Remembering Hip-Hop Legend Adam Yauch

By Aaris A. Schroeder

Adam Yauch, vocalist and bass player also known as MCA of renowned hip-hop group Beastie Boys passed away May 4, 2012 leaving his wife, Dechen Wangdu and 15-year-old daughter Tenzin Losel. After a three year battle of Lymphoma, Yauch was finally laid to rest.

Yauch’s musical group, Beastie Boys was best known for albums such as, “License to Ill,” “Paul’s Boutique” and “Intergalactic.”  These three young Jewish men were best known for catchy rock samples under spat poetry mixed with funk and punk.  Many young people remember Beastie Boys on MTV and on homemade mix tapes but do they remember him recording in Studio 171A; the same studio that Bad Brains recorded out of?

“The Beastie Boys [are] a real big influence in rap music but also a novelty.  MCA’s had a deeper voice,” says Just Luv, Northern-CA hip-hop producer, Just Luv resonated with MCA, “He was the quieter, cool guy. Not so comedy – very down to earth.”

In’ 92, “Check Your Head” was released, featuring songs such as “So Whatcha Want” and “Pass the Mic.”  According to a conversation had with bass-player, Harley White Jr. of Sacramento-based Harley White Jazz Orchestra Band while on a trip to the studio with Beastie Boys, the guys were in a creative rut.

“They went on a snowboarding trip and they got their rhythm back. It took a snowboarding trip!” says White who also had the chance to play bass with Yauch in the studio.

In ’94, “Ill Communication” was released with songs such as, “Sure Shot” bringing a new kind of hip-hop to center stage.

(Sure Shot)

I want to say a little something that’s long overdue
The disrespect to women has got to be through
To all the mothers and sisters and the wives and friends
I want to offer my love and respect to the end

I keep my underwear up with a piece of elastic
I use a bullshit mic that’s made out of plastic
To send my rhymes out to all of the nations
Like Ma Bell, I’ve got the ill communications

Yauch and Wangdu, daughter of Tibetan Ambassador were married in 1998, the same year that “Hello Nasty” was released.  When they first met Yauch joined Wangdu in her lifelong dedication to help liberate Tibet from China.

After releasing two more albums, “To the 5 Boroughs” in ’04 and “The Mix Up” in ’07, Yauch discovered that he had Lymphomia in ‘09, “About two months ago, I started feeling this little lump in my throat; I started to think that I should talk to my doctor.  He sent me to a specialist. They did tests, and I actually have a form of cancer in the gland that’s over here, in the parotid gland and it’s also in the lymph node right in that area.”

Yauch kept his spirits up saying that this form of cancer is treatable and that he would beat it.  He went to several specialists and spiritual healers, including the Dalai Lama and a Nunnery called, “Jamyang Choling” for healing prayers.  Yauch began eating vegan and organic only and was feeling remarkably better.

“We all knew it was coming. Especially when it is someone you look up to. Punk Rock and Hip-Hop culture went hand in hand with each other,” says Sacramento-based emcee, Mr. P Chill who goes on to explain that it was difficult at first for Hip-Hop to have a venue, so Beastie Boys and other Hip-Hop heads would perform with and at Punk Rock venues becoming very close to bands such as “Bad Brains.” The two groups both recorded at Studio 171A.

“There weren’t a lot of white emcees doing it. There was a lot of foul play towards white rappers,” says Mr. P Chill who is also white, “Tragic loss…”

“Just wanted to thank them and everyone else who sent positive thoughts my way,” says Yauch about his recovery.

“Hot Sauce Committee, Part II” was released in ’11 and was the last album that Beastie Boys released together.   On May 4, Yauch was succumbed by his cancer and the world lost a valuable teacher, humanitarian and hip-hop legend, leaving a positive mark in the hearts of many.

Bru Lei Cinco De Drinko Birthday Bash

By Aaris A. Schroeder
May 6, 2012

Columbus, Ohio bred and Sacramento, CA based Emcee Bru Lei’s first annual “Cinco De Drinko” took place May 5, 2012 at his humble abode in Downtown Sacramento.  The festivities began at around noon with a neighborhood backyard BBQ.  Everyone brought the goods, burgers, veggies & lots of sides to compliment an open grill. As the sun began to beat and then set, DJs ESEF, Jay Two, Vic Rokit and Funk Advisor spun records. A nice blend between classic hip-hop and DUB Step was the main sounds for the evening.  When Beastie Boyz, “Girls” came on, everyone chimed in together rapping their favorite lines.

