Founded by Hip-Hop author and scholar Adisa Banjoko, is the worlds first scholar to teach how music, chess and martial arts can promote unity, strategy and non-violence. This award winning speaker teaches youth of all backgrounds risk assessment, emotional mastery and how to apply what they see on the chessboard to real life decision making. Follow us @realhiphopchess on IG! You can also listen to Bishop Chronicles podcast on www.bishopchronicles.com iTunes, Spotify and Mixcloud.
Over the trajectory of our existence, there have been many cool stories done our organization. We have had amazing features in Forbes, Good Morning America, Chess Life, Hard Knock Radio and others. This however, was very special. It was special because I don't think anyone has ever researched my life so intensely as Shawn Setaro when he decided to interview me for The Cipher Podcast. If you like Hip-Hop even a little bit, you must listen. He is my favorite Hip-Hop podcaster on the planet. Not because he did this story on me and the creation of HHCF. But, because he tirelessly tries to understand every person he interviews on a higher level.
Please give this a listen and understand that a lot of what is on here deals with my life before HHCF. So there is gonna be some talk about cops, guns, memories of some of my folks like Eazy and Tupac and a lot of the pain I went through that brought me to creating the HHCF.
Shawn Setaro creator of The Cipher Podcast and Forbes writer.
I hope you like it. I'm sorry to Shawn for taking so long to formally post it.
October 9th 2014 I found myself riding in a limousine with RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan on our way to speak to about 500 kids about chess and nonviolence in Saint Louis. After that we were scheduled to visit a juvenile detention center to do it again. Without having rehearsed a second of what we each planned to say, we were ready.The night before, lighting and thunder trampled the city from above. In the chaos of the night, Vonderitt Myers was killed by an off duty cop. His death stung like rubbing salt into the infected wounds of a city still recovering from the death of Mike Brown. I had been working in the city promoting the idea that music, chess and martial arts could help young people transcend traditional racial and social barriers. Tensions in Saint Louis were really testing my theories. Nevertheless, the kids embraced our ideas and responded well to our ideas.
RZA and I were there to go to the opening of Living Like Kings exhibit at theWorld Chess Hall of Fame. I was an education consultant to the Hall of Fame. It was my job to teach their curating team the connected history betweenchess, rap and martial arts. It was an honor to have the opportunity to do so. When my organization TheHip-Hop Chess Federationthrew its first event at the MLK Library in San Jose, CA in 2006- we got kicked out for being a little too big and too noisy. I didn’t mind. Our first few years a lot of people in the chess community laughed at the idea of rap, chess and martial arts having any meaningful connection or practical application. We proved them all wrong. I connected to RZA through Sway and Tech from The Wake Up Show. He and I met at a Q&A at SF Commonwealth Club. We clicked quickly and his support for the organization has meant more than words can convey.
As the limo pushed muddy melted snow along the curb RZA broke out a prototype Boombotix speaker and started to play Ruckus in B Minor. No one had heard anything from th A Better Tomorrow album yet. Something in the song reflected the turmoil that had enveloped city. I kept asking him to replay it. He obliged.
“We got a lot of work done in 8 years” I said with a smile. The Abbott of Wu-Tang was looking at the storm clouds above and nodded. “ True indeed” he said softly. He turned toward me smiling and said “We have a lot more work to do in the next 8- right?”. Something about what he said rattled me under the surface. I think it was the fact that he was right.
In March later the same year I gave a lecture on Hip-Hop, chess and nonviolence at University Wisconsin-Whitewater. At a dinner before the talk I was speaking with a student from Africa. She asked me what I thought the role of the government should be in fixing the situations America was facing. I told her the mistake was to believe that the government properly assessed or could actually do anything about what was happening. Reflecting now, I know the government can do more, but it’s appears bogged down by a deadly mix of apathy and bureaucracy. “If we waited got the government to do something like Hip-Hop Chess, it would take a lot of years to roll out.” I explained. “ It would probably suck too. All the bureaucracy and everybody wanting to take credit for it would hurt the end result.”
