Friday Five
As a Mexican American from the Bay, I have mixed feelings about Black History Month. It’s not that I don’t value the month’s purpose or mission — I’m all about supporting our sister cultures and celebrating our diverse roots through awareness and knowledge of each other. It’s more about the way in which tokenization can easily occur when it’s limited to 30 days. Or, worse, when we minimize history into something that is solely trapped in the past, rather than unfolding in every moment.
In times of social media, it’s easier than ever to show performative allyship without entering into real conversations with actual community members — but we need to be mindful of how we support folks doing the actual work, and not being fooled into thinking it’s sufficient to like share a post or two on Instagram. My hope with this story is that in sharing some of the most exciting and talented Black voices who are currently showcasing the Bay Area’s vibrant spirit, we can find ways to give our continued support, beyond this one month.
Follow these folks, attend their events, purchase their music, visit their murals, and show some year-round love, because each person here is representing who they are to the fullest while making their own history, every day of the year.
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1. Jwalt
An Oakland School for the Arts graduate, Justin Walton — who goes by his stage name, Jwalt — is a 18-year-old Oakland native with both his feet planted in the rap game. Though currently living in New York as an NYU undergrad, Jwalt continues to rep the Bay by releasing new singles like “The Taking” — which recently debuted on all streaming platforms to wide excitement and was even featured on ESPN during a nationally televised Warriors game.
His work has already been showcased in the SFGate, and his rising name has garnered the support and recognition from local rap stars like Too $hort, Mistah Fab, Daveed Diggs, and Sway, in addition to universal hip-hop icons like Nas and Wu Tang (who Jwalt opened for at the Oracle Arena in 2019). After his debut album, Yours Truly, received buzzworthy hype from various underground hip-hop outlets (including Ear Milk), Jwalt is looking for his next big break. Known for his lyrical craft, introspective vulnerability, and laid-back, relatable demeanor, Jwalt is the epitome of young, Black artistry in the Bay.
In talking about how growing up in Oakland has shaped him as a rapper, Jwalt says, “There isn’t any other place in the world that I could see myself growing up in besides the Town, especially as a young Black man. Whether it was being exposed to the sounds of the Hyphy Movement at an early age (which still slaps to this day), the beautiful visuals all throughout Oakland, attending poetry slams, homegrown festivals, or just being surrounded by this community, I always find myself highly inspired and motivated by home. And especially now since I’m living in New York, it has made me appreciate the Bay and it’s beautiful creative energy even more.”
Without a doubt, this humble and talented teen is next up to represent our region with his intelligent wit and slick talk. Get used to hearing his name, and hop on IG to follow his ascension.
2. Niema Jordan
“I got some coming out this summer but can’t tell you what it is yet,” Niema says. “But it’s going to be dope.”
From the jump, Niema will strike you with her sense of charisma, versatility, and range — not only as a filmmaker and media guru, but as a public health worker. Having earned her Dual Masters in Journalism and Public Health at UC Berkeley, Niema is not only interested in telling stories centered around Oakland and the greater Bay Area — she’s also about preserving the literal livelihoods of those who live here. She’s a modern factotum, having started out as an emerging poet with YouthSpeaks, then slowly moving into formal journalism before working with powerhouse magazine, Essence.
Now, she’s running a podcast called Fertility, Mothering, and Other Things, which documents the process of having frozen her eggs, since there aren’t many narratives in the media about Black women doing this. It was inspired after her blog posts, which elicited wide responses from other readers undergoing similar experiences, catalyzing Niema to document the stories of others, too. And if that wasn’t enough, she is also the co-director of the BAVC MediaMaker Fellowship and the director of videos in The Black Truth Project — local orgs and campaigns doing tremendous work in building bridges across and within different Bay Area communities, particularly for marginalized creatives. To get a better sense of Jordan’s work, you can watch her short film, LABOR, which features local poet Ryan Nicole and will be screened on February 23rd at Fort Mason for KQED’s “A Love Supreme,” a drive-in event celebrating Blackness on the big screen.
Despite her success and growing online presence, she reminds us that there is still work to be done, and that just because one voice is being heard, doesn’t mean we’ve succeeded: “It’s really easy for me to be tokenized in certain spaces, but I refuse to be a token. If I have access to this room, I want to know how do I make sure other folks like me have access to these rooms, too?”
Keep up with her if you can on her page.
