In perhaps what was Baron Davis’ biggest nationally televised performance at UCLA, CBS commentator Billy Packer watched the young point guard dunk on an opposing team’s center and described him as a fighter. Unlike dozens of Packer’s other pseudo racist, left-handed compliments, such as calling Allen Iverson a “tough little monkey,” this description was accurate.
Over a dozen years later, Davis is still fighting. As the starting point guard for the NBA’s perennial doormat, the Los Angeles Clippers, he hopes to bring respectability back to the franchise. In his downtime he teamed up with noted filmmaker Stacy Peralta to make a critically acclaimed documentary about the Bloods and Crips, only to watch Hollywood studios back away from distributing it in theaters. Any fighter likes a challenge, but those are tough odds—even for the leader of only one of two teams in NBA playoff history to ever upset a top seeded team as the lowest seeded opponent.
Luckily for basketball and Hip Hop fans, and perhaps more importantly for residents of Southern California’s gang ravaged neighborhoods, Baron is always up for a challenge, no matter the odds. In a frank conversation that covered the relationship between race and entertainment, Davis pulls no punches.
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Interview with Zion I by Hiphopdx.com – Go Dumb and Get Smart
There’s an old saying that goes, “If you don’t rap for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Okay, so maybe those aren’t the exact words. They’re still ones that have served as the foundation over the last decade for Zion I, a progressive Hip Hop duo made of emcee Zumbi and deejay/producer AmpLive.
Underground legends in Oakland, Zion I has won over hearts and car stereos with social-awakening bars and forward-thinking beats. It’s no exaggeration to say that where Bay Area icons Del tha Funkee Homosapien and Souls of Mischief left off, Zion I picked up with CDs like Mind Over Matter, True & Livin’ [click to read] and this month’s The Take Over. But hey, Amp and Zumbi aren’t mad that the masses aren’t terribly familiar with their sound. They just don’t necessarily want to hear the complaints either about the lack of diversity in music when they’ve been rapping something different since ’97.
Continued at hiphopdx.com…
Interview with Amir Sulaiman
Amir Sulaiman is best known for his work on Def Poetry Jam. With his most famous piece being “Danger” garnering a lot of attention, one might consider him to be an artist filled with anger. Some may consider him an artist who focuses more on oppressive or political themes within his work. The Rochester, New York native is just a man interested in exploring all that is human and love within. Exploring the boundaries of art and what it is to be Muslim, black, hip hop, a lyricist, activist, writer and the list continues.
Gaining the attention of such people like Russell Simmons and Mos Def, Amir is a man with something to say. With a strong connection to his spirituality, he shares it through his creativity. Sulaiman is what some would say a modern day activist. Fighting to bring back attention to what is really going on and shed some light to this sometimes seemingly uninterested generation. His latest creation Meccan Openings deserves a listening to, especially for those looking for conscious rap with a twist.
Continued at hiphopdx.com…
