Can't Stop Won't Stop (84 page)

10.
Ibid., 10.

11.
William Upski Wimsatt, “State of The Movement,” in
Future 500: Youth Organizing and Activism in the United States,
comp. Jee Kim, Mathilda de Rios, Pablo Caraballo, Manuela Arciniegas, Ibrahim Abdul-Martin and Kofi Taha (New Orleans, La.: Subway and Elevated, 2002), 4.

12.
Nora Zamichow, “Ex-Gang Member Gets Political Asylum,”
Los Angeles Times
(July 12, 2002).

 

 

It wouldn't be hip-hop without a ton of shout-outs. That's because no hip-hopper counts their success—however big or small—as individual. There are debts and reciprocations at every turn, and it's good that way.

This book began on a long trip back from Lake Tahoe in the cab of a tow truck in January 1998. We had just decided to end SoleSides, a project to which I had devoted the better part of five years. At that moment, change seemed in order. It wasn't until three and half years later that I had the distance to recognize that my next big project was already in motion.

So this first shout-out goes to Josh Davis, Xavier Mosley, Tom Shimura, Lateef Daumont, Joy Malig, Tim Parker and Lisa Haugen, who seemed to know what I was put here to do and set me off to do it. A deeply felt appreciation goes to Brian Cross, who applied the necessary verbal ass-whipping to get me moving. To those that gave their all to the old SoleSides—Winston Chiong, Gene Kim Whitney, David Maduli, Jason Malig, Omari Patterson, Rodney Sino-Cruz, Benjamin Davis (R.I.P) and all the others who were down—I ain't forgot you. To D-Sharp and Alicia, the Lifesavas fam, Isaac Bess and Lydia Popovich, the legacy continues.

To all those who generously opened up their lives to me: the Melendezes, the Suarezes, DJ Kool Herc and Cindy Campbell, Afrika Bambaataa, Lucky Strike, FABEL and Christie, Jazzy Jay, Kool Lady Blue, Grandmaster Flash, BOM 5, ZEPHYR, Joseph Ahn, King Tee and crew, Reginald Dennis, James Bernard, Alex Sanchez, Silvia Beltran, Aqeela and Daude Sherrills, Bakari Kitwana, Bill Stephney, Harry Allen, Felipe Mercado, Danny DeJesus, Charlie Ahearn, Chuck D, Hank Shocklee, Crazy Legs, Dante Ross, David Hershkovits, DJ AJ, DOZE, FAB 5 FREDDY, Greg Tate, Ice Cube, Kam, LADY PINK, Leyla Turkkan, Rennie Harris, Rudy Corpuz, Matthew Countryman, Pedro Noguera, R. J. Smith, Sadiki Nia, Tamu du Ewa, SPAR ONE, IZ THE WlZ, Steven Hager, Tom Silverman, Talib Kweli, Uncle Jam, Egyptian Lover, Iceberg, Andrei Strobert, Chuck Brown, Reo Edwards, Steve Barrow, Dave Katz, Jasmine De La Rosa, Roger Steffens, and the many more heads, players and creators whom I've spoken with through the years, I hope that I represented well.

Thank you to the libraries and librarians that fed my ravenous appetite—the Brooklyn Public Library, the Donnell Library, the Schomburg Center, the Lincoln
Center Library, the Museum of Television and Radio, the U.C. Berkeley libraries, the Berkeley Public Library, and especially, Bill Adler's Hip-Hop Archives. To the Ego Trip crew, thanks for the free advice, the magazine lending library, the job offer and the jokes. To Jacquie Juceam, Michelle Lin, Pat Meschino, Radcliffe Roye and family, Corey, Miss P and Jah Lou, Afflicted Yard, Ajamu Myrie, Dave Kelly, Jeremy Harding, Sean Paul, Italee, and Tullah Carter, thanks for the island hospitality.

To everyone involved in the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the Applied Research Center, and the Center for Third World Organizing, thanks for letting me soak up game and always having my back. To the editors that always demanded more—Raymond Roker, Sue Cummings, Sheena Lester, Danyel Smith, J. H. Tompkins, Jon Dolan, Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Chuck Eddy, Bob Christgau; to the homies who gave much and asked for little—Rickey Vincent, Davey D, Billy Jam, Adisa Banjoko, Tomas Palermo, Cheo Hodari Coker, Rob Kenner, Serena Kim, Todd Inoue, Cristina Verán, Joe Schloss and Ogbonna Ogbar, thank you for leaving me better than you found me.

To the entire crew from
360hiphop.com
, every day was an honor, and thanks for never letting me sip wack juice. To the Soundings crew past and present—Jon Caramanica, Neil Drumming, Will Hermes, Charles Aaron, Windy Chien, Sia Michel, Sylvia Chan, Mark Anthony Neal, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Josh DuLac, Sasha Frere-Jones, Jessica Hopper, Julianne Shepherd, Josh Kun, Amanda Nowinski, Mosi Reeves, Peter Shapiro, Tony Green, Hua Hsu, Chris Ryan, R. J. Smith, Elizabeth Mendez Berry—we came, we saw, we got our bylines.

