Seattle Hip Hop Community a Catalyst for
Anti-Police Brutality Organizing Efforts



By Julie-C
Published May 4, 2007

Seattle police department's continual targeting of communities of color and lack of accountability for police misconduct and violence is at the forefront of organizing efforts in Seattle Hip Hop. In September of last year, Seattle Hip Hop pioneer DJ DV-One was assaulted by police officers attempting to inquire about his 14 year old daughter who was being detained. DV-One now faces felony assault charges and $15,000 dollars in fines.

Last month, emcee, spoken word poet, and teaching Hip Hop artist Rajnii Eddins was wrongfully arrested while trying to find out why his student was being detained. Rapid response from the Hip Hop and spoken word communities packed courtrooms in both cases, and has drawn widespread attention to the ongoing issue of police brutality in this city.
(click to read more)  

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Seattle Hip Hop Community Survey Launched

By Julie-C
Published May 4, 2007 

Hip Hop Congress and Seattle University professor Dr. Mako Fitts have teamed up to launch the Seattle Hip Hop Community Survey. This pioneering effort is among the first of its kind which attempts to empirically identify the scope and needs of our diverse community in order to provide a well-needed research base for cultural organizing economic empowerment on the ground level with Hip Hop from a local to global perspective.

 Students from Fitts' undergraduate pop culture class will be setting up interviews and surveying 200 movers and shakers in the Seattle Hip Hop scene, artists, promoters, journalists, educators, youth organizers, activists, and advocates alike. Students will also be going to shows and community meetings and submitting write-ups for local Hip Hop news sources such as 206zulu.com. The survey is anonymous and collects basic demographic and occupational information, assessments on the quality and availability of resources for the development of the local scene, and asks participants to rank the impact of issues and concerns such as racial, gender, and sexual discrimination as well as police brutality in their lives.. As a staple principle of community-based research, the information collected will be publicly owned and utilized to aid in the development of initiatives that will benefit the urban arts community as a whole in the region. Data will also be offered as a resource for urban arts community-based organizations in the city to quantifiably measure the impact of their work and demonstrate its value.
(click to read more)

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Seattle Hip Hop Demands Media Justice

By Julie-C
Published May 4, 2007

While mainstream media and the hip hop press have been scrambling to respond to Don Imus, the Seattle Hip Hop community has focused its attention on cultivating more lasting, structural changes in the struggle towards media justice. In late March, 206 Zulu and Reclaim the Media hosted a NW Hip Hop Community Town Hall to address the FCC Payola Settlement in late March, and to develop a statement of response. Drawing upon Universal Zulu Nation's Bring Back the Balance Campaign, the 2004 Seattle Statement on Radio, and Youth Media Council's report "Is KMEL the Real People's Station?" participants identified four areas to prioritize in organizing enforcement efforts. (click to read more) We will move to ensure that:


1) High quality local artists are not given the backseat to national artists when it comes to radio airplay.

2) Local youth run Hip Hop organizations such as 206 Zulu, Seattle Youth Council, the Think Big Foundation, and Seattle Urban Debate League get access to radio airwaves for outreach and community education

3) The presence of relevant public affairs/news be available in hip hop programming so local issues impacting youth such as police brutality, gentrification, and violence can be addressed in a widely accessible public forum

4) The impact of negative, repetitive messaging delivered to youth through mainstream Hip Hop be mitigated by the presence of local artists who have a better understanding of local issues and a higher level of accountability to the audience.


This project is a continuing effort with a two tiered focus of 1) increasing the visibility and capacity of those independent urban outlets that already adhere to these principles and 2) holding corporate media outlets accountable to the common good they are supposed to serve. Our next steps on this project are to define measurables for each of the four areas. Big ups to folks from Odd Fellas, 4BC Musik, Highline Community College, Pusher Promotions, Worldwide Confined, Seattle University, Seattle Urban Debate League, Think Big Foundation, The Temple of Hip Hop, Music Inner City, KBCS, Silent Lambs Project, and Mel Hart Enterprises who were there. For more information on media justice in the Northwest check out www.reclaimthemedia.org. On how to get down with this project, shoot me an email at juliec.206@gmail.com.

Note from Editor: Save Internet Radio! The final decision of the three judges that make up the Copyright Royalty Board may not be so final.  Their heavily disputed decision to drastically increase internet radio rates has come up against some democratic resistance.  Reps. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., and Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., on Thursday introduced the Internet Radio Equality Act.   You have helped get the fight for the small broadcaster to the house.  Please continue to support this timely legislation by visiting www.Savenetradio.org and getting your reps to co-sponsor.

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Union Block Teamsters Update

By Julie-C
Published May 4, 2007 

Seattle's first Hip Hop artist union, the Union Block Teamsters are on a roll. Their logo has been finalized, so be on the look out for posters and T-shirts, as well as a compilation album. In the meantime, the Teamsters have been performing, promoting, and doing radio interviews all across the state. Do4Self Records opened for 2 Live Crew in Yakima, Washington, Gator opened for Twister in Spokane, Washington, and the collective will soon be opening for Yung Buck. In addition, Union Block Teamsters have launched their DVD project, which will include videos from Do4Self and Parka Brothaz, as well as interviews with union members, local DJs, and other "industry tastemakers." Ghetto Prez of Sea-Sick Productions, who spearheads the Teamsters Union, says the DVD is a way to cultivate personal connections between the artists and their audience. "It's more than just listening to the songs," he says, "we get into their personal characters." The DVD project is also bigger than the Teamsters, the Prez asserts. "It's about supporting the local scene, getting DJs some exposure." Be on the look out for both the compilation album and DVD this summer. The Union Block Teamsters meet Thursday nights at Vito's. For more information email g-prez@seasick.com.

