This is the Oakland blog for people living out loud. True to the Oakbook philosophy, we’ll tell you where to go, what to do, and what’s really going down in the town and around the Bay. From parties to films, peace protests to flag football, if there's a there there, we'll blog it.
Invite us to things. We're great at parties.
If you've got events, photos, videos, announcements or general news on all the happenings in the Bay, send 'em over to Kwan Booth at kwan (at) theoakbook.com. And don't be afraid to leave a comment. Don't be shy...come over and talk to us. You just might get lucky!
So while the cancellation of this past weekend’s Paid Dues festival left many underground hip hop fans screaming at the heavens, clutching their backpacks and wondering aloud “O GOD Rakim, why has thou forsaken us?!”, tonight’s just announced Mos Def show at Ruby Skye should help restore some stability to the four pillars.
Mos was added to the Paid Dues lineup at the last minute and since he’s already in town and everything, why not play a special last minute show right? Seems like the only thing to do. And to sweeten the deal, Oakland’s hip hop superheroes Zion I will be opening the night along with tunes by DJ Big Von.
But if you can’t wait any longer, snack on this delicious classic vid for Umi Says off the 1999 album “Black on Both Sides”, then get your conscious hip hop fix tonight, cuz Rock the Bells doesn’t roll into town for another 2 months.-kwanRead the rest of this entry »
I don’t think there’s much debate around the significance of the upcoming presidential election. Not only do we have two candidates, a woman and a black man, that have a damned good chance of winning the top spot but we also have the chance to unseat the party responsible for the last 8 years of failed international policy, economic downturns and general Anti US sentiment worldwide. To just say we have a lot at stake here would be a big ol’ fat understatement.
But the thing is, just how much does your vote count if things really don’t change much when the next set of suits step into the White House? And is saying that you voted in a historic election really that significant if it’s the only community minded thing you do all year? What about the historically low voter turnouts in low income communities nationwide? If anything, the people who need to have the loudest voices are often the most disenfranchised. What do we do about it?
These are the kinds of questions that’ll be flying around the room at the Oakland Museum tonight during the Wake Yo Game Up panel discussion and performance presented by the Town Business Network. A panel of deep thinkers, community organizers and activists are hoping to get down to the nuts and bolts of the electoral process, focusing the discussion on how to turn the political rhetoric into practical action, the factors affecting voter participation in urban communities and where do we go after the election, no matter who wins. The panelist will be addressing the issues with a particular focus on hip hop culture and ways that artists and cultural influencers can be a part of the change. Speakers will include Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, writer and historian Davey D, radio personality Chuy Gomez, journalist Eric K. Arnold and Town Business Network founder Charles Johnson. -kwan Wake Yo Game Up!
Free
7-9:30
Oakland Museum
1000 Oak Street, Oakland
510-776-4644
Maybe it’s something in the Bay Area water that’s made the region such fertile soil for sultry soul, R&B and funk singers over the years, but whatever it is-from the Pointer Sisters to Sugar Pie DeSanto to the current crop of soul, hip hop and rock influenced musicians-there’s no denying that the Bay’s soul.
MoeSoul and Femi are two of the shining stars in a galaxy of talented but largely underground singers hitting up spoken word spots and jazz joints around the area. The Oakland divas to be have been putting in work for years, gigging from Jack London to Lagos and playing gigs with everyone from Les Nubian to Nelson Mandela.
MoeSoul is more of the straight ahead R&B singer. With sweet songs of lost loves, found loves and all the holdovers in between, she adds a moving soundtrack to the art getting busy. Femi’s music is a bit harder and belies her African and Puerto Rican heritage as she blends soul and hip hop with hints of salsa and rock-a little bit Mary J Blige rolled in with a little Tribe Called Quest and Celia Cruz.
Catch both singers performing with a live band tonight as part of Maxwell’s R&B Friday’s series. Proof that the funky legacy continues.
