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Breakdown FM is where Hip Hop and Politics Meet.. Get all the latest artist interviews and updates with a political twist on Breakdown FM… | |
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| During the RNC lots of journalist found themselves under attack and outright intimidation by the police and secret service. For example, one organization 'Eyewitness Video' had their headquarters raided twice with police confiscating their equipment. Their stated mission was to monitor the police's behavior during protests surrounding demonstrations. The raids were seen as pre-emptive strikes and send a chilling message.
During our airshift the entire Pacifica Crew was photographed by uniformed officers who refused to give us legitimate reasons as to why we were being surveilled.
The arrest of Amy Goodman and two of her Democracy Now producers really sent shockwaves around the country during the RNC. We caught up with her and had a nice indepth discussion about journalist intimidation. We also came to find that many law enforcement agencies have been pushing for reporters to be embedded in their ranks. During the RNC demonstrations it was discovered that Fox News was embedd... |
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| We caught up with folks from the Poor People's march which led a couple of thousand to downtown St Paul. We also caught up with protestors right outside the Excel Convention center where police on horseback confronted anarchists |
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| This is the incredible acceptance speech given at the Democratic National Convention by Barack Obama this past Thursday. Having been there on the floor not too far away from the stage, all I can say was his speech sent chills up the spine. I looked around and saw lots of people with tears in their eyes cause they were visibily moved. Is Barack Obama the fulfillment of dreams long deferred or is he just a Black face on a system that still gives us the same ole problems? Only time will tell, but in the meantime check out his speech which we remixed. We hope it captures the essence of last Thursday's original. |
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| During our visit to Denver we caught up with one of our favorite freedom fighters, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr from the POCC (Prisoners of Conscience Committee). We caught him at the tail end of Sunday's Recreate 68 Anti-War March where Fred explained the concerns we need to have about relying upon our two party system which does not address key issues impacting bthe African American community.
We challenged Chairman Fred as to whether or not bread and butter issues like 5 dollar gas prices which Obama addresses are of more concern to the average cat from the hood versus the plight of political prisoners. Fred does an excellent job breaking all this down.
We also asked Fred how he and his organization reconcile tthe fact that so many Black folks see Obama's success connected to the desires and golas of the Civil Rights struggle. He's been a source of pride, hence how can he and others be so critical. Chairman Fred breaks down this question as well.. |
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| While at the DNC we caught up with actor Wendall Pierce from HBO's The Wire aka Bunk. We also know him from Spike Lee's documentary 'When the Levees Broke'. Pierce is a proud New Orleans resident who pulls know punches when talking about the ineptness of the government and their response to Hurricane Katrina.
In this interview Bunk talks about the 500 million dollars that has been set aside to help rebuild New Orleans and assist in getting people back, but because of partisan politics, that money has yet to be released. Pierce gives a serious break down and goes off on those responsible |
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| We caughts all sorts of sounds and interviews from the many anti-war marches that took place last week outside the Pepsi Center during the Democratic National Convention. This includes the Iraq Veterans Against the War March that wound through the streets of downtown Denver in which an open letter to Barack Obama was read just before Rage Against the Machine performed.
We also caught up Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney at the close of the Recreate 68 anti-war march which kicked off just before the convention started |
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| We sat down with Hip Hop activist, Georgetown Professor Michael Eric Dyson to talk about the impact Barack Obama's move to the political center and the right was having on Black and Brown communities as well as the young Hip Hop and MTV generation folks who came out in record numbers to vote for him.
Dyson who is also a surroaget for Obama explained some of the challenges Obama has in trying to appeal to so many people and how it's essential that that his core audience not be taken for granted.
We talked about Obama's stance on key issues like the prison industrial complex, Katrina and gentrification among other things. We talked specifically about how Obama owes a great bit of gratitude to Hip Hop |
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| During last week's historic Democratic Convention in Denver there were a number of other 'conventions taking place outside the walls of the Pepsi Center. One of them involved the antiwar sentiments expressed by those in nearby Kent City.
The day we caught up with Oakland rap star Boots Riley of the Coup, hehad just finished opening up for Rage Against the Machine and was gearing up for a 7 mile march through downtown Denver to protest the Iraq War.
We talked to Boots about the historic implications of this election and whether or not Barack Obama's candidacy held any special meaning. Boots noted that Obama was just a new face to the same old imperialism. He likened Obama to being a new manager taking over McDonalds. He noted Obama, may be nicer and give you abreak on a few different things, but at the end of the day, its still McDonalds. Boots said the entire system needs to be changed. |
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| Houston based rap star Bun B, one half of the legendary group UGK came to the Democratic National Convention in an attempt to use his visibility and influence to bring attention to issues important to the hood.
