The Mic and the Chessmen (REPOST)

This essay on Hip-Hop and chess was written by Grandmaster Maurice Ashley and I in 2014. It ran in Ebony Magazine in 2014. I just found it sitting in one of my drive files. I figured to celebrate Black History Month I would repost it. Enjoy...

-Adisa The Bishop

The Mic and the Chessmen   

By: Adisa Banjoko and Grandmaster Maurice Ashley 

I don’t play either side or the king, I play God/ Heavenly wars played out on hand
carved boards
- Rakaa Iriscience, 64 Squares in the Cipher 

Thinking Like A King 

About seven years ago I was speaking at San Francisco Juvenile Hall talking to teen boys
about and being an author as a career choice. I was promoting my first independent book
release Lyrical Swords: Hip-Hop and Politics in the Mix. Despite often connecting early
and easy with kids this talk was crashing and burning like no other talk I had given
before. I glanced in my backpack and remembered there was a chessboard in there.
I held the board up and asked, “Who here knows how to play chess?”

To my astonishment, about 75% of the room raised their hand. “OK, that’s good!”
I yelled out with a smile. “But who here is the best?! Only keep your hand up if you
know you are thebest.” Only a few hands went down. “Alright here is what's going to
happen” I declared. “We are going to have a tournament. Whoever wins gets a book.
Circle up, let’s do this.”

The energy in the room became electric. I saw racial and other social barriers fall right
in front of me, because of chess. The entire scene blew my mind. 

I asked myself, “How did these kids know so much about chess?  An avalanche of
rap lyrics from Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, and EPMD collapsed on my brain
simultaneously. Hip-Hop gave methe answer. As I exited the concrete hallways
with the flickering fluorescent lights in the stairwell,I said “This is something big.”
Within the next year, I founded the Hip-Hop Chess Federation
(HHCF) nonprofit 501(c)3 to teach chess and life strategies to at-risk youth.
We use martial arts philosophy to reinforce the lessons that rap and chess teach. 

Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA and Rugged Monk of Black Knights (R) playing Chessmaster Emory Tate (L)
and others 

For some, it might easy to default to the Wu-Tang Clan’s rise as the apex of this fusion between
rap and chess. Yet to start and stop it from Enter the 36 Chambers denies the full scope of the
relationship between the game of kings and Hip-Hop. 

The truth is, when Brooklyn’s own Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky in September of
1972, chess was huge. Those games were aired on PBS and the network had it’s highest
ratings ever! In November of 1973 a young gang leader from The Bronx named
Afrika Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation to cultivate Hip-Hop and promote peace
throughout the city and the world. At that same time the movies from the Bruce Lee
and the Shaw Brothers were taking over America. The strategy
ideas from Eastern Philosophy started to spread into the streets of NY. A perfect
cultural storm was brewing.

Street chess games played on the corner, the parks and those played in prisons would
ultimately serve as the glue between these subcultures. Neither chess, nor Hip-Hop
would be the same again. 

Jay Z is respected for his rap and business skills, playing chess in Italian Vogue

Chess gave Hip-Hop political, social and spiritual symbolism for metaphors no other
game hasgiven them.  RZA, Will Smith, 50 Cent and others represent a growing number
of chess playing rappers who have amazing business minds of the industry.  So its not
just good for the art its good for business.   

Reflections of the Grandmaster 

At first look, it might seem strange that there may be any substantial connections

between the world’s most intellectually revered board game and the dynamic

musical art form that is Hip-Hop. Chess, an ancient practice over 1500 years old,

often today conjures up images of rich old men on park benches.To blend that high-brow
image with the effervescent rush of inventive lyrics, pulsating, at times rebellious beats can
seem hard to bring together. But that is only if you are looking at the surface.

Grandmaster Maurice Ashley giving play-by-play coverage of Sinquefield Cup

And yet, the stereotypical differences that seem to create a cavern between chess

and hip hop soon wilt under closer inspection. For one, with the advent of the digital

age and ready-made computer instruction, today’s chess is a game for the young.

The best chess players in the world are under 30. Public

school teams are represented in full glory every year at national scholastic chess

championships, with the most accomplished team in the last ten years, I.S. 318,

coming straight out of Brooklyn.

Even the slow grandfatherly pace no longer holds water. The most popular form

of chess, is Blitz Chess, where players compete with less than five minutes
to complete all of  their moves lest they lose the game on time. At that speed,
chess becomes a blendof sophisticated pattern recognition, intense focus and
spirited improvisation.

Watching two players bang out moves with precious few seconds on the clock can

thrill and hypnotize as much as Mike Relm or DJ QBert   slicing up a turn-table.

Magnus Carlsen is putting a youthful face on the future of competitive chess. 