The first quote remember from Abraham Lincoln as a child was “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember it or overthrow it.” As a young hard left militant in the 1990’s, I used the quote as a platform for my hard left position on being a revolutionary against the system at that time. I don’t believe America needs a revolution anymore. The entire system does not need to be removed. Uncle Sam needs rehab though, maybe some heart surgery as well. I believe people upset with the status of our schools (public or charter) should set up some desks in a garage or at park benches and teach algebra, english or whatever else is needed. Everybody in the hood knows someone who is really good at these subjects. That is how I believe we help the schools. We also know if these kids (especially hood kids) can convert pounds to kilograms to move drugs, we can redirect that knowledge to serveauthentic entrepreneurship in the community. We don’t need the government’s permission, but we need persistent follow through.
A Buddhist monk named Takuan Soho stated “A book on cooking will not cure our hunger. To feel satisfied we must have actual food. So long as we do not go beyond mere talking we are not true knowers.” Police chiefs talk about more community engagement, accountability and transparency. Nevertheless our sons and daughters and fathers and mothers die with little concern or action from the courts. Left over Civil Rights activists and hot blooded new era revolutionaries rightfully express their anger and frustration at the situation. However, none of their speeches and inspiring raps can serve as scaffolding for full bodied agendas in education and business.
International chessmaster Emory Tate and RZA after a game at John O’Connell High in SF.
The HHCF was designed to give young minds the ability to see chess notations as life equations. Our approach to using the chessboard as a metaphor for life, has helped thousands of kids gain clarity of purpose and higher emotional mastery. Chess is a proven tool for raising math and reading skills. HHCF helps them identify people and things that truly enrich them as well as those things that distract them from their goals.
Understand that I love Hip-Hop, because it opened the door to teach me about ancient Egypt, Greece, vegetarian lifestyle perspectives, philosophy and politics. I obviously do not condone or defend artists promoting blatant sexism, drug dealing or violence. Nevertheless, while rappers have been amazing at effectively sharing the legitimate rage in the hearts of the youth, have pretty much proven themselves to be lackluster leaders at best. I can accept that. But then we have to ask why these same rappers are not openly supporting with monetary investment and time the numerous Hip-Hop education organizations. This is something that transcends my organization of course. Hip-Hop Scholars like Dr. James Peterson, Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar, Dr. Imani Perry, Dr. Bettina Love and others should be aligned with artists who see them as allies. Many of the top academics in Hip-Hop are not backed by the artists in spirit or in financial support. There are a lot of fantastic educators and organizations doing the work many rappers seem to be lacking a deeper engagement in.
It takes more than rap music to fix a broken people. I hope the rappers of today can receive my words in the positive spirit they were written in. HHCF has proven that by fusing music, chess and martial arts children can plant the seeds and grow the fruit of peace within their minds. They can be the “true knowers” that Takuan Soho spoke of. This will not only ensure their mind is strong. It will give them something to trust beyond quick money schemes and street violence.
Understand I come from what I proudly call “The School of 88.” From 1988 to 1995 I believe was the best era for rap music that ever existed. It contained the widest spectrum of original beats and lyrics from following generations. It was also arguably the most politically and socially aggressive music the world may have ever seen. The artists of those times were able to force conversations that mainstream media was reluctant to address
Luckily I was one of the first people to interview Eazy E and write about NWA.Tupac Shakur was a friend of mine. His music still inspires me. I still listen to the old Public Enemy and X-Clan and other politically relevant records of the past.The current lyrics of Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, Dilated Peoples and Killer Mike inspire me now. Yet, Black comprehensive collective vision, infrastructure and action is simply not there. This is not the fault of rappers alone, but more than rap will need to happen for the change to be real and sustained.
HHCF Founder, Adisa Banjoko (L) and St. Louis youth play on the 64 squares after a lecture on chess and life.
HHCF was in St. Louis doing nonviolence work prior to Mike Brown’s death. So when I see the some of the protests in St. Louis be swarmed upon by artists and activists all so ready to “show em how to do right”- I get scared for our people. The inglorious work prescribed by Frederick Douglass Booker T. Washington, and Marcus Garvey still remain largely unfinished like unpolished marble statues. Sadly it seems some of our activists entertain false fantasies of being the bloody martyr for freedom in the final hour of “the revolution.” Many have been willing to die for the cause. I understand the idea but I believe the world is in need of those willing to live and open a new door to authentic peace. Few are prepared to do the heavy lifting (planning and funding of entrepreneurship, rebuilding of schools and rebuilding of the family unit). There is no shortcut to true prosperity. The improved math, reading comprehension, and emotional balance is all right there on the 64 squares. The neglect of that kind of work decade after decade has made our responses and outcomes sickeningly predicable.
