For all of the gangster posturing, lyricism and “bad” acting present in hip-hop culture and our society in general, I would like to take a moment for a “Real G” who is no longer with us. In 1992, I was part of a historic movement that began in Los Angeles after the so-called Rodney King riots decimated parts of the city. From the ashes of burnt out liquor stores and warehouses was born something positive amongst the most self-destructive element in all of L.A. — gangs. Gang violence is responsible for more than 16,000 deaths since 1980 in L.A. The 1992 Peace Treaty was a historical event in the “Capital of The Gang Bang” as Ice Cube so affectionately and appropriately dubbed the city. This peace treaty was due in large part to leadership amongst blacks and Latinos in L.A. and one of the catalysts for this important break in the crime and warfare in the streets was Bo Taylor.

Darren “Bo” Taylor succumbed to an abrupt bout with a rare strain of cancer in August 2008. I came to know about his passage a month late. Taylor was a former South Central Los Angeles Crip who completely… I repeat — completely changed his life from one of a lost child to a man with a mission, purpose and courage to challenge the other brilliant souls who often find their demise, an early and purposeless one, to the streets of the City of Angels. Taylor was a tough guy for all of the right reasons. Taylor was the kind of tough guy we lack in great numbers today. He was known to physically step between warring gangs who had pistols drawn — an account tells of him actually using his hands to point firearm barrels to the ground. I had a chance to speak with his mother this week, and I was overcome by emotion when speaking with her. “I can’t believe he left me first,” Mrs. Taylor said. “I never knew how many people loved him and how much work he did.” She is an old-school mother from Memphis, Tenn., who believed in strict discipline and was a parent to neighborhood children in South Central L.A. I honor Bo Taylor, because his work inspires me and he helped and saved many lives with his popular UnityOne program that went beyond solving problems in the streets. He and UnityOne successfully quelled jailhouse riots and trained and educated more than 3,000 inmates in the “prisonesque” L.A. County Jails. So, what does Bo Taylor have to do with The 25360? … Everything.

Bo Taylor’s is a story of our good ol’ U-S-of-A and his tale applies to The 25360. Tacoma more so than Olympia had at one point been ravaged by gangs, crack and a depressed economy, and is still recovering as a city, emotionally, socially and economically — and the Olympia area has a history with gang violence, although not as destructive as Tacoma’s by reasonable comparison. Still, the efforts to elevate the minds, spirits and actions of young people is the root of hip-hop culture as demonstrated by the efforts of Afrika Bambaataa who became a gang mediator and unifier of people in the South Bronx in the 1970s. So, when cats talk about keeping it “G,” think of the cats who direct us on a positive path rather than the same old dead ends that have consumed your and my loved ones and the loved ones of so-called enemies … Think of Darrin ‘Bo’ Taylor and the tremendous work that he was committed to, that helped construct us rather than destroy us. Think of Lawrence Stone, an OG from Tacoma who has turned his life around and is doing great work with young people and music … Think of Tony Bogard and others who see the best in us and expect nothing less. Rest in Peace to Darrin “Bo” Taylor. One person stood and made a difference.

Now … Fresh and clean on the scene at Olympia’s Royal Lounge tonight you will find The Against All Odds Tour brought to you by the fine promoters at Homeland Security. The tour features Rhetoric and Du Lak Shaman, members of Los Angeles’ famed Project Blowed. Project Blowed is the massive contingent of artist/MCs that spawned the likes of Aceyalone, Medusa and Freestyle Fellowship. Also rockin’ dope sets are guest performers Bar Fly of the punk-hop faves The Saturday Knights and Qwestion with DJs Deadbeat and Alkalyne on the cut. Nicotine and his crew in Oly are sponsoring the tour and that is only the beginning of what they do. His crew, Junkyard Gang, is set to release their self-titled album in the late fall as is crew member, Q-Storm preparing to drop his debut. Support local hip-hop!

Peace & Love

Jose S. Gutierrez Jr. is an editor, writer and producer. A graduate of Washington State University and student at The Evergreen State College, he writes and edits the Pacific Northwest section of OZONE Magazine and hosts and produces Live From I-5 Radio (since ‘89) every Friday at 3 p.m. on KAOS 89.3 FM (www.kaosradio.org) in Olympia. He writes a weekly hip-hop column in the music section on the Weekly Volcano’s Web site — weeklyvolcano.com.