Technology and Hip-Hop: Innovating Beyond The Code!! Come out as a family.

Come to our upcoming Unity in Diversity event Feb 26th and see an amazing panel of tech experts talk about Technology, and Hip-Hop beyond the code. Get tix here! This is an all ages event and we expect a lot of great people coming out. If you are  a teacher, a student or a parent looking for new insights, this is the event to be at. Do not miss this.

Artificial Intelligence, Chess and the Mind Feb 25th!! #UnityInDiversity

If you love technology. If you love looking into the essence of cognitive function. If you love chess, come out to this amazing talk by Dr. David Timony.

TIX HERE! 

HHCF Hosts Hip-Hop Education Event Blending Art & Technology: Unity in Diversity Feb 25-26!!

This will be a 2 day event. A lot of top people from technology, Hip-Hop and the education world will be there. IF you are a parent or an educator or a student....You want to be at this.

Get tix here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/unity-in-diversity-trends-in-hip-hop-ed-art-technology-tickets-31246996608

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PR Contact:

Meek Gaborski

888-588-4418

bishopsoffice@hiphopchess.com

Two Day Event Centered on Hip-Hop Education, Art and Technology

Scholars, Artists and Technology Leaders talk STEAM, STEM and College Readiness at Unity in Diversity in SF Bay Area

1/23/17 San Jose, CA- Hip-Hop Chess Federation 501(c)3 is proud to announce it will be hosting a two day event for parents, and educators about the latest trends in Hip-Hop Education, art and technology. Unity in Diversity: Hip-Hop Ed, Art and Technology

will be a series of community conversation about how teachers, artists and innovators are informing and inspiring our youth. Dr. David Timony of Delaware Valley University will give the first keynote entitled Real Genius or Artificial Intelligence? Dr. Terri Givens of  Menlo College will close the second day with College Readiness: Myth Vs. Reality.

There will also be special guest performances to be announced shortly to close each day's event.  Unity in Diversity is an ALL AGES event at costs $10.00 for both days to ensure it affordable.  The event will be a 2 day event Feb 25-26 2017. It will take place at 42660 Christy St. Suite B, Fremont, CA 94538.  

“In chess all pieces have their own movements” said HHCF Founder Adisa Banjoko.      ”Alone they can do very little. However, united they can achieve amazing things. The same is true in education. We are giving parents and educators immediate access to one another so both can find the best tools to get their kids college ready. This is just the beginning.” Participants include Hip-Hop producer Dug Infinite, NBC 11 Technology Anchor Scott Budman, rapper Aliah Sharrief, Dr. Charity Clay, Zion I, Dr. Elliot Gann and Nate Nevado among others. There will also be a youth led panel.

Topics include: The Hamiltonization of Hip-Hop: Is Commerce Killing The Culture,

Fight Philanthropy: How Martial Artists Give Back, Innovating Beyond the Code and Hip-Hop, Technology and Gender among others.

Unity in Diversity Outline of Events

Feb 25th:

11 AM Preparing the Next Generation of Leaders: Where Do We Get it Right and Where Do We Fall Short? Dr. Itoco Garcia (Cherryland Elementary), Leroy Moore ( Krip Hop Nation), Aliah Sharrief (Artist Activist), Ras Ceylon (Educator/Activist) Moderator, Daniel Zarazua (Founder Pochino Press/ Educator Unity High School)- Moderator- T-KASH (Student Parent Counselor UC Berkeley)

2 PM Panel Fight Philanthropy: How Martial Artists Give Back Panelists- Paul Moran (Founder Open Mat Radio/ Philanthropist), Casey Wong (Hip-Hop Ed scholar/Martial Artist), Rahman Jamaal (Rap Force Academy), Tom Callos (The 100/Philanthropist), Gumby (Heroes Martial Artst/Philanthropist), Eliot Kelly (Jiu-Jitsu Inst/Educator) Moderator- D’Juan Owens (Founder, Fight 4 Uganda)

