by JR Valrey, The Minister of Information JR Queen Deelah remains a lyrically conscious Hip Hop powerhouse 13 years after she left what Otis Redding called “the dock of the bay”, and relocated to the sleepy town, which is turning into the nation’s next tech … Continue readingThe Last Conscious Rapper Alive: Queen Deelah Speaks on Vaccines, Inspiration, and More
By JR Valrey, The People’s Minister of Information On January 5, 2022 the City of Berkeley’s Police Accountability Board had a special meeting on investigating police misconduct in the death of international rapper Zumbi of Zion I aka Stephen Gaines. Although Zumbi was killed on … Continue readingThe Berkeley Police Department is Not Making Any Recommendation For Prosecution in the Murder of Stephen “Zumbi” Gaines at Alta Bates Hospital
By JR Valrey, The Minister of Information Online courses have blown up and become wildly popular ever since the beginning of the pandemic. Meres Sia Gabriel has taken the bull by the horns, and created an online class on tarot and dream interpretation called, Dream … Continue readingMeres Sia Gabriel Teaches Online Course, Dream Like a P.R.O.
By JR Valrey, The Minister of Information 2021 took a lot of people that are family to me like my cousins Jamario and Eric Hooker, my aunt Doris, my uncle Dell, my community-sister Mahasen, my potnas: rappers Shock G and Biaje, and I’m sure there’s … Continue readingThe Life and Passing of Oakland Producer Jared “Sto” Meeks
By JR Valrey, the Minister of Information I grew up at the East Oakland Youth Development Center with Keyanna Trahan in the late 90’s, but back then she wasn’t a coach, she was the local Allen Iverson of point guards on the court; a little … Continue readingFirmly Rooted Coach Keyanna Trahan, an EOYDC Alumni, is Winning More Than Games
By Eric Hunter During this past holiday season, I took a trip to Houston, Texas to visit some family. I also wanted to explore and examine the culture of the city. Houston has a reputation for being a very fun place. I didn’t want to … Continue readingA Bay Area Family’s Trip to Houston: Cars and Food
By JR Valrey, The Minister of Information One of the most beautiful things about Ajgod and Honey Gold Jasmine is that they are musicians that are madly in love with each other, in an era where misogynistic and man-hating rap is the prevailing genre that … Continue readingHoney Gold Jasmine and Ajgod Bring Black Love and Positivity Back to Music
By JR Valrey, The Minister of Information When I was around 18 years old, I met the legendary San Francisco born painter and muralist Malik Seneferu, from Hunter’s Point, on the campus of San Francisco State University, while I was a member of the Pan … Continue readingMaster Painter Malik Seneferu Talk About His Inspiration, Married Life, and the Politics of Being a Black Visual Artist
By JR Valrey, The People’s Minister of Information The silver lining in the world being shut down because of the Covid pandemic for the last two years, was that working people had more time on their hands than usual; most either were allowed to work … Continue readingFrom Employee to Business Owner: Lela Nicole’s Zynful Beauty Products are Becoming Wildly Popular
by JR Valrey, The Minister of Information People who were teenagers or older when the internet was introduced in 1996, should remember how innovative, ground breaking, and life changing this technology was; for the first time, the world was a click away. Over that quarter … Continue readingLocal NFT company sayBLOWE is Offering an Exclusive Mac Mall NFT Collection