That was not all; Bru Lei rocked his own party with his rough and smooth emcee skills along with special guests, CooLzey who came fresh from the cornfields Iowa and Raashan Ahmad of infamous Crown City Rockers from Oakland, CA. The party moved from the backyard into the upper level of the house where you could see all the folks getting down on the dance floor.

All the homies were in affect at the spot, Auburn Hip-Hop Congress Natalie Pohley, Rocky Zapata and others came through along with local emcee Mic Jordan (Tribe of Levi), Nina Ross (MissChief), Elizabeth Cavazos of BigTyme Entertainment, Kris Gupton of Shiny Nickel Art Gallery and many more.  With endless alcohol, food and smiles all around, this is a birthday party to remember for Bru Lei.

Along with food, friends and “endless drinks” according to the Facebook Event Page for the house party, art by Shaun Turner AKA Burner, Bru Lei and Dro were displayed and for sale.

This party is reminiscent of an old school backyard boogie and you could hear hip-hop in Downtown Sacramento all over the city!

*Images by Kendal Aviva Tobe of Kendaru Photography

Coming into Hip-Hop: The Rebirth

By Aaris A. Schroeder
November 30, 2011

Hip-Hop has gone all directions and people in their lives dedicate a portion to it. This is why it is so beautiful not forget the culture. Remember when you were helping a friend with fliers or paying a steep price at a show to see your buddy rap? Do you remember dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur and sharing your love for life and hip-hop with all? What happened to the innocence? If we loose it then the youth will find their answers in our solutions. Instead we loose faith in our people and the causes we fought so hard for. We find ways to forget by burying ourselves in other objectives and projects. We loose our way from hip-hop all the while using it to gain respect, notoriety and security. Not even in the name of hip-hop but in the name of something different.

When we loose our way, we choose to live our life with balance and all of the ups and downs that come with it. When we are high we are at our most supremeness. We invite opportune individuals who are in their unique environments for the cause. When we are at our lowest, we use what we know instead of gifting it and blessing it. Humbleness is archaic so we feel as if we are elders yet assume hypocrisy.

When we have hit the grit and the dirt feels like heaven, we look back up towards hip-hop and all it has given. We loose control and allow our senses to communicate our beliefs within our realms. All of the people around us are in different spaces therefore we can not have one realm of thought… but many. When we find this, we are not humbled but realistic.

Finally we bring back to the youth and the culture with a mix tape or an event or festival. We open ourselves free allowing the stank of aeresol to form on dark, grimy walls and cheap ink, etched into flat, scotch cotton. Our minds open and words flow as free as they did when we were just babies in hip-hop and this is when we allow others to really see the majestic nature of what hip-hop has opened for us.

Our lives open and everyone seeks us. We feel on top of the world for the wisdom we speak because it is knowledge in the streets and in the hearts of ourselves. Finally we have come to be. We are hip-hop.

“All Seriousness Aside;” Best Album Release For Mr. P Chill

By Aaris A. Schroeder
November 5, 2011

Mr. P Chill
All Seriousness Aside
Released 2011

Sacramento Emcee that has been releasing hip-hop albums worth talkin’ about on a positive tip since 2003.  With his innovative web presence and west coast tour networking abilities, Mr. P Chill has now released what he wants to call his, “best album ever.” 

Within just a few short months and since recently becoming married to his wife Heather AKA Mrs. P Chill, this emcee has written, recorded and released a true local gem.  “All Seriousness Aside” is nostalgia and love of hip-hop and the veteran status that comes with it all mixed into a fresh, fun album.  Mr. P Chill has music dedicated to finding work, the love of his life, calling out emcees and feelin’ himself on some “freshness” but definitely not ghost-ridin’-the-whip! 

Plus Mr. P Chill has some great emcees and DJs on this album, including Crazy Ballhead [local veteran status hip-hop performer and three-time Sacramento Music Awards [SAMMIES] winner. Sacramento News and Review throws an awards ceremony every year and not only Crazy Ballhead but Mr. P Chill has also received nominations and awards.  Also featured on this album is poet and spoken word performer, SupaNova.  Emcees Oso and Negro also make appearances.  Not to mention Los Angeles based Emcee, DJ and Musician, Lumis.  There has also been word that Lumis may be producing more work with Mr. P Chill and other Sacramento musicians and emcees.  Mr. P Chill’s featured DJ on, “All Serious Aside” is Mike Colossal, a local DJ who is becoming a favorite in the hip-hop community and more of a staple at Sol Collective.

