First of all … David Alan Grier is one of my favorite comedians/actors — period! And his new show Chocolate News on Comedy Central (Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m.) is beautiful to my eyes, ears and funnybone! Grier is a magnificent writer/performer/visual comedian and has been for at least two decades — and it is hiiiiiigh time that this brother gets a fair shot at rockin’ his own show! He’s had opportunities before, but the mainstream networks have a long-lasting tendency to pigeonhole people of color into some one-dimensional, please-the-mainstream type of roles. As with his colleague, Dave Chappelle, Grier may have found some promise and literary liberty with the more flexible cable networks … for now. We all know of the tragic constraints and controls that eventually led Chappelle to seek further freedoms (Thank god for Mother Africa!) Hopefully, Grier can deliver his goods on his own terms with Comedy Central … He has reportedly been working on the development of Chocolate News for years! I enjoyed the “Phat Man” segment … “I been shot, stabbed, hit with a brick … I’ve shot, stabbed and hit people with a brick!” Go David!

I want to shout out some of the local ladies of hip-hop one time for your mind! Too often females are nonchalantly exiled to the sidelines of our hip-hop community and there is a national and local necessity for females in hip-hop as they were of course present at the culture’s birth! Word to Sha-Rock, Lisa Lee & Debbie D! 

Straight up and out … I gotta shot out my mother aka Scooby Doo … When my family moved to the beautiful Northwest in 1980, my mother had been a pop-locker with the likes of Shabba Doo (Ozone from Breakin’ 1 & Breakin’ 2 fame) in Inglewood, Watts and other parts of L.A. My mother’s passion to allow my sister and me to be a part of hip-hop culture at the ages of four and six respectively, instilled in us confidence, pride and enthusiasm about who we are as people and to be hustlers and significant representatives of hip-hop culture. We stood up straight about our hip-hop and in 1984 when everybody else figured hip-hop was a fad — no one could tell us we weren’t the best! From that mold came Stella Haioulani aka La Fresh of Free Ya Mind Incorporated. The dope businesswoman/community servant has since 2001 uplifted our communities following the 9/11 incident, with mind-blowing spoken word/poetry events and she has helped develop the careers of artists such as Josh Rizeberg, DJ Luvva J and many others. I would not be doing what I do without these ladies … 

Another essential player in the game since the ’80s is DJ Nancy G. Nancy G. is a West Coast legend on the low-low. Her groundbreaking radio show on Olympia’s KAOS 89.3 FM that aired since at least 1987 cemented her legend as one of the first female hip-hop radio hosts/producers (and super-fine quality too!) and not only did she read from The Source magazine when it was a pamphlet as part of her news segment, but she provided the platform for Northwest Icons, DJ B-Mello and DJ Supreme to mix and host on radio as they were building their respective reputations. It was Nancy G and her sultry and sophisticated voice that inspired me to get involved with radio at age 12 and Nancy G’s work stands as a testament to the power and significance of females not only in hip-hop, but communities of color and our world in general. She is a true pioneer/legend and she is hip-hop! Much love to Nancy G … If ya don’t know … now ya know, baby.

SHOWS, OHz & 40 oz …

Cats are out here hustlin’ to get their hip-hop on a bigger scale … “As normal” (as Tupac’s character “Lucky” from Poetic Justice would say) the B-Boys and B-Girls from Olympia’s Homeland Security camp have a busy schedule of joints on deck. 

Starting tonight at Olympia’s Royal Lounge (311 Capitol Way) with the Knockout King MC Battle … Word has it that Puget Sound heavyweight mic controllers, XP and SP will be participating … We’ll see who shows up, but an appearance by Seattle’s Grynch is sure to attract those who love dope MCs. Grynch’s reputation is strong as a live MC and he produces quality work in the studio. Look for upcoming shows from Homeland Security featuring Kublakai, Candidt, Macklemore and The Junkyard Gang — in ya area, baybee!

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.