We sat down with Bun as explained how he wanted to see Barack Obama agressively address more issues around immigration reform. Bun noted that he and his group have lots of Latino fans and he was concerned that the plights of Brown folks especially those in Texas and the southwest were being overlooked.
Bun talked about the anniversary of Katrina and the role that his fellow Texans played in assisting those displaced by the floodwaters 3 years ago. Bun talked about how the mainstream media had totally blown out of proportion Houston's increased crime rate caused by New Orleans folks.
Bun talked about the importance of being a political king maker. He said he clearly understands the democratic process and would not allow politicians to come around every 4 years making... |
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| This is an incredible speech from long term Freedom Fighter Dhoruba Bin Whad..It took place during the recently held National Hip Hop Political Convention in Las Vegas. Dhoruba sat on a panel that focused on the legacy of Cointel-Pro which took down the Panthers, the anti-war movement and other organizations during the 1960s.. The purpose of this panel was to see if this insidious policy of domestic spying manifests itself within Hip Hop.
Dhoruba was scheduled to be part of a panel, and offer brief remarks, but people were so moved by him and his unwavering commitment to the freedom struggle, he was asked at the last moment to address the entire convention.. He really dropped some bombs..
He talks about this country's ascension into being an Empire and starts off with the landmark year of 1968... Its interesting to note that Dhoruba's breakdown of social and political events that took place in 1968 parallel the social and political events chronicled in author Jeff Chang's la... |
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| Hip Hop Scholar and Fox News commentator Dr Lamont Hill came to the National Hip Hop Political Convention and laced us up with some serious gems regarding Hip Hop and the Academy.
he challnged us as to deeply explore whther or not we really want Hip Hop inside an institution that oftentimes takes people's works and isolates it from the communities that created or inspired it. He also cauntioned us not to fall into the trap of trying to seek legitmacy and validation from people and places for work within Hip Hop when those same people never really value us as a community.
In his remarks Hill cautioned us not to cannonize works of art that appeal to us. Hip Hop is forever eveolving and growing and as much as we'd like to think music from Hip Hop's Golden era or some other sacred time period is precious, it may not be seen that way to people growing up today. In short do not be so arrogant as to dismiss Lil wayne and Young jeezy because we personally don't like them. he broke do... |
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| When you talk about Hip Hop in the Emerald City (Seattle), you will lose all credibility if you don't give props to Gabriel Teodros. This Ethiopian/Scottish/ Native American emceee is a fixture in the scene who has made his mark first as a member of the group Abyssinian Creole and later as a member of the group 500 Years Collective. His solo album 'Love Works' is considered a masterpiece and one of the tightest albums to ever bless the city who's Hip Hop scene was once only defined by Sir Mix-A-Lot
During our interview Gabriel talked about the way his Ethipion culture has influenced his music. he noted that his family did not approve of him rapping. They felt he was behaving like an outsider , but a conversation with his grandmother revealed that the Hip Hop and certain aspects within the oral tradition of East Africa were very similar.
Gabriel explained that he has embarked upon a new project called Andromeda The Chronicles of Blackopia Volume 1 which has allowed him and fe... |
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| This is pt2 of this panel on Electoral Politics panel from the National Hip Hop Political convention.. |
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| The Role Hip Hop organizations and Groups Play in Politics
by davey d
During the recently held Hip Hop Political Convention we had an explosive panel that addressed the issue of Electoral Politics and how they intersect with Hip Hop music and Culture. We wound talking specifically about the impacvt or lack of impact Hip Hop organizations have on the voting process.
Sitting on this panel were the following people;
Rev lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus
Professor Lamont Hillof Fox news and Temple University
Tony Cani- Young Democrats
Honorable George Martinez of H2Ed and former elected Official & emcee
Rosa Clemente-Vice presidential candidate of the Green Party
This panel started off tame enough but then erupted and got somewhat contentious as the panelists started addressing some very hard and oftentimes difficult questions. around the role Hip Hop organizations play in mobilizing people around electoral politics.
A spirited discussion emerged about how we... |
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| NHHPC Coverage-Cynthia McKinney
by Davey D
This past weekend August 1-3 the National Hip Hop Political Convention touched down in Las Vegas with the hopes of establishing a Hip Hop agenda that can be addressed by the presidential candidates. All the candidates were invited. We didn't hear from John McCain. Barack Obama promised to send a surrogate who never made his/her way there and Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney came through and blew up the spot.
We sat down and had a serious one on one with the former Congresswomen and got her to touch upon key issues rarely addressed by her Democratic and Republican counterparts.
