Bambu's "Crooks & Rooks" Video on OkayPlayer!

my dood bambu is doin' it big! his new music video for "crooks & rooks" premiered today on okayplayer! please click on the link and leave a comment, let okayplayer know that politically focused artists like bambu need to be supported. big ups to the homie a.j. calomay of xylophone films for cutting and producing the video.

"Jonathan Jackson" by Chris Iijima, Nobuko Miyamoto & Charlie Chin

growing up listening to my mom's "a grain of sand" LP i always played the same 3 songs and "jonathan jackson" was not one of them. it wasn't until i got schooled on the black panther party, george jackson and his brother jonathan that i realized the meaning behind the song. during her interview for the film, nobuko explained how "jonathan jackson" was created: Listen to the entire song here:

Premiere Shout on Prometheus Brown

geologic (one half of blue scholars) mentioned the premiere of a song for ourselves on his blog. between touring, recording music and raising a kid, geo aka prometheus brown somehow finds time to watch and review a gang of flicks (almost one a day)! peep the blog for articulate and socially conscious reviews of films both new and old, hollywood and indie, local and foreign.

earlier this year he reviewed my film pilgrimage. good looks geo!

"Like Us" by Bambu

one of the good things about making films is that i'm able to build with other creative people. over the last 3 years i've been able to work with bambu, one of my favorite hip-hop artists. when his street classic self untitled album dropped i was an undergrad at ucla hungry for anything community-oriented in hip-hop. that album had such an impact on me that i used "rear view" for the opening song of my first film yellow brotherhood. in grad school me and fellow filmmaker eric tandoc followed bambu, kiwi and dj phatrick (at the time they were still together as the legendary native guns) on their westcoast tour. that footage was used for bambu's first video off his new album exact change: Bambu "Like Us" from Xylophone Films on Vimeo. don't miss your chance to see bambu perform live at the premiere of a song for ourselves!

Blue Scholars - Bumbershoot '06

i first saw blue scholars perform in '05 at fais do-do in LA. since then, geologic (mc) and sabzi (dj) have become one of the strongest forces in hip-hop today. the only thing bigger than their hustle is their dedication to their community and the creation of music that inspires others to do the same. here they are performing on of my favorite joints "sagaba" when they opened up for kanye west: blue scholars generously allowed me to use some of their music for my last film pilgrimage. after 2 years of trying to do a show together, they'll finally be performing with on of my films at the premiere for a song for ourselves! more from bumbershoot 2006:

For Chris by Marley

even though chris iijima loved to visit the westcoast and eventually relocated to hawaii, there is no denying that he was new york city to the core.  having been born and bred in manhattan it was only necessary to go out there to shoot for the film.

while shooting some b-roll in union square, a street artist named marley stepped to me to see if i was from the local news.  after i explained to him i was doing a documentary on the singer chris iijima he offered to spit a couple of verses for the film...

the next time your in union square you should check marley out on the corner of 14th street & 4th ave in front of the virgin megastore.

About The Film

A Blog For Ourselves

wadup urrrbody! welcome to the blog for A Song For Ourselves. here i'll be keeping you updated on my new film as well as info, photos, music and videos about the big premiere and concert on 2/28/08 at the japanese american cultural and community center. please mark your calenders!