On Answering The Divine Calling of Collaboration...

Call Me ZZ Zine Launch Party Sep 27th!

Collaboration can be a multi-directional trust fall. Sometimes it’s an ancestor that catches you. Sometimes you have no idea what journeys saying “yes” will take you on. All I knew was I was being trusted with my friend (and brilliant photographer) Alexis Hunley’s family archive! When Alexis first asked me to be the creative director for a project centering the life and artistic work of her grandmother ZZ, I was both honored and overwhelmed. It felt too intimate. I barely knew my grandmother growing up (She was in a convalescent home by the time I was 3 three). Maybe that’s not what the work is asking for though, you won’t know until you get into the thickness of the doing what the work will reveal to you about you. I want to be of service. I want to be a vessel for the most impactful ideas to run through. Sooo over the past 8 months we’ve turned 13 boxes into an interactive testimony through Alexis’ Grandmother’s archive.

I miiiiight even perform this new piece I been working on about my mom at the archival party…

Wait, have you ever been to an archival party before? Me either so we decided to throw one!

As the creative director of the CALL ME ZZ project, I am thrilled to announce our first official gathering Sep 27th 2 pm- 9 pm. CALL ME ZZ is a reimagining of how we remember our matriarchs as whole people. It’s actively confronting the natal alienation that keeps Black stories and storytellers out of the archive. It's a practice of celebrating and holding the stories of those that made us possible. Our matriarchs are the least celebrated people in our family yet when they are gone the impact is felt for generations.

On Saturday, September 27th from 2 PM – 9 PM, we’re turning memory into communion, archives into art, and taking time for intentional memory making.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Bring a friend, meet a friend, leave with new stories and maybe a new form of kindship.

CALL ME ZZ is rooted in truth-telling. The personal is always collective.

More Deets in The Deeptails:

• The launch of two limited edition CALL ME ZZ zines (1 Zine with each purchase of a ticket)

• An exclusive Oral History Listening Session + Workshop with Jordan Berkeley Brewington

• Access to DIY Archival Stations to help you start building your own archive IRL

• First dibs on food and beverages from our vendor Flavors From Afar

• one ( 1) raffle entry and the chance to win special prizes

• Ashley Younniä is on the decks—her curation feels like getting dropped into a love song power ballad, while being flipped into house music that makes your body wanna testify.

• Intimate Performance by South Central’s own Def Sound (me! lol). I'll be closing event with new songs & poems alchemising the moment.

📅 Saturday, September 27th
🕑 2 PM – 9 PM
🎟 ticket (zine included)

Secret Location revealed with purchase.

See ya'll Saturday the 27th!

-d

Black August Just Got Blacker 🖤

Next Performance: Aug. 30th at Inglewood’s Miracle Theater 🇸🇩

IT’S ALL CONNECTED!

Every genocide, every climate crisis, every executive order, every journalist martyred, every piece of stolen soil, everything is connected!

Fred Moten has a trilogy of impossible to categorize writings called Consent Not To Be A Single Being. I roll that title around in my mind, and it regrounds me in the understanding that there is a constellation of folks that make me possible. We are an assemblage of all that have come before us. We are each others keeper. Our survival will be collaborative, and I consent to that connectivity. Our care must be continued no matter the result.

In that spirit I’m writing to let you know I’m honored to be using my efforts & gifts to raise funds in solidarity w/ our Sudanese 🇸🇩 siblings. Its been 500 days of famine in Sudan so even if you can’t pull up in the physical please consider donating to the cause with the link below.

Get your tix HERE

Saturday, August 30th at the historic Miracle Theatre in Inglewood, CA from 2-10 PM.

PERFORMANCES BY LAUREN JAUREGUI, DANNYLUX, ZANIB,

XIUHTEZCATL, DORIS ANAHÍ &

SOUNDS BY JEREMY SOLE

POETRY BY YAZMIN MONET WATKINS, VIANNEY HARELLY

& HAMOUDI AHMAD

WORKSHOP BY ARTISTS AGAINST APARTHEID &

PANEL BY SUMMER OF RESISTANCE

I’m excited to perform our song AMEEN live for the first time with the incredible Lauren Jauregui!

