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This First Friday, September 7th, will go beyond the bounds of reason. Oaklandish will be hosting a show by the legendary hip-hop collective Hieroglyphics.

They're fresh off the success of the very first Hiero Day, a celebration of everything good in Oakland: music, food, block parties, and original underground culture. In the words of Tajai, they want to "celebrate all the good things about Oakland. We get such a bad rap — no pun intended — as far as the city that we're from. Hiero's positive. We've been independent for decades, feeding our families. The city's always getting ragged on, so let's just show the best side we can."

Del, Tajai and Domino will be accompanied by Life Before Time and Oaklandish resident DJ Dion Decibels. This show, like all great movements in Oakland, is entirely free – just show up early to make sure you get a good spot (Hiero should take the stage at around 9:30). We'll also be debuting a fresh collaborative design: a very Oaklandish riff on the iconic third-eye logo.

Join us at 1444 Broadway from 7 – 11 for the finest in original Oakland culture. Our friends at Linden St. Brewery will be serving up free cups of their uncommonly tasty Common Lager, and served by bartenders from the excellent Chop Bar. Fivetenburger will be curbside with burgers, grilled cheese, fries, and their notoriously delicious truffled tater tots.

Oakland now is like a great old blues singer. She knows how to moan and cry, but the bad times behind her make her know how to savor the good times. Maybe she's got some scars, but when she gets cooking she can still shake things up, and she can sing the pants off the young ones coming up that don't know her savvy — there's no soul in Walnut Creek! The oldtime Oaklanders, and the port, and the big corporations building new skyscrapers downtown, are like instruments in the band, and all together now we're blowing some pretty good jazz. – Anonymous

This is an anonymous quote I stumbled upon in an Oakland photography book when I was in elementary school in the 90s. It may oversell the vibrancy supplied by corporations, and omit the power of the arts, but it still manages to capture the soulful and resilient spirit of the Oakland I was raised in. It was this love affair with an underdog city that eventually led me to start 38thnotes.com in 2008. 38thNotes.com is an Oakland arts and culture site that covers local history, events, sports, music and whatever else strikes our fancy in a proud manner befitting the beautiful struggle we call home.

At 38th Notes we are deeply invested in curating the best of our beloved Oakland, while also creating meaningful cultural contributions ourselves. It is this shared mission that first attracted us to Oaklandish many moons ago when they were still down in the produce district. Most recently our relationship manifested in a fantastic Notes to Oakland project that honored what Oaklanders had to say about their city. The results were amazing!

We also have a particular passion for local hip-hop and R&B. The Bay Area has a rich musical legacy, from Tower of Power and Tony Toni Toné to En Vogue and E-40 — but the rest of the country doesn't know of many artists beyond these legends. It is for this reason that we strive to introduce readers to new artists (while still honoring our forefathers, of course). Many folks followed our monthly mixtape series entitled The Bay Abridged, which featured our favorite Bay Area hip-hop and R&B of each month during 2010 and 2011. We've since relaunched this cult favorite as a seasonal mixtape with financial support from Oaklandish's Innovators grant program.

The first incarnation of the relaunched mixtape series is the Spring 2012 edition of The Bay Abridged, which awaits you at the Oaklandish store at 1444 Broadway right now. If you can't get down there during business hours, you can also download it for free HERE. We think you'll dig the balance of hood and indy, rap and soul, and new and old. Each month a new Bay Area legend graces the cover and is featured on the opening track. Too $hort is the featured OG for the spring edition and Sly Stone will be featured on the summer mixtape. Drop by Oaklandish to pick up a free copy of The Bay Abridged or download it at 38thnotes.com so you can get familiar with some amazing new local artists and cruise around The Town with your speakers up and your window down.

Be sure to add www.38thnotes.com to your google reader, like them on facebook, and follow them on twitter and instagram at @38thnotes.

Founded in 2008, 38thnotes.com is a Oakland Arts & Culture blog run by third generation Oaklanders who are passionate about The Town's past, present, and future.

We have Oakland pride every day, but from 7 - 11 this Friday, our praises will be louder than ever. Music has always been one of Oakland's most celebrated exports, and on March 2nd the incomparable DJ Dion Decibels will release a mix of the greatest sounds to ring out from our fair city. The album will include Oakland-inspired tracks that represent the spirit of the sunny side of the Bay. We'll have 50 CDs to give away, along with live performances to keep the crowd moving.

For fuel, our friends at Fiveten burger will be slinging hot burgers, sandwiches, and those legendary truffled tater tots. Meanwhile, the good folks of Linden Street Brewery and Urban Legend Cellars will supply enough free beer and wine to make sure the crowd never goes thirsty. Come downtown for another marvelous night on particularly choice piece of land, last stop before the ocean.

A rundown of the festivities:

Mix CD debut and sets by DJ Dion Decibels (also available for free download here).

Opening act by Antique

Live performances by 1-O.A.K. and Do D.A.T.

