Welcome to “The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden,” where every week we tap into the Bay Area arts scene and bring you rich conversations with artists. On today’s show: Bay Area hip-hop icon Lyrics Born talks about his new song and upcoming concert during the Noise Pop Festival. Then, we get an update on the fate of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. And a young Oakland singer is preparing for his first SFJazz show.
Today's theme is about lyrics, prose and preserving cultural spaces.
Lyrics Born
Hip-hop artist Lyrics Born has been giving his fans dope music for nearly three decades. He's done this all as an independent artist. The East Bay rapper was born in Tokyo and moved to Berkeley when he was six years old. His funky beats, lyrics that are both fun and about real life, as well as his skills on the mic are a few reasons why he's a West Coast hip-hop legend. His new song, "I Love Myself" features rappers P-Lo and Trackademicks. In this interview he talks about his career, Asian-American representation in pop culture and more.
Noise Pop Music Festival and KALW are co-presenting his upcoming show this Friday, February 27 at Gray Area in San Francisco.
Paul S. Flores
Activists and members of the community have been rallying to reopen the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, after it closed indefinitely last month due to financial issues. For nearly 50 years, the center has been a place to recognize, celebrate and teach art from Chicano, Central American, South American and Caribbean cultures. The city owns the building, and it's currently under the control of the San Francisco Arts Commission. There's been a lot of reports about the center since its closure.
Poet and educator Paul S. Flores is on the programming committee to help save center. He gives an update on what's happening with the space.
Paul also produces Paseo Artístico. The next event is on Saturday, March 14 in the San Francisco Mission at various venues on 24th street.
Veotis Latchison
The Oakland vocalist's music is a blend of hip hop, R&B, soul and jazz. Like good, old-soul jazz that reminds Host Jeneé Darden of the kind of jazz she used to hear out of her Texan granddaddy's truck. Veotis Latchison is only in his 20's. He will be performing two shows at SFJAZZ on Sunday, March 1. This is part of Noise Pop Festival. Also, these shows will be a first for Veotis at SFJAZZ. He and Jeneé talked about his rising career and laughed over how they first met.
