Tuesday, October 16, 2012


THE REBEL DIAZ ARTS COLLECTIVE (RDAC-BX)
presents 
SOUTH BY SOUTH BRONX HIP HOP FESTIVAL
(SXSBX)



“South by South Bronx Hip Hop Festival (SXSBX)”  is a cultural festival celebrating Hip Hop and its role in facilitating social change- both past and present. This event promises to be RDAC's largest, most important event of the year. During two days, it will bring together over two thousand community members- families, youth, educators, artists and activists- to participate in workshops, conversations, networking, and enjoy performances by Bronx Hip Hop pioneers and new talent.

SAVE THE DATES!!
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14th & 
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15TH 
@ HOSTOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE 
500 Grand Concourse, Bronx NYC

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON!
If you are interested in sponsoring the event, setting up a vendor's table or volunteering please contact: 
RodStarz of Rebel Diaz (646) 250 - 4405 
Claudia De la Cruz (646) 942 - 2444  

Sunday, October 14, 2012

37th anniversary of TBB (The Bronx Boys Rocking Crew)

 October 6th-7th the RDAC-BX was proud to play host and take part in the 37th anniversary of TBB ( The Bronx boys rocking crew). TBB is one of the True Original Bboy Crews of the early/mid 70s when HIP HOP was still in its inception and many of the early TBB members played pivotal roles in the foundation and evolutionary process for the art of Bboying/Bgirling. RDAC-BX was packed with die-hard TBB members and chapters from all across the globe as well as backed with the love, respect and humble support of close family and friends. Bboy and Rocking legends shared the dance floor with the striving Bboy youth of today and everyone enjoyed themselves with the music, artwork, conversation and connections that were made. It was truly an honor and privilege to be a part of TBB's celebration. All of us here at RDAC-BX hope to see more support from the NYC Bboy community at our future Jams...and again we want to congratulate TBB on another year to spread positivity in all of its forms to the many people across the globe...PEACE!!!....written by Nelson "CHIEF69" Seda

