Listen to St. Louis Rapper 2Saint on A Kings Self Portrait (celebrating nonviolence and Dr. MLK)

http://www.datpiff.com/pop-mixtape-player.php?id=mbd260ce&tid=10 Check A Kings Self Portrait feat. St. Louis rapper 2Saint, Asheru (boondocks) and Tajai from Hieroglyphics. #nonviolence #STL The hook had a whole different meaning when we dropped this in the winter. Now its just haunting. #MikeBrown

HHCF Chess Kings Invitational Tentative schedule!!!

HHCF Chess Kings Invitational Schedule

Mind Over Matter Panel at 1 PM - 2 PM

This panel will discuss how chess and martial arts can improve the current state of education and society at large. It will also cover some of the more subtle challenges and innovative solutions available in today’s schools.

RZA- Wu-Tang Clan, Author Wu Manual and Tao of Wu

Andrew McGregor - LA Chessboxing Founder, Photojournalist

Dr. Martin Gomez - Phd Principal at Santee Education Complex

Sergio Flores - EDD Dir. of Transformation at Partnership for LA Schools

Asheru - Rapper of Boondocks Theme Song & Educator Washington DC

Jiu Jitsu & Chess Exhibition 2:15 : Feat. TBA with Gumby and Scotty from www.onthemat.com

A short live illustration between positional correlations between chess and jiu jitsu

HHCF Chess King Invitational Tournament at 2:45 PM

RZA - HHCF Chess King Title Holder, Wu-Tang Clan / Man With The Iron Fists)

Ralek Gracie - Gracie Jiu Jitsu Master / MMAFighter

Brendan Schaub (UFC/Metamoris Fighter)

Rugged Monk - Rapper, Black Knights

4 More Players TBA

HHCF Health Corner:

Dr. Peter Goldman, chiropractor to BJ Penn, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields, Rickson Gracie, Clark Gracie, Eddie Bravo, Rigan Machado, Bas Rutten, NFL players, Pro Hockey players and many other of the world's best professional athletes will be adjusting 2PM to 4PM Adjustments are $95. To schedule your appointment with Dr. Pete email sfgoldman@gmail.com. His website is www.sfgoldman.com

HHCF Cipher: TBD

OPEN GAMING ALL DAY, COME OUT AND PLAY A FEW GAMES WITH YOUR FRIENDS

SPECIAL THANKS to our sponsors: www.ctrlindustries.com, www.studioannecarltonchess.com, www.uschess.org,  www.openmatradio.com, www.thechessdrum.net, www.chess.com www.dstryrsg.com and www.timbuk2.com !

(CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

One Big Chess Game

Here is a special essay I wrote as a guest blogger on New Black Man, ran by super historian  Mark  Anthony  Neal. 

My first few days teaching life strategies to at-risk and gang impacted youth using chess, I met three Latino boys. The first was heavyset with black marble eyes, dark curly hair and a body like Baby Huey. The second was super thin with reddish brown Aztec skin, small beady eyes and an unusually slim face. The third, at first glance you might miss really easy. He had an average build, average height but a very sweet smile. Oddly though, his eyes had no emotion- like a snake. It was deeply unsettling. That’s what I remember about meeting him for the first time. I recall going home and telling my wife “I think I met a killer today.”

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE 

NEW MUSIC: One Big Chess Game feat. Adisa The Bishop, Ramen Jamaal & Asheru

LISTEN NOW: One Big Chess Game by Adisa The Bishop feat. Rahman Jamaal & Asheru Production by: DJ Rob Flow

HHCF Street Games Vol. 1 Mixtape Drops on HALLOWEEN!!