More details: Funds raised will be directed to 3 non-profit organization that assist U.S. Migrants and families In Sudan. The two organiza1ons focused on U.S. Migrants are NDLON, an organization that improves the lives of day laborers, migrants and low-wage workers and CHIRLA, which works at the intersection of immigration law and employment law. For Sudanese families we will be working with the Sudan American Charity which provides assistance to needy families in Sudan by providing food and shelter to orphans & families and helps with the cost of health care & education needs.

Its the perfect way to end Black August. According to The Kinfolk Tech Foundation “Black August serves as an annual observance to honor deceased freedom fighters while fighting for political prisoner freedom and opposing the ongoing carceral system. Black August took shape during the prison uprisings of the 1970s, rooted in the resistance of Black political prisoners. With its origins written in the throes of San Quentin State Prison in California, where the likes of George Jackson and Ruchell Magee were once housed and became names that widely represent heritages of Black revolutionary struggle. The first Black August celebration paid tribute to both the ten years of prison militancy and the entire history of Black resistance which included maroon communities and abolitionist thought and prison uprisings.”

rapsody

A post shared by @rapsody

Let’s remember we are living instances of resistences.

See ya’ll on thee 30th!

-d

11/10 recommends

vol. 001 of 11 tings I’m into right now.

We all love a good rec! I decided I want this newsletter to not just be limited to life updates and project promotions but also space for sharing some whimsical inspiration as a lifeline as we thug our way through this ting. & I love lists (the autism be hittin).

My love language is sharing so let’s get into it.

( 1 ) Sky’s Tacos - 5303 W Pico Blvd Suite #01, Los Angeles, CA 90019

Chef Barbara Burrell’s sassy sauce and original recipes will have you dancing in your seat! Anytime I am in Mid City I’m running the Sky’s vegan potato burrito without hesitation. Anytime someone is in from outta town I take them to this LA classic.

( 2 ) Akan Chief Glasses -

My brilliant partner in thought & in life Akiko Surai, has been thinking of gold as an ancestral conduit and sent me these photos of Akan solid gold chief glasses.

( 3 ) Satellite 📡 by Simone Leigh -

Speaking of transmissions, Simone Liegh’s sculptural offering from 2022 speaks volumes to me. It’s 6,000 pounds and 24-foot-high.

( 4 ) Open Mike Eagle’s new album Neighborhood Gods Unlimited -

It’s really an incredible concept record if you are into Sci Fi Afro alterative future art raps. Here’s what Open Mike says about it “Creatively it’s an excuse to build a slate of 3-5 minute serialized TV shows. There’s a 3-5 minute recurring sitcom, a 3-5 minute professional wrestling show, 3-5 minute dramas and news programs.

I wanted one of the dramas to feel like the movie Get Out or Sorry to Bother You. Stories that engage in big conversations around the trauma of marginalized folks, with a hint of magical realism. It really coalesced when I saw Boots Riley’s I’m A Virgo. When I saw a fully realized, grounded serial drama featuring modern black folks with a surrealist hook, I began to develop Neighborhood Gods Unlimited.”

Also this interview with The Rap Music Plug Pod

( 5 ) The Catch by Yrsa Daly-Ward -

I finished the novel last night! What a novela, Yrsa’s first fiction piece had my reading light running out of batteries it was sooo juicy. It’s about two twin sisters who meet their mother and she is the same age as them… (I can’t say more) The pacing is amazing and the story will put your imagination into a yoga pose.

You gotta read it, its really exquisite work! Also reading fiction before bed is actually the answer, I highly recommended that.

( 6 ) Mr. LMP by TRU -

A new album by the homie TRU! The young Leimert Park legend slides through w/ album containing no skips. This boy is a chameleon, so many styles he is a group lol. I’m honored to be a part of this project on a song called Grey (with trumpet playing by Brandon Samuels), its about loyalty and asks the question, “Where did all the real ones go?”

( 7 ) Rian Phin’s YouTube channel -

If you are into philosophy, personal style and contemporary fashion Rian threads together critiques and thought provoking questions that got me looking at my closet completely different. (in the most un prescriptive way)

( 8 ) Sims Poetry Library -

Yes, there is an entire library in LA dedicated to collecting and preserving books of poetry.

Its free and open to the public Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Also Saturday from 3 pm to 8 pm. 2702 W Florence Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90043. I went and got my poetic license thee other day.