3. Kev Choice
A teacher, father, rapper, audio producer, pianist, and even symphonic composer, Kev Choice is truly a renaissance man who proudly reps his East Oakland upbringing. His most recent projects, including Social Distancing and The Lush & Luxurious Vibes (with DJ Fresh), serve as testaments to his deep and eclectic inspirations, in which he collaborates with certified Bay Area icons like Mistah Fab, Drew Banga, Ian Kelly, and Kevin Allen. And yet, each year, Kev continues to impress with his prolific reach and output — all while being a local music teacher and proud father (he regularly shares updates on his children with loving posts and videos on his social media).
Besides putting together the best symphony I’ve ever experienced — a 2018 show with the Oakland orchestra titled “Rooted in Oakland,” where he premiered his piece “Soul Restoration Suite” by remixing Bay Area rap anthems like “I Got Five On It” and “Blow The Whistle” inside the historic Paramount Theater — Kev also is also known for giving back off-the-stage. Kev is heavily involved in cultivating voices in his hometown, by organizing public events like the “Black Music Matters” at Lake Merritt. Oh, and did I mention the dude serves as a current member of the Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission, appointed by the mayor and city council, as well as operating as the vice president of the Recording Academy in San Francisco?
On what being an artist and father in the Bay Area means to him, he explains, “my main thing I try to always remember is that what I create and how I hold myself in community is a model to my children. I want to be someone who they can look to and be inspired and motivated by as an artist, educator, and community member.”
His next project, an EP titled Struggle to Love, is scheduled to drop soon, and will document his personal ups and downs of being a single father bachelor in Oakland — a subject we don’t often hear artists talking about.
4. Cava Menzies
A local mother, painter, musician, and educator, Cava Menzies — also known as COLORQUEEN — has emerged as one of the most multifaceted and generously spirited artists in the Bay. Influenced by her father’s career as a musician and her mother’s deep appreciation for art, Cava brings a hybrid approach to her artistry, mixing visual with audio performance, and infusing it all into her teaching and painting.
With her recently launched independent brand (help her hit 1K followers!), her work is able to reach more fans, inspiring elements of spirituality, tranquility, travel, and appreciation for life — something that is embodied by her presence as a loving mother. Among her paintings, it’s ones like “Black Phoenix” and “Jazzhead” (both featured in this article) that have received noteworthy attention and helped to boost her stature in the scene. She explains her art as a meditation on wholeness: “Part of my identity comes from actually putting the composite pieces of myself together and intentionally making myself whole through that process. I’m fascinated by the line between worlds. I want to know how they talk to each other and where they intersect. As a mixed race woman of color, I have had to navigate this firsthand.”
In addition, Cava regularly records music on her piano during quarantine to share with her followers. You can also find her contributing to public venues, either at the Yerba Buena Garden Festival’s New Commissioning Program or curating her own gallery shows at Makers Loft in Oakland.
Whether listening to her soulful music in your headphones or taking in her colorful visions at an art show, Cava is a much needed presence who will encourage your own search for holistic self-care: “Much of my painting and music is informed by my womanhood, my love of nature, and a deep longing for spirit. I think when I make room for all those voices to come together, I actually discover that they know how to talk to each other. My job is to get out of the way.”
5. Natty Rebel
A longtime resident of the city of Richmond, Natty Rebel is a muralist, community organizer, and a pillar for the public arts world in the Bay. An OG in the game, he has been involved in painting, coordinating, and advocating for murals throughout Vallejo, Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and beyond.
He is the catalyst behind the now-famous 14th Street Black Lives Matter art action in Oakland, in which artists and local business owners rallied to literally paint the street overnight in response to police violence against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. Natty is also the founder and director of the Bay Area Mural Program — a nonprofit that serves regional artists, activists, and youth in cultivating their sense of identity by legally painting public surfaces with messages of hope, unity, love, and pride.
There’s a high likelihood you’ve walked past or even photographed a Natty-involved mural, and you’ve just as likely seen him and his team as they worked the scaffolds with buckets of paint to beautify our neighborhoods—Natty is the kind of dude you’ll turn a corner and see going to action. And now, after having just landed a new headquarters inside the historic California Hotel building as a result of his talent and hard work, Natty and his BAMP organization are only looking to grow as one of the only Black-owned public arts groups in the entire Bay Area. Support Natty and his crew by volunteering, donating, or becoming a member today.
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