washington d.c... summer 2008

Washington, D.C. - Home to the world's biggest Ethiopian population outside of Africa... and where i just spent one of the best summers of my entire life. i arrived in D.C. for The 3rd Annual International Tsehai Conference which took place from June 28th - July 3rd, 2008. Organized by the founder of Tsehai Publishers, Elias Wondimu, this years theme was "Ethiopia's Youth, Ethiopia's Future". i got to speak on a panel my first morning in D.C. on issues facing Ethiopian Youth in the Diaspora, alongside a whole group of some of the most inspiring young Ethiopians i've had the pleasure of meeting thus far, including Hendeke Gebre (Abesha.com), Nahom Beyene (ESAi Advisory Board Member), Winta Teferi, Ellias Fullmore (of Burntface), and Helena Shimeles (representing the Young Diplomats - Toronto, ON!) all of whom are doing amazing work.

Burntface was in a way, my introduction to this whole community... going back to 2005 when he hit me up on Myspace with a message about Abesha.com and a compilation of Ethiopian & Eritrean Hip-Hop that he was putting together, which ended up being the Kush Groove CD, (an amazing project, which i also originally recorded the track "Third World Wide" for.) Anyways, that message, prompted me to check the Abesha.com website, and it's archives (which dated all the way back to 2001) were like food for my mind & spirit... see, i grew up like so many who were born in the diaspora, with an incredible feeling of isolation. The world we grew up in is completely different from our parents and for some, the world we live in at home is completely different from all of our peers... since my mother came to North Amerika before the huge migration, and because of my age, i missed the experience my little cousins get to have of growing up in a larger East African community in Seattle, it just wasn't like it is now when i was younger. so this website ended up being the first place i got to connect with a much larger community of Abesha folks who grew up like i did... it was healing and it definitley fueled music i would make in the coming years, up until now. So obviously i was really excited to meet Hendeke this summer, and a lot of other folks i had known throo the internets but never met face to face.

Also, throo the conference, i got to meet and build with people like Andrew Lawrence, whose father was Ethiopian, mother was Irish, and he grew up in Harlem watching Hip Hop grow right beside him, but in a foster home, thinking he must of been Puerto Rican. As an adult, he found out where his family really came from, and now, this brother has the most extensive library on the history of Ethiopian & African-American people i've ever seen... not to mention he can give a really engaging presentation! i also had the pleasure of meeting Munit Mesfin, whose music is just lovely, and the amazing director / actor / organizer / homie, Weyni Mengesha, who also puts together the Selam Youth Festival in Toronto every year, check out her reel!!!

Every year The Tsehai Conference happens right around the same time, same city, as the Ethiopian Soccer Tournament, so we obviously hit that up as well... and errybody who's been to both places said the scene outside was just like the Addis Merkato... for me, it was just the closest i had ever felt to being back home. An estimated 30,000 Ethiopians deep. Perfect place to shoot a music video huh?

Meet Sal. Salvatore Fullmore, that is. he directed all of the Burntface videos, as well as videos for artists like Kieth Murray, Buju Banton, Hi-Tek, Medina Green feat. Mos Def, and at least 100 more. we're chillin, he's got a camera and says "let's shoot a video", i say "word"... next thing you know we're shooting a video. Before Sal, i never really knew shooting a video could be so much fun... he really approaches the film work the same way we do music, like he's ready to freestyle and throw down any minute. The end result of that impulse decision was the video for "Tizita", my solo contribution to The Kafa Beanz album Andromeda: The Chronicles of Blackopia, Volume 1, produced by his brother Ellias.

The Kafa Beanz album, Andromeda, is an amazing piece of music... it brings together the voices of Burntface, B. Sheba, Wayna, AP and myself over a fusion of Ethiopian Jazz, Hip Hop & Soul that really is it's own planet. check out what Larry had to say about it in The Stranger... as Kafa Beanz, we did a show at Club Avenue while i was in D.C., and distributed a bunch of CD's over the summer... but i'm still waiting on an official release date and a place to tell ya'll to go cop that. Wayna has an amazing new solo project tho, Higher Ground, which you can get throo her myspace...