Alright so, HHCF is about to announce all the artists, producers and tracklist for our upcoming mixtape Street Games Vol. 1. This thing is a very original and hard hitting piece of work. I expect it to drop on Halloween. There were a lot of submissions for this. It got hard really to narrow everything down. We are STILL cutting songs from the mixtape because so much dope Hip-Hop came in it was har...d to figure out who should be on and who should not. Many were not cut because of wackness, but maybe they talked about weed or cursed too much. Sometimes, it was a lack of production quality (not skill). Some people who were slated for Vol. 1 originally, will be featured on Vol. 2 which will drop in May. I will notify those people myself to let them know. The only thing I'm sure of, is that this will be one of the most banging, lyrical, fun, honest and inspirational mixtapes to drop in recent years. I wanna shout out DJ Rob Flow, Ronnie Lee Music, Sunspot Jonz, Zumbi, Rakaa Iriscience, Kalhi, Tajai, A Plus, Asheru, Quadir Lateef and others for their support in making this happen. More soon.....t-shirt info coming....

The shirt is a tribute to the old school Ice T shirt from the Original Gangster album. If you had one of these way back, you were one of the realest. Now we're giving you the ability to roll with the realest...The HHCF.

 

HHCF Announces Street Games Vol. 1 Digital Mixtape (submit your song today!)

For Immediate Release

Contact: Bishop

888-588-4418

A-Plus from Hieroglyphics and Rakaa Iriscience from Dilated Peoples on Deck for Street Games Vol. 1 Digital Mixtape

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Taking Submissions for Digital Mixtape

July 5th 2013 San Francisco, CA- The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) the first nonprofit to fuse music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence has announced it is currently taking submissions for its first digital mixtape Street Games Vol. 1. “The goal of this mixtape is to show the musical  and intellectual depth of Hip-Hop” said HHCF Founder Adisa Banjoko. “There will be a few songs on here about chess and jiu jitsu, but the bulk of the music will be just rap bangers from across the planet.” Street Games Vol. 1 will be a blend of music from established MC’s as well as teens and young adults who are new to the scene.” All MP3 submissions for Street Games Vol. 1. can be sent directly to HHCF Founder, Adisa Banjoko to bishop@hiphopchessfederation.org .

Street Games Vol. 1 will be taking submissions from July 5th 2013, to August 30th 2013.  The release date is Oct. 2013. The topic and subject matter is wide open. The HHCF is seeking submissions of Hip-Hop music and all other genres of music. “We don’t want to limit anybody's creativity. If it is powerful, we will play it.” said Adisa “ Our only rules are that its curse free, glorify violence or be super sexually explicit. Buzz on the mixtape already has gotten us dope submissions from New York, Seattle, St. Louis, San Jose and San Francisco.”

A-Plus from Hieroglyphics will be hosting the mixtape that will also feature artists like Rakaa Iriscience from Dilated Peoples, Asheru, DJ Pam The Funkstress from The Coup,  T-KASH, battle MC Shamako Noble, DLabrie and special guests yet to be announced. “We will have some surprises on here from true legends as well” said Adisa. Additionally All Tribes Zulu Nation and San Jose Zulu Nation Chapters will be working directly with HHCF in the talent search for Street Games Vol. 1.

NYC DJ Rob Flow will be producing Street Games Vol. 1. Additional production and recording will be done in partnership between HHCF and Ronnie Lee,  the Seven Trees Studio Director in San Jose California. For more information on the HHCF or Street Games Vol. 1 digital mixtape  visit www.hiphopchess.blogspot.com or follow on twitter @hiphopchess.

About Hip-Hop Chess Federation: The Hip-Hop Chess Federation is the first nonprofit to fuse music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence. They host celebrity chess events and panels of life strategies for at-risk, gang impacted and gang intentional youth. Artists like RZA and GZA from Wu-Tang Clan, The Jacka, Immortal Technique, Asheru,  Zion I, DJ Qbert, Dilated Peoples, Hieroglyphics and many others have participated in their events. Founder Adisa Banjoko has presented at Harvard University and World Chess Hall of Fame on how chess, martial arts and music promote peace in the streets in 2013. Visit their official website at www.hiphopchessfederation.org .

HHCF Feat. in St. Louis American!

                             Photo Credit: Shannon Bailey 

Adisa Banjoko, journalist and founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation, visited St. Louis recently to highlight the powerful fusion of chess, hip-hop and activism.