Friday, September 7, 2012

About those Fidel Castro T Shirts at The DNC...by RodStarz of Rebel Diaz


A funny thing happened in Charlotte, NC at the Wall St South protest this last weekend. The RDACBX had been invited to perform at The FestivaLiberacion on Sat Sept 1st and after the March on Sunday Sept.2nd. The RDACBX is The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective, the autonomous community Hip Hop collective that 4 yrs ago turned an abandoned candy factory in The South Bronx into a 5000 square foot community center. There was 11 of us and we wanted to make sure we didnt get lost. One of our members owns an independent clothing company called MalaAndMental. We decided to go to the march in uniform as The RDACBX usually does at big marches. The choice for this march was the new Fidel Castro tshirt that MalaAndMental came out with. We figured the bright yellow colors would make us stand out and make it easier for us not to get lost. The logic behind the Castro tshirt was that we view Fidel as a true champion of the people, a man who started and continues to represent the views of revolution merely 90 miles south of the imperialist monster we call home. At RDACBX our political line is clear, we are about People Power. We decided if asked about the shirt we would symbolically say that we were campaigning for a Castro/ Chavez 2012 ticket. We live in the poorest congressional district of the United States in The South Bronx, a community where Hip Hop was born, and also a community that has historically been forgotten by the Democrats and Republicans. The South Bronx is an immigrant community, which in the late 70s, was almost completely burned down by building owners who would rather burn down their buildings and collect insurance money than sell them at lower prices.The borough is still in a recovery process in 2012. Our reality is that neither Barack Obama or Mitt Romney have or ever will set foot in our community. However, in 2005 it was Hugo Chavez who arrived in Hunts Point at The Point CDC, to offer low cost heating oil to our communities poor. It was Citgo, the Bolivarian Revolution owned Oil company that set up The PetroBronx Social Program which has funded our community space for the last 3 yrs. It wasn't the Democrats or Republicans. When we put on the Fidel tshirts we expected to get attention, but never expected to get attacked the way we did by anti Cuban journalist Rafael Prieto Zartha, who at the sight of us went ballistic. His approach wasn't that of a journalist. A true journalist tries to get to the bottom of a story, tries to to find out information and asks questions. This guy was a raging lunatic, foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog at the sight of young people repping for Fidel Castro. His first statement was that we were ruining it for the immigration movement by wearing the tshirts. If he did anykind of research he would have seen us performing our song "Im An Alien" for the Undocubus riders.Throughout my life I've encountered these Anti Castro lunatics, and there's no discussion or perspective that will change their mind. Besides, a moving protest isn't exactly the best place for this type of in depth convo. I merely smiled and told him we were promoting a Castro/Chavez 2012 ticket. He went even crazier and started insulting us and then at one point tried to physically stop me from marching by putting his hands up to my chest as if to stop me from walking. This guy is an elder and I'm not gonna allow myself to get provoked by that behaviour so I told him that I was gonna beat him up if he didn't get away from us. He saw I meant business and walked away. A black cop who witnessed it all actually thanked me for restraining myself and even said he wouldn't have put up with that nonsense. I hate cops so I smirked and kept it moving. Two days later this journalist writes a crazy article that comes out in El Diario, in the Huffington Post, The Miami Herald etc... in which he talks about our encounter, but completely twists the story as if we were the aggressors. He states: "When I was about to argue that it was a contradiction that we were enjoying a democratic activity that was impossible to do in Castro's Cuba, he simply acted like a lumpen bully and threatened to beat me." "Luckily, the incident didnt go any further, when the leader of the group, who had braids and a small goatee, left with his group to another part of the parade and i continued observing the march." "To those that hate this marvelous country, though it isnt free of defects, i tell them that the doors are small to come in and immensely wide for those that want to leave here in disgust, including those that come here and act like common criminals." This bad journalist didnt bother to get our names, he even took a picture of us in which we are smiling and drinking water, not exactly running to beat him up as he described us. Maybe we were too Hip Hop for him? Maybe from his light skinned right wing point of view thats what led him to describe us as criminals? Did the sight of Hip Hop artists in a Fidel shirt offend him more than say another Anti Cuban like Pitbull degrading Latina women in a music video? I would rather rep for Castro than Obama anyday. I want a world with free education and healthcare. I want a world where its people over profits. I support a revolution that has historically fought for Africa. I support a revolution that came from within. While we were at the march, we werent there asking for immigration reform, we were chanting for Legalization for All!!! If Fidel Castro was a young man now, he would not have settled for a DREAM ACT that aims to send you to war, and will still deport your parents. Would he? They say that Castro is a dictator, when we know that the real problem is that cruel and inhumane economic blockade the U.S has imposed on the Cuban people. If the United States was really against dictators they would have been against Augusto Pinochet in Chile. The reality is that Fidel Castro is painted as an evil dictator by the U.S capitalist media and the right wing Cuban mafia that has monopolized Spanish language media. In Charlotte, the home of Bank of America, it was clearer than ever that the banks and corporations are the dictators of the United States. There was 5 cops to every protestor, proving to us that we are in a true police state. Try telling Ramarley Graham's parents in The Bronx differently. Try telling Trayvon Martins parents differently. A real democracy has more than 2 political parties. A real democracy doesnt have 3 million people incarcerated. In this country we are left with the choice of the lesser of two evils, both choices which are controlled by the corporations that run this country and not the people. RodStarz de Rebel Diaz, Sept 7th, 2012 Check out how we caught him in the act: Who is harrassing who here???

Hablando de esas camisetas de Fidel Castro en la Convencion Democratica.....por RodStarz de Rebel Diaz