While chess can be coldly analytic, it’s the perpetually creative and individualized

styles that separates the players at the very top. World Champion Magnus Carlsen

plays in the style of Common. He does not care to insert himself into the battle with a

whole lot of ego. Instead slowly enveloping his opponents with subtle ideas

and smooth syncopations they succumb to his skill and assuredness that

somehow always seems totally effortless. On the other hand, Hikaru Nakamura,

America’s top player, mimics NWA with his gangsta’ style. He comes straight for the

jugular with vicious blow after vicious blow, to eviscerate his opponents

with killer movement. He’s not giving a damn what the world thinks about his overly

aggressive style and brash personality. It may say something about the nature of life

and competition that when the two face off, the calm and cool Carlsen almost always

endures. Stylish doesn’t mean a lack of determination.

American chess player Hikaru Nakamura’s attacking style of play is likened to N.W.A’s
aggressive
rap style.

It should then come as less of a surprise that musicians have embraced the art form

of chess as a means of relaxation and creative expression. 

Like music, chess has gone through its evolutionary stages as well. From the

Romantic Era, scientific period, Hypermodern period, to the digital age where
more and moregreed is good- chess continues to change with the times. Hip-Hop
has gone through similar
evolution's. Look at the old school lyrical party styles of the Sugar Hill Gang, to the
intellectual
flow of Rakim to the rage of Eminem rap has changed significantly.
The science ofthe DJ’s mixing and scratching methods,  graffiti,  Bboy’ing 
and all the branches of Hip-Hop dance
have also grown immeasurably from the early 1970’s.  

The fusion of Hip-Hop and chess is beautiful and dynamic on many levels. There is a
mountain ofstill untapped potential in this artistic and intellectual union. The amount of
lyrics about chess in
the rap world can be cool, or dark and often times very inspirational. However, if today's
MC’s are
really going to take the  fusion to the next level they are going to have to raise the bar
on their knowledge of the game. Read The Immortal Game by David Shenk, Chess Bitch
by Jennifer Shahade and Birth of the Chess Queen by Marilyn Yalom. After reading about
the Black Moorish conquerors of Spain taking the game to Europe, algebraic notation,
we should see rappers naming champions other than Bobby Fischer. There is still much
more lyrical work and history breakdowns
to be done! There are still new graffiti murals and DJ tracks to be made. I look forward
to hearing
and seeing more from the chess and rap community as this beautiful phenomenon
continues to grow. 

Adisa Banjoko is the Founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation. They fuse music,
chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence. Maurice Ashley is the
first Black Grandmaster in chess and host of Millionaire Chess in Las Vegas Oct. 9th.
Adisa Banjoko will be at the World Chess Hall of Fame’s Living Like Kings exhibit 
which runs October 9th 2014 to April 26th 2015 in St. Louis Missouri. 

+++++

To learn more about how the fusion of Hip-Hop and chess can improve your life
subscribe to the Bishop Chronicles Podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Mixcloud and Libsyn.
Bishop Chronicles is brought to you by the good people at Pharcyde TV!

HHCF Updates for 2020

Photo by: Dream Ear Productions Copyright 2020

Peace to the planet Earth! I have missed you! Sorry for such a long delay in posting. A lot of stuff changed for HHCF, but for the good. The truth is, I fell ill in 2020 with a bacterial infection in my stomach.. It was bad. I had to get two blood transfusions and was literally a day away from dying when I was called to the hospital. Had I gone to work that day, or put off going in I would not be writing you now.

I contracted a separate infection of the potentially fatal MRSA staph  a few months later. I had to go to the hospital again because it was on my face and with it came a horrible case of impetigo- but I recovered. The process was strange because the infection took a lot of my energy. Nevertheless I beat it.

In the meantime, I was posting on our instagram @realhiphopchess and teaching at the UFC Gym in San Bruno plus teaching at Zaytuna College as head instructor of jiu-jitsu and chess. I began working on a book called A Dead Man's Diary. It's about how my near death experience impacted my personal philosophy about life. I went through some dark days.

In truth, I had gotten a bit depressed, and unclear on who I was initially. But after that I became supremely focused and motivated. I had to use all of the tools from HHCF (which worked thankfully), plus my jiu-jitsu, plus my closest friends and family members, plus therapy and taking a class on stoic philosophy to make sense of what I had endured. Plus a lot of reading new things..

In the course of it all I lost my personal love for chess. Everything about the game seemed lifeless to me. I was playing and losing. But the losses were not resonating. I didn't care. I was not seeing dynamic forces engaging on the board. My chessvision had been altered. I traveled a bit. While in UK I played a game and for the first time the entire board felt wholly dead. For the first time the board was not radiating with life. It was just glass and stones. The positions were irrelevant.

