Ghandi went hungry…
King Jr. marched…
DJ Tanner used “the silent treatment”
But when the Oakland A’s announced that they were going to move the franchise 50 miles south to Fremont, none of these forms of protest felt appropriate.
So I decided to fight power with power
The third proudest moment of my life (1. 1996 North Oakland Little League baseball championship; 2. College graduation) came while I was recording a track for a music video at a studio in Hayward, CA. A few minutes before I was set to take off, the sound engineer mentioned offhandedly that the next person coming into the “lab” after me was Mistah F.A.B.
For those of you who don’t know, Mistah F.A.B. (aka The Yellow Bus Rydah aka Fabby Davis, Jr.) is one of the most celebrated rappers in the Bay Area, a disciple of the legendary Mac Dre, and an all around boss. Moreover, it was his impossibly catchy anthem “Ghost Ride It” that had inspired me to create “Ghostride the Volvo,” the video to which I owed most of my success in online video as well as over five hundred Facebook friend requests. I decided to stick around and say hi.
When F.A.B. came in the door an hour and a half later, the first thing I saw was his chain. It was a diamond encrusted yellow school bus that seemed to cast off a different iridescent shade with every step he took. I must have still been staring at it when he walked up to me because I remember slowly lifting my eyes meet his, like a little kid in a movie scene. He peered down at me for what seemed like a week, and then, suddenly, a flash of recognition passed over his face accompanied by a hint (and I could be making this up) of respect. Next, he uttered the three most beautiful words I have ever heard.
“My nigga Nate!”
Not only had Fabby recognized me from the video, but he had watched it with his mom, who was “on the floor from that one, man she was dyin’.” F.A.B.’s studio session lasted for two hours and fifteen joints, but I didn’t get up from that chair once. I just sat there and counted my blessings.
[...] over at Portal-A Interactive on hip-hop music video and its future on the small screen. From ghostriding the volvo to staying in Cambodian hostels, they’re doing some cool stuff with online video that’s [...]