I support the right for anyone to protest peacefully for a just cause. My concern is that the sustained protests, without a structured plan unfolding alongside it, will eventually lead to impatience. Prolonged exhaustion of patience will give way to new violence. Violence we don’t need.
I am no more a proponent of killer cops, than I am cop killers. Both have no place in our society. Neither are friends to the community at large. Unfortunately, African American’s and cops can hardly hear one another beyond the gunshots at this point. It often feels as if the media prods the opposing sides in the moment- alienating those fighting to hold onto the center. In chess whoever loses control of the center usually loses the game. Right now I don’t feel like anybody is really winning. It appears America is losing its center on all fronts.
Essentially it’s almost been a year since RZA and I visited St. Louis. He asked me to make sure I came back to help the children of that city. HHCF just began training St. Louis juvenile hall staff in our Chess and Life Strategies method for their kids. RZA is still right, and HHCF has thrown down the gauntlet not only by way of chessboards but more importantly by way of elevating the bar of accepting ‘responsibility”. During “The School of 88” a group called Gangstarr had a song titled — “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight”? It was asking about who would be willing to do more than talk to change the America. While we can find some who are unquestionably guilty for creating the circumstances and conditions that have helped to arrest the development of many urban communities and its inhabitants, the ultimate responsibility for correction falls squarely on the shoulders of those most closely connected to the people. HHCF has proven our ability to quickly connect with at-risk youth all all backgrounds. If rappers continue to be non-strategic, in their social or political activities, then all of the elements that help make Hip-Hop a vibrant culture will become like shiny objects to crows; in other words, we will only embrace them because they are shiny not because we fully understand and appreciate their value on a much deeper level. It will certainly take more than rap music to fix a broken people, and more importantly to make our communities and this country better.
RZA Donates to Hip-Hop Chess Federation to Benefit the Youth of St. Louis
HHCF Board Member RZA Helps Launch Chess Initiative for Juvenile Hall Students in St. Louis
Nov. 1st 2015, St. Louis, MO- The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce it has begun training St. Louis juvenile hall staff it’s “Chess and Life Strategies” certification program. The HHCF St. Louis initiative was made possible by a donation from board member RZA of Wu-Tang Clan to help HHCF establish itself in the city of St. Louis. October 9, 2014 Adisa and RZA spoke to more than 400 high school youth from Ferguson and across St. Louis. Later that same day Adisa and RZA gave a short lecture and played chess with incarcerated youth at the juvenile hall. RZA, who serves on the board for HHCF was moved by what he saw in the hearts and minds St. Louis youth. “That night RZA handed me a check and asked me to put together a program to help the youth of St. Louis.” stated Adisa Banjoko. I promised him I would make it happen.
During the October meeting with the incarcerate group of boys and girls about using chess as a tool to control their energy, Wu-Tang rapper said, “Y’all are in here for not controlling your energy, yo. You are here now] for not being analytical about the results of the actions you have taken. I’m the last one to talk in some sense. I’ve been through the same system...Me and my brother got our first gun, when I was 11 or 12...Riding NY city busses looking for what they call, a ’vic’ [victim].” He went onto explain how he taught himself through reading and playing chess to help him make better choices over time. RZA explained how the trauma of watching many relatives and friends die or become incarcerated, led him away from being trapped in the streets. “It’s a game of chess in one sense, but in another it's a study of life. We in the Hip-Hop Chess Federation are striving to bring awareness to American’s, to Black youth, but to the whole of American youth... That chess study, along with martial arts, along with music- is the best way to help develop your mind and body and protect you from pitfalls in life that will surely come at you.” The full audio of RZA’s conversation with the incarcerated youth of St. Louis is up at www.bishopchronicles.com .
TJ Jones a staff member at St. Louis Juvenile Hall Family Court wrote a letter to HHCF a few weeks after thier visit stating, “You gave a memorable and powerful presentation to our youth and showed your dedication and motivation to do the unthinkable, connect chess with Hip-Hop...They were so amazed they began to ask when you were coming back again to have a chess tournament.” TJ and Adisa talked over the course of the next year looking at the most effective ways to get St. Louis juvenile hall staff trained in HHCF methodologies and philosophies. “Thanks to vision and trust of RZA in our our mission, we are currently training their staff in our innovative approach to teaching teens about life though chess. In five weeks, they will be complete in their HHCF Level 1 Certification. So many kids there already love chess, I cannot wait to see the students when we visit again.”
