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.
HHCF is proud to announce we will be hosting the DMC DJ Battle in the Bay Area featuring some of the biggest and best DJ's !!! It is an ALL AGES event. We pride ourselves in having a ten year history of hosting family friendly events that educate and inspire young people. We love showing young people and parents how entertaining and informative Hip-Hop is. Of course there will be open chess tables and and dancers all in the building as well. We look forward to seeing you there. Special thanks for Christie Z Pabon and the good folks at Tools of War Jams for helping us make it happen!!
Innovative Book Connects Rap and Jiu-Jitsu to Stop Violence and Improve Education
Bobby, Bruce & Bam: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess Frame Impact of Bobby Fischer, Bruce Lee and Afrika
Bambaataa in a New Light
Oakland, CA 3/11/16-
Three Lions Press is proud to announce the release of a new book, Bobby Bruce & Bam: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess written by Adisa Banjoko, aka The Bishop. This extraordinary book outlines how the of rise of Bobby Fischer, Bruce Lee and Afrika Bambaataa unintentionally converged and influences Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts in America in unexpected ways.
It includes a workbook teaching the first 12 lessons people can use to embrace chess as a life strategy tool for school and business. The recently launched website www.bobbybruceandbam.com features a 29 page sampler of excerpts. Bobby Bruce & Bam: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess will be released April 10, 2016 in both digital and print formats. The book serves as a disruptive blueprint that helps urban kids shift their approach to education, entrepreneurship, and life’s possibilities.
Adisa Banjoko, aka The Bishop is a respected disruptor in the space of education innovation. Adisa began his journalism career while still a high school student interviewing Eazy
E shortly before the formation of NWA. Adisa went on to become one of the first west coast writers
for The Source, RapPages and VIBE among others. He broke some of the first profiles on artists like Tupac Shakur, Del and Hieroglyphics, Master P and many others in the rise of west coast rap in the early 1990s’. Adisa Banjoko is
a powerful speaker who has lectured at many universities across the country including Harvard,
Lehigh, Oberlin College, UC Berkeley and others. His ideas on chess, rap and martial arts have been seen in Forbes, Good Morning America, Black Enterprise, Ebony and the cover of Chess Life Magazine.
“This book is the product of more than ten years of research and direct experience helping kids escape the
violence of the streets” said Adisa Banjoko. I have helped teens graduate and live better lives using chess strategies fused with Hip-Hop. The connections in this book are very real and they work. The fusion gives teachers new tools to take STEM and STEAM
to a higher level. My goal is the help the children in cities like Oakland, St. Louis, Baltimore, New York, Boston and Atlanta use chess as a tool for self discovery and improvement. ”
In April of 1998 he released an article profiling the legendary
Gracie family for RapPages magazine. Not long after he penned an article on Ralph Gracie and MMA for Maxim Magazine. He has written extensively about Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu, yoga, meditation and Eastern philosophy for the last 20 years. He is a purple belt in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu and currently teaches chess and jiu-jitsu classes at HHCF HQ.
In 2006 after visiting incarcerated youth in San Francisco he created the
Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF). The HHCF is a 501c3 non-profit that fuses music, chess and martial arts, to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence. in 2015, the HHCF was invited to teach the staff at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis on the connections between Hip-Hop and chess. The result was the Living Like Kings exhibit (which broke attendance records surpassing Bobby Fischer's). He and RZA of Wu-Tang Clan (who now serves on HHCF’s Board) spoke to high school youth and incarcerated youth in St. Louis during all off the rage and chaos after the death of Mike Brown. Their efforts illustrated a nonviolent narrative largely overlooked by both mainstream and
Hip-Hop media.
Bobby Bruce & Bam: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess outline how this unique fusion came to pass and the lives Adisa Banjoko has been able to change through it. The book highlights his his ideas while in teaching kids in St. Louis with Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, his experiences fighting inner city school violence in The Bay Area and how rap music celebrate chess more than any
other form of music on the planet.
Brian Coleman, author of
Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies stated “Adisa Banjoko writes with the same fire, intelligence and even-keeled wisdom that fans see in person, whether in a room full of Ph.D-holding scholars, or an auditorium filled with wide-eyed teens. His perspective is unique, essential and continually engaging, and listeners, readers and friends all benefit from each word he puts to paper. “Bobby Bruce & Bam” is a deep read, but it steers purposefully away
from coded academic language, presenting its points in clear, powerful tracts. No matter what gets you to the book (Hip-Hop, Chess or Martial Arts), you will walk away a better person as a result of diving in.”
Download the PDF sampler for Bobby Bruce & Bam: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess now at
www.bobbybruceandbam.com !
Fresh off his high octane submission victory over Myron Baker in Odyssey Fights, we got an exclusive interview with D'Juan "Dirty South" Owens. In this interview we look deeper into the connections between chess, music and martial arts. He also has a serious background as a Bboy (thats Hip-Hop dancer for you squares). He blends the wisdom he gets from the rhythm of fighting, dancing and playing chess. It gives him and edge that makes him a cut above the others in MMA today. D'Juan Owens is truly the living embodiment of everything HHCF represents.
HHCF: I know you're a serious chess player, and a real beast in MMA. Can you tell me about the places you see overlap between MMA and chess?
D'Juan Owens: There are MANY aspects that I believe overlap between chess and MMA! I believe that self-confidence, and belief in your skill may be the most crucial. Regardless of how bad your position is in a bout(or a game), the fight isn't over, until it's over. If you're still in the fight, you should be striving for a path to victory.