To the organizers and activists that keep the world moving forward: Billy UPSKI Wimsatt, Kofi Taha, Kate Rhee, Angela Brown, Malika Sanders, Favianna Rodriguez, Weyland Southon, Gita Drury, Tram Nguyen, Jee Kim, Van Jones and the EBC Crew, Taj James and the MSC Crew, Malkia Cyril and the YMC Crew, Harmony, Nicole, Omana and everyone at Mandela Arts Center, Bakari Kitwana, Baye Adofo-Wilson, Boots Riley, Dereca Blackmon, Troy Nkrumah, Angela Garretson, Jeff Johnson, Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, Hashim Shomari, Daryl Scipio, Angela Woodson, Jessica Tully, Jan Adams, Libero Della Piana, Mark Toney, Gabriel Torres, Black Artemis, Danny Hoch, Raquel Cepeda, the Hard Knock Radio crew, the Divine Forces Radio crew, Jeff Perlstein, Kristina Rizga and the Media Alliance crew, the
PopandPolitics.com
crew,
the Alternet and Wiretap crew, Bill Martinez, Monifa Akinwole, Kali Akuno, and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Marinieves Alba, Peter Chung, Kim McGillicuddy, Kevin Powell, Kimi Lee, David Muhammad, Jiaching Chen, Edget Betru, Jennifer “J-Love” Calderon, Robin Templeton, James Kass, Martha Diaz, Tricia Wang, Hekter Gonzalez, Jeremy Lahoud, Homies Unidos, the Community Self-Determination Institute, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Pacific News Service, Listen, Inc., CAAAV, the National Hip-Hop Political Convention, BayLOC, the LA LOC, San Jose Hip-Hop Coup, Future 500+, there are so many more to name—thank you all for your inspiration.

To all the folks who made great things happen: Russell Simmons, Robin D. G. Kelley, Joe Austin, Roberta Uno, San San Wong, the La Peña crew, Amanda Berger, Alvin Starks, Anna Lefer, Jolyn Matsumuro, Gerry Villareal, Jody Miller, Gabe Tesoriero, Nikkia Jackson, Mark Hines, Nikki Smith, Kris Ex, Ola Kudu, Nandi Dallen, Stephanie Reyes, Andrea Duncan, Yvette Russell, Kweli Wright, Sonya Maggett, Ryan Pintado-Vertner, Chris Veltri, Eothen Alapatt, Barbara Osborn, Eric Weisbard, Ann Powers, Raquel Cepeda, Joan Morgan, Eric Ture Muhammad, Nisa Muhammad, Adam Mansbach, Tanya Diaz, Margaret Rea, Martine Barrat, Karl Evanzz, Zen & Tanya Matsuura, Cedric Muhammad, Rebecca Deshpande, Vince Beiser, Monika Bauerlein, Tim Dickinson, Johnny Temple, Hillary Frey, William Jelani Cobb, Farai Chideya, Raymond Codrington, Mike Davis, Karen Dere, Tricia Rose, Simon Reynolds, Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Sandy Close, Adrian Gaskins, Ann-Marie Nicholson, Janet Francedese, Michael Jarrett, Theresa Park, Assata Wright, Akiba Solomon, King EMZ, Tom Goldfogle, Rha Goddess, Andy Hsiao, Tisha Hooks, Chisun Lee, Jehmu Greene, Darren Keast, Craig Smith, Lillian Matulic, Roberta Magrini, Adam Ma'anit, Lisa Lowe, Vijay Prashad, Thuylinh Tu, Tony Silver, Shelana DeSilva, Richie Monroe, Ed Park, Phyllis Pollack, Jim Prigoff, Devin Roberson, Luis Rodriguez, East Wind Books, Tresa Sanders, Trevor Schoonmaker, Paul Heck, Norman Stolzoff, Corey Takahashi, Julio Trejo, Mattie Weiss, Eric Arnold, David Paul, Peanut Butter Wolf, Shingo Annen, Spence Abbott, Jason Bentley, Elinor Tatum, Walter Leapheart, Lathan Hodge, Janice Suguitan, Richard Goldstein, Armond White, Sally Banes, Mimi Valdes, Shani Saxob-Parrish, Erik Parker, and the whole
Vibe
crew, Kathryn McGuire, Andre Torres, Joann Wypijewski, and especially everyone else I forgot, thank you.

To the indefatigable, incessantly intricate Dave Tompkins, still the best hip-hop writer ever born, thanks for the save. Thanks to Dan McCarthy and Sanjev DeSilva for transcriptions. Thanks to all the graphic designers whose visions have blessed this project: James Sinclair and the St. Martin's Press design department, Sharon Mizota, the Brent Rollins Design Explosion, Keith Tamashiro at Soap Design, EugeneKuo @ 226-design, and Mike Stern of 0rigin.

