Cover Photo by Reclusive.
That Portland Produce section is looking pretty promising…
At the tail end of November, we received two new projects from the collective. how you like them APPLES? by Donte Thomas, and Thru the GRAPE Vine by Bocha. Both projects contained 10 songs and were released on the same day, November 27, 2020.
Needless to say, this crew is in sync, and there is no 90’s boy band involved.
“Let me know when it’s gonna go down…”
In his latest release, Portland mainstay Vursatyl (of the famed Lifesavas) uses his verses to lyrically lay out the endless confusion that surrounds us in this life, and his hooks to remind us that he’s ready to go when we choose to make a play.
It really took a village to put these visuals together, with contributions from a bevy of respectable locals involved in documenting the protests, and a cameo from J.U.I.C.E. Crew’s own Wiz.
It’s always dope to see hip-hop and politics merge, especially locally.
Song Produced by Jake One.
Video Directed by Chad Smith.
Video Produced by Kevin Hasenkopf.
Anti-Fascist Activists Dropped Banners Across Portland on MLK Day
In the twilight hours of Sunday morning, several autonomously organized groups of activists unveiled a series of banner drops and signage across Portland. Their message: “Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Era of Revolution’ is NOW!!” The banners and signage, which numbered fifteen in total, were placed in strategic locations throughout the city; some hung over the I-5 and I-84 freeways, some were placed on buildings, and one banner was strung up in the trees directly across the street from Portland Police Bureau’s North Precinct along NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. In addition to the banners reading the aforementioned slogan, there were other banners and signs reading “I’m tired living everyday under the threat of death,” “Black Lives They Matter Here,” and “Landlord Abolition is Hot Girl Shit.”
The police union enjoys veto power over any program that deals with public safety in the city.
In a revealing turn of phrase, a recent OPB headline read that “Portland mayor calls for faster roll-out of policing alternative.” OPB was covering a public letter the mayor sent Jo Ann Hardesty, who has been given responsibility over the Portland Street Response pilot program, which sends non-armed first responders to emergency calls related to people experiencing homelessness. In the letter, the mayor calls on Hardesty to speed up implementation of the pilot.
However, the public is not being told the full structural context surrounding the City’s power to implement policing alternatives.
After spending years in the same hip-hop orbit without really getting to know each other, well-known local DJ Ronin Roc and I became friends over this last summer between dodging gunshots, eating bear mace, and dragging each other away from police lines.
A real multimedia wiz, Ronin started the Summer of George, a campaign focused on amplifying Black voices and ensuring that the deaths of George Floyd and others were not in vain.
You can pretty much always expect clean visuals and dizzying lyrics from Donte Thomas, and his New Year’s drop, la manzana, does both exquisitely.
How you like them apples?
Video by Fenn Paider
Swiggle Mandela – well known around these parts for his evergreen anthem, Dear Portland Police – looks to have some juice behind his new single, Needed, a collaboration with his bro Jacey Cordeta, Shady Records rapper Westside Boogie and LA-based singer Kenai.
From DJ OG One playing in the Rose Quarter (that’s the “Moda Center” to you newbies) to a DJ Envy shout out, it looks like the track it making it’s rounds.
Give a local a listen.
Whether through landmarks, like the awe-inspiring Chihuly Glass Garden, or on smaller niche status, like the clever album artwork coming from some of our own colleagues, it is undeniable that the Pacific Northwest is home to amazing visual art.
From the quirky to the dark, from the abstract to the hyperrealistic, our artists seem to cover it all. We love it. And we want to share more of it.
By: We Out Here Staff
Republican state senator Dallas Heard is no stranger to extremist controversies. Like a moth to the flame, he appears to be drawn to them somehow. Now, he appears to be inciting more controversy under the guise of freedom but it may be more related to favors for donors.
First, he collaborated with domestic terrorists in their takeover of the Malheur refuge.
He refused to wear a mask in the Oregon Legislature, putting his colleagues at risk.
He is tied to multiple figures who participated in the coup attempt in DC that resulted in multiple deaths (including a police officer).