He convened experts including James Braxton Peterson, founder of Hip-Hop Scholars, LLC; and Asheru (born Gabriel Benn), a Peabody award-winning journalist and youth activist. Asheru is also a hip-hop artist who created The Boondocks theme song.

Banjoko led panel discussions for at-risk youth at Innovative Concept Academy, Confluence Academy and for detained youth at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Banjoko is a self-proclaimed nonviolent revolutionary. This ideology is at the core of his organization, based in the San Francisco area, which aims to curb youth violence by teaching youth the game of chess. He stated that St. Louis has a lot of violent crime; the city consistently ranks as one of the nation’s most dangerous cities. READ THE FULL STORY HERE 

HHCF and World Chess Hall of Fame Take Over St. Louis + Adisa Interviews GM Maurice Ashley

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW HERE: www.bishopchronicles.com

There are certain times in your life, where you feel it coming together. Right now is one of those moments. Shortly before I started Hip-Hop Chess Federation I interviewed Grandmaster Maurice Ashley for my second book Lyrical Swords Vol. 2: Westside Rebellion. The book also included interviews with RZA, GZA, Afrika Bambaataa and many others.

I met him face to face through Jen Shahade in NY at a HHCF/9Queens event with the RZA. He was very supportive of the momentum we had. I told him then that there was no purpose in me doing what I did if he, Jen, Josh Waitzkin and others did not exist. I explained that HHCF for most serious chess players and fans is misunderstood. That I point people in their direction, knowing that you (meaning Maurice, Jen, Josh, and other GM's, WGM's etc.) do all the true heavy lifting.

Over the years he and I would talk, or email, but we could never seem to catch up.

Thankfully, Jen Shahade introduced me to Susan Barrett from the World Chess Hall of Fame and she invited Hip-Hop Chess Federation out to do several panel discussions on the history of where Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts interlock and how we can use it to inspire children toward self-mastery and self-discovery.

L to R Alan "Gumby" Marques, rapper Asheru, Judge Jimmie Edwards, Susan Barrett of World Chess Hall of Fame, Dr. James Peterson, Mike Relm at Innovative Concept Academy

The events they set up were nothing short of amazing. We went to the famous ICA school ran by Judge Jimmie Edwards. We hosted a panel at the St. Louis Library, the Confluence Academy (also one of the best schools I have ever been to!)  and a juvenile hall detention center. To stand on Marilyn St. in Saint Louis between the World Chess Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Chess Club is like standing between Meeca and Jerusalem. The energy is electric.

Adisa Banjoko addresses Confluence Academy 

Among the other amazing things that happened though, is, Maurice Ashley interviewed me during the championships. It was a shock and I was truly nervous beyond words during the interview. But later the next night, I got to interview him. It was amazing!!! He talked about his early years as a young chess player, his time playing with Jay-Z and an amazing chess hustler set up match he had with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. This stuff is simply beautiful. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as much as we loved making it. St. Louis is a beautiful city and my experiences there made me a changed man. I understand chess culture better than I ever have.  

I want to thank a few people before I go and understand that the list is simply too long to really get everybody. But here it goes: Jen Shahade (you pulled the trigger on this, thank you so much!) Susan, Laura, Shannon, Amanda (great driving!), St. Louis Police Department (the two nicest cops I ever met after a fender bender was in St. Louie!), everybody at KMOX (Hi, Charlie and Debbie!),Matt Barrett, Mike, and everybody at the St. Louis Chess Club for their kindness to the HHCF squad and my family. You all opened by eyes to a new level of chess culture and duty to serve the community. Thank you for making me a better citizen of the world.

Ashley and Seirawan take on all comers at ICA in St. Louis

To my HHCF squad (The Furious Five): Mike Relm, Dr. James Peterson, Alan "Gumby" Marques, Asheru and Dr. Daaim Shabazz. You guys take the science and art of Hip-Hop, chess, martial arts and education to the next level. I could not imagine having a better experience in St. Louis than I had with you. Thank you for trusting my vision and bringing your best selves to the Live The Game event. A special shout out to Meek Gaborski (the titanium backbone of this organization) David Frazee Esq., Arash Daneshzadeh (HHCF's Education Director), LyRyan Russell, Elaine Moskowitze, Kay Hones, Pablo Fuentes,  T-KASH, Dlabrie, Shamako and Rahman, Josh Waitzkin, Joe Schloss, Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Davey D, RZA, Rakaa Iriscience, Ralek, Ryron and Rener Gracie, Denny Prokopos, Eddie Bravo and a lot of the real Hip-Hop, chess and jiu jitsu folks that really put it down for us back when nobody believed in the fusion of Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts.  