Another reason D.C. felt like home, (in addition to kicking it with my cousin Mamaye, and in addition to having strangers walking up to me speaking Amharic and expecting me to know it - best feeling ever!) was Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe. Founded by filmmaker Haile Gerima this place has been the jump-off for so many young Ethiopian & Eritrean artists, organizers & entrepreneurs... a really important community center for people of African Descent, and one that made me feel at home, right away. We shot parts of the "Tizita" video there... we also did lots of editing, e-mail checking, kicking it, rapping and drank plenty of smoothies and cups of serious-faced coffee there. Same neighborhood we shot the "Third World Wide" video. (which was also an unplanned shoot - and one that took literally 4 hours from the idea of shooting the video to almost being done with editing - Sal's a G)
i also got to catch some really good shows while in d.c... my sister Wayna took me to see Blu & Exile opening for Platinum Pied Pipers who had the super-ill homegirl Invincible rocking as a surprise guest. i got to meet a bunch of Wayna's peoples that night too... really dope producers & emcees like Kev Brown, RoddyRod and Asheru. The very next day, and thanks to the homie Meliza, i had the honor of performing at a concert for The Longest Walk 2 which was held right in front of the US Capitol. It was the end of a 5-month, 8,200 mile prayer walk for Indigenous People's rights that began on Alcatraz Island. It was the 30th Anniversary of The Longest Walk in 1978 which was successful in gathering enough support to halt proposed legislation that would of abrogated Indian treaties with the U.S. government. Upon my arrival, i ran into the homie Luv the Mezenger, (one-half of the crew Ometehol with my SistaHailStorm) - Luv walked the whole way. So we rocked the stage together, and also heard words of wisdom from Dick Gregory, amongst many others.

The last few days i spent in D.C. were the first few days of the Brave New Voices National Youth Poetry Slam. i got to see one of my heroes perform for the first time, Sonia Sanchez... and kicked it real hard with my cousin Milu who made it to the Seattle Youth Speaks team, along with the homies Canary Sing and El Dia, who rocked an ill show my last night in D.C... i really wanted to stay longer but i had to go do these shows in Canada!

And Toronto was just a continuation of D.C. for me, (and Nahom!) Weyni had me come up to do the Selam Youth Festival which brought together hundreds of East African youth all doing different forms of art... from theater, spoken word, and all kinds of music - traditional, soul to hip hop. It was such an honor and pleasure to perform there, and i even got to work the homie Helena from Young Diplomats into the set! (in addition to being such a great organizer she's an amazing singer too) While in Toronto, i stayed with and got to know the city throo the eyes of Kamau, who in addition to being an incredibly ill emcee & poet, is also an organizer with a group called Schools Without Borders and the weekend i was there, he was getting ready to take 20 youth from Toronto to Nairobi, Kenya. it's an exchange program so the same amount of youth in Nairobi get to come to Toronto a lil bit later. they do the same thing with youth in Brazil too. what was hilarious (and inspiring) is that Schools Without Borders shares an office with The Remix Project, a program that seems almost identical to what we do in Seattle with The Katalyst Project (except they seem to have more funding... and a nicer space, but hey, we're working on it!) Between Kamau, Weyni, the Young Diplomats... i was not ready to leave Toronto. but another show called! so it was back to the west coast... and here i am.

Peace to Tizita, Elahe, Ambessa, Marquos, Offtrack, Kenneth Fullmore, Hohete, Bevil, Selam, Beshou, Tinsaye, Alpha, Aden, Samra, everyone i met in Toronto, Mimi, Teo, Fikre, Yodit, Etmet, Senay, Woyni, Malik, Dahlak, Bernos Clothing... everyone i mentioned and didn't mention who i crossed paths with this summer that made it feel like home. i miss ya'll hella... and expect you to still use the word "hella" next time i see you.

check the Young Diplomats website for more photos!