Art by Jeff Meadows, with some extra pieces from Shawn Whisenant, and Colt Bowden

Free (and freestyle) haikus by Mario

Food from FiveTen Burger

Drinks from Linden St. Brewery and Urban Legend Cellars

Get down at The New Parish on December 7th, and make the holidays a little brighter for your neighbors in need.

Your ticket will help buy your fellow Oaklanders a hot meal, a safe place to sleep, and an extra present under the tree. The Town’s best talent is coming together to give back to the city that provides us with so much in music, culture and renegade spirit. Because in Oakland, we do holiday cheer right — with pride, gratitude, and the knowledge that our city has something for everyone only because, and only when, it is enjoyed by everyone.

All ticket proceeds will be split equally among three of Oakland’s finest nonprofits: Alameda County Community Food Bank, Oakland Firefighters Random Acts, and DreamCatcher Homeless Youth Services.

The all-ages event will see doors open at 7pm and music start promptly at 8. Tickets will be $12 in advance (available online only) and $15 at the door with all proceeds going directly to the three non-profits.

The Lineup

Dynamic is anything but your average Hip-Hop band. Blending genres such as Hip-Hop, Rock, and Soul, to name a few, Dynamic is inventing and celebrating the diversity of a new genre. Amidst the multi-genre music scene that is the San Francisco Bay Area, Dynamic's soulful discovery of eclectic, engaging music offers a multitude of flavors that intrigue the senses and blow the mind.

The California Honeydrops embrace the traditions of blues, gospel, second line New Orleans jazz, and early R&B. Their upbeat numbers have been getting people out of their seats and onto the dance floors of Oakland for the past 4 years.

Emily’s Army craft heartfelt anthems dealing in cautionary tales, politics, and the pressures of adolescence. They use their teenage energy to tear through songs that combine bits of East Bay music legend: Gilman Street, classic power pop, and garage rock.

Quinn DeVeaux harnesses the likes of Ray Charles, John Hurt, Fats Domino and Bo Diddley. With all the style and subtlety of the great soul/blues singers of the earth bound golden days, his band keeps audiences in a state of joy.

Main Attrakionz, the Oakland cloud-rap duo of Squadda B and Mondre M.A.N., have a distinctive mixture of Bay Area bounce, plus experimental use of samplesL describe their day to day life rolling around Oakland: real, gritty and smokey.

Between sets, Dion Decibels and Wonway Posibul of Thinkbeat Radio will provide additional beats. Plus, this homegrown gathering is sure to have a few special guests drop by to say hello.

In addition to the musical acts, FiveTenBurger and El TacoBike will be serving up quality street eats, and a raffle will be held throughout the night with prizes donated from local businesses and restaurants.

Around 2001 you began to see a thriving arts based West Oakland warehouse scene, where noise experimentalism reigned. These bands defy easy summary, but are tied together by electronic influences, a progressive rock mentality, and an anything-goes aesthetic. Featuring: Numbers, Erase Errata, Deerhoof, Experimantal Dental School, Gravytrain!!!, Paris King, and Drunk Horse.
25 minute mp3 - download or stream

More well documented is Oakland's contribution to Hip Hop. These tracks were unavoidable during the golden age, when these beats were heard booming out of car trunks city wide. (Before the early 90's no-cruising laws were passed). There are way too many influential artists to fit in one mix, so here we just started with the fundementals. Featuring: Too Short, Digital Underground, E-40 and the Click, The Luniz, Dru Down, and the Souls of Mischief. 30 minute mp3 - download or stream

In the 80's Heavy Metal music began to get harder & faster, as local bands were inspired by their punk compatriots. The all ages night club 'Ruthie's Inn' was a breeding ground for this musical fusion, dubbed 'Thrash Metal.' At this time the members of Metallica lived together in a house in El Cerrito, and were an integral part of this East Bay scene. The bands in this mix all played together at Ruthie's, and shared a similar morbid sensibility. (Footnote: the El Sobrante band 'Possessed' are cited as the godfathers of the sub-genre called "Death Metal", the name of which came from the title of their 1983 demo tape). Featuring: Exodus, Laaz Rockit, Death Angel, Testament, Possessed, Vio-lence, Metallica, Heathen, and Y&T. 43 minute mp3 - download or stream

OAKLAND's NU-JACK SWINGLES
New Jack Swing is defined as R&B or Soul style vocals produced with Hip-Hop style rhythms. It was popularized by a wave of radio friendly pop artists in the late 80's, including most notably Oakland's Tony!Toni!Tone! The follwing mix honors that era & style, while including some acts that predated the scene altogether. With Timex Social Club, Club Nuveau, Tony!Toni!Tone!, En Vogue, and Sheila E. 22 minute mp3 - download or stream

The cooperative run Berkeley venue 'Gilman Street' was the epicenter of the Bay Area's thriving punk scene. On any given night there in the late 80's you could see a multitude of influential & energetic young bands, many of whom would later go on to become international rock stars. This mix is a snap shot of those early days, when spirited local kids recreated punk in their own image. Featuring: Isocracy, Fang, Kwikway, East Bay Mud, Crimpshrine, Operation Ivy, The Mr. T Experience, and The Transplants. 20 minute mp3 - download or stream