To Judge Jimmie Edwards at ICA, the St. Louis Library, to everybody at Confluence Academy and St. Louis Juvenile Detention Center I want to thank you for your open minds, for giving us a chance to speak to your youth and trusting that our vision could help. Any time you need us, please reach out. You all do amazing work and everybody at HHCF was left inspired beyond measure.

FOOD SHOUTS: Lesters, Bar Italia, Drunken Fish and PAPPYS (thanks for the extra bottle of sauce, but TSA gaffled it).

PHOTO CREDITS: Shots of ICA credit Daaim Shabazz. Photos of Maurice Ashley and Adisa Banjoko credit Mike Relm.

BREAKING: HHCF at World Chess Hall of Fame!!! (Asheru, Dr. James Peterson, Mike Relm and Gumby on deck!)

Live the Game: National Experts Convene in St. Louis

to Highlight the Powerful Fusion of Chess, Hip Hop, and Martial Arts

March 4, 2013 (St. Louis, MO) -- Look closely and you’ll see it at the beginning of the new Justin Timberlake video featuring Jay-Z. Read the lyrics of “General Principles” by GZA. Check out the album cover for Pawns in the Game, the 1990 album by Public Enemy emcee Professor Griff. It also shows up with RZA in scenes featuring hip hop characters on the hit TV show Californication.

It’s chess. And at first glance, it doesn’t appear to have a link to hip hop. Throw martial arts into the mix and you really have to have your finger on the pulse of popular culture to know about the connection.

A group of national experts who really do know do “have their finger on the pulse” – and know the impact that this combination can have on young people – will meet in St. Louis on May 8 to present to students of the Innovative Concept Academy. A second session with local leaders will be held at the Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library.

“These presentations will illustrate how chess and martial arts have been woven into the history of hip hop. Further, it will show how the blending of art, logic, and physical fitness guide young people to self-discovery, self-mastery, and nonviolence,” said Adisa Banjoko, journalist and founder of the Hip Hop Chess Federation.

Banjoko, who has been tapped to present at institutions like Harvard University and Brown University, assembled the group and will moderate discussions. Panelists include Dr. James Peterson (founder of Hip Hop Scholars, LLC, and director of Africana studies at Lehigh University), Mike Relm Youtube video remix icon and co-founder of Bishop Chronicles podcast show, Asheru (Peabody Award-winning journalist, creator of The Boondocks theme song, educator, and youth activist), and Alan "Gumby" Marques (Black belt in jiu-jitu and founder of Heroes Martial Arts).

The presentations are sponsored and coordinated by The World Chess Hall of Fame.

“Our focus at the World Chess Hall of Fame is to show how the game of chess has an impact on society. The work of Adisa and the other panelists has been life-changing for many people. The examples they will share will show how this change can happen in St. Louis as well,” said Susan Barrett, executive director of the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Details

Date: May 8, 2013

Presentation 1: 10 am, Innovative Concept Academy

Presentation 2: 4:00  pm, Schlafly Branch of the St. Louis Public Library

About Adisa Banjoko

Adisa Banjoko is a respected journalist, lecturer and the founder of the Hip Hop Chess Federation. His organization has appeared in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Vibe magazine. He’s also been a guest on NPR and Good Morning America.

About Dr. James Peterson

Dr. James Braxton Peterson (Duke ’93, UPENN 2003) is the Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. He has been a visiting lecturer and preceptor in African American Studies at Princeton University and the Media Coordinator for the Harvard University Hip Hop Archive. He is also the founder of Hip Hop Scholars, LLC, an association of Hip Hop generational scholars dedicated to researching and developing the cultural and educational potential of Hip Hop, urban, and youth cultures.