4 PM Panel (1:15 min w/ 45 min intermission) Hip-Hop, Art, Technology and Gender Panelists- Dr. Charity Clay (Sociology Prof. Merritt College), Mya Canty (100% College), Miki Noda (5th Element), Moderator- Meek Gaborski, HHCF VP of Operations

6 Keynote: Real Genius or Artificial Intelligence? Dr. David Timony of Delaware Valley University

Feb 26th:

11 AM SPECIAL YOUTH PANEL- TBD (lineup announced soon)

2 PM Panel (1:15 min w/ 45 min intermission) The Hamiltonization of Hip-Hop: Is Commerce Killing The Culture? Panelists- Demone Carter (Future Arts Now), Doug Infinite (Producer of Common), Nate Nevado (Rock The School Bells), Mazi Mutafa (Words Beats & Life),Moderator- Vince Bayaan, Southeast Dir. for HHCF

4 PM Panel Technology, Science and Hip-Hop: Innovating Beyond the Code Panelists- Milan Drake (Yes We Code), Andrew Swank (UX Engineer, Google), Stephanie Lowe (The Dope Science Show), Sumi Banjoko (Coder/ Founder Fashion Cali) Moderator- Scott Budman, NBC News 11

6 Keynote Dr. Terri Givens (Provost Menlo College): College Readiness: Myth Vs. Reality

SPECIAL GUEST PERFORMANCES WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.

HHCF 2016 Year in Review!

Happy New Year!! 2016 was a fantastic year for Hip-Hop Chess Federation Inc. The demand has never been greater.

In case you missed it, the media loves us.

Watch: KPIX TV (see our HHCF Chess Club at O'Connell HS by Kenny Choi)

Listen: The Cipher Show Podcast (interviewed by Forbes writer Shawn Setaro)

HHCF Chess & Life Strategies taught as a class at John O'Connell HS- You read correctly. Hip-Hop Chess Federation teaches chess and life strategies as a class in SFUSD. We show how chess and life is connected. We use those connections to help kids make decisions on academic and real life situations. It has been our greatest achievement and honor to date. We also have an amazing group with work with on weekends at College Track in Oakland, Unity High in Oakalnd and Cherryland Elementary in Hayward.. They are some of the greatest kids I've ever had the honor to teach. I feel like these three schools are without question our greatest groups of kids to work with ever. If you would like us at your  school please email contact@hiphopchessfederation.org !

The release of Bobby, Bruce & The Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess- After ten years of research we finally have a book out. It is a self-help book for teens and adults fusing classical chess tactics, Hip-Hip street psychology, and martial arts philosophy to keep you sharp in life. The book has a 5 star rating on Amazon. Now our curriculum can be absorbed worldwide. Get one today or lose to those who have.

Super Bowl 50 on stage with Beyonce, Bruno Mars and Coldplay- The whole team is still in shock. A select number of HHCF Raw Elite kids were invited to participate in the historic Superbowl 50 Halftime Show. Most were part of the amazing choreography on the field. Some were lucky enough to get on stage with Beyonce and Coldplay in the ending session of the halftime show. The rehearsals were insane but he opportunity was priceless.

HHCF National and Regional Titles- I cannot put into words how proud I am of the HHCF Raw Elite Team. I am the strength and conditioning coach. A lot of people forget how much work I do with girls. It is some of the most rewarding work I do. These boys and girls have what it takes to push through and work together. Our cheer and Lyrical Dance team won. Our Lyrical team though, not only won their division. These girls won a bid to compete in Las Vegas this year. If I could only tell you how many frustrating practices, blood, sweat and true tears it took to do what we did. I want to commend the coaches and the parents for their faith in the kids and faith in themselves.  We also had big wins in Hawaii and Santa Cruz. If you think your son or daughter would enjoy the fun and fitness that comes with competitive cheer please visit www.rawtalents.org  .

Also, the ever amazing Grant Torino just joined HHCF as a Hip-Hop dance teacher. This young man is second to none. His choreography is top tier and his ability to give kids confidence in their movements is truly unique.