( 9 ) The Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out experience -

As of today The Clipse have provided us with the Rap Album of the year. The “two real life brothers” re team up with Pharrell to do what they do best, coke raps and introspection. I love an artist committed to their themes, and this still feels like a progression after 15 years later. Both Push & Malice are technicians of the craft of rapping. The rollout is flooding the algorithm in a way we don’t see with Hip Hop anymore. Their PR and whole team deserves a standing ovation for how brilliantly timed and care-filledly synchronized everything has been. It feels in service to the work and considers todays landscape and attention spans while properly contextualizing the music to be as important as it is! This is not a review but I will say my fav’s from the project are E.B.I.T.D.A (which Akiko remixed the acronym to stand for EVERY BRICK I TOUCH DOES AMAZING), Chains & Whips, So Be It, M.T.B.T.T.F. , F.I.C.O. , and The Birds Don’t Sing. Most commerical music with big budgets is SO bad. It’s nice to be excited about bars again.

(10) Collectible Limited Design Original Black Paper Chair #1 Dolly by Vadim Kibardin -

I like expensive stuff & sitting so yea this piece checks those boxes.

(11) Gonna leave ya’ll with a Writing Prompt

-d

Are we Alright?

[ EVENT ]: To Pimp A Butterfly (Re)Listening at REP CLUB 7.23.25

I remember we’re still conflicted… It’s been 10 years since Kendrick dropped to Pimp A Butterfly record that shifted the sonic landscape of Hip Hop & Jazz. I invite you to come out of your cocoon and join us for an IRL intentional relistening & revisiting of TPAB. I’ll be in conversation with brilliant Spelman professor Sequoia Maner, and author of the book To Pimp A Butterfly (Which was a part of the 33 1/3 book series) at my home away from home Reparations Club July 23rd at 7 pm.

The album is a poem within itself, meant to be experienced in its sprawling expansive entirety and not skipped, talked over or playlisted, So why not share that with ya’ll?

RSVP HERE before the event sells out!

Today some folks celebrate freedom, I find that liberation is far more appealing. They are far from the same thing. The freedom to consume and move without impunity seems to be what is on the menu as freedom. The real gag is the oppressors have made assimilation look like freedom. They have confused our collective goals by turning highly individuated social climbing and positioning into our north star. When liberation is the elimination of the systems of oppression on our everyday lives. That’s what I am interested in, the systemic unworlding to actually be liberated from this current paradigm.

On March 15, 2015 Kendrick Lamar's album To Pimp A Butterfly was released. Hip Hop would never be the same. The year To Pimp a Butterfly dropped police killed 1,152 civilians. Ten years later we still catching fades with the state fighting injustices on every level. As they pass Billionaire bills and kidnap entire communities we need more art & music that reflects the urgency of the time. It also felt aligned to pay homage (there is something to be said about approaching a song with such rich existing metadata already). Although Kendrick himself is not radical in his politics or with his platform, the emotions captured in the song Alright carries an energy of conjuring that became a contagiously compelling battle cry. It wasn’t written as a political record but the people chose it, it resonated with those that needed it most. The time is continuously now though! There is an uprising rising up in us. What words do we need now? I hope this rhyme can also be a remedy.

GET YOUR PASSPORT & JOIN MY PATREON for the full song!!

Here is how I decided to pay homage. Hope ya’ll vibe w/ it.

Aligned aka Iight fka Alright 2025 Lyrics:

Hook🪝

I need a liberation that’s global

I don’t need liberation not a Mogul

I need a liberation that is total

I need a liberation ( ( UGH! ) )

I need a liberation that’s collective

I need a liberation of perspectives

I need a liberation for my ppl

I need a liberation that’s connective

**

I need a liberation free from isolation

Free from domination

Free from hibernation

Free from separation

Free from segregation

Free from legislations

(we gotta get) repetitious w/ the reparations

We need reparations

reparations

reparations

Freedom time!

Time aint waiting

Time aint waiting

VERSE 2:

Polyphonic logic

Kaepernicking n**** at the college

Kidnapping kids (at) graduations, even at apartments

diabolic dialect deconstruction of the topic

Muthaf*ckas really live at the mall!