Big ups to the tireless and endlessly resourceful Monica Hernandez, who secured many of the photos in this book. Thanks to all the photographers and agencies: Ben Higa, Martha Cooper, Josh Cheuse, Ajamu, Brian Jahn, Mel Rosenthal, Daniel Hastings, Beuford Smith, Peter Holderness, Lisa Haun, Librado Romero, Matt Daly, Michael Benabib, Eli Reed, Alex Webb, Kevin Winter, John Van Hasselt, Michael Heller at 911 Pictures, Julie Grahame at Retna, Lisa Haun, Jonathan Hyams at the Michael Ochs Archive, Katie Shanks at Corbis, Phyllis Collazo at the New York Times Agency, Michael Shulman at Magnum, and Thomas Tinervin at Getty Images.

Much love to Gary Delgado, Don T. Nakanishi, Glenn Omatsu, Makani Themba-Nixon, Bob Wing, Davy D, Bill Adler, and Henry Chalfant, whom I adopted as mentors, and who all suffered me with great humor, and to Mike and Linette Nardone, Joseph Patel, Jungwon Kim and Sango Amoda, and Oliver Wang, whose boundless generosity sustained me.

To all my blood kin from the Pacific to the Atlantic and around the world, I have been informed that if I were to thank each and every one of you individually the price of the book would have to go up by several dollars. Business Affairs has asked me to thank you all for your consideration. I'll make you some fried rice.

Thanks to Benee and Diane. Thanks to the great staff at St. Martin's Press, especially John Cunningham, Elizabeth Bewley, Mark Steven Long, Barbara Gratch Cohen, Becki Heller and Stephen Lee. And to the folks who pulled me through from beginning to end: the Changs (Eugene and Eleanor, Spencer and May, Fletcher and Joanne) and Pagaduans (Nestor and Melinda, Agnes and Raul, Ryan, Brandon and Justin, Arnel and Heidi), my super-agent Victoria Sanders, my super-editor Monique Patterson, the incredible Imani Wilson, my boys, Jonathan and Solomon, and my boss, Lourdes. For all of your good vibes, hard work, timely rants and raves, and especially your patience, I am forever grateful and indebted.

And it's good that way.

 

 

Abdul-Karim, Mujahid,
360

Above the Law,
382

The Abyssinians,
34
,
36

AC/DC,
245

Adams, Gregory,
402

Adler, Bill,
130
,
243–244
,
245
,
251
,
282
,
284
,
286
,
287
,
289–290
,
335

Adofo, Baye,
450

Adorno, Theodore,
334
,
347

“Adventures on the Wheels of Steel,”
155
,
228–229

advertising, hip-hop culture,
417–419
,
423–428
,
447–448

Aerosmith,
245

affirmative action,
345
,
391

“Africa,”
34

African American Agenda 2000,
401

African National Congress (ANC),
216

Afrika Islam (Charles Andre Glenn),
110
,
151
,
174
,
301

Afro-American Studies programs,
265

Afrocentricity,
191
,
264–265
,
327

Ahearn, Charlie,
132
,
141
,
146
,
147
,
149
,
150
,
176
,
184–186
,
190

Ahearn, John,
146
,
150

Ahlerich, Milt,
325
,
326

Ahn, Joseph,
372
,
373

AJ,
84
,
114

Akinyele,
446

Aleem,
175
,
256

Aletti, Vince,
179
,
410

Ali, Muhammad,
82
,
276
,
279

“Alive on Arrival,”
343
,
352

Allen, Geri,
271

Allen, Harry,
241
,
249
,
250
,
251
,
259
,
272
,
296
,
297
,
410
.
See also
McGregor, Harry “Allen”

The Almighty Roxbury Street Organization (RSO),
428–433

Alonso, Alejandro,
313

“Amen Brother,”
318

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
326
,
389
,
390

Amer-I-Can organization,
364
,
366

Amerikkka's Most Wanted
332
,
342

Amnesty International,
397

Anderson, Dave,
19

Anderson, Jeffrey,
368

Angelou, Maya,
403

anti-apartheid movement,
215–220

anti-racism movement,
217–219

divestment strategy,
216–217

success of,
219–220

Anti-Defamation League,
266
,
267

anti-immigration laws,
391

anti-racism movement,
217–219

anti-Semitism.
See also
race relations

Death Certificate
,
349

hip-hop culture,
413

Jackson, Jesse,
265–266

Nation of Islam,
284–285

New World Order,
438–439

Public Enemy,
278
,
283–292
,
295

A-ONE,
199

“Apache,”
79
,
168

apartheid.
See
anti-apartheid movement

Arabian Prince,
319

Arafat, Yasir,
266
,
267

Ariefdien, Shaheen,
450

Armstrong, Louis,
240

Arnwine, Barbara,
401

arson, South Bronx,
13–16

art.
See also
graffiti culture

graffiti culture,
142–144
,
146–148
,
151
,
152–154
,
160
,
180–182
,
198–200