R & B Fridays w/MoeSoul and Femi
$10 presale, $15 at the door
9pm
Maxwell’s Restaurant & Lounge
341 13th Street, Oakland
(510)839-6169 www.maxwellslounge.com
It’s the last Weekend Wake Up of the season, and the crew from Weapons of Mass Expression are pulling out all the stops. For the last 4 years, WOME has hosted these free monthly art shows/parties at art spaces all around town with the help of some of the areas top musicians, artists and arts organizations. The shows feature works by local high school students alongside big name graffiti artists, live painting and hip hop and funk bands. Tonight’s show, “Whispers of Revolution, Tremors of Change,” features performers from HireoImperium, COV Records and Lunar Heights along with live painting by CRAYONE, KING 157, DZYER and RUSH, a pop locking performances by GROOVMEKANEX and beats spun by DJ Smokestack and Jus Jones.
Whispers of Revolution, Tremors of Change
Free
5-9pm
Rock Paper Scissors Collective
2278 Telegraph www.weekendwakeup.com
You love Oakland. And so do we. And if you want to celebrate this love, head over to Luka’s this Friday night. With a club night called We love the town, DJs Zita and Dmadness will unleash their version of Oakland love by playing hip hop, funk, dancehall and “lotsa Town bizness.”
Expect to hear Toni Tony Tone, En Vogue, Club Nouveau, The Coup, Too $hort, Digital Underground, Hieroglyphics, Goapele, Zion I, and Mistah FAB. Also expect to see the latest issue of the OakBook. Get it while you can this Friday night at Luka’s.
2221 Broadway (at West Grand)
10pm to 2am,
$10
21+
From it’s extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is an animated 20-minute documentary that looks at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. The film will be followed by a community discussion with the director.
The Story of Stuff
Free
7pm
The Center for Urban Peace
2584 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way, Berkeley
866.PEACE2008 | ext 6 www.newdharma.com
This weekend we’ve got dribbling B-Balls, French juvenile felinquents, experimental poetry and even more experimental Christmas music. Check it out below.-kwan
For the next month expect a lot of discussion about gentrification and consumerism over at the Berkeley Rep-folks moving in moving out, urban redeveloping and the take over of space-as hip hop theater artist Danny Hoch premiers his first solo show in 10 years.
The new play “Taking Over” grapples with the issues of displacement and gentrification in trademark Hoch style.Through a collection of 10 characters based on people he’s come in contact with during his 20 year stay in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the actor, director and Hip Hop Theater Festival founder dissects what happens when a neighborhood gets a facelift.Using the uncanny knack for mimicry first displayed in the 1998’s Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop ,the voices range from the trust funded hipster to the militant rapper to the big budget developer.
Take heed all ye faithful revelers, your night has arrived! The streets will be filled with merriment, the music will play, the drink will flow and the world will move just a little closer to universal peace, love and understanding-or at the very least we’ll see some fireworks, blow some noisemakers and bond with tons of people you won’t remember in the morning.
From the traditional to the eccentric, the formal to the WTF! there’s a little something in the Novoscene New Year’s Eve guide for however you like get your respective groove on. See you in the New Year!
Theater goers, hoodstarz and music lovers all might want to check the Lower Bottom Players “NickelBottom 5 Penny Opera”, a series of short plays running tonight and tomorrow at the Eastside Arts Alliance.
The fivepenny opera plays on the concept of threepenny opera-a traditional Elizabethan style dedicated to working class and political theater.
Ayodele Nzinga, the show’s Artistic Director says the show is the result of her interest in fusing classical theater with modern themes. “I’m trying to bring together influences that you normally don’t see.”
Mack Dennis’ “Raising Sane” takes place in a New Orleans jail cell, where a former bus driver and Black Panther awaits trial on trumped up charges. Nzinga’s “Warrior Queen” is a moving account of the trials the West Oakland resident endured on her way to becoming a “North American Griot.”
Works by Lisa Marie Rollins, Mo Betta the Foster Child and The Turf Starz move from questioning racial identity and the adoption system to the pitfalls of making it out of the hood, either via success or a stretcher.
Brian Jack & Zydeco Gamblers 
Cake W/ the Lovemakers 
Ayodele Nzinga, the show’s Artistic Director says the show is the result of her interest in fusing classical theater with modern themes. “I’m trying to bring together influences that you normally don’t see.”