HHCF Jiu-Jitsu Team wins big at US Open- Chess is jiu-jitsu for the mind. Jiu-Jitsu is chess for the body. That is the HHCF motto. Our team, took time to develop. We are small. I call us the 300. We are not big in number, but we are mighty. Our debut at the US Open was amazing Both kids and adults had amazing fun and won medals. 2017 should prove to open more doors. Our wrestling coach Andrew and our BJJ coach Sammy show practical, effective techniques. Our chess and jiu-jitsu program teaches blends the complimentary concepts from chess and jiu-jitsu. Each class ends with students on the board applying pins, forks and checkmates physically and mentally.   If your son or daughter would like to join call 888 588 4418. If you appreciate the spirit in which we teach, embrace nonviolence and love the gentle art, please get the OFFICIAL HHCF gi for women OR men at www.deusfight.com . We are forever grateful for their support in our team.




HHCF MMA Fighter D'Juan Owens Teaches in Uganda- After winning in MMA and Jiu-Jitsu matches this year D'Juan took some time to go teach kids in Uganda. It was an amazing journey. He taught Hip-Hop dance as well as classes self defense centered on kids and women. D'Juan was a great example of leadership on and off the mats.

Adisa Banjoko speaking at Kennedy Center in DC- The crown jewel of the year was an unexpected invite to keynote at the Words Beats and Life WBL Fest in DC. For the first time, I gave a talk about the hidden connections between Bruce Lee, the early art battle DJ'ing and its connection to the brains exercising executive function. It was received so well. I was so scared. You can hear a segment of it on Bishop Chronicles Podcast.

Honorable mentions in regards to our impact this year include HHCF Summer Program (funded by RZA). We taught chess, jiu-jitsu and entrepreneurship to kids. We had an HHCF  chess program in Alameda County juvenile hall. Tupac's sister Set Shakur, Ryron Gracie and Ralston Gracie came to visit our HQ. Rapper T-KASH dropped an album about nonviolence  AND he ran yet another Oakland Running Festival to bring more attention to nonviolence. We also hosted the DMC Bay Area DJ championships. The crowd was massive and amazing. Also, one of our performing arts kids was cast in a new movie starring Ludacris called Ride. Look for it in 2017.

What do we need help doing? We need help growing. The demand for our programs is much higher than we can currently manage. We need help scaling. We need grant writers and we need help building our fundraising capabilities. If you can help us please contact us at contact@hiphopchessfederation.org. 

Thank you to all our sponsors and donors. You mean the world to us. Without you, none of the help we give the youth is possible. If you would like to donate to HHCF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit please visit www.hiphopchess.com and donate today! 

HHCF Chess Club Visits America's Oldest Chess Club!

Recently the HHCF chess class at John O'Connell HS in San Francisco had the honor of being given a tour of the Mechanics Institute Library and Chess Club. We were warmly greeted by GM Nick de Firmian and Paul Whitehead.

For those that do not know Mechinics' is the OLDEST chess club in America.

I wanted to share a quick clip of Nick talking with me after teaching a lesson to the HHCF kids

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNuuiPJgYcr/?taken-by=realhiphopchess

and then a short two part piece of Paul showing a nice counter to Queens Gambit.

Part 1: Queens Gambit

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNvRVYlgPPE/?taken-by=realhiphopchess

Part 2: Queens Gambit

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNvSL7Zgt4U/?taken-by=realhiphopchess

I cannot thank them enough for their kindness, open minds, hearts and of course- their technical knowledge.

For more on Mechnics' visit www.chessclub.org

KPIX News Channel 5 Covers Hip-Hop Chess Federation

    Kenny Choi did a fantastic look at HHCF for Channel 5!! Check out the link here on:  KPIX NEWS . It does a great job of showing that the kids at John O'Connell's Chess and Life Strategies class is thriving. Looking forward to next semester. If you would like our class at your school visit www.hiphopchess.com .