Mr. P Chill has live performances on a monthly basis throughout the Sacramento area and also tours the West Coast at least a couple times a year.

“All Seriousness Aside” is dedicated to Kirk Parker AKA The Screen Master, a poet and philosophist and close friend to Mr. P Chill and to Daniel Blak, an emcee that Mr. P Chill had the opportunity to make music and tour with.  Both of these people passed away in 2011.

More information about Mr. P Chill events, album releases, how to get one of his hand-made stickers or printed t-shirts, go to www.mrpchillmusic.com.  Mr. P Chill is also networked at www.Facebook.com/mrpchill and Twitter.com/mrpchill916.

Screen Printing with A.C. For the Holidays

October 27, 2011

By Aaris A. Schroeder

Back again at Patris Studios for round two of Screen Printing with A.C.  This time around, the classes will take place, Sundays, October 30, November 6 and 13, 2-6 pm and it is all about screen printing for the holidays.

Our first class, Sunday, October 30 will be about printing bags for Halloween.  Bring your kids for this one!  For $20 you get to learn techniques, get all the supplies and take home a study bag to go trick or treating in!  If you have a flat stock bag or hard cotton/hemp that you would rather print on, we encourage you to bring this but remember that if you mess it up it is always at your descretion. There may be some sort of afterparty in the mix too so be prepared if you want to be involved! 

Next, Sunday, November 6, we will be fashioning holiday cards for thanksgiving.  So come with ideas! Each class, you get to make four copies of your card to take with you.  So this can be something that is general for your friends and family or it can be specific.

Lastly, we will be creating creative cards or posters Sunday, November 13.  Use your imagination.  Remember that Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are all just around the corner.

The classes may change up a little bit and this is the place to be notified!  If you want to be put on a mailing list for the workshop, simply reply to this thread here or send an e-mail to: ubohammer@gmail.com.  You can also view www.facebook.com/ubohammer or SHGRAFFIX FACEBOOK for constant updates.

More Screen Printing Workshops For You!

By Aaris A. Schroeder
July 22, 2011

Already in effect on its second Sunday, Sept. 25, SledgeHammer Graffix is offering round two in its gallery-traveling screen printing three-part workshop .  Taught by long time screen printer and business-owner, Leon Willis will show you step-by-step how to create a screen printed card or poster, using a one-three color process. 

The series that began Sunday, Sept. 18 will resume Sunday, Sept. 25 at 2 pm and the last class is Oct. 2.  Classes are located at Patris Studio @ S12 Gallery on 1200 S St.  The class is taught to those willing to learn that are ages 9-years-old and over.  This is perfect for parents and children, couples, business partners, college and high school students and art students.

Come join in the fun and take your projects home with you for $20 a class. If Children are under 13-years-old, they pay just $10.  This class is a great way to start off your week and to spend some quality time learning a new craft!

For more information on workshops, printing goods for your business or one-on-one screen printing classes and internships, visit SledgeHammer Graffix and check us out on Facebook too!

Deep Rooted History of Freedom Farms in America and Sacramento

By Aaris A. Schroeder
July 16, 2011

Arriving to the garden on 4th and 39th Ave. in Oak Park, one of ten other “Freedom Farms,” I see Program Manager Kory Grant Clift making three fresh new beds for summer time vegetables and pulling weeds from around a varietal of lettuces. Clift explains to me that there are three major influences that helped him and his partners start Freedom Farms in Sacramento, CA.

The idea of Freedom Farms began with Fannie Lou Hamer, a Civil Rights Activist in Ruleville, Mississippi. Her job was to convince young people to cast their ballots and vote. This activist who had no trouble talking to youth about the importance of voting was also a gentle soul and a singer, who recorded the now infamous song, “This Little Light of Mine.” In ’69, Hamer helped start the Freedom Farm Cooperative whose goal it was to provide food and economic independence to local people. Hamer saw the connection between education, jobs and political influence.

   Another influence is the local non-profit, Freedom Bound Center whose business it is to address health advocacy, social justice and cultural activism for its community youth. Clift has worked with this organization for many years. One of the off springs of F.B.C. is Sol Collective whose motto is to provide artistic and educational programming, promote social justice and empower the youth.

The Freedom Development Group was born from F.B.C. and thus was born Freedom Farms, one of seven other community-related services that are offered to the Sacramento region and beyond.

