Friday June 24th
Save the Flavor
Featuring
BlackMahal
Raashan Ahmad
Los Rakas
&
Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist
@ Cafe du Nord, 2170 Market St., SF, CA
9pm-2am, 21+.
Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
BUY TICKETS: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3730585
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ABOUT BLACK MAHAL
Part P-Funk, part Punjabi-Funk, BlackMahal is a San Francisco-based live music experience complete with drums, DJs, horns, hip-hop MCs, and the godfather of Punjabi-American music – Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti.
BlackMahal is steeped in Old California, a Punjabi-American experience that started in the 1890s when the first Punjabi-Americans settled in the Great West and forged a new identity combining elements of Mexican and African-American influence.
BlackMahal also represents the new California feel: hippy hybrid hip-hop and hysterical hi-jinks. BlackMahal has rocked major concerts across North America including the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with features in Rolling Stone, Wired, The San Francisco Chronicle, and rotation on the BBC Radio 1.
Ustad Lal Singh Bhatti is an American Music Icon and the most famous dhol drum and Punjabi vocalist in the world. Known as the ‘Godfather of the Dhol’, Bhatti has collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas, The Doors and many other major artists.
Over the past 43 years, Bhatti has performed for nearly every U.S. President since Gerald Ford as well has being honored at the opening of the Smithsonian Sikh Gallery in 2005. After picking up the dhol drum instrument as a teenager, he quickly won the hearts of India by the way he played and was invited by the Government of India to serve as cultural music liaison to the country via worldwide music tours to 25 countries.
For over four decades, Bhatti has used the power of dhol, bhangra and Punjabi music to bring people of all cultures together including performances at America’s Bi-Centennial celebration in 1976 all the way to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as official Cultural Olympiad Performer. If you meet him or ever see him perform, it is guaranteed that you will never forget him.
Even the folks at India Abroad can’t get enough of the Bhatti.
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ABOUT RAASHAN AHMAD
Raashan Ahmad has been on the grind since his first release as one of the lead MCs in the group Mission, who released the self titled album in 1999 (which quickly became a underground fan favorite) and more recently, as the front man for the live hip-hop group Crown City Rockers, who released the albums Earthtones and The Day After Forever which garnered both critical acclaim from press worldwide as well as becoming a strong favorite among music lovers looking for musicality and substance in lyrical content.
With his reputation growing as one of hip-hop’s finest MCs, Raashan then released his first solo album The Push which solidified his place as one the most innovative and versatile MC’s to look out for. He has toured extensively through cities, states and continents, performing in front of thousands, rocking festivals and dive bars alike while remaining intimate and sweaty with every performance. Raashan has collaborated with the some of the genres brightest and most respected artists (over 50 to date) collecting a tremendous quality discography with multiple releases in Japan, France, Australia, the U.K., and North America.
Now Raashan returns with his newest album and best material to date. For What You’ve Lost is a heavily collaborative, musical journey sure to give his fans what they’ve been waiting for. This album is rooted in classic hip hop tradition as well as jazz, soul and funk while continuing to push musical boundaries into the future of the genre. Guest appearances ranging from the new soul heroes like Aloe Blacc (Stones Throw) and Noelle Scaggs (The Rebirth) and hip hop veterans like Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), and Count Bass D alongside new school MC’s like Rita J (All Natural) and Stro the 89th key (The Procussions) make this album both diverse and a spectrum of sound and culture. Quickly becoming one of the most sought after MC’s, this new album shows Raashan’s evolution and growth. As pitchfork media puts it, “Raashan Ahmad emerges as one of the West Coast’s premiere MC’s, his flow effortless and vocabulary expansive. He brings an everyman context to his rhymes making the mundane dramatic with a subtle righteousness and around-the-way likeability.” Get Familiar!
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ABOUT LOS RAKAS
There are groups that come along and change the way we listen, appreciate and connect to music. Hailing from Panama but now residing in California, Los Rakas blend Hip-Hop, Reggae and Dancehall music with Spanish and English lyricism creating songs that leaves your head noddin’ and body rockin.’ Los Rakas (Dun Dun and Rico AKA Filthy Rich) tag team the mic with a tenacity reminiscent of old school veterans in the game and the passion of the newer artists on the scene.
2010 has been a flagship year for the group, winning the Latin Alternative Music Conference’s (LAMC) ‘Discovery Artist’ prize in New York City (an award that goes to the most promising group at the conference and the first time awarded to an urban group), with endorsements from Gibson Guitar and SHURE; culminating with their breakout performance at The Bowery Ballroom with a 6 piece band. The group has shared the stage this year with hip-hop luminaries, Ice Cube, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Cypress Hill, Erykah Badu, Murs and many others!
Tastemakers The FADER and XLR8R Magazine to more traditional outlets like The New York Times & National Geographic have hailed the group. Their hit summer single, ‘Abrazame’ ft Favi (Uproot Andy Hold Yuh), a latin take on the Gyptian ‘Hold Yuh’ smash, is currently on rotation at 106 KMEL (San Francisco), La Mega 97.9 ‘Afterparty’ w/ DJ Bacan y Polito Jr. (New York City) and spreading fast. The future is bright for this young duo.
https://www.facebook.com/LosRakas?sk=info
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ABOUT REN THE VINYL ARCHAEOLOGIST
As a bay area resident (by way of New York), Ren the Vinyl Archaeologist made his mark by curating top notch events featuring hip hop legends and supporting independent artists from the Bay and beyond. In 2000, his True Skool events won the “Best of the Bay” in the SF Bay Guardian. Ren has appeared on numerous publications, such as the XLR8R, 7×7, SF Weekly, SF Examiner, Mugshot and SF Magazine, to name a few. since True Skool’s inception in 1999, his online magazine and newsletter has served as an information resource that covers hip hop history, politics, and events. As a DJ, he has shared bills with world-renowned artists such as Mixmaster Mike, Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Kool DJ Red Alert, Q-Bert, Cut Chemist, DJ Premier, Wu-Tang Clan, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), Michael Franti & Spearhead, Masta Ace, KRS-One, Lupe Fiasco, Lyrics Born, Pharcyde, DJ Bobbito, DJ Cash Money and the list goes on. His diverse selections are influenced by his east coast background, from b-boying in the early 80s to attending house parties and New York City clubs. Ren is a professional party rocker who can put it down among the best of them with a vast arsenal of vinyl weapons to drop on any dancefloor, ranging from hip hop & soul to electro, house and breaks to trip hop and acid jazz. He has graced most venues in San Francisco with his non-stop seemless sets, making appearances at Temple, Mighty, Mezzanine, Ruby Skye, 1015, The Independent, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Sony Metreon, among a slew of other venues. In addition, he has appeared at Michael Franti & Spearhead’s annual “9-11 Power to the Peaceful Festival”, TV-20’s “Distortion2Static” hip hop show and KPFA’s Hardknock Radio.
Viva La Hip Hop 
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