St. Louis based schools and organizations looking to have their staff trained in HHCF Chess and Life Strategies program can email contact@hiphopchessfederation.org and apply. They can also call Bay Area HHCF HQ 888-588-4418.
Earlier this year Adisa Banjoko gave a talk at Oberlin College in the science dept. It was the first time he spoke about the history and impact of the fusion of Hip-Hop and chess. Only a small portion of it was covered in my work at the World Chess Hall of Fame's Living Like Kings exhibit. Though a smashing success on many levels, as you can imagine it is a complex and deep subject.
Some of the talk was not immediately available online after he spoke. Only a few days ago did ALL of the talk make it online. The subject of this talk became my upcoming book, Bobby, Bruce & Bam: The History of Hip-Hop Chess. Look for it in early 2016. I hope you enjoy these clips. Many thanks to Kalind Parish for his sharing of the video.
Hip-Hop Chess Federation Announces New Education Center Grand Opening
Harvard University’s Nas Fellow to Speak at HHCF on Hip-Hop and Education
San Jose, CA, 8/12/15- The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) is proud to announce that it will host a Grand Opening of its new facility located at 42660 Christy St., Fremont, CA August 15th at 5 PM. The HHCF is the first organization to fuse Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts to promote education and nonviolence. The SF Bay Area based 501c3 has worked tirelessly for nonviolence since 2006. They recently were the foundation of a record breaking exhibit on Hip-Hop and Chess at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. RZA of Wu-Tang Clan (the organization's Director of Outreach) and Adisa The Bishop were among the first from the Hip-Hop community on the ground in that city to work for mutual understanding and peace. Their work can be furthered now in their new facility in the SF Bay Area.
Dr. Bettina L. Love currently serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia and was named the 2016 Nasir Jones Fellow at the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute at Harvard University. The title of her talk at the HHCF Grand Opening is: We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For: The Possibilities, Challenges & Limitations of Hip Hop Ed. The entire talk will be live streamed on Periscope through the HHCF Twitter account @hiphopchess.
Dr. Love's talk will explore the possibilities, challenges, and limitations of Hip Hop Ed and its entanglement with the contested space of Black popular culture, while still functioning as a humanizing, critical, creative pedagogical intervention that fosters self-determination, self-knowledge, and acts of resistance with young people concerned about and fighting for justice.
"HHCF is not only doing the work, but also showing us all how it’s done” said Dr .Love. “The work of the HHCF should be a site of study as folks search for defining models of Hip-Hop Ed. I am beyond excited and humbled to enter the space built by two extraordinary educators. I hope my talk will move Hip-Hop Ed closer to the axiom of Black Lives Matter.” After her lecture there will be a panel discussion on Hip-Hop Ed with Arash Daneshzadeh and special guests.
“Dr. Love is arguably the brightest mind in education today, especially where urban and at-risk youth are concerned” said HHCF Founder Adisa The Bishop. “We are beyond honored to have her wisdom mark our Grand Opening. She represents a new wave of Hip-Hop scholars who will refine how we will approach and engage America's youth academically.”
In addition to the lecture and panel there will be speed chess gaming, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu demonstration, artwork by Carlos Rodriguez of RM Klothing will be on display and dope beats will bang hard. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/113042345710060/ or www.hiphopchess.com
We just got this in the mail a while back. I wanted to share it and thank all the good people who we have come to know in the city of St. Louis. It is a beautiful city that does more to showcase the power in chess more than anywhere on earth.
When HHCF went there in October with RZA, our Director of Outreach and then again in November (thanks to a donation from Sinquefield Charitable Foundation) with Kevin Hwa, Director of Chess Education, we were blown away. We spent the bulk of our time playing chess with incarcerated kids at two juvenile halls and spoke to them about the benefits of chess, life, owning your actions, and actualizing your full potential.
We had a lot of fun, but really, we got to spend quality time with kids who could use a new smile and some sincere words in their lives. At the end of the day, we hope to have HHCF Life Strategies programs in all the juvenile halls here, and across the country. If you are interested in getting your juvenile hall staff trained in HHCF Life Strategies & Philosophies email contact@hiphopchessfederation.org .
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
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