We started off by talking about the work she did in Congress around the issue of domestic spying and the legacy of Cointel-Pro. She went into great detail and talked about how the CIA and FBI had edicts that plainly stated that it was against the United States security interests to have a 'safe, non threatening Negroe leader to replace Dr Martin Lut... |
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| Maria Isa is a fixture in the Minneapolis Hip Hop scene. The daughter of two Puerto Rican revolutionaries who used to get down with Young Lords and the Freedom Movement, Maria brings a well heeled politic and an infectuous vibe when it comes to her music.
We talked to her about Minneapolis's Hip Hop scene and the important role that groups like the Rhymesayers played in bring attention to a city that for years was only associated with R&B acts like Prince and Morris Day and the Time.
She talked about how steeped Minneapolis is in Hip Hop culture and how all four elements are prominently represented. She talked about Minneapolis being not only home to dope rhymers but also skilled b-boys and b-girls, graf writers and turntable masters. She described it as one big family and that at any given moment something good is jumping off in Minneapolis.
We talked about the important role that annual festivals like B-Girl B played in providing crucial platforms for the female Hip Hop... |
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| We sat down and spoke with Slug from the group Atmosphere. he is the cornerstone of one of the world's most celebrated rhyme collectives-the Rhymesayers.
We kicked off the interview by talking about the name Atmosphere. Many people see Slug and think his name is Atmosphere and don't realize that he's part of a group sporting that name. So for those who don't know, lets be sure we understand-Slug is the emcee and his partner Anthony is the producer. He explained it like this. He said think of Atmopshere like Gang Starr which breaks down to Guru being the emcee and DJ Premier being the producer.
Once we got that out the way we talked about the direction he's taken on the new album 'When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold '. Slug explained that its important to change things up and push yourself as well as the audience. He admits that this new album is a departure from what fans are used to hearing. he said it was important for him and Ant to do something strictly fo... |
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| This week (june 30-Aug 3rd) Las Vegas will play host to the 3rd national Hip Hop Political Convention. We sat down with Troy Nkrumah who heads up that organization to get a rundown as to what we should expect at this historic gathering.
He explained that the convention is broken up into two parts. The first couple of days will focus on the cultural aspects i.e. the traditional 4 elements. This year there will be a special B-Boy summit & competition hosted by icons like Pioneer Popmaster Fabel of the Rock Steady Crew.
There will also be s pecial mini-summit focusing on academia which will feature Hip Hop professors and teachers. Folks like author Jeff Chang, filmkare Byron Hurt and Asheru who we know from the Boondocks will be on hand.
There will also be a mini-summit focusing on being independent. Troy Nkrumah explained that Hip Hop since its beginnings has always had a do for self mentality and has proven over the years to be trendsetter in laying down the independent ent... |
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| An Interview w/ The Crash Crew
by Davey D
DaveyD: Right now, it's HARD KNOCK RADIO. Davey D hanging out with you live in New York City. KPFA and we are with some of hip hop's legends. We're talking about members of the Crash Crew. If you gentlemen can step on up to the mic and let everybody in Northern California know who you are so they can recognize the voices as we start our conversation.
EK Mike C: How you doing? I'm Pretty Ricky.... Naw seriously... I'm EK Mike C. I'm from the legendary Crash Crew. I'm up here in Harlem in my home studio.
DaveyD: It's a nice studio for folks who can't see the video, yo. But it's nice. You got all the equipment. TV mounted to the wall. Also got his bed in the same place so that's all good. Studio with a bed. Long night sessions. Who's this here?
La Shu Bee: Uh, name is La Shu Bee. I'm one of the coolest rappers that's ever been in the rap game. Listen to one of the Crash Crew hits and you'll wonder why.
DaveyD: Let me ask ... |
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| July 8th-Today's Hip Hop song of the day belongs to Boston rapper Akrobatik. The cut is 'Front Steps pt2 (Tough Love)' and its off the album 'Absolute Values'.
Ak is one of the most underrated artists out there. I'm not sure if its lack of promotion, if he's ahead of his time or if we just gotten used to responding only to those who show up on BET and our local urban station.
In Akrobatik's case he happens to be on local radio in Boston. He does the sports wrap which airs on Boston urban powerhouse Jamn' 94. A couple of years ago, Akrobatik and his partner Mr Lif both diehard Patriot fans started a sports/ Hip Hop radio show which aired on the internet. It became so popular they eventually got picked up by the local commercial station.
people know AK for the incredible album he released a few years ago (2003) called 'The Balance'. It was on that LP we heard the landmark classic 'Remind Your Soul' which features excerpts from Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
Later AK ... |
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