im writing to tell you what Im writing for

...or to tell you why i haven't written. I dont want this to come off as a pity party (never that) but i been busy. Been through a lot. and I'm glad for every struggle, every moment, because I am happier than I've even been.

I have my art up at Mazu and I am laying out a calendar for Art Shows and Music Shows and everything so check back soon. WRENAGADE - promoting myself and as always all my homies.

"I pay homage to the folks that paved the way but scuse me while I get my shine on, now is the time, and we gon shine, Ima star, your a star, its the cosmos sucka it aint luck yall i was sent to this earth to burst onto this stage, break chains, and make change, by beautiful mean----"
-WRENAGADE RHYME - WRENAGADE VERSE check back for downloadable musica sooner than you think

for now check the flickr i just uploaded some shots from Malcolm X Jazz Fest
more to come... http://www.flickr.com/photos/31468301@N04/

silence the violence SPEAK OUT!

Richmond High Responds to Homecoming Rape from New America Media on Vimeo.

WRENAGADE: Never been afraid to speak on it, Never would stand by and not protect a sister getting assaulted, forever working hoping and praying that this world is safer, better for the next generation, especially for young girls and my future daughter...any women who has been assaulted, harassed, raped, through out history, whether by a soldier, or someone that's supposed to protect you, a preacher, or a stranger, you are not invisible. We are all victims unless we speak out. First off I am filled with a lot of emotion about this incident that happened in the near by Bay Area city Richmond, California, to a young 15 year old girl. Especially, but not just because of the fact that, it is reported that there were by standers that did nothing and even cheered on the attacker. My first reaction is just that this is one act of horrible violence, that is one of way too many. I have too many friends who have confided that they too were raped. I have heard too many stories through out history of soldiers raping women, not just in some foreign land, but also right here, the American Holocaust. Too many in history that is not what you read in the books, too many in my life time, and too many who have felt invisible, and stayed silent. Too many communities with out unity. Too many young people exposed to violence. Too Many young girls staying silent. Too Many victims who feel they can never heal that there power is taken from them, and they wish to hide to never reveal. Too Many women have been assaulted, and felt it was there fault, or known that people would look down on them, as if they brought it upon themselves. Too many have kept silent, held back pain, supressed the crimes done to them. Its 2009 and its time for any hidden crimes to shine so that justice can be reached. Rapist have no face, n they are definitely not 1 color (although statistically in the U.S white male rapists are the highest percent) I dont know the whole stoy of went down in Richmond but ive already heard ignorant voices about Richmond and Race and the crime that went down and people assuming. All i know is what i heard that 2O something people stood by while a young girl was raped, i dont have words to describe how out of pocket that is.

This incident is not a local problem and it should mos def not be what richmond is known for, no matter what the media spins on it, this is an injustice that is found around the world and will continue to go on unless people speak out everytime it occurs and demand justice. Forget what you may think, and think of your children and your wish for her or him to be protected.

According to the LA times:

Bay Area girl gang raped at school while witnesses watch but do nothing October 26, 2009| 5:41 pm A 15-year-old girl who went to her homecoming dance was repeatedly gang raped and beaten at Richmond High School for at least two hours while more than a dozen witnesses saw the assault but failed to call police, authorities said today.The attack occurred Saturday around 9:30 p.m. after the girl had left the dance and was waiting for a ride from her father. She saw a male student she knew, who took her to a dark alley behind one of the school buildings, Richmond police said.Police said alcohol was consumed but were awaiting toxicology tests.The male student and about six others began raping and beating the girl. As she struggled, more than a dozen witnesses passed by or watched what was going on. The ordeal lasted 2 to 2 1/2 hours, police said."The victim was beaten, sexually assaulted and robbed," said Lt. Mark Gagan. "What's equally disturbing is that other people saw what was going on and did nothing."Police were finally called after a female student overhead people talking about the rape. She called 911 and told dispatchers what she had heard, according to Gagan.The girl was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.A former student, Manuel Ortega, 19, was arrested a few blocks away Saturday night and booked on charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, Gagan said. Ortega was being held Monday on $800,000 bail.

For this young victim and for anyone who has been raped, you are not invisible, and there is no shame in speaking out against the horribe crime done to you, you are not damaged, the only one in the wrong is the person that commits the rape, or anyone who stands by and lets it happen.

AM I (INVISIBLE)

{by singer, song writer, all around fly artivist: Siaira Shawn}

What does it mean, if things obscene seen and no help you bring
The song I sing, silenced, the quiet violence or the noisy love
To both you shrug and ignore the blood


Am I invisible or do you just not care to look
Am I expendable, do you care when my life is took

Sweep things under the rug, until they have to be dug, from under
Appalled at the plunder, slumber on it, but still condone it
Treat us like enemy or your opponent

Am I invisible or do you just not care to look
Am I expendable, do you care when my life is took
(c)SiairaShawn

her thoughts on writing this piece:

SIAIRA SHAWN:I wrote this awhile ago, it was sparked by an incident that happened to a young women who went to Mills and she was attending school in New York. She was living with roommates and they discovered her dead body in the room days later; she had been beaten to death by her former boyfriend and left for dead.

Around this time other violent crimes against Black women were happening as they have for centuries and there was no or little media coverage or outcry. It seems that when something happens to women of color we are supposed to take it and be silenced, we are not valued or respected and that is why things like this young girl in Richmond getting beaten and gang raped while people watched can occur. What are we teaching our men, our women, ourselves? These things must not be allowed to go on!

SPEAK OUT!!!