Another influence was Mama Jaseriah Freedom School, which was taught out of the Wo’se Community church, who believes it is best to work together for community unity within the teachings of Africa extend to truth, justice and righteousness. Mama Jaseriah’s educational courses were a sort of “Saturday-School” and were taught by community members. The Wo’se has connections with The Global African Presence, African Americans for Balanced Health and The Black Panther Party.

At this point in the interview with Clift, I feel rest assured that he is a man who knows his path in life. He is here to work within his community, to educate by teaching farming. Freedom Farms helps to educating teachers, parents, community leaders to empower themselves and youth with farming and healthy eating.

A young African-American man is on the other side of the fence in the church school yard, tending to a garden. Clift stops talking to me and gets up to address the young man. He tells me to follow him so I can see his garden. I am introduced to 18-year-old Don-Jesus Clemons who founded a collective called Focus Minds Youth Council. He works with the youth but from their conversation, it seems that there is some trouble that Clemons has fallen into personally plus he doesn’t have a water outlet for his garden. He has been bucketing water from the faucet that Clift uses on the other side for his garden.

“Hard workers keep their hands dirty,” Clemons exclaims with great energy. Then he goes about his way.

Less than one percent of all farmers are African-American owned, this is a fact. It is also a fact that Freedom Farms is the only non-profit black-owned farm and local garden service in the entire Sacramento County. Clift says that there are other African Americans out there that farm, that want to create a similar program but that there is systematic racism in the system that has held his non-profit back from receiving grants and other, mainly white-owned co-operative gardens the opportunity to reap the benefits of a plentiful harvest.

“We’ve been [active] for six or seven years. Due to technology and the system of capitalism and exploitation, [African-Americans][ have turned away from working the land. Now there is a rebirth and that is important for [the] economic condition we are in,” says Clift.

At one time, Freedom Farms had 30 active gardens and then Grant went to Humboldt University and received a Masters in Social Science with a focus in New Urban Ecology. He was able to use educational facilities to test and create urban rejunification.

Clift says that he does not support the planter box mentality, rather for just $100, he and his team will come to your property and install a 10X10 garden. He also states that they work with a variety of people with different interests, ethnicities and situations. He is working state-wide and works within programs in the Bay Area and Davis, CA and the Native American College. Freedom Farms also helped support a perma-culture certification with the Regenerative Design Institute.

Freedom Farms also works with local high schools teaching cooking demonstrations and teaching agriculture. Currently, Clift has been working with Sacramento City Unified School District’s Healthy Foods Task Force, helping to improve healthy cafeterias and food consumption for children. Clift says that it has been a slow process but he now has the ears of the superintendent.

“Through Agriculture and eating healthy, we can improve test scores and overall improvement in students,” according to Clift who also says it only costs three dollars a day to feed a child at school.

Through the CA Department of Education, Health Services and Food and Agriculture there have been educational models that connect schools to farms. These are models and are supported by these state-ran entities, let us state but these departments are not purposefully starting these programs. It is taking people like Clift to get involved with Food Task Force. Fortunately, this is a tool that has been set up for people like Clift and his non-profit Freedom farms to work to implement, one school at a time.

According to Clift there are meetings that parents can attend even though they aren’t necessarily invited to. Clift calls this systematic racism since groups of parents from specific schools are discouraged from getting involved. He says that he has experienced this first-hand and has worked hard to get where he is at with his non-profit and will not stop.

In ’05, Clift received a grant from Health Education Council in which Freedom Farms created their own curriculum with community members to work with other community members and the youth to create sustainable gardens and eco-systems.

He currently teaches Agriculture 101 at American Legion High School and participates in the Farm Stand Project that works to teach youth leadership and useful job skills all while running several local urban farms and working with Healthy Foods Task Force.

“We have been growing for five years with no help from the Oak Park Neighborhood Association only help from individuals such as Community Pride,” says Clift.

There are several other programs that have been developed in conjunction with Freedom Farms and the Freedom Development Group, Inc.

Freedom Farms – Agriculture (Thesis project)

Freedom Transport – Automotive/ Transportation

Freedom Flowers – Women’s Empowerment and Young Mothers Support Network

Freedom City – C.H.E.F. Model (Clothing, Housing, Energy and Food) Venture in Sustainable Living

Freedom Life – Music, Theatre, Art, Dance

Freedom Movement – All of the FDG Network (Business partners, sponsors, supporters, contacts, relationships)

Freedom Academy – The FDG Learning Process (How we make it all happen and train and educate along the way), Saturday Scholars

For more information visit Freedom Farms