Comrades&Homies

ROTC 1 Year Anniversary Showcase

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You probably know by now that I help organize a weekly event called Return of the Cypher, which is an open-mic jam session at John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom Room on Sunday nights. You probably know that it’s the fastest growing Hip Hop event in the Bay Area and that we have a very supportive community. If you were raised by the culture, you will feel like you finally made it home. All MC’s are encouraged to spit. We will be celebrating our one year anniversary on 06/15 with an amazing showcase filled with a diverse range of artists that have come through in the past year.

ROTC One Year

Preceding the anniversary showcase, the San Francisco Black Film Festival will be premiering “‘Til Infinity,” a Souls of Mischief documentary. Needless to say, it is extremely appropriate to host a world premier documentary about the Bay Area legends before our platoon of independent rappers set it off.

Hiero BFF

05/31 B-Side Cypher One Year Anniversary

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B-Side Cypher is a live break dancing session organized by my comrade Tefari Casas.  They will be celebrating their one year anniversary on local Berkeley broadcasting on 05/31. 2FS (Kensho Kuma x Orukusaki) will be doing a set. There will also be free Peruvian food, an open mic with expected ROTC attendees, and of course an open floor for all B-Boys and B-Girls to get down! Grab your shelltoes and come celebrate with us at Berkeley Community Media (2239 MLK Berkeley, CA.)

B-Side Cypher Sessions

05/30 Hip Hop for Change Movement Building Party

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Hip Hop for Change is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting socioeconomic inequality through Hip Hop empowerment and employment. We bring Hip Hop creativity classes onto public school campuses, enabling students to learn the craft of rhyme writing, graffiti art, break dancing. I am proud to have been chosen to be a director in this wonderful nonprofit organization.  HH4C will have a party on May 30th at the Elbo Room (647 Valencia, SF.)  featuring B-Pos, SF’s Richie Cunning, and a special beat showcase by Today’s Future Sounds. Hosted by yours truly.

Kensho Kuma Hosting ROTC 04/27/14

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If you know me from real life, you know that I religiously attend “Return to the Cypher” @the Boom Boom Room (1601 Fillmore St., SF) on Sunday nights. You already know that I’m a ROTC director and I care very much about the event. You already know that I invite every MC I meet to come through and spit. If you have ever been to ROTC you know that it’s a very supportive and organic community that we’re building. On 04/27/14 I will be the cypher host and also will be featured during the weekly performance. My homie Denero’s Stocks and Bonds crew will be the featured guest on 04/27. The event is free as usual, so come through.

Stocks and Bonds

Also, this particular ROTC will feature our One Track Wonder competition. Contestants get to perform one song, the audience judges, and the 04/27 champion will receive prizes and an invite to perform in a future competition amongst the winners. If you’re interested in competing in the One Track Wonder competition, please follow the directions below and good luck.

One Track Wonder

2FS Santa Cruz Show 05/09/14

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Alright, 2FS (Kensho Kuma x Orukusaki) will be performing May 9th, 2014 @Bocci’s Cellar (140 Encinal St) in Santa Cruz. We will be joined by our comrades Task1ne, who performs more than anyone I know, and Poe and Citizen, who just came home from a Deltron tour. Shout outs to Onewerd who came and got us to do this show… I expect to see his calculator watch.

2FS in Santa Cruz –> Friday May 9th, 2014 @ Bocci’s Cellar

2FS SC Show

04/04 Hip Hop for Change 2FS Elbo Room Show

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2FS (Kensho Kuma x Orukusaki) will be performing at the 04/04 Elbo Room party (647 Valencia St., SF.) Hip Hop for Change is a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting socioeconomic injustice through Hip Hop education, empowerment, and organization. Like I previously stated, it is an honor to be selected as one of their featured artists alongside veterans I learned from. The April party will feature Aisha Fukushima, who we’ll be performing a brand new crew song with, Do Dat‘s group Golden Age, and Khafre Jay’s own B-Pos crew. Please come through and celebrate the realness. The last HH4C party in December was my favorite show of 2013.

Elbo Room April Flier

 

 

Feast! on Hip Hop @ Ear Peace Records 11/23

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The good folks @ Ear Peace Records (3268 Adeline Street, Berkeley CA 94703) and I will be throwing “Feast! on Hip Hop” on 11/23. I cannot offer you a better opportunity for you to dance that turkey and stuffing off… I can personally co-sign each and every artist on the roster; I asked each one of them personally and they are all thorough artists I have rocked with throughout my life…

Feast! on Hip Hop line-up:

Candlespit Collective

the Understudies

Kensho Kuma

Orukusaki (Zulu Nation)

BQardi Ellington (PJ Mobb)

Cio Casteneda

Wisecrack the Skribe

Vago (Switzerland)

They did a phenomenal job renovating… If you haven’t checked out their art/ layout, please wake up and come through…

Black Saturday X Below the Surface

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Photo by bts_james
I will be rocking alongside my peoples the Understudies (DJ Citizen and Sean E. Depp) and Rymeezee (First Dirt Ent.) on 11/24/12 @ Below the Surface HQ in Newark (37800 Central Court Newark, CA 94560.) Even the least-materialistic participants in the scene are tempted to get fitted on Black Friday (well, it’s a Black Saturday in this case,) so mind as well get dripped in gear that is designed by independent artists for independent artists. Louis Vuitton does not care about you, and they do not design their attire thinking about you… so be an educated consumer, because you’re going to consume anyway. The Below the Surface site is here and you can check their collection here. The Facebook event page is here.

I would rock the ish outta this BTS hat, but it’s a snapback… For those of you who don’t know me personally, I have a chrome dome (7 5/8,) so I can’t do the snap…

Fall 2 Sneak peek @btsbrand #fashion #urban #urbanwear #streetwear #boutique #tshirt #locals #duckcamo #fall2012 (Taken with Instagram)

 

IGOT5ONIT @ Icon Lounge

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I will be performing with my comrades Orukusaki (Zulu Nation) and Joey Mousepad (Slayer’s Club) on 10/06/12 @ the IGOT5ONIT event @ the Icon Lounge in SF. Orukusaki and I will be premiering our tag-team set, so be sure to come through.. Tickets can be purchased here. I went to this monthly last month when A-Plus rocked it, and it was one of the more enjoyable nights I’ve recently had… would describe it as the good intersection where boom-bap meets Electronica… by Electronica, I mean Dubstep, Glitch-pop, and all those other genres I don’t have much schematic knowledge about, but enjoy nonetheless…

I got 5 on it flyer

07/07 Summer Blast! @ Ear Peace Records

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A FREE Summertime Hip Hop show featuring in-store performances by some of your hardest working MC’s in the local Hip Hop scene… (It’s also an unofficial bash to celebrate Kuma’s upcoming one-month Hip Hop sabbatical to Japan.)

Confirmed Performances by:
Dregs One, Tantrum, Rahman Jamaal, Kensho Kuma, Orukusaki, Pure, Citizen, JB Nimble, Gee, B. Durazzo

Support your Independent Record Store, Ear Peace, and Independent MC’s by coming to their FREE show and buying their music!!