I realized at that point that the game had not changed. I had changed. Keep in mind the entire time this is happening- I'm STILL TEACHING. I'm at juvenile halls, high schools and colleges. I realized chess was not the issue. I was. So, I've went on a deeper journey inside my mind. I understand now why the game became dead to me. Within weeks my love for the game had returned. The board and pieces were breathing again and full of life. As I unlearned to relearn new opportunities arose in the space of education and mentoring. Everything I went through started to make sense.

In the meantime I focused on the Bishop Chronicles Podcast at www.bishopchronicles.com . It now has more than 100 episodes!  (thanks to Mike Relm and the good people over at www.PharcydeTV.com! Visit the site right now to heard incredible interviews and conversations about the fusion of Hip-Hop news, chess, martial arts and health and fitness trends. I'm talking about valuable stuff to keep your body in good shape and your mind sharp. In every episode there is a section showing you how to use chess, jiu-jitsu and Hip-Hop to improve yourself. But mostly, it's just be being silly with my friends. This is like NPR meets VICE. That is the vibe.

1. How Niccolo Machiavelli impacted the strategies of Tupac Shakur.
2. I have in depth conversations with entrepreneurial rappers like Mista FAB.
3. I even talked to MMA legend Ralph Gracie about the current state of the UFC.
4. There was a super deep talk with Stanford Philosophy Professor Greg Watkins,
5. Simon Purkis, CEO of  Purling London (maker of cool designer chessboards selling for 10K!).
6. Tribute show remembering the life of rapper Juice Wrld and a look at why our kids are depressed.

You can subscribe to iTunes, Spotify, Mixcloud and Libsyn to get the full rundown of the shows. It is always funny and informative (appropriate for teens and up).

In 2020 the goal is not to merely feel better. We intend to help you actually be better. New folks on the team, new events and new knowledge from the #hiphopchess army will be coming at you soon.

The HHCF Official Page is down right now. It is being revamped. Look for its relaunch and big announcements coming soon. Super soon.

Long story short: I missed you, but I'm back- let's go be great. 

For more on HHCF please follow us on Instagram @realhiphopchess (the impostors are out- begun the clone wars have) LOL.

To learn more about Bishop Chronicles follow us on Instagram @bishopchronicles !

If you would like to contact me directly about HHCF inquiries or speaking engagements email me at abanjoko@gmail.com! (serious inquiries only)....

WATCH: PBS News and KPIX TV Cover RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom (Exhibit Closes Aug 12th)

                                                   Turntable set by Grandmaster Flash

We wanted to thank all the cool people who supported the RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom exhibit. It has been such a fantastic experience. Above you should see a cool interview from local KPIX station. Additionally, there was another story done by  PBS Newshour. The PBS Newshour story is VERY cool. However, I was deeply disappointed to see that they did not acknowledge me as the creator and Guest Curator of the exhibit. Sadly, that has been a consistent issue for me as far as press has gone. I don't even think Susan Barrett and I are credited on the OMCA site for our work. You see our names in super fine print upon entering the exhibit. But on the site, and in the news our credit has been largely swept under the rug. The Sr. Curator, Rene deGuzman has been amazing in staying PERSONALLY consistent in crediting us. This appears to be more of a quiet institutional move inside the PR/Marketing/Social Media space.  I guess I am too new to the curatorial space to understand how this happened through the duration of RESPECT: Style & Wisdom exhibit.

Finally, the most fun I had was in being on San Jose's Dad Bod Rap Pod. Give it a solid listen. I think you will find it both super fun and super informative.

Also, super shout out to Dr. Cari Borja for having  Rene deGuzman, Eric Arnold, Mike Relm and I to the Apple Store in Union Square in SF to talk about our creative approach to the museum. It was super fun and gave us exposure to an older Hip-Hop curious crowd I did not know existed.

Much love to all our supporters. To our harsh critics, thank you for sharing your insights. I am very thankful to so much of the OMCA staff as well as all the contributors and artists who shared their art, knowledge and time to the exhibit. I am currently working on NEW projects that I hope to share with you soon.

WAIT!!! August 12th at Hello Stranger in Oakland 1724 Broadway, Oakland, CA we will be doing a closing party for the end of RESPECT. Please come through as we have DJ Platurn and some special guests coming to hit the set. Doors open at 9. We will also be debuting the RESPECT Mixtape made by DJ Platurn and epic Oakland scribe Eric Arnold. 

Kanye West Started a Fight in my Class

Kanye West Started a Fight in my Class

By: Adisa, The Bishop

For the past week or so America has been debating the idea put forth by Kanye West that “Slavery
was a choice”.