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Gabriel Teodros - "Lovework"

Artist: Gabriel Teodros
Title: Lovework
Label: Massline Media
Review Date: 2/26/07

Purchase: Lovework available at AMAZON.COM

Reviewed by: Jieshrae Washington
 
Seattle has generally been under-appreciated but respected by the underground Hip-Hop world.  Cultivated in Seattle's underground, Gabriel Teodros releases his long awaited album, "Lovework", released February 24th on Massline Media.  The follow up to the 2001 lyrical masterpiece "Sun To A Recycled Soul".  His unique voice, political views, positive message and insightful lyrics are unmatched by anyone to date.  It features artists such as Khings Makoma, Toni Hill, Jerm the Hooligan, Moka Only, and Rajinii Eddins to name a few.  Coupling unique beats with hard hitting rhymes "Lovework" is an experience both thought provoking as well as fun.  The best songs from "Lovework" leave you wide open and anticipating the next gem. "..they don't know me they just love what's in their speakers, why we scared of women that could be our teachers....it's just the freak in me or is it self pity?" from the song 'Sexcapism', powerful and reflective messages such as this strive to bring the listener to a heightened state of conscientiousness.  Each song embodys the album's title "Lovework" as described by Teodros, "work is love made visible." unifying Old Skool with New Skool and wrapping it all in a blanket of Soul and Funk "Lovework is the mutant offspring of Hip-Hop's evolution

Soulfully dealing with heavy hitting issues such as sexism, racism, cultural identity, and empowerment; Teodros clearly put his heart and soul into this album.  In the innovative song 'Chili Sauce' (produced by Specs One and Amos Miller), Teodros explores patriarchy in Hip-Hop.  Maintaining the mood set by previous songs Chili Sauce playfully dismantles the status quo of male emcees, expressing "every song on the radio is patriarchal...videos show sex and not really much more.....Hip-Hop is macho-bravado-ego."  Delving deeper still Teodros states "I struggle for love while still learning what it's all about.  You struggle with men till you just about kicked them all out.  I fight everyday just to tear walls down so together we fight to tear the shitstorm down."  Providing a refreshing spin on self-reflection and general disappointment with social norms.
 
    In the innovative song Warriors (produced by Amos Miller featuring Dj Wd4d) Teodros destroys misconceptions of women's role in both society and Hip-hop asserting, "don't believe what they told you remember this.... women warriors under heard stories of mothers, sisters, and daughters who rip mics and spit to survive keeping Hip-hop alive.  You hold the force to change the world when you rhyme."  Delivered with passion and the utmost sincerity he further states "I want to change what it means to be masculine and see Hip-Hop grow to raise strong women lil girls who rip mics with the best of them..." a brief but lasting glimpses into the psyche of a male feminist emcee are strewn throughout the entire album.  Making it evident that Teodros values women and the role they play in Hip-Hop.  Teodros' growth as a person and an artist is apparent as "Lovework" proves to surpass "Sun to a Recycled Soul" in content and production.
 
    The "Lovework" LP is filled with serious, reflective topics done in a style reminiscent of jazz and soul.  'East Africa' (produced by Amos Miller) is an adrenaline-filled anthem reflecting on Teodros' country of origin, Ethiopia.  Teodros explores his identity as well as the political state of 'Africa's East' reflecting on the loss of his mother tongue "used to get clowned for speaking with an accent so when I went back home I only spoke English, got deep in my reading, watched too much TV and lost the language.....it sucks." following this reflection Teodros goes deeper stating "you think I'm safe out here but I wish I was out there with you cuz I question what can one song really do....10,000 of youth locked 100's have been shot...." Teodros delivers a tall cold glass of reality.  The song captures the feeling of unrest for an entire nation and brings Ethiopia's struggle just a little closer. 'East Africa', is not the only song that addresses Africa in a thought provoking manner.  "In This Together", discusses colonialism in Ethiopia, "..they say Ethiopia is not colonized, Jah Rastafar I praise what would they say if they had my eyes......"  'Third World Wide' takes a look at the need for unity between the oppressed people of the world, i.e. people of color.  "Still living like the third world even in the first world"  All three songs are dope and people will learn to fully appreciate them over time.
 
 
    While the average CD consists of 30% filler, sometimes more, there is absolutely no filler on this album.  The album flows effortlessly from song to song, each song leaving a lasting impression.  Today Hip-Hop LP's usually run 70 minutes and have up to 21 tracks. "Lovework" by Gabriel Teodros is a tight album with 16 solid tracks that are strong enough to stand alone.  Diverse in both style and topic, this album is one to be played again and again.  Paying homage to Hip-Hop's roots as well as giving an insiders look in the future of Hip-Hop's evolution the "Lovework" is truly a one of a kind masterpiece that will sooth and satisfy even the hungriest of Hip-Hop connoisseurs.  Pioneering the way for future Emcees, "Lovework" is to become an instant underground classic!

Purchase: Lovework available at AMAZON.COM