HHCF: You are also a real Bboy. The old school Kung-Fu films inspired a lot of dance moves as well as the psychology of battle. Can you tell me for you personally as a dancer and fighter the areas of overlap that affect how you approach both paths?
DO: When it comes to dancing and fighting, I see both as an extension of our personality. The rawest form of expression. Obviously, the more skill you have, the more ways in which you can express yourself. When I'm dancing, I want to paint a picture. When I'm fighting, I want to display the beauty in martial arts. Of course, there's a danger-element in fighting though, and winning is priority. But the more efficient I am, the more likely I am to win; and there's beauty in efficient combat.
HHCF: What are your favorite martial arts movies?
DO: My favorite martial arts movie is definitely the Shaw brother's "Five Deadly Venoms"! "Shaolin vs Lama", and Berry Gordy's "The Last Dragon" are my joints too.
HHCF: You just came off an awesome victory in a Jiu-Jitsu super fight at the "TORO Cup". Tell me about that match and the plan you put in action to win?
DO: I competed against a really slick 10th Planet guy. He'd been tearing up the local tournament scene lately. I watched a few of his matches online, and I saw that he was VERY good from the lockdown position. He submitted a black belt who I knew was really good, so I knew it would be a tough match. I figured if I could stay away from his lockdown and whip up transitions, and steer the match toward more traditional positions, then I would have an advantage. I was in fight camp for an MMA fight so I knew I would have a cardio advantage. We battled for position for the majority of our match, but eventually I got the pass, and won by kimura from the reverse-triangle position.
HHCF: A few MMA fights back you lost a decision to to Luis Felix in CES. You seem to have bounced back from the loss with new fire, refined focus and ability winning your last two fights by submission. Cuban chess Grandmaster Jose Raul Capablanca said something to the effect that it's the losses that make you a champion. What changed in you after the Felix fight?
DO: After the post-fight gorging ran it's course, I changed a few things in my nutrition and training regimen. I started really focusing on improving my wrestling, and getting serious about my diet. Honestly, I went into that fight on a great winning streak and I was feeling myself a little too much. I wound up having basically a "fat-camp", instead of a training camp. I have the BEST support system so after about a month of moping around, I got back in the lab, and back on the grind, and we've had great results since.
HHCF: Wait, before I forget, what are some of your favorite Bboy jams to dance to?
DO: When I was really about that bboy life, I used to LOVE "Funky Lover" by eruption. I can't control myself when I hear it! I don't care if I'm in a three-piece suit, or a scuba diving suit. If that joint comes on, I'm definitely throwing down on the spot!
Rock out for a bit to Eruption
HHCF: I know you were in NY last year and played some street games out there. Because of your MMA you have been able to play street chess all over the world. Tell me some cool stories about playing chess while traveling. What has chess taught you about other people? What has chess taught you about yourself?
DO: I went to NY earlier this year to train at "KINGS Thai Boxing" with my muay thai coach Aaron. He knows about my passion for chess, so between training sessions one day, he took me to Central Park. We planned on getting our hustle on "White Man Can't Jump" style, except with chess [laughs] . Long story short, I played 3 people who had tables set up, and beat them all. The guy who actually made a decent wager with us, looked devastated after he lost. He was pretty good, I'm assuming around a 1800 level. He was an aggressive attacker; but reckless. He banked everything on that attack, and when it failed, his defenses were weak. Aaron and I looked at each other after the match, and I KNEW that we were thinking the same thing....I couldn't take this guy's money. This was his livelihood. Seriously, this is what he does. I told him to keep the money, and he gave me a half-hearted laugh and said "next time"... but I FELT his relief. On the way back to the gym, Aaron and I joked about it, and wound up having one of the best conversations about life that I'd had all year.
HHCF: What are your plans going forward in 2016? Any last words?
DO: In 2016 I plan on going even harder on the MMA grind. There's not a doubt in my mind that we'll be in the UFC in 2016! In the meantime, I'll keep loving my family and friends, forging new business relationships, helping my community, being an asset to all of the organizations that we work with, and most importantly, continually striving to be the best human that I can be.
HHCF: I want to give a PHAT shout-out to The "Hip-Hop Chess Federation" for putting in the REAL work for our youth. I'm honored, and proud to be a part of that work. GET FAMILIAR!!!
THIS JUST IN: D'Juan Owens will be coming to the HHCF HQ in the Bay Area in December 2015 to do both Bboy and MMA/Jiu-Jitsu seminars....We will also be hosting a panel about dance and martial arts with some of the top fighters and dancers in the Bay Area. More soon!!!!
Adisa Banjoko had forever changed the perceptions and trajectory of the Oberlin student body. The diversity and depth of his topics was astounding. Not only were we informed of a powerful intellectual history of Hip-Hop, we were also given a once in a lifetime perspective on non-violence. All the students that head his words were infused with his spirit and desire to positively impact the world. - Ali Amiri, Co-Head Oberlin Chess Club
"Adisa painted an inspirational picture of how individuals can use whatever tools are at their disposal to affect change in the world. Adisa has proven that chess, hip-hop, and martial arts can be used as a powerful hybrid to empower young people discarded from our social system. His talk kindled a renewed spirit of service within our chess community at Oberlin, and his message is a powerful one which should be shared with many communities with the ability to improve the lives of those around them.”
- Constantine Ananiadis, Oberlin Chess Club Advisor
