An Open Letter from T-K.A.S.H.
First, I'd like to thank all of you who have supported me as an artist, by purchasing my latest full-length Guerrilla Funk Recordings release, "Turf War Syndrome". I am finished with a limited edition promotional project entitled "Follow the Signs" which will be available at all scheduled live performance events throughout the rest of this year.
As many of us in the so-called "Conscious" hip hop community already know, politics, greed and favoritism lie on all levels in the industry.... including ours. My deepest gratitude goes to all of you who helped me in my achievement of overcoming those elements.
I'd like to take this opportunity you have given me by reading this letter, to talk about the other side of my foundation in the industry...The Friday Nite vibe.
Founded, produced and hosted from the late 80's to the early millennium by hip hop historian and industry watchdog Davey D, The Friday Nite Vibe is a Bay Area hip hop radio institution with technical roots that fit perfectly amongst the soil it was cultivated in, Free Speech Radio 94.1fm KPFA in Berkeley, Ca.
I began my relationship with Davey and the show in 1995 at the age of 16. While I already had a position as an intern with him on 106.1 KMEL, it was the late night, raw and uncut atmosphere of The F.N.V. at KPFA that held my interest the most. It was here, that I became, what it was that I helped cultivate, Bay Area hip-hop legacy.
As an intern at KPFA with Davey, I was able to do more, say more, think more and learn more than what was allowed at KMEL, due to corporate red tape.
Perhaps the most vital aspect of the F.N.V. is that over the years, it helped me become more than what I could have ever imagined. After a seven-year sojourn, which included both good and bad elements of growth, I became lead host and producer of the F.N.V. in 2002. My devotion to the Bay Area communities and the hip hop offspring it produced, then birthed a revolution in Bay Area hip hop radio culture that has been proven by time and tangibility
to be a derivative of the 120 min, all Bay Area music, local liberal political analysis, prison outreach and live event based format that I pioneered. Respectfully speaking, while most of my colleagues in bay area hip hop media focused on hip-hop culture on a larger perspective, I remained faithful to the issues of my native region. By 2005, I gained global acclaim for defeating corporate radio by winning the East Bay Express' "Most Listenable Radio Personality" award. This award led to accreditation and sponsorship from regions outside the Bay, primarily due to the fact that I never gave up on a region that gave up on itself, and the respect for the entire Bay Area hip hop community became bilateral when it was clear that this
"Other show" that so many tried to shrug they're shoulders at, was indeed the beacon of light for a demographic that was eventually left for dead.
The summary of my tenure with the F.N.V. will always be dismissed, and debated, as all great accomplishments are. There will always be someone, somewhere, who will always insist that our success with the F.N.V. is a lie. So be it.
With that said, I would like to announce that effective April 7th, The Friday Nite Vibe, will attempt to do what it did for the Bay Area…on a NATIONAL level.
At this time, All hip hop artists, from all over the country, can now submit their radio edited songs in downloadable MP3 form to [email protected]. These songs will be filed, reviewed, and put into rotation according to time, compliance, and technical efficiency.
We will now be covering local and government politics from all over the country, as other great shows such as Hard Knock Radio, Flashpoints, and Democracy Now are already doing.
For those of us in the Bay, we already know the F.N.V. has always the underlying force in translating our social issues to the most at-risk demographic of our society; I truly aspire to do my part for that same demographic on a national level.
Effective the following Monday of each national edition, you will be able to read blogs summarizing the highlighted artists, listen to their music, topics, and events concerning the previous Friday’s show by going to www.myspace.com/fridaynightnation.
I hope to build, connect and succeed with all of my extended brother/sisterhood in the struggle we all face with the task of correctly preserving Hip-Hop culture, for it is alive and in need of our help.
I hope all of you will join me this Friday for the all-new national edition of the Friday Night Vibe.