*Statistics indicate that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 7 men will become victims of sexual assualt during their lifetime *36% of new victims served by the Rape Crisis Center are between the ages of 0-17 *Every two and a half minutes someone in America is sexually assaulted *More that 1/2 of sexual assualts go unreported, (last year Rape Crisis served 313 victims, so just imagine how many more victims are out there that never reported the crime!) *False accustations of sexual assualt are estimated to occur at a low rate of 2%- similiar to the rate of false accustations of other crimes *The chances that a woman will develop PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) after being sexually assaulted are between 50%-95% (Proving that this is a serious crime, and not something that happened in one night and someone can get over easily!) For more information and statistics visit: www.rainn.org After posting a note about this incident I was outraged to find out that based on a law that diferentiates between victims that are 14 vs 15 (the age of the victim) those people people that stood by and laughed while this crime was commited will not be charged with anything: via Catherine-Mercedes Brillantes Judge FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: California police now say as many as 20 people were present at the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a high school homecoming dance last weekend. 10 people were involved in an assault in a back alley at the school that went on for more than two-and-a-half hours. 10 people stood around and watched without calling 9-1-1 to report it. Police say some witnesses took photos, while others laughed. Police say a student at Richmond High School was gang raped outside during a homecoming dance. California law makes it illegal not to report a crime against a child, but the cutoff is 14-years-old. Since the victim in this case is 15, cops say they can't arrest the spectators. The law needs to be changed immediately. Meanwhile this horrific rape of a young girl follows that brutal beating death caught on video of a 16-year-old honor student in Chicago. That case has been hampered by the refusal of witnesses to come forward. These kids in Chicago also stood by and watched this teenager murdered - beaten to death in broad daylight - and did nothing. Experts say the reason crimes aren't reported could be a social phenomenon known as "the bystander effect" that means the larger the number of people involved in any situation, the less will get done... One famous case happened in New York in the 1960s - where people watched or heard a serial killer rape, rob and murder a woman named Kitty Genovese. At the time, one witness said: "I didn't want to be involved." Here’s my question to you: Should people who witness a crime, like the gang rape of a 15-year-old California girl, face jail for failing to report it? Beautiful Resistance ft. Eligh - Mystic Beautiful Resistance ft. Eligh - Mystic Beautiful Resistance (inspired by @thatgirlmystic 's songs, albums, and beautiful spirit) he Tried to devour my soul today They tried to take my power away Feels like I dont have a choice But its still a beautiful resistance Born into this world Hurled into it I can smile thru tears Because I cry flowers Seen friends killed with my own eyes So I know violence Too wise for the lies Heard my mamas cries ReLiving being raped Vowed to be my families protector at the age of 8 For the young girl who stayed silent When he said dont tell For the woman who still Lives with the memory of Hell For wives who stay silent thinking it wont be considered violence For anyone thinking that its accepted For the young girl neglected n molested For the victim who blamed herself Because she was reckless For all women who wear shame like a necklace The only one shamed or in the wrong is who did it or anyone that didn't put up a Beautiful Resistance Speak on it because the world needs to hear you Speak on it cause every young girl hurled into this world need to hear it No one can take your beautiful spirit. -WrenAgade

In thinking about this incident as what it represents as problem in our community, just like any problem of violence or harm, as an activist I begin to think of solutions. I have had many conversations with close friends who like myself organized at the Ella Baker center against Police Injustice and the murder of Oscar Grant. One thing that we all noticed was that the amount of women organizing for justic for this young mans life was way more than the men that chose to come with us. In thinking about this injustice to this young woman I thought about that, more in theory than in actuality. What if men protected us in the ways we protect them? I just read an amazing poem by someone I am honored to call a friend, and his words brought my questions to actuality. There are men out there who are wise and willing to teach, and it gives me hope when I hear men speaking out like this:

To the Young Men who Watched and Said Nothing
By Josh Healy
I went to the Peace March this part Saturday that was organized in response to the recent gang-rape at Richmond High School. It was a healing event for a lot of folks. Despite the tragedy that brought us together, the spirit of love and solidarity was strong. Dennis Kim gave one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard at a rally. Youth Speaks had a contingent out to support, and I felt good about our presence. But something strange happened as well. First once, then twice, and finally almost a dozen times, I was approached by women in the march who said to me, “Thanks for being here.” Almost like it was a surprise that I, a man, was there to take a stand against violence towards women. There were a decent number of men at the march, but I realized that, amongst many other things, we really do need men speaking to other men about this issue. Despite the media hype, the Richmond High incident unfortunately is far from isolated. This shit happens all the time – and not just in Richmond. It does no good to further criminalize East Bay youth. The question is: how can we stop sexual violence against women EVERYWHERE? As someone who’s had the privilege of working with some brilliant, amazing students (young men & women) at Richmond High, and across the Bay, I wanted to talk directly to the folks who I think could make the change we need. To the Young Men who Watched and Said Nothing i call you young men,not boys.but i don’t mean thatas a compliment. boys play freeze tagand three-on-three.young men watcha mob assaulting their classmateand go home to watch MTV. i don’t know your names,but you knew hers.it wasn’t Jane Doe. i know this shithappens everyday.you heard what the football teamdid to that girl in El Cerrito.you might have been pushedagainst a wall yourself once.pants pressed to your ankles,forced to turn around and take itlike a man. you know what rape is. you should have been inside at the dance.getting your off-beat grind onor standing awkwardly in the cornerlike teenage boys are supposed to. but you went outside, to the courtyard.and you saw what they were doingto her. you said nothing. you watched them:punch, scratch, choke, violate herfor one hundred and twenty seven minutes. you said nothing. you left to go to the bathroom,came back, and they werestill at it. you said… and i know you were scaredthat you’