Q&A with Hip Hop Chess Federation founder on partnership with East Bay schools

By: Juan Martinez

What do hip-hop music and chess have in common? The answer is simple according to Adisa Banjoko, the founder of the Hip Hop Chess Federation (HHCF), a non-profit organization that combines music, chess and martial arts to help young people promote nonviolence in their communities.

The art of rap and the game of chess are extremely competitive and difficult to master. In a game of chess, two people battle each other by making strategic moves on a board that has 64 squares. In a rap battle, two artists seek to display mental superiority, using similar survival strategies to a chess player, except that they duel with the wittiest rhymes to win.

Although Banjoko’s traveled all over the country organizing community outreach events, the Bay Area holds a special place in his heart. Banjoko once lived in Oakland and was a part of the ‘90s Bay Area hip-hop music scene. Currently, he is teaching chess and life strategies to students at Encinal High School in Alameda through a partnership with his friend John Fuentes, who oversees the after-school high school program for Bay Area Community Resources (BACR). From now to the end of this school year, Fuentes’ goal is to have Banjoko teach chess at several Oakland high schools as well.

Read the full story: http://blog.sfgate.com/inoakland/2014/04/11/qa-with-hip-hop-chess-federation-founder-on-partnership-with-east-bay-schools/

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Expands to Oakland High Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Contact: 

memg@hiphopchessfederation.org

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Expands to Oakland High Schools

HHCF Teams with B.A.C.R. to Offer Chess & Life Strategy Classes to East Bay Youth

Oakland, CA, 3/4/14-  The Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) will begin teaching Chess and Life Strategies classes to teens in Oakland and greater Alameda County later this month. The HHCF is the first 501(c)3 to fuse music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and nonviolence. Bay Area Community Resources (BACR) has brokered a partnership with HHCF to bring their innovative approach to chess and life to youth and teens across the greater East Bay. The first classes will begin at Encinal High School in Alameda.

Hip-Hop Chess Federation Founder, Adisa Banjoko stated “Our plan is to teach the universal themes of music, and chess to the youth.  We know the fusion of those help promote the teaching the value of nonviolence. We are are honored to have this new alliance with Bay Area Community Resources. John Fuentes of BACR is a visionary in the world of Hip-Hop and education. The HHCF is happy to have this opportunity to help heal the climate of violence for the children of Oakland and Alameda County.”    

The HHCF recently announced its award winning chess program is expanding to Santee Education Complex, in South Central Los Angeles. Two weeks ago actor and rapper RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan won the HHCF’s Chess Kings Invitational tournament in Anaheim.  FULL AUDIO OF RZA’s talk with Sons of Anarchy star Emilio Rivera and members of LAUSD about the merits of chess and music for at-risk and gang impacted teens  can be heard in its entirety at The Journey Podcast .Rappers Immortal Technique, Zion I, T-KASH, The Jacka, Dilated Peoples, DJ QBert, Mike Relm and many others from the Hip-Hop community participated in HHCF community outreach events. The HHCF has been featured in Forbes, Chess Life, Good Morning America and the NY Times for their innovative approach to chess.

John Fuentes, High School After School Program Manager for Bay Area Community Resources stated “I am excited to begin a formal partnership with the Hip-Hop Chess Federation. I have known Adisa Banjoko for many years. Having had an opportunity to bring him and the HHCF into my after school program is amazing. The HHCF offers young people the opportunity to critically think, strategize, problem solve, anticipate and develop the necessary skills to navigate their high school education and navigate through life.

In related news, the HHCF recently released Street Games Vol. 1 hosted by DJ Rob Flow and A-Plus of Hieroglyphics. Street Games Vol. 1 is a profanity free mixtape about the connections between Hip-Hop Chess and martial arts. It includes A Technical Flow by Kalhi feat. UFC coach Ryron Gracie,  64 Squares in the Cipher by Sunspot Jonz, Zumbi and Rakaa Iriscience, The Chess Clock by Quadir Lateef and Jasiri X, and The Maurice Piece, a tribute to the first Black Grandmaster of chess, Maurice Ashley.

For more information on Hip-Hop Chess Federation visit www.hiphopchessfederation.org or follow @realhiphopchess on Instagram.