Your friend,
T-K.A.S.H.
www.guerrillafunk.com
(The Friday Nite Vibe can be heard every Friday night from midnight to 2am pst on 94.1 fm kpfa in Northern California, and worldwide at www.kpfa.org)
First, I'd like to thank all of you who have supported me as an artist, by purchasing my latest full-length Guerrilla Funk Recordings release, "Turf War Syndrome". I am finished with a limited edition promotional project entitled "Follow the Signs" which will be available at all scheduled live performance events throughout the rest of this year.
As many of us in the so-called "Conscious" hip hop community already know, politics, greed and favoritism lie on all levels in the industry.... including ours. My deepest gratitude goes to all of you who helped me in my achievement of overcoming those elements.
I'd like to take this opportunity you have given me by reading this letter, to talk about the other side of my foundation in the industry...The Friday Nite vibe.
Founded, produced and hosted from the late 80's to the early millennium by hip hop historian and industry watchdog Davey D, The Friday Nite Vibe is a Bay Area hip hop radio institution with technical roots that fit perfectly amongst the soil it was cultivated in, Free Speech Radio 94.1fm KPFA in Berkeley, Ca.
I began my relationship with Davey and the show in 1995 at the age of 16. While I already had a position as an intern with him on 106.1 KMEL, it was the late night, raw and uncut atmosphere of The F.N.V. at KPFA that held my interest the most. It was here, that I became, what it was that I helped cultivate, Bay Area hip-hop legacy.
As an intern at KPFA with Davey, I was able to do more, say more, think more and learn more than what was allowed at KMEL, due to corporate red tape.
Perhaps the most vital aspect of the F.N.V. is that over the years, it helped me become more than what I could have ever imagined. After a seven-year sojourn, which included both good and bad elements of growth, I became lead host and producer of the F.N.V. in 2002. My devotion to the Bay Area communities and the hip hop offspring it produced, then birthed a revolution in Bay Area hip hop radio culture that has been proven by time and tangibility
to be a derivative of the 120 min, all Bay Area music, local liberal political analysis, prison outreach and live event based format that I pioneered. Respectfully speaking, while most of my colleagues in bay area hip hop media focused on hip-hop culture on a larger perspective, I remained faithful to the issues of my native region. By 2005, I gained global acclaim for defeating corporate radio by winning the East Bay Express' "Most Listenable Radio Personality" award. This award led to accreditation and sponsorship from regions outside the Bay, primarily due to the fact that I never gave up on a region that gave up on itself, and the respect for the entire Bay Area hip hop community became bilateral when it was clear that this
"Other show" that so many tried to shrug they're shoulders at, was indeed the beacon of light for a demographic that was eventually left for dead.
The summary of my tenure with the F.N.V. will always be dismissed, and debated, as all great accomplishments are. There will always be someone, somewhere, who will always insist that our success with the F.N.V. is a lie. So be it.
With that said, I would like to announce that effective April 7th, The Friday Nite Vibe, will attempt to do what it did for the Bay Area…on a NATIONAL level.
At this time, All hip hop artists, from all over the country, can now submit their radio edited songs in downloadable MP3 form to [email protected]. These songs will be filed, reviewed, and put into rotation according to time, compliance, and technical efficiency.
We will now be covering local and government politics from all over the country, as other great shows such as Hard Knock Radio, Flashpoints, and Democracy Now are already doing.
For those of us in the Bay, we already know the F.N.V. has always the underlying force in translating our social issues to the most at-risk demographic of our society; I truly aspire to do my part for that same demographic on a national level.
Effective the following Monday of each national edition, you will be able to read blogs summarizing the highlighted artists, listen to their music, topics, and events concerning the previous Friday’s show by going to www.myspace.com/fridaynightnation.
I hope to build, connect and succeed with all of my extended brother/sisterhood in the struggle we all face with the task of correctly preserving Hip-Hop culture, for it is alive and in need of our help.
I hope all of you will join me this Friday for the all-new national edition of the Friday Night Vibe.
Your friend,
T-K.A.S.H.
www.guerrillafunk.com
(The Friday Nite Vibe can be heard every Friday night from midnight to 2am pst on 94.1 fm kpfa in Northern California, and worldwide at www.kpfa.org)