Original art+Store

Some original art that Ive had too long, that would probably look better in yo' house.

Plus some small things you can give as a gift

La Piel Que Habito, Outside the Law, Flowers of Evil

These are some great films I saw recently.

Typography 16- Stuyvesants

I think I first became hip to the work of Darien Victor Birks and Allan Cole by seeing the site FLWRPT. I then started to hear something about them making music and when the “Stuyvesants instrumental LP dropped it was bananas! I’ve had this joint on rotation in my mp3 player ever since it came out and have seen various folks connect with it. My favorite joints from the LP are “Fire (Untrue)” , “Seldom Seen”, and “Greene St. Anthem”. Before living in Bed Stuy (Brooklyn) I probably wouldn’t have appreciated the different vibes a street or area has. But my kid used to attend a school on Greene St so it does stick out in my mind. Anyway, if you’re not up on these cats, go check out their work, its free to download. And if I’m not mistaken they just came out with some new material

. Hype design and music! Check out the letter S for Stuyvesants! Greene Ave. Anthem by The Stuyvesants

Celebrate You (TYS Show) art process+photos

Jazz Portraits 17-Dorothy Ashby (Harp)

I found Dorothy's music through hip hop. INI+Pete Rock to be exact. I'm syill digging into her sound but my favorites of her's so far are "Drink" , "Heaven and Hell", and of course "Cause I need it". If you can tell me the name of the LP Pete Rock sampled "Cause i need it", i'll send you a drawing. :)

Dig this? Check out this one of Donald Byrd

Occupy Oakland, Tear gas, Reclaimation, General Strike

I'm not going to say much even though y'all know I talk a lot. Just that I support revolutionary change. I'm not going to attempt a run down of the Occupy movement, go google it. Protests ain't new, they ain't the BE all to END all either, rather they're a strategy among many to rally sleepy heads and to let oppressors know what time it is(we see you). There have been hella organizations, teachers, artists, musicians, regular working class folk like your momma or mine, and activists in the bay working for education, jobs, immigrant rights, freedom of speech, media objectivity, LGBTQ rights, Human Rights, etc etc. This Occupy movement, inspired by uprisings in the middle east is growing from these everyday fighters here in the bay and across the nation. I was skeptical at first, still am, but like you I am curious. So I went to an action in SF against Wells Fargo and I went down to Occupy Oakland with my son. Yes I work, yes I'm a parent, yes I have freelance shit to do, and many projects bubbling, but this is a pivotal thing happening!

See my photos from the camps before the police came in and shredded a peaceful act of protest. The photos at night are from the infamous night OPD shot teargas at all of us who were out there, and a few shots from the peoples response to the police and Mayor Jean Quan's after that. Oakland's first general strike for decades.

What has happened? Oakland joined the Occupy movement, along w/ San Francisco and several hundred other cities. People, not just hippies, but ordinary people like bus drivers, navy officers, students, etc have been sitting together through the nights at city hall breaking into groups and making decisions about how to let Oakland residents know what is up and to make demands. On a local level, Oakland has just shut down several schools. In the past year or so they've cut many jobs, cut libraries, de-funded school, the death toll from violent murders has been hovering above 100 for i don't know how many years, programs, increased police funding, and people here are pissed off. What happens if the city ignores them? Strike! I mean, if you knew half of the shit corporations like Citibank and Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs or even folks like Standard Oil have done with US tax payers money here locally and internationally...you would be real pissed off too. And they claim there's no money for basic shit? Bull! Stuff is hot out here and it's about to heat up.

On a positive note, my son, my family, mom, step father, my crew, and countless homies including some of my kids school teachers came out to the day of strike and it was a beautiful day. The media estimates 4-5000. I say there was more like 30,000 out there. Families, union workers, kids, queer folks, hood folks, folks from all over the bay came and shut the port of Oakland down. My son was so inspired, many tmes that day he began shouting with his friends all by himself. Adults and kids around us joined him and handed him a megaphone. Proud Daddy moment for sure! I don't watch much TV, and have had some shaky net access for the past month, so I'm sure there are many reports on Oakland (google it), but I like what Davey D had to say here. I'm brainstorming how I can contribute artistically to inspire and inform. The post about the TYS show we did the same week of the strike is coming up. Oh yeah, and Oakland took back the downtown occupy space after the cops tried to barracade it. For all you nay sayers and fence riders, in the words of James Brown "Get involved" if what you want to say is not being said.

East Bay Edibles x Tamales La Oaxaquena

When I was living in West Oakland I met a very generous, loving, and talented family. Carolina Santos, her momma Oliva, and her son Isaac (who my son often played with). Carolina, my friend and old neighbor often offered to let me try the food her mom and her made, but one day I tried the mole her mom made and was floored. The best I have tried ever! Delicious. Living next door to her family I got to hear about how challenging it is to run a business centered around food. The catering they do, the wins, the losses, the customers who are supportive and the ones who couldn't begin to imagine the amount of history, dedication, and hard work go into the tamales they eat. I vowed to lend a hand artistically, but fell short of my initial promise. So when I got the word that Carolina wanted to do an article about the business I jumped at the opportunity to do some illustration. As I have mentioned food related art in the past year; it goes right along with the work I've been developing. And this family business needs the attention of anyone who appreciates good food and the history of Mexican food. Not only do these two make delicious food, but they can tell you stories about what life was like in Oaxaca Mexico and why that is important to how they make the food. If you want to know more about them I highly suggest checking out this issue of East Bay Edibles. The article is called "Something Spicy, something sweet". Edibles, in case you don't know it is a national magazine about good food, the people that sell it and grow it. Hit up Carolina at tamalesoaxaca@gmail.com or call em at 510-613-5836

Big shout out to Edibles editor Cheryl Koehler for publishing the piece!

Muphoric Sounds 19-Hugh Masekela

One of my favorite

Masekela joints. Pulled this one out of the dusty boxes of my memory for yall. Hope you enjoy. Go listen at Muphoric Sounds

November Love and Light Switch (switch plate)A

hh, fell off with my switch plates. But I'm back on it and more to come as usual. What do you think? I was having fun with the brazilian color combo. Heres the shop listing