HHCF Drops Street Games Shirt (built to play chess on!!) for Holiday Players

Always on the quest for innovation, HHCF has made a Street Games shirt for the holidays. You can play on the shirt. So, wherever you go, you are ready to play. 

http://www.hiphopchess.com/shop

HHCF Releases NEVER BEFORE HEARD 1994 Song What You Know feat. Del The Funky Homosapien

                                  Del The Funky Homosapien from Hieroglyphics

Long before I began my path of promoting nonviolence to the youth, I was in a militant rap group. In our time were dope. Freedom T.R.O.O.P 187 was a political rap group that consisted of myself, DJ Robski (now known as Rob Flow) and Hi-low (who passed away). The acronym for T.R.O.O.P was Through Revolution Of Our People.

Jason and I  used to work together at Tower Records in San Mateo. I was from San Bruno, a suburb a few cities north. In my head he was always from Cupertino. But I don't remember. I do remember but was always running around with the most dangerous people from East Palo Alto. He was nice, but he was always down to fight people. Being super small, I liked that. 'Cause I was like 120 pounds. Jason did security. I was at the register. We were both half crazy and always into something. One day an old white guy stole like $500.00 of CD's from the opera section. Jason made him cry "This is a f*****ing felony man! Are you ready for jail?!" The guy looked like a rich George Constanza and was begging Jason not to get the cops. He was rich, too. So crazy. Every other person working there was a musician. So there was always madness in the store. But it was fun madness. Folks were drunk or high on the job all the time. I wasn't, because I was on some super militant sober soldier kick. I was always wearing the most politically charged shirts to make people angry. It worked.

We hit it off instantly and Hi-low used to buy records at Tower. Hi-low was cool with Digital Underground. He was the nerdy front desk guy in the Dowhutchyalike video. He was also a pretty good musician. That is how things came together. I was wearing a Lenchmob shirt Del gave me at Costco and Rob was running the register. He asked me how I got the shirt. I told him I was knew Del and I needed a DJ. Just like that, Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187 was born. [Rob hit me and said we met AT The Gavin Convention and then I came to Costco. Due to being old, I will go with his recollection].

Jason Slater from Snake River Conspiracy

Over the years we opened for Gangstarr and Organized Konfusion, Yo-Yo, Brand Nubian, Paris, Invisbl Skratch Piklz, The Coup. Lighter Shade of Brown, Onyx and others. Our shows had live martial arts on stage, we gave away Malcolm X Autobiographies and we did a lot of work at local colleges. Hi-low was crazy smart and he introduced the crew to the wisdom of Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Ivan VanSertima and Dr. Ben (giants of Black history). We would go to their talks and soak up wisdom and try to share their ideas in our shows and music. If you rememeber the Bay Area scene of the late 80’s and early 90’s we were there doing it. We were at the Omni, at The Stone, all kinds of undergound events. The day Hiero was on Home Turf (a legendary Hip-Hop show in the bay) I was on that same show. It was weird being a writer and a rapper. But I loved it and the group was well respected.

We would have huge parties at Hi-lows loft in Oakland on High Street. Author Danyel Smith used to live across the hall. She like me was an aspiring writer. He spot and Hi-low's spot were huge places for incredible parties and social events. Hi-Low had super high ceilings. One of his boys put a HUGE parachute to the walls about half way up. Then Hi-Low had this heater that was like a small jet engine. They would start it, and the parachute would catch the heat. All these dudes would come and smoke mad weed and the could would be under the parachute. They would always try to make me stay under the parachute to get me high because I didn't smoke. The after parties after our shows were pretty big and pretty crazy. Hi-Low would always play Israel Vibrations, deep roots reggae, dancehall and Hip-Hop. It was a truly divine time to be young and Black in Oakland. I learned so much about music, life, art, wisdom and the power of people of Oakland.

Those were the years when I met Sunspot Jonz, Living Legends, Davey D, Disposable Heroes of Hip-Hoprisy, Elements of Change, DJ Kevvy Kev, Brian Samson, Eric Arnold, the 4080 crew, The Gavin Convention (music conference) was popping and Thembisa M'Shaka and others made the bay a major hub for Hip-Hop. I'm leaving a lot of people out. But my heart remembers all of you.

Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187 logo by Blast One aka Leo Libiran

We didn’t just rap though. We were active in the political scene. We were at every politically related rap event. If Chuck D, KRS ONE, or a noted African historian was in town, we were there 10-15 deep.

In the middle of working on our first album, most likely to be called Ages in Chaos, Hi-lo was caught up in a legal situation. While he was locked up the future of the group was really in peril. Rob and I were unclear on what to do.

I met Del years before his album came out at the home of a woman Black Panther named Kiilu Nyasha. She taught political science classes at her home. I met Del, there back when Ice Cube’s America’s most wanted was out. I broke the first story on Del in The Source and later went onto write the first story on Hieroglyphics for RapPages Magazine. Some of this was talked about in the award winning film Til Infinity.

Money B from Digital Underground’s dad (Bobby McCall) was the group manager at the time. We did shows all over the bay and we were covered in Spin, East Bay Express and a lot other publications. We were super militant, but we kept shows fun. When Hip-Hop (even political Hip-Hop stops being fun, it starts dying). We would go hang out in Oakland at Mr. Floppy’s. People said it was an old prostitution house. It had crazy rooms and stuff. People would be everywhere. It was down the street from Laney College in Oakland. The times were so wild. At any time in and around Oakland and Berkeley there might be a huge political debate about Malcolm X and the NOI on one corner and a huge rap battle or dance cypher right across the street. This was often the case in Berkeley by Leopold's records on Durant and Telegraph.

L to R Hi-low Adisa, The Bishop and DJ Robski 

This is the only photo of Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187

With Hi-low out, Rob and I took some of his verses out to do remixes of some of the songs. We did What You Know with Del, and we did Right Turn Down The Wrong Street with Boots (who I met years before The Coup as a DJ from my first DJ crew went on to be his DJ). I also recorded a song with Pep Love and A Plus that also never came out. The Del and Boots remixes were recorded at Jason Slaters house in Cupertino. He is now a well known producer of Rock music (Snake River Conspiracy, Third Eye Blind and Queensreich). But he always was into Hip-Hop and made dope beats. These tracks here were produced by Rob. One of my favorite tracks we made was called Sad Song (about sell out Black people) was produced by another dope DJ/Producer of the time named The Great Gazoo of Squadron Black. It was the only song we ever recorded that Rob did not make. It was right before Hi-low got caught up.  

We recorded the song at Jason’s house. I had gave Del the original version of the song with Hi-low on it. He wrote the first verse before he came to the session. The second verse he wrote there. In my first verse where I say "So what you know about that G?" We were supposed to have Rob throw in a line from Slick Rick "Cause I'm a fly brown brother and you can't school me!" but we never got it in. The song ends abruptly because he was unsure of how to close the verse. So Jason was like, “Let’s just act like the beat cut out”. So that is what we did. I thought we did this in 1992. Rob thinks it was 1994. The time was still largely a blur. So, I will defer to Rob on that.

Hi-low beat his case, but the damage done to the group was irreparable. DJ Rob started DJ’ing for Del. I made some solo tracks, but, I was always into the group thing and I let the mic go slowly.  Hi-low passed away from heart problems a little more than ten years ago. He will be missed. Some of our songs have been found again. This is the first few we plan to release. Most of it was never fully mixed and mastered. We may release it properly done in 2017 as a flashback album. More than anything, we just wanted to share a time capsule track. Share a little bit of what the bay used to be like. The production sound is perfectly 90’s. We hope you like it. I will post more soon.

DJ Robski changed his name to DJ Rob Flow is still a killer DJ and producer. He just dropped a powerful new album (you should cop, because it's hot) called Cameo Flows with Dinco D from legendary rap group Leaders of the New School. Rob to me is one of the best scratch DJ's on the planet. Truly, like DJ Premier instead of being a choppy DJ- he is melodic. This skill always made Premier a cut above. Rob is no less skilled in that regard.

Jason Slater is still making dope music and a true genius in my opinion.

Del obviously is a pioneer of the bay and a lyrical force of nature.

