Word on the Street
We caught up w/ Houston rap star Chingo Bling who talked to us about the upcoming governor's race, education and young people and his love for custom made cowboy boots. Chingo showed off his new 'Air Chingo' boots.
We caught up with Houston's premier spokenword group Metafour. They came through and held it down at the Discovery Green Festival in downtown Houston which featured MC Lyte and artists who are down with Brave New Voices. Here Metafour show off their skillz by spitting some insightful poems...
Marlon is a Houston B-Boy who wants everyone to know that Houston has a nice scene that represents 'real Hip Hop". He says its not about commercialism. Its about the art and he his crew Havikoro are here to underscore that point.
Got Soul Sessions Radio is an internet radio station that specializes in urban soul. Romaine Smoots is the marketing director. She talks about Houston's music scene and how Got Soul Sessions has tapped in. She also talks about what the two mayoral candidates need to do if they wish to win over the votes of her listeners. She says be honest and star having more direct conversations.
Houston artist Justice Allah, talks about the new projects he and fellow Houstonian emcee K-Rino are working on. He spits a nice conscious raising freestyle for us and then weighs in on the upcoming December 12th Runoff between Gene Locke and Annise Parker. He tells the two candidates to stop showing up just around election time and the holidays for photo ops.
Michael K Taylor is an award winning poet and artist. He's also a teacher and journalist who is passionate about Houston's burgeoning art scene. He talks about the new energy the city is feeling and how he's embracing the change. He also talks about the Mayor's race between Gene Locke and Annise Parker. he reminds them if they want his vote, they better start showing up to the neighborhoods he frequents. He notes that thus far they've been absent.
Shannon Buggs is a journalist and the head of Metafour Houston, a spoke word collective. She talks to us about the vibrant art scene and the progressive political side of Houston. She also weighs in on the upcoming December 12th Mayoral run off between Gene Locke and Annise Parker.
We caught up with Houston artist and promoter Craig Long aka BBC. He talked to us about Houston's thriving underground scene and how there's a lot of unity within it. He also talked us about his thoughts on the Houston mayoral race. He gave a personal message to candidates Gene Locke and Annise Parker. He wants them to step it up and fix his streets. BBC explains the significance behind that.
Minister Robert Muhammad of Houston spoke out against the death penalty this weekend at the 10th Annual Abolish the death penalty march in Austin. He makes the connection between violence sanctioned by the state and violence we as a community seem to sanction in our hoods...
We caught up w/ Gerardo Q garcia at an event in Austin where he talked to us about murals, tattoos and art and its relationship to traditional Chicano traditions. he talked to us about the art he did for a book called Children of the Desert Mountain.
We attended the annual B-Boy City competition in Austin, Texas and caught up with an all female dance crew. They hail from Austin, Dallas and Houston. They shared with us the challenges they face when battling their male counterparts and how they kick unique flava when on the floor.
We spoke with Houston based journalist/ blogger Brother Jesse about the history of the Shape Community Center located in the 3rd Ward. We also spoke with Brother Jesse about the importance of Black-Brown unity and how that will make Texas better. Lastly we spoke about Texas' growing pains and how its bringing out racists.
Austin community activist DJ Mike Avala came through Southern Shift TV to speak to us about the long rich political history of Texas. The Lone Star state has been the home of a lot of radical movements and a lot of resistence movements. Yes, it's also been a bedrock for conservatism. The state is changing...
We spoke to Bluejay and Battle, two 17 year old members of the Austin rap group The Cipher. They talked to us about challenges they face everyday dealing with absentee parents, the lure of drugs and a crumbling healthcare system that needs to be overhauled.
We caught up with longtime Houston community activist Tarsha Jackson who gave us her reaction to the Houston Mayoral debates (Aug 2009). She wasn't too impressed with the candidates ability to connect with the Grassroots. She wants to see them out and about more...
We caught up with two of the members from Austin rap group Public Offenders to get reaction from the widely watched CNN interview w/singer Chris Brown. Public Offenders have long championed ending domestic violence and hence had a lot of good advice and insight to offer.
We caught up with Busi Peters Maujhan after the August 2009 Houston Area Table mayoral debate and talked to her about the issues of prison and people's ability to find work after being released. She felt none of the candidates addressed this problem in spite Harris County's high incarceration rate.
Joe V holds it down in Austin, Texas at Kick Butt Coffee where he hosts a popular spoken word night. He lets us know just how large the spoken word scene is in Austin and whether or not there is a specific Austin style.
