10.28.2022
Video: Tales Of The Town – “BLACK JACOBINS” by FULLY & J. Stalin ft. Koran Streets
Tales of The Town is A Multimedia Project That Explores Nearly 100 Years of Oakland’s Black History; the Recewntly Released Album Brings Bay Area Musicians As Diverse as G-Eazy, Rexx Life Raj, EluJay, Jane Handcock, and More to Paint a Picture of Oakland’s Vibrant Music Scene
Hosted by Abbas Muntaqim and Delency Parham of the Hella Black Podcast, Tales Of The Town Details the Rich History of Oakland Through a Podcast, an Album, and More; Episode 6 of the Tales Of The Town Podcast Focuses on the Systems and Policies That Led to the Housing Crisis in Oakland
The Video:
Tales Of The Town is a multimedia project that tells stories from Oakland’s rich Black history, commenting on the historical causes of issues that affect the community today. In the first music video from the recently-released Tales Of The Town album, three East Bay natives–FULLY, J. Stalin, and Koran Streets–channel revolutionary spirit in “BLACK JACOBINS.” Named after the book written by Trinidadian historian C.L.R. James about Toussaint L’Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution, “BLACK JACOBINS” uses the shimmering and haunting, yet undeniably funky aesthetic of Bay Area street music to salute radicals and pay tribute to the fallen.
Kicking off the proceedings with his hushed delivery, FULLY, a native of Oakland’s “Murder Dubbs” neighborhood, shouting out Black Panther Party leaders like Fred Hampton and Oakland native Bobby Seale in his verse. West Oakland’s own J. Stalin follows with an incendiary verse about the death of Oscar Grant at the hands of a BART transit officer, an act of violence that partially inspired the modern Black Lives Matter movement: “Shots fired, man down, Fruitvale Station/Only trainin’ these n****s got on the PlayStation/Shoot a black man down like it’s Call Of Duty,” spits Stalin. Mysterious Berkeley rapper Koran Streets takes the final verse with a defiant demand for better education, reparations, and prison abolition, and promising dire consequences if those demands aren’t met. In the video, the East Bay trio post up in an Oakland alley, their impassioned performances intercut with images of the historical revolutionaries mentioned in the lyrics.
“BLACK JACOBINS” is a highlight from Tales Of The Town, an 11-track album that emphasizes the depth and breadth of Oakland’s music scene. Though some songs, like the searing “F*CK 12” FREESTYLE ft. Guapdad 4000 & LaRussell tackle social issues that affect Oakland’s Black community, other songs like “GET DANGEROUS” ft. 22nd Jim & Lil Bean and “PARTY WITH THE GANG” ft. G-Eazy, P-Lo & FREDOBAGZ show how the community blows off steam. Featuring a cast of characters from all over Northern California, from Oakland artists like ALLBLACK, Rexx Life Raj, and ymtk, Sacramento street hero Shootergang Kony, San Francisco rhymer Lil Bean, Richmond native P-Lo, and many others, all of whom donated their verses to benefit the People’s Programs, Tales Of The Town is available everywhere via San Francisco’s own EMPIRE.
The new video arrives alongside the latest episode of the Tales Of The Town podcast. Episode 6 of Tales Of The Town takes an in-depth look at the housing crisis in Oakland, and the rising rate of houselessness in the community. There are over 500,000 houseless people in Oakland, and enough vacant housing to fit all of them plus more–Tales Of The Town investigates the systems and policies that prevent community members from obtaining affordable and comfortable places to live.
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” wherever you get your podcasts
Watch “BLACK JACOBINS”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgI2cCMzGDY
Stream Tales Of The Town: https://music.empi.re/talesofthetown
Subscribe to “Tales Of The Town”: http://linktr.ee/hellablackpod
Link to volunteer for upcoming events: https://www.peoplesprograms.com/volunteer
Link to donate or purchase items on wishlist: https://www.peoplesprograms.com/donate
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 – OG Dayv & 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 & 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.
Abbas and Delency teamed up with artists from all over the Bay Area to produce 11 original songs and put together a Tales of The Town album. Every artist and producer featured on the album donated their voice and production, and all proceeds from the album go towards supporting People’s Programs. The album features music from artists such as Rexx Life Raj, G-Eazy, P-LO, LaRussell, Guapdad4000 and more! The album is set to release October 14th, 2022.
Links:
official site | linktree | soundcloud | spotify | apple
Link to volunteer for upcoming events: https://www.peoplesprograms.com/volunteer
Link to donate or purchase items on wishlist: https://www.peoplesprograms.com/donate
“BLACK JACOBINS” – Fully & J.Stalin ft. Koran Streets: https://youtu.be/AgI2cCMzGDY
Tales Of The Town: https://music.empi.re/talesofthetown
“PARTY WITH THE GANG” ft. G-Eazy, P-LO, FREDOBAGZ: https://music.empi.re/partywiththegang
“GET DANGEROUS” by 22nd Jim ft. Lil Bean: https://music.empi.re/getdangerous
“RISEN” ft. Elujay & Jane Handcock: https://music.empi.re/risen
“F*CK 12” FREESTYLE ft. LaRussell & Guapdad 4000: https://music.empi.re/fuck12freestyle