The Hip-Hop Chess Federation is still doing our thing (go peep what we are doing- right now!) and innovating education and nonviolence. I would have never thought all those years of militant music making in my youth would have made me a nonviolent educator today. But had I never been like that, I'd have never been like I am now.

Rest in Peace Hi-low. Thanks for everything you taught me.

LISTEN: What You Know REMIX Freedom T.R.O.O.P. 187 feat. Del

DJ Akiko Luv Drops The Ballad of Lady Snowblood

DJ Akiko Luv is an amazing DJ who took 2nd at the DMC DJ Bay Area DJ Battle at the HHCF HQ.
She recently made an amazing piece called The Ballad of Lady Snowblood. It is a fantastic skratch interpretation of the Lady Snowblood film series that was the inspiration for Kill Bill. Be sure to follow her YouTube Channel. Look for it on the HHCF Street Games Vol. 2. We hope it inspires people to be courageous on the chessboard, the turntables, the mic, the mat and the world. NOTE: The Lady Snowblood films are very violent and no kids or teens should watch them without parental permission. 

Notes from the Field: My Kennedy Center Keynote + I met Grandmaster Flash!

Adisa The Bishop at the Kennedy Center explaining how Bruce Lee, Bobby Fischer and kids from the Bronx changed America forever. 

I had an amazing trip to DC to the Words Beats and Life Teach In. It was in many ways a test of focus and will. Essentially, I got on a plane Thursday at midnight, and touched down on Friday about 11 AM. Right before I got on the plane, I learned that our Southeast Regional Director (Vince Bayyan) and our HHCF Durham Chapter Leader (D'Juan Owens) were not going to be able to make it due to situations beyond their control. 

When I landed, I learned the jiu-jitsu mats were not gonna be there. On the flight the turbulence was so bad. It was prayer worthy. Not just prayers. The kind where you start straight up having rambling conversations you think are heart to heart engagements with The Creator. 

"How bad was it?!" you ask. 

It was SO bad, that someone pooped on the plane twice during the mayhem at thirty-thousand feet. I repeat, twice. 

Despite this, I was totally at peace. In the past I might have wondered if the following were all bad omens. I wrote a whole new lecture just for Words Beats and Life. In the past I might have undercut myself and chosen to do one of my past lectures. 

But I was at peace. 

Upon landing my ride to the Words Beats and Life event at the Kennedy Center. It is an amazing building and I started to get goosebumps as I walked in. Not long after I got there I saw Christie Z Pabon from the Hip-Hop promotions company Tools of War. I also saw Nico Ball of the Terere Kids Project in Brazil. They teach kids in the favelas of Brazil jiu-jitsu and help give them a better chance at life. 

I hung out with them as I waited for my time to speak. At that point I had been up many hours, but I didn't care. I was in a great mood and the crowd was amazing. All the people from Words Beats and Life were kind and supportive. It was organized well from top to bottom. I have to give Asad Jafri and Mazi Mutafa a serious nod for having their crew on point. 

When it came time to speak, I just went up and gave it my all. I tried to Periscope it, but the signal was bad...It did not work!!! I just focused on my talk. It was very surreal. I didn't think of it as a presentation, but more of a conversation with friends. I illustrated the history of martial arts and chess centered around Hip-Hop dance and DJ culture.We looked at clips of Bruce Lee and I talked about how he inspired so many African Americans to learn martial arts, use it as a tool for nonviolence and explore ideas like Buddhism and vegan living. I showed how that history how it had a ripple effect in shows like The Get Down and Luke Cage. The crowd loved it. I had intended to do a whole series of jiu-jitsu positions to show how they align with chess. But with D'Juan gone all that was outta the window. 

I had a last second idea to have Nico Ball come up and show a jiu-jitsu wrist escape that all young women could use. Also an arm drag to a choke from standing. This allowed me to show how position and knowledge are greater than strength when it comes to self defense. We didn't even need any mats. I went on to share how important it was for women to take jiu-jitsu, judo and take self defense seriously. 