Algo chistoso sucedió el fin de semana pasado en Charlotte, NC durante la marcha de Wall Street South. El RDACBX había sido invitado a cantar en el Festiva Liberación el sábado, 1ro de Septiembre, y después de la marcha el domingo, 2ndo de Septiembre. El RDACBX, es el Colectivo de Arte Rebel Diaz del Bronx, un colectivo de Hip Hop autónomo que hace 4 años convirtió un edificio abandonado en el Sur del Bronx en un centro comunitario inmenso. Éramos 11 participando de la marcha, y no queríamos perdernos entre las miles de personas por lo que decidimos ir a la marcha uniformados. Las camisetas que nos pusimos en esta ocasión son hechas por un miembro del RDACBX quien tiene una compañía independiente de camisetas llamada MalaAndMental. La camiseta traía la imagen de Fidel Castro. Pensamos que el color amarillo era más llamativo, y a la misma vez facilitaba el que no nos perdiéramos. La lógica de usar la imagen de Fidel, es que para nosotros él es un campeón del pueblo. Fidel es un hombre que empezó y continua representando ideologías revolucionarias solo 90 millas al sur del monstruo imperialista al que nosotros llamamos casa, EEUU. Nuestra línea política en el RDACBX es clara y simple - creemos en el Poder Popular. Decidimos que si nos preguntaban por las camisetas que diríamos que estábamos en la campaña (simbólicamente) por Castro/Chávez 2012. Los miembros de RDACBX vivimos en el distrito congregacional más pobre de todos los Estados Unidos, el Sur del Bronx. En esta comunidad nace el Hip Hop, y también es una comunidad que históricamente ha sido ignorada por los Demócratas y Republicanos. El Sur del Bronx es una comunidad inmigrante. En la década de los 70s, esta comunidad casi se quemó cuando los dueños de los edificios preferían quemar sus propiedades para cobrar el dinero de aseguranzas que venderlos a precios módicos. Todavía en el 2012, la comunidad se está recuperando. La realidad es que ni Barack Obama ni Mitt Romney han venido, o vendrán a nuestra comunidad. Pero en el 2005, el Presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez fue quien vino a Hunts Point. En el centro comunitario The Point, Chávez demostró su apoyo a los pobres del sector y anuncio sus donaciones de petróleo a bajo costo para calentar las casas de los pobres en el invierno. Fue CITGO, la compañía de petróleo venezolana, quien inicio el Programa PetroBronx de programas sociales. Este programa es que nos ha apoyado económicamente por los últimos 3 años para poder mantener el local abierto. No fueron los Demócratas ni los Republicanos quienes nos apoyaron con las monedas. Cuando nos pusimos las camisetas esperábamos atención, pero nunca nos imaginamos el ataque que nos llegaría del "periodista" anticubano, Rafael Prieto Zartha, quien al vernos se volvió loco. Su acercamiento no fue la de un periodista. Un periodista verdadero trata de conseguir información, busca detalles para su trabajo y hace preguntas. Este hombre llego como un perro con rabia echando espuma por la boca al ver un grupo de jóvenes apoyando a Fidel. Su primera posición era que estábamos echando a perder el movimiento inmigrante en usar esas camisetas. Si hubiese hecho su trabajo de periodista hubiese visto el concierto que hicimos al final de la protesta en que le cantamos nuestro tema- “I’m an Alien!” o “¡Soy un extraterrestre!” a los del UndocuBus que viajaron desde Arizona. Durante mi vida me he encontrado con estos locos anticastristas, y no hay discusión ni perspectiva que les cambie de opinión. La realidad es que una protesta en movimiento no es exactamente el mejor lugar para este tipo de discusión. Solamente nos reímos y le dijimos que estábamos promoviendo la campaña de Castro-Chávez 2012. Se volvió más loco y nos empezó a insultar hasta que llego al punto que se me acerco un poco más, como para impedir mi capacidad de seguir caminando. Este es un señor de edad, y no me iba a dejar provocar por ese comportamiento, entonces lo advertí que respondería a su comportamiento si no me dejaba tranquilo. Fue en ese momento que el noto mi seriedad y se fue. Un policía afro americano quien vio todo me dio las gracias por no haberle hecho nada, ya que el admitió que él no hubiese tenido la paciencia. Yo odio a los policías por lo que sonreí y seguí caminando. Dos días después, este mismo periodista escribe un artículo desinformativo y loco que sale en El Diario, The Huffington Post, The Miami Herald, etc, en cual habla de nuestro encuentro, pero cambia completamente la historia y nos presenta como los agresivos. En el artículo dice- "Cuando estaba a punto de argumentarle que era una contradicción que estuvieran disfrutando de una actividad democrática imposible hacer en la Cuba de Castro, simplemente actuando como un matón lumpezco amenazó con golpearme... El asunto por fortuna no llegó a mayores, el jefe del grupo, que tenía el cabello arreglado con rizos y una chivera mínima, se fue con sus áulicos para otro lugar del desfile y yo continué observando la marcha... Y a los que odian a éste maravilloso país, que no está libre de defectos, les digo que las puertas son angostas para entrar e inmensamente anchas para que se vayan quienes estén aquí a disgusto, entre ellos los que vienen a actuar como delincuentes comunes..." Este periodista era tan malo que ni siquiera se preocupó de conseguir nuestros nombres. Nos tomó una foto en que salimos riéndonos y tomando agua, no estábamos amenazándolo ni pegándole. ¿Quizás éramos muy Hip Hoperos para su gusto? ¿Quizás dentro de su perspectiva de un Latino blanco de derecha, nuestro grupo se veía como lo que él entiende son criminales? ¿Quizás la imagen de un grupo de Hip Hop con camisetas de Fidel lo ofendió más que lo que pudiera ofender un video del anticastristas Pitbull humillando a la mujer latina? Yo prefiero representar a Castro en vez de Obama cualquier día. Yo quiero vivir en un mundo con educación y cuidado de salud gratis. Yo quiero vivir en un mundo en que las personas son más importantes que las ganancias. Yo apoyo una revolución que históricamente ha luchado por África. Yo apoyo una revolución que nace desde adentro. Cuando estábamos en la marcha no estábamos allí pidiendo reforma migratoria, estábamos cantando por legalización para todos. Si Fidel Castro fuera un joven en esta época, ¿creen que se hubiese quedado solo con el “Acto de Los Sueños,” que igual nos manda a la guerra mientras deportan a nuestros padres? ¿Qué creen? Dicen aquí que Castro es un dictador, pero nosotros sabemos que el problema verdadero es el bloqueo inhumano que Estados Unidos le hace al pueblo Cubano. Si Estados Unidos fuera tan antidictaduras hubiesen estado en contra de Augusto Pinochet en Chile. La realidad es que Fidel Castro se nos presenta como un mal dictador por los medios capitalistas y la mafia anticastrista en Miami quien controla los medios en español. En Charlotte, el hogar de Bank of América, estuvo más claro que nunca que los bancos y las corporaciones son los dictadores de los Estados Unidos. Había casi 5 policías por cada persona protestando, mostrándonos una vez más que vivimos en un estado controlado por la policía. Traten de decirles a los padres de Ramarley Graham aquí en el Bronx que no es esta la realidad. Traten de decirles a los padres de Trayvon Martin que no es esta la realidad. Una verdadera democracia tiene más que 2 partidos políticos. Una verdadera democracia no tiene a 3 Millones de personas en sus cárceles. En este país nos quedamos con la opción de elegir entre el mejor de dos males- los candidatos presidenciales. Los dos son controlados por corporaciones, que son quienes tienen el control de este país. RodStarz de Rebel Diaz, Septiembre 7, 2012 Y aqui tenemos al famoso Rafael Prieto Zartha y como ven...el que esta siendo el agresivo es el!!!