To protect the identity of the boys we call them Marlon and Mike. As I am resetting the chessboard as
the previous class leaves, Marlon comes in and says “ Mr. Bishop, I gotta tell you some things about
Mike. First off, this nigga is a coon!” he says with a devilish grin. It is important to note that Marlon
has a sharp tongue and loves to roast people. He and Mike have a chess rivalry and go hard on one
another verbally and mentally.

Marlon continues “Yeah man, he said slavery was a choice. He’s over here siding with that Kanye
West bullshit.”

I looked at Mike and said “ You think slavery was a choice?”

Without missing a beat he said “Yeah.”

Marlon cut in “Tell him how stupid he is Mr. Bishop” he said with a nod.

“Hold on, hold on” I said trying to lower the energy in the room. The whole class was watching intently.

“Do you believe that for real?” I asked again. “Because if you do I’d have to suggest that you read
books. Don’t you know how many countless slave rebellions they had back in the day? You had Nat
Turner, Denmark Vesey and then you have White men like John Brown at Harper's Ferry- but there
were many. There were more than I can try to list. We have people fighting our oppression right now!
It's not even over.”

Defiantly Mike shook he head “I would never let anyone enslave me. I ain’t no bitch.”

Marlon jumped right back in. “You’re really dumb. Slavery was complicated. They didn’t have guns.
Where were they gonna get weapons?”

“Wait, wait!” I said. “Mike, you are a descendant of those that were enslaved. If you think they were
bitches, then, in some way you must think you are born of bitches. You are not. You come from
warriors. Warriors who fight the system till this day. You have to know that.”

Marlon is now in a chair setting a chessboard up so he and I can play a game . “This guy is a coon
Mr. Bishop.”

Marlon immediately clenches his fist and says “Let’s box. I’m not afraid of you” and punches his hand
twice. "That will be your face!”

Unmoved by the display of force, he casually says “Mike you know we can’t box because we don’t
have headgear. I would box you if I could.”

Marlon was sitting in his chair with his back to Mike and something in Mike snapped. He grabbed
Marlon from behind and fell to the floor. I just remember the screaming.
Something like “Let’s goooo. Let’s do this!”

Marlon was actually in no active danger. I have been working on teaching him the value of nonviolence.
I got hims singed up at a great martial arts school nearby.The choke attempt from Marlon was not
effective. Marlon looked at me with a face like “This ain’t working and I’m not worried” and raised his
hands like “I’m not responding.” He could have thrown elbows, he could have set it off. He was
present and calm. He knew I would not let either of them harm one another.

I pulled Mike’’s hands away and broke them up., Our security guard came in. Both of the kids
quietly walked to the office.

I could not help but remember what that guy told Kanye as he was leaving TMZ. Kanye’s uninformed
“Slavery was a choice” lie had Black boys fighting one another to reclaim a dignity that they NEVER
technically lost. The struggle never ended.

Shortly after I went to the office to check in on them. The Principal and I had a solid talk with them.
I told them that in my opinion Marlon used supreme restraint and did not fight back when he was
well within his right. I told Mike that both of them needed to have tougher skin when holding onto
polarizing political social opinions.

Mike wasted no time in apologizing to all of us. He admitted that he snapped because in the past
24 hours since taking Kanye’s side kids had been calling him a coon and other names. He was
so upset that he lost it. He said he had been going through "tourture" since siding with Kanye and
he just could not take anymore. I felt bad for him. He was sincere.

Marlon said he accepted Mike’s apology. He understood his frustrations. He said his only thing was
that he felt that because Mike attacked him from behind that he felt it was cowardly. Then he turned
to the Principal and said “I don’t know what you plan to recommend, suspension or expulsion but I
recommend you do nothing to Mike. It was a small incident and it won’t happen again.” They shook
hands. My jaw was to the floor. I have never seen anything like that in all my years of teaching. That
maturity they both showed after the incident was truly unprecedented. The Principal agreed.

I really have to say of all the teens I’ve worked with Marlon has shown the fastest growth overall.
The next time they came to my class they were chill, battling on the boards and talking smack but
maintaining boundaries of respect. I was super proud of both of them. I was happy with the way the
Principal handled it. I gotta say though that Kanye really has become a weapon of division in the
Black community and education circles. I wish he could come to Realm Charter school and talk to
my kids and see the damage he as done. Not just to my classroom, but in many schools and
homes across across the country. Kanye know's too many wise people. He does not need me to
teach him about slavery. But I would if he asked. He needs to use his network and his net worth
more wisely.

As I sat down to play chess with Marlon I looked under the table and saw he had some fresh
“coke white” shoes on.

I said “Those are dope man, what are they?”

Shaking his head with a chuckle he said “Yeezy’s.”

“How ironic” I laughed.

Adisa, The Bishop is the author of Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess and Guest Curator of the Oakland Museum of California's current exhibit RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom open until August 12, 2018. 

*The kid playing chess above is NOT a part of the incident.*