away because he had just finished playing his classics like 'I Used to Love HER'. All these women wanted to hear was his current hit song 'The Light' so they could bounce. This was the same type of reaction that befell Mos Def and his band a few weeks ago when he swung through the Bay.
All of us have our work cut out for us in bridging this gap. In these days where people are fed a constant diet of of cookie cutter radio, videos from MTV and BET todays average 21 year Black youth has little if any connection to our collective musical heritage. It hurt to hear people complaining and not appreciating what Common was doing especially since he was doing it well. I was tempted to ask where was their home training.. But then you realize that home training where folks are exposed to music immediately in front of them is a rarity nowadays. Lets hope other parts of the country are appreciative of Common's efforts. he definitely kept it real and engaging during his set.
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***BEP Singer Kim 'Kimmy Kim' Hill Speaks Out***
 During Black Eyed Pea's set , the audience was also treated to the soulful sounds of long time member Kim 'Kimmy Kim' Hill who reminded me of Erykah Badu or Jill Scott. Her mesmerizing vocals and on stage presence definitely 'moved the crowd'. Folks went nuts when she sung the hook to BEP's current hit song 'Weekend'. [She's not the one who sings it I caught up with Kim afterwards as she explained what was happening with her and the evolution of her career. She hails from Syracuse New York and met BEP back in '95 during a BMI music showcase. The group was impressed with her and it wasn't long before she was sitting down co-writing songs and doing freestyles with them on stage. She became a part of the groups overall sound which led to her getting signed to the Interscope Records. Apparently she's completed an album 'Solomon's Daughter' which will be in stores January 2001. She got deep for a minute and explained how she had gone through some 'Bamboozle-like' turmoil at the label. A well known African American record executive, Steve Stoute jammed her up and said her material, image and sound was 'not Black enough'. He wanted her to do something along the lines of being more street or overtly sexual. He insisted that Black folks weren't trying to hear a sister singing about flowers, candles and butterflies.
This conflict has resulted in her work intensifying. She explains in her bio how major labels get concerned about the economic viability of so called alternative' Black artists. She pointed out how acts like Maxwell, D'Angelo and Erykah Badu have proven folks wrong. She explained her dilemma this way, 'I'm protective of the art form'... 'I'm here for sistas like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and others who crossed bridges gracefully, kept their breasts in a top and kept their sanity'. If her on stage presence alongside BEP is any indication then Kimmy Kim will shine no matter what obstacles are put in the way. She gets major props for resisting what so many labels attempt to do.. change the artist and usually at our collective expense. Keep in mind that many artist who try to hold their ground usually pay a hefty price. It usually manifest itself in the material not being promoted. Hopefully the label doesn't shortchange her and Black people in general by putting out and insisting on artificial stereotypical images. No more Bamboozles. You can peep Kim's music at http://www.kimmykim.com/music.html
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***Give Mos Def His Props For Bamboozle***
*Since where on the topic of Bamboozle, mad props to a job well done my Mos Def who is featured in Spike Lee's new movie. he turned in a good performance as the gold toothed, lead rapper of the 'pseudo revolutionary group the Mau Maus which also includes Canibus, Charli Baltimore, mUMS, MC Serch and Cano Grills. Now that the movie is out, Mos is apparently getting all sorts of phone calls from 'concerned' media types inquiring whether or not Mos Def actually represents some of the sentiments and principles he espoused in the movie.. Dude was definitely convincing.
Mos not only got to celebrate for Bamboozle's opening release, but he and his partner Talib Kweli raised quite a bit of money this past Friday night for their Brooklyn based bookstore Nkiru Center For Education and Culture Bookstore Center For Education and Culture Bookstore. The show which was held at Medgar Evers College was a success as everyone from Ras Baraka to Cella Dwellas and Craig Mack stepped through to show support. This historic bookstore recently had to move to a new location thanks to crazy rent hikes. They are now on Washington Ave which is a couple of blocks down from the Brooklyn Museum.
Lastly Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch and west coast crooner Nate Dogg get high marks for being adventurous and doing the song 'Oh No' which is the first single off the upcoming Lyricist Lounge album. I can't say how it'll do back east, but when we played it this past weekend on the Friday Night Vibe Hip Hop show, cats was definitely feeling it.. Its no doubt one of my favorite joints right now as its hard to get the hook out my head. Pharoahe and Mos turn in superb lyrical performances while Nate takes them over the top with his haunting vocals.
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***Grand Wizard Theodore Represents at Zulu Anniversary***
 Congratulations to the Zulu Nation North Star chapter in Sacramento. This weekend they celebrated their 4th anniversary with a lecture series and B-Boy festival. Yours truly Davey D along with Hip Hop pioneers Grand Wizard Theodore, Gremlin and Afrika Bambaataa were invited to speak on Hip Hop history politics and culture. Zulu Members Leo The Lion, Gremlin. For folks who aren't familiar with the Zulu chapter in Sacramento, they have definitely been active over the past couple of years. They have raised awareness and held rallies around the plight of political prisoners like Mumia Abul Jamal. They have spoken out against the Prison Industrial Complex and the failed War on Drugs. Not too long ago they stormed the state Capitol to let Cali's legislative body know what time it is.. In the midst of all their political activism, Sacto's Zulu chapter still manages to sit down and take time out to inform themselves on the ins and outs of Hip Hop Culture.
I didn't get a chance to peep the B-Boy Festival and I missed Bambaataa who arrived a day later, but it was good to run into Grand Wizard Theodore. For those who don't know this was not only the musical head of the Fantastic Romantic Five, but also the inventor of the scratch. He began his career back in the mid 70s under the leadership of his older brothers Mean Gene and Cordio. Completing the group was Grandmaster Flash. Collectively the group was known as the L Brothers. The L stood for their last name 'Livingston'. It was Flash who went against the wishes of Gene's older brothers by teaching Theodore how to spin..After he mastered his craft, Flash surprised everyone during a block party by letting 12 year Theodore get on the wheels of steel and do his thing to an astonished crowd. Theodore had to stand on a milk crate to reach the turntables. It wasn't too long afterwards that Flash left the L Brothers and formed his own group the Furious Four. Theodore later went on to form the Fantastic Five which back in the days was wound up being lyrical Hip Hop rivals to Flash and his crew..
When I rolled in the venue which was on Sac State University, Theodore was on the turn tables. He's been spinning for over 25 years since he was 12 years old and he had not lost a beat. If anything Theodore has adapted with the times and showcased skills that are on par with deejays you see running around today. During his presentation, he spoke emphatically about his love for the culture. He insisted that after 25 years of spinning, that its Hip Hop that keeps him young and energetic. He is trying to pass his values and respect for Hip Hop down to his 16 year old son. Currently Theodore tours the country lecturing and occasionally playing sets here or there. More importantly he spends a lot of time working with young people. Whatever extra money he gets from lecturing and touring he funnels back into local youth programs in the Bronx where he still lives. He explained the importance of making sure young people are exposed to various things and he is more then willing to help them reach those goals. Props to Theodore. He definitely deserved the special Achievement Award that was bestowed upon him during this past Source Awards. .
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FNV October 16 2000
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