About Mike Relm

Mike Relm is a pioneer video remix artist who has toured with The Blue Man Group, Tony Hawk and rocked stages at Coachella, Bonnaroo and The House of Blues. He has more than 13 million hits on Youtube. Notable remixes include Iron Man 2, Old Spice, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,Doctor Who, and Harry Potter. His Punisher/Spirit/Transporter remix won the 2009 Webby Award for Best Mashup/Remix.

About Asheru

Asheru, born Gabriel Benn, is a hip hop artist, educator, and youth activist. He is widely known for performing the opening and closing themes for the popular TV series, The Boondocks, as well as his pioneering and innovative efforts to forward the Hip Hop Education movement.

About Alan “Gumby” Marques

Gumby is a first degree black belt in Jiu Jutsu and is best know as the co-founder of OTM, one of the world’s leading sources for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He is an author, commentator, coach, referee, and instructor.

About the World Chess Hall of Fame

The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit organization committed to building awareness for the cultural and artistic significance of chess. It opened on September 9, 2011, in St. Louis’s Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York and Miami.

The WCHOF is housed in an historic 15,900 square-foot building that includes three floors of galleries, the U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame, and the stylish Q Boutique. It provides visitors with a unique opportunity to use chess as a platform for learning, exploring, and seeing their world in entirely new ways.

It is the only cultural institution of its kind in the world and the only solely chess-focused collecting institution in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.worldchesshof.org. 

HHCF Summer Camp Feats. Celeb Visits via Airtime Technology

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Enlists Rappers Chuck D, Rakaa & Asheru for Online Mentoring Using Airtime Video Conferencing via Facebook

July 9, 2012- San Jose, CA- Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF)  is proud to announce that its Live The Game Summer Camps will feature online mentoring sessions with businessmen,  rappers, pro skaters and athletes. HHCF summer camps allow kids to develop core skill sets in chess, anti-bullying techniques, as well as allow participants to engage in performing arts and dance programs. The camps are based in Fremont, California and run every week until the beginning of September 2012.

This one of a kind chess camp was created to balance the exercise of the mind and the body. Various notables from the chess community including Jean Hoffman of 9 Queens, African-American chess champion Diamond Shakoor and others others will teach foundational chess themes to the kids. The HHCF’s founder will reinforce how the same themes can be played out in life. To add an extra edge to their camps, the HHCF has gathered some of the most innovative businessmen, entertainers and athletes to talk to the youth on Airtime. Airtime is the latest video conferencing technology created by Napster founder Shawn Fanning and Facebook's Sean Parker.

“We believe that Airtime is the perfect tool for us to use to teach with” said HHCF Founder and President Adisa Banjoko. “We understand that we are dealing with leaders of industry who cannot visit HHCF summer camps as much as they’d like. Airtime, allows them to engage our kids effortlessly on such an expansive platform. It's fun and easy to use and we love it. Many of the same technologies used to entertain our youth can be used to educate. If our technology fails to educate and inspire our youth, then it fails us all.”

Some of the artists lined up to speak to the youth include but are not limited to Chuck D of Public Enemy, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Asheru (creator of the Boondocks Theme Song), T-KASH, Def Poetry Jam’s Amir Sulaiman, Hollywood casting agent Kristin Curtin, MMA Fight Dr. Peter Goldman, Video remix king Mike Relm, MMA fighter Ralek Gracie and many other surprise guests.

These sessions will allow the young people to engage these artists and ask questions about how these people achieved their dreams and what work ethic, education and discipline they will need to actualize their own vision of the future.

Live The Game in house visits at HHCF camps include Pro skater Jordan Richter, chess author Eric Schiller, Proven.com CEO Pablo Fuentes, Brazilian  Jiu Jitsu masters Alan “Gumby” Marques, Denny “300” Prokopos, David Frazee Esq. and others.

Families with economic hardships can apply for financial aid. HHCF is currently running a summer camp special on Groupon.

For more information on HHCF Live The Game summer camps visit: www.hiphopchessfederation.org or www.rawtalents.org