Losing Saafir is the end of an Oakland era. His roots are West Oakland. He represented a time when Dr. Bey was teaching & leading and the streets of Oakland were safer for women & children because there were Soldiers on post. The era of stopping at the Your Black Muslim Bakery cart in the Oakland International Airport for a Bean Pie on your way in and out of The Town. When there were still vestiges of the Revolutionary ties to the Black Panther Party for young folks in Oakland. Graffiti was political then too - and MERG1 had a lot of Graf ties - when Mike DREAM Francisco & his TDK crew were sometimes know as Those Damn Kids ... but they'd create a huge mural with the stark reminder - TAX DOLLARS KILL. I was PROUD to move to Oakland in the early 90s and when I visited in the late 1980s, you could feel the PRIDE of Oakland-Americans in their communities. Saafir and the Mahmoud family always represented that pride in my eyes. When you see them, you see Oakland. The Real Oakland. Besides the personal sense of loss and grief that I feel, that's what I sense about Saafir leaving this Earth - that he was one of the last Soldiers of that era and that him being here he was embodying that feeling of Oakland pride - he carried that with him all around the world. I hope and pray that his untimely passing, in this way similar to that of DOOM's, will lead to a renaissance for the young people of Oakland and youth all over the world to revisit his early music, so they can hear and feel that FEELING that Oakland had in the late 80s and early 90s. Often the news media or people wanting to distill Oakland down to a slick and negative catchphrase called it the City of Dope or City of Coke, they pointed at pimps & prostitutes as the only commerce Oakland had to offer but the city was in fact a rich port for commerce all over the world. A city that valued Elders, women and children. A city where, during times I was wary of walking on certain blocks in my OWN hometown of Los Angeles, I felt perfectly safe in Oakland where there were Muslim foot soldiers everywhere offering to help an elderly woman across the street or helping me carry my groceries when they saw me struggling with my bags. Where there was safety in numbers. Not because it was a peaceful utopia, but where tomfoolery and fuck shit was at a minimum because the presence of families full of soldiers was felt, they were at the ready, always coming in Peace, but prepared for War.
Down and Gone...
Walasia "MJ" Shabazz
Wednesday @MelodyLoungeLA the homie @djmorsecode, “Get Up To Get Down” event will be going down from 9p to 2a! @Monalisa7872 and myself will also be getting down so come have a drink or two and dance with us! Hahahahaha ✌🏽
Are yall ready for the 1st CALIFORNIA SOL of 2024?! This Memorial Day Monday, we’ll be on the rooftop of @MamaShelterLA and special guest @DJMeloD will be joining us! FREE! 2p-9p!
L.A.'s own @Monalisa7872, resident of the legendary Motown On Monday's parties and host of the "Paths Of Rhythm" show on https://t.co/fNe1Q3EhKF, curated this all female '70s/'80s funk, jazz & soul playlist. https://t.co/Ev9qszMIJK #InternationalDJDay
Join us at @AlzheimersLA's Making Memories Festival Sunday, November 12 at LA State Historic Park! Live music by @ozomatli, @jrocc, @BeauxGrisGris, @lamisanegra & our very own DJ @Monalisa7872, plus food trucks, the Amoeba booth and more!
Tickets + info: https://t.co/yHiclxmFkr
Get your tickets to the 3rd Annual Making Memories Festival on SUN 11/12!
@Ozomatli headlines at the LA State Historic Park!!! Special guests include @JRocc, @BeauxGrisGris, @lamisanegra & @Monalisa7872.
TIX/INFO: https://t.co/G76Ei8yYTF
https://t.co/rHUBb9DtH2
Thanks so much to everyone who made it out for our book signing party last week at the #KingPleasureLA Emporium! We had a blast meeting everyone. Shoutout to @Monalisa7872 for the tunes 🔥🎶
📸 @CarellAugustus
It’s @ervinarana’s birthday TONIGHT: 4/17, & @exileradio is helping us celebrate!
Along with MOMLA Players @monalisa7872 & @djphatrick, they'll be rocking Motown classics, covers & more all night long!
9p-2a PST
IRL: @The_Short_Stop
STREAM: https://t.co/RIJ1wupldb
@thewallabechamp DWYCK is a given.
Mass Appeal today but that could change to 1 of these tomorrow
Just To Get A Rep
Check The Tech
Take The Weight
Take A Rest
Speak Ya Clout
I’m The Man
Alongwaytogo
Manifest
Soliloquy Of Chaos
Take It Personal
You Know My Steez
Code Of The Streets