In my conclusion I got into the important role Hip-Hop, chess and martial arts play in sparking executive function in the brain. When I was done, I got a great round of applause. It was a vindication of the highest order. I was so scared. Only my wife and my man J-Live had heard my presentation before I did it. They both said it would work. They were right. 

As I hung out at the place. Grandmaster Flash walked in. I hurried to the back to introduce myself. When I got back there, he was in a bad mood. He was coming down from having an intense discussion with someone. I walked in the room mid convo and it was awkward for me. 

I didn't introduce myself because I felt confused about the best way to introduce myself. Flash was sitting a couch in the back. I was standing in the doorway. 

Grandmaster Flash and Adisa The Bishop (trying to fix his face)

He looked over at me as I was spaced out looking at the ceiling. 

"Fix your face" he barked. "Is something wrong? You look mad?"

The old me would have been mad. I might have started yelling. I am a westsider by birth and I mighta got all riled up. In this moment though, I was not trippin'. 

Without missing a beat I said. "My face is like this because I'm in awe of being in the presence of a legend. If you mistake my face to be anything else, you will truly be misunderstanding my joy. I just talked about how your character and Shaolin Fantastic are just like Po and Kwai Chang Cain in the TV show Kung Fu. My name is Adisa. Nice to meet you." I walked over and shook his hand. 

You could see Flash was still coming down from his anger. He studied me. 

"What do you do?"

"I am the Founder of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation" I said with a smile. 

Half playing and half perturbed he said "That does not tell me anything. I asked what do you do?!" with a half smirk he leaned toward me. His eyes probed mine for weakness. This dude is a true New York'er. 

"I teach kids chess, jiu-jitsu and Hip-Hop to keep them off the streets."

He raised his chin as he thought, then said "That sounds pretty cool. I think I like that idea."

Then he let me interview him. I cannot tell you everything he said. I told him I'd hold onto it. I can say it was deep. He does have deep respect for chess GM Geller. He loves Kung-Fu films. We took a quick photo then he was off to do his Q&A and get his award. 

What he took to the stage was amazing. He shared a formula he created back in 1969 to DJ parties. It was a blueprint for juggling breaks (a way to play a specific part of any record over and over). It blew my mind and I have to say I was more than impressed. 

A lot of Hip-Hop pioneers are too arrogant or angry about the past. They tend to not share a lot. Flash was the total opposite. He truly is a genius. In the truest sense of the word. I was in awe of his passion and clarity. 

My conversations with him helped me reframe my outline for the sequel to Bobby, Bruce & the Bronx: The Secrets of Hip-Hop Chess. I created an outline for two more books as I was writing my new one. But being with him made me think deeper about what I was trying to say, and what elements of the history were missing. 

It was an honor and I learned so much going to Words Beats and Life WBL Fest. I hope to do more in DC and more with them in the future. From there I got back on a plane about 7 PM and got shaken through more turbulence. Eventually, I got back to my wife and kids. It was amazing. Despite not getting any sleep for about 24 hrs,, it was something I will never forget. 

In reflecting about my mellow mood through the escalating drama I have to credit my consistent meditation practice. I think it helped me stay in a peaceful zone. That, and I had mentally decided that like the comic book character Itto Ogami, nothing would stop me from getting there and doing my best. And nothing did. 

More to share soon. Thanks so much for your support and taking the time to read this. 

PEACE! 

Adisa Banjoko to Keynote at the Prestigious Kennedy Center in Washington DC Nov. 4th.

HHCF Founder Adisa Banjoko will be speaking at The Kennedy Center in Washinton DC Nov. 4th!!! He will be debuting new insights on connections between chess, martial arts, Hip-Hop and cognitive function. There will also be deep connections made between the rise of Bobby Fischer and Bruce Lee and the impact it had on Hip-Hop (seen through the lens of Luke Cage and The Get Down) !  If you are a fan of STEAM and STEM in education please make sure you are there. Get your tickets now https://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/PRWBL

This event will be LIVE STREAMED on Periscope!!! To view the presentation follow @hiphopchess on Twitter & Persicope in your phone.