11.11.2022
Video: Tales Of The Town – “HOLLA” by Shy’an G, Ian Kelly & MYL3Z
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 8 of the Tales Of The Town Podcast Focuses on Oakland’s Influence on Sports, Focusing on Bay Area Natives like Bill Russell and Marshawn Lynch and the Town’s Storied Professional Franchises
The Video:
Through a podcast, album, book, and eventually a short film, the multimedia project Tales Of The Town is dedicated to exploring Oakland’s rich Black history and explaining how that history affects the community today. Gathering three of the East Bay’s most talented wordsmiths, Tales Of The Town shares “HOLLA,” the latest music video from the Tales Of The Town album. Using the rubbery bass and crisp handclaps that signify an Oakland rap slapper, “HOLLA” welcomes radical verses from Berkeley poet and rapper Shy’an G, Oakland lyricist Ian Kelly, and Berkeley riser MYL3Z. Shy’an decries violent police drawing paychecks from taxpayer dollars, Ian Kelly compares himself to the Oakland-native Black Panthers, and MYL3Z defiantly determines that the time for waiting is over, and the revolution should begin. In the video, the three emcees hang out in an East Bay parking lot–in view of the Bay Area’s BART line–as they spit their verses and assist with the People’s Programs mobile community health clinic.
“HOLLA” 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 8 of Tales Of The Town focuses on Oakland’s seismic impact on the world of sports. The Town is home to legends like Bill Russell, Jason Kidd, and Marshawn Lynch, plus current stars like Damian Lillard and NFL cornerback Marcus Peters, not to mention successful professional franchises formerly the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, and formerly the Raiders. The episode features an interview with longtime NFL quarterback Josh Johnson, as well as community members who share their insight on how sports have helped Oakland’s Black community thrive. Last week’s episode, Episode 7, focused on Oakland’s gentrification crisis, and featured an interview with legendary Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B.
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 “HOLLA”: https://youtu.be/wgwU1vvhZW0
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
“HOLLA” – Shy’an G & Ian Kelly ft. MYL3Z:
“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