9.30.2022

Audio: Tales Of The Town – “RISEN” ft. Elujay & Jane Handcock

Elujay and Jane Handcock Combat Gentrification in the Soulful Single From the Tales Of The Town Album, Coming October 14th via EMPIRE

Hosted by Abbas Muntaqim and Delency Parham of the Hella Black Podcast, Tales Of The Town Details Nearly 100 Years of Oakland History; Episode 2 Relates the History of The Black Panther Party and the People’s Breakfast

The Announcement:

Sourcing stories from Oakland’s Black community to weave a compelling story, Tales Of The Town is an ambitious accounting of Bay Area history. Today, the team behind the podcast and multimedia project shares “RISEN,“ the latest song from the Tales Of The Town album. The new song is a collaboration between Elujay, the singer-songwriter and ensemble leader from Oakland, CA, and Jane Handcock, the R&B vocalist and singer-songwriter from Richmond. Opening with an excerpt of a speech from famed Oakland resident Tupac Shakur, who denounces income inequality, “RISEN” is outwardly laid-back but burns with a passionate flame, protesting the rising rents that causes gentrification in Oakland’s Black neighborhoods. Elujay’s smooth vocals reflect his tired, but determined dedication to rising up in protest, while Jane’s vocals are less ethereal, as she laments the changes brought upon by gentrification.

Tales Of The Town is a multimedia project that tells the history of Black Oakland, bringing the true stories of The Town’s people and their experiences to thrilling life through a podcast, album, book, and short film. Episode 2 of Tales Of The Town, released on September 27th, focuses on The Black Panther Party, which originated in Oakland, and its ability to mix righteous action and providing programs that meet the material needs of the community. The episode also discusses the creation of People’s Breakfast Oakland, which serves free meals to the houseless community in Oakland, and was inspired by the Black Panther Party’s free breakfast program. The second of twelve episodes, following last week’s debut about the First and Second Great Migrations of Black Southerners to Oakland, the podcast covers issues from all walks of life, sourcing stories directly from Black Oakland residents who have lived through history.

“RISEN” is the latest excerpt from the Tales Of The Town album, an 11-track album, featuring contributions from Bay Area musicians. The upcoming album welcomes a diverse group of artists with a deep connection to The Town, ranging from stars like G-Eazy, to critically acclaimed acts like Rexx Life Raj, street heroes like ALLBLACK and 22nd Jim, veterans like J Stalin, and many others. Last week, Tales Of The Town shared “F*CK 12” FREESTYLE, an incendiary missive by Guapdad 4000 and LaRussell. Tales Of The Town arrives on October 14th via EMPIRE. 

Hosted by People’s Programs’ co-founders and the co-creators of Hella Black Podcast, Abbas Muntaqim and Delency Parham, and produced by award winning documentarian and audio engineer, Maya Cueva, Tales Of The Town hopes to give an in-depth overview of what makes Oakland so special, and inspire others to research the fascinating history of their own hometowns.

Proceeds from the Tales Of The Town album will go towards supporting People’s Programs.

Listen to “Tales Of The Town” Episodes 1 and 2 wherever you get your podcasts

Listen to “RISEN” ft. Elujay & Jane Handcock: https://music.empi.re/risen

Watch the visualizer for “RISEN”: https://youtu.be/zSO-zDfYcm4

Subscribe to “Tales Of The Town”: http://linktr.ee/hellablackpod

Tales Of The Town tracklist:
1. 23 IN THE 4TH – Tales of the town & Mani Draper ft. Rexx Life Raj
2. ALL BLACK POWER – ALLBLACK & YMTK ft. Kevin Allen
3. RISE UP – White Dave & Pallavi aka Fijiana
4. GET DANGEROUS – 22nd Jim ft. Lil Bean
5. WE MADE IT – Prada Mack ft. Samaria
6.RISEN – Elujay & Jane Handcock
7. PARTY WITH THE GANG – Tales of the Town ft. G-Eazy, P-LO, FREDOBAGZ
8. BLACK JACOBINS – Fully Folks & J.Stalin ft. Koran Streets
9. “F*CK 12” FREESTYLE – Tales of the Town ft. LaRussell & Guapdad 4000
10. HOLLA – Shy’an G & Ian Kelly ft. Myl3z
11. TO THE STREETS/ CLIPPED WINGS – ShooterGang Kony & Wantmoren8 ft. Jalil Muntaqim

 

Please contact Michelle or Annjie for more info.

The Background:

Tales Of The Town is a podcast about Black Oakland. Detailing nearly one hundred years of Oakland history through the people whose families have called Oakland home for generations, the stories of Oaklanders and their experiences in “The Town” are brought to life through a podcast, album, book, and short film.

Tales of The Town explores the first and second Great Migrations that brought Black southerners to Oakland en masse, Oakland’s historic sports teams and players, legendary musicians, the first Black Student Union at Merritt College, houselessness, gentrification, The Huichin Chochenyo Ohlone people, and much more!

Hosted by People’s Programs’ co-founders and the co-creators of Hella Black Podcast, Abbas Muntaqim and Delency Parham, and produced by award winning documentarian and audio engineer, Maya Cueva – the first episode of the podcast releases next Tuesday, September 20th.

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Links:

official site | linktree | soundcloud | spotify | apple

“RISEN” ft. Elujay & Jane Handcock: https://music.empi.re/risen

“F*CK 12” FREESTYLE ft. LaRussell & Guapdad 4000: https://music.empi.re/fuck12freestyle