MC Elijah Black Release New Ep: Futuristic Negro


When most of us hear the word futuristic, we think of technology, gadgets, flying cars, etc. But what about the real future of humans? Mental and spiritual advancement. The Futuristic Negro is the true advanced human being. He finds himself constantly fighting off evils of the world, which try to stop his mental and spiritual growth. Take a journey through the mind of the Futuristic Negro on this 9 track EP. credits released 29 May 2012 Production by Lone, The Underachievers, SoulChef, Maxx Scian, Batsauce, KVZE, OffbeatKid, and Manifes. Recorded by J Free at The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective Mixed by Manifes ( manifes@reignsupreme.biz ) Special thanks to The Rebel Diaz Arts Collective, Manifes, Negros Americanos, SoSoon, Deshawn Supreme, and Lateef Dameer! tags

Chief 69 releases video for "Soul Clap"


Bronx native Chief69 releases his first single "Soul Clap" off his upcoming debut album "Knowledge Of Self" Chief69 is a recognized MC, Bboy and Graffiti artist; he is also a member of the FRC (Floor Royalty Crew), TBB (The Bronx Boys), & The RDACBX (Rebel Diaz Arts Collective). This man IS Hiphop. FREE DOWNLOAD OF "SOUL CLAP" http://soundcloud.com/chief69 For More info on Chief69: www.Facebook.com/Chief69BX www.chief69frc.blogspot.com Twitter: @Chief69HipHop Directed By: Dayv "Mental" Cino www.Facebook.com/DAYVCINO www.Facebook.com/MALAandMENTAL www.MALAandMENTAL.com Twitter @MALAandMENTAL

RDACBX tears it up at Columbus, Ohio- National Student Power Convergence...


Check out Grammy Luss killin the stage at The National Student Power Convergence. We performed, did workshops and even played ball!!!