Buy a life off the shelf can you live w/ the cost?

blood on our hands & we can’t wash it off

(Living w/ our) Life in the air like a prayer at the Mosque

Will you Chat gpt when the water is gone?

For every single person everything is urgent

Think we need a surgeon

Wretched Of The Earthling ( ah! )

Seeing through the curtain

Everybody hurtin

Everythings uncertain

If your heart is broken, then your heart is working

I was thinking bout my ppl through the wisdom of our rhythms

I was thinking bout the workers

I was dancing on the ruins

I was picturing a vision

It’s a revolution brewing

Passport been packed up N**** what you doing ?

(Hook)

-d

something new.. 🎶

Music 4 the times every line got em hook’ed 🪝 like bell….

(photo provided by Alexis Hunley)

Listen, Sly Stone (rest in power 🕊️ ) told us There’s A Riot Goin’ On… Also learned over the weekend that the best use of a Waymo is an on call barricade. Revolution is happening right now, although I have been on a so so media hiatus I felt the need to be informed and in call & response with the moment. I’m going to drop music when my intuition tells me to. The shifts are happening quick. Remember immigrants are not your enemy. The governing class has declared war on its ppl. Its narrative warfare and its crucial we remember this moment as it happened. We are void tellers, truth telling the untold. Let’s remember & bear witness collectively.

yesikastarr

A post shared by @yesikastarr

Also this is a powerful resource from a friend and fellow poet Yesika Salgado.

When you see an ICE agent trying to disappear your neighbors :

1st - Film it on your phone (for as long as you can).

2nd - Ask the person being illegally detained their name “¿Cómo te llamas?”

3rd - Ask their birthday - “¿Cuál es tu cumpleaños?”

4th - Ask is there someone you want me to contact? “¿Hay alguien con quien quiera que me ponga en contacto?”

5th - Remind them not to speak without a lawyer - “No hable sin un abogado.”

Then contact the Southern California Rapid Response Network - Los Angeles - (888) 624 - 4752

Orange County - (714) 881 - 1558

CHIRLA (323) 353 - 1333

Stay vigilant beloved,

Lyrics:

Heaven knows I’m going straight to Zelle$

Heavy thought it could break the scales

You know the vibes

summertime On the grind like skating rails

owe you an email? what I owe myself?

Who gonna ride?

Every line got em hooked like bell

In my mind improvised thats an endless well

Every week whooping beats n**** get my belt

On repeat Fuck ICE break them jails

We gone Break those spells

We gone bring them hell

story got stories you feel me braille

We gone start that garden, we gon get that kale

South central with me everywhere I dwell

Going David Hammons at the HAMMER

More commas with the comrades off the grammar

Snappin at the campus like camera

N**** I’m the problem and an answer

What we talking bout practice?

Flipping words wordplay doing those Back flips

liberation? corporations never gon back this!

F*ck a label give it to the ppl all access

My heartbeat is an art piece

Keeping receipts

An arteest do not start me

(Of a )Different degree

Pusha-T of poetry

Every written’s a Key

A scale is a door

Kid Fury how I’m giving The Read

new forms

Swinging wisdom like a new sword

Brain storm brought the Thunder out like I'm Lou Dort

Really unannounced on they heels like shoe horn

We gone really change the world, diaper on a new born

Shit (🇺🇸) sticks

BOOM BINK!

gimme 6 ft

Do my own thang

Gotta big range

Gotta Pick me up full court

You aint with the whimsy & the Folklore

Every rhyme I recite is a whole course

(every) Syllables a syllabus I get silly with

With the silly wit

Resurrect w/ the rhetoric

They/them with the maythem

Yea I Get it in

Every pay stub that I rake up

Got my rate up

Got the game in the back taped up

N*gga wake up

Turn the bass up

Yummm Yummm Yummm Yea I ate up

Heaven knows I’m going straight to Zelle$

Heavy thought it could break the scales

You know the vibes

summertime on the grind like skating rails

owe you an email? what I owe myself?

Who gonna ride?

Every line got em hooked like bell

In my mind improvised, that’s an endless well

Every week whooping beats n*gga get my belt

On repeat Fuck ICE break them jails

We gone Break those spells

We gone bring them hell

story got stories you feel me braille

All the pain that I paint all the things I felt

South central with me everywhere I dwell

-d