Music:
Member Since: 4/2/2006
Band Website: http://www.cdbaby.com/raskdee/
Band Members: Vocalist Ras K'dee's third solo album, Street Prison, was chosen by East Bay Express readers as "Best Local Album of the Year." Ras K'dee is a California Pomo/Kenyan who is the co-founder of SNAG and the host of Bay Native Circle on Pacifica station 94.1 FM KPFA. His album's artwork is painted and photographed by two local Native artists, Richard Castaneda and Sean Nash.
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OKAYPLAYER.COM REVIEW
Ras K'dee
Street Prison
Nucuma Records; 2007
Chris Rock may have put it best when he said the lower you go on the social ladder, the better the boxer. This might explain why Ras K’dee packs such a punch. The son of a Black man and a Pomo woman, K’dee is armed with an anger that only years of oppression can create. Fortunately for us this anger has translated into powerful music. Ras K’dee comes from the slums of suburban Santa Rosa, California, but his tales of suffering run far deeper than his own existence. His lyrics show strong ties to the Pomo Nation, reflecting a unique Native American perspective that is otherwise almost non-existent in hip hop.
This record is not today’s standard political hip hop; his criticisms of the system are scathing, but he tends to move beyond mere finger pointing, to spend most of his mic time addressing tangible solutions to uplift his people. With a deep, booming voice, K’dee nimbly delivers his crafted rhymes with a flow steeped in patterning. His subdued rapping is contrasted by the earnest and melodic singing abilities he shows off from time to time. Without any production credits it’s hard to be certain, but the bulk of Street Prison’s music seems to have been provided by One Struggle, a band Ras K’dee also fronts on the side. The music blurs genre boundaries with a mix of hip hop, traditional Mexican, reggae, and Native influences. This blend keeps things interesting, and tracks like “Escapar†provide interesting backdrops not usually paired with emceeing. To match the musical diversity, K’dee’s addresses a wide range of issues, including those in these aptly named tracks: “Mother Earth,†“Corporate Terrorism,†“Luv Yourself,†and “Smash on tha System.â€
With all this said however, listening to Street Prison all the way through is a labor. In bits and pieces this album is moving, but after 79 minutes I was ready to throw in the towel.
- M. Steve Hammer
EAST BAY EXPRESS
Most Earnest Up-and-Coming Band: Music with a noble heart and passionate message (2006)
The One Struggle Band
When Ras K'Dee tells a crowd "I got your back, you got my back, we got your back, we got solidarity," even the most cynical and jaded believe him. Ras, an occasional host of the KPFA show Bay Native Circle, was not satisfied with producing a ripping first album; he then went out to find a crew of multiculti musicians and formed One Struggle. The six-member band lays down a relentless groove that's a blend of hip-hop, reggae, ska, rap, salsa, and Native American chants, all accompanied by lyrics worthy of the finest spoken-word performance that call on a long list of civil rights heroes, from Cesar Chavez to Malcolm X and Jonathan Jackson, and addresses issues like native resistance, environmental pollution, and the corrosive affect of drug culture on disadvantaged communities, all the while encouraging listeners to dance and celebrate life. Ras describes his struggles as a Pomo native and African American growing up in the slums, but somehow the message never dips into despair: The truth is, we never should have made it but we did it. Let 'em doubt you, they can't take your soul; you born with it.
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Influences:
''The market converts life into commodities; it converts land into a commodity. And when the capitalists cannot sustain this economic model based on looting, on exploitation, on marginalization, on exclusion and above all, on the accumulation of capital, they rely on war, the arms race ...
For the indigenous movement, land cannot be a commodity; it is a mother that gives us life, so how could we convert it into a commodity as the Western model does?"
- Evo Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president since the Spanish Conquest 470 years ago
Create your own visitor map!
The 2nd International Indigenous Hip Hop Gathering
Music, Vision, Unity, Tradition
Ford Amphitheatre
2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90039
3pm workshops / 5pm to 11pm show
$25 General / $18 Youth - Tickets: www.fordtheatres.org 323.461.3673
presented in collaboration with Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples Alliance & Tia Chucha's Centro CulturalOn Sept 14th, 2008 the Condor & Eagle Alliance in conjunction with Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples Alliance (LAIPA) bring you "
The 2nd International Indigenous Hip Hop Gathering" featuring artists from throughout the western hemisphere.The moment Hip Hop was born it became a global phenomena and it permeated every barrio, reservation, community, favela, legua, and city. Hip Hop artists became street corner reporters, informing the world the happenings of the poor, the unwanted, and the forgotten. Today these artists with an indigenous identity & thought continue that tradition by reporting through rhymes that story of their people.This September the "International Indigenous Hip Hop Gathering" brings together
the 4 elements of Hip Hop from all 4 directions. The event will feature traditional dance, both Southern (Azteca) & Northern Native, DJ's and a live graff art expo.with performances by:
Los Nativos (Xicano - Minnesota)
Kinto Sol (Mexica - Milwaukee)
Culture Shock Camp feat: Quese IMC & DJ Shock B (Pawnee/Seminole)
El Vuh (Mexica/Chumash/Pinoy)
Buggin' Malone (Onieda/Potawatomi)
Rebel Diaz (Chile/Mapuche & Puerto Rico/Taino - NYC)
Audiopharmacy (Pomo/African - World Music)
Akil Ammar (Mexico City)
Magisterio (Mexico City)
Skool77 (Guadalajara - MX)
Antithesis (Kansas - Bay Area, CA)
Pedromo (Peru/Quechua)
Yaiva (Dine/Hopi)
The Prophecy (El Salvador/Maya-Pipil)DJing by:
DJ Shock B
DJ Ethoshosted by:
Tolteka &
Cihuatl-Ceworkshops by:
Apache Skateboards "Starting your own business with cultural traditions"
Olmeca "Art is our Weapon"
Willow Jack Abrahamson "Indigenous Struggles"
Ximbo of Magisterio "Girls Can't Rap"art by:
Vyal (Yaqui)
Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee/Yakama)dance by:
Socal Intertribal Bird Singers
Marisol Crisostomo-Romo
Danza Mexicayotlvending by:
Insurgentes www.nsrgnts.com
De La Luna Designs www.delalunadesigns.com
Rage.One www.rageoneart.com
Itzpapalotl www.myspace.com/laboos
Yerberia Mayahuel www.myspace.com/yerberiamayahuel
Araceli Silva www.aracelisilva.com
Apache Skateboards www.apacheskateboards.com
Tanka Bar www.myspace.com/tankabar
Uneek System Clothing www.myspace.com/uneeksystem
OUR MUSIC IS FEATURED ON
The Peace & Dignity Journey Benefit CD
Click here to purchase the Peace & Dignity CD
or click on the CD to buy right now - $15 plus shipping & handling
Sounds Like: VILLAGE VOICE CRITICS POLL
Record Label: audiopharmacy prescriptions
Type of Label: Indie
