Tag: Goapele

Hodari is something of a renaissance man. If you have spent time on the cultural scene, you are familiar with some of his work – the annual Life is Living Festival, the Black history oratory and poetry group Young Gifted and Black, Youth Speaks or the statewide initiative fighting Type II Diabetes called The Bigger Picture.

If you take a little Theolonius Monk, mix it with Yasiin Bey aka Mos Def, with a little twist of some Lauryn Hill and Curtis Mayfield and put it on an Oakland soundscape, you’ll get what bandleader and pianist Kev Choice cooked up on his newly released, soon to be classic album, “Oakland Riviera.” By far this is one of the best sounding, most creative and most political albums to come out of Oakland’s Hip Hop scene in the last few years.

Mahasen is one of my favorite artists in the Bay bar none. She is gearing up to release her new album “Go Getter” in September, so I just wanted the SF Bay View readers to be among the first to know it’s coming. For those who have never heard of her, this underground queen has been recording for close to 20 years with reputable rappers, DJs and singers in the Bay.

Scorpio Blues will be performing at Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West in Oakland, on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The woman who goes by the name of Scorpio Blues and I have known each other for over half our lives, and throughout that time, she has always been very intelligent, driven and never one to hold her tongue. Her artistry is definitely an extension of her persona.

The Luggage Store Gallery presents the Bobby Hutton Memorial Benefit, Nov. 29-Dec. 6. The opening reception is Saturday, Nov. 29, from 8 to 10 p.m. at the gallery, 1007 Market St. in San Francisco. The show features work by 27 artists - among them, Emory Douglas, Rigo 23 and a photo essay by Billy X.

Dropped in to see the McCoy Tyner Trio with Marc Ribot on guitar. Tyner is always a treat and this ensemble featuring Gerald Cannon on bass and Eric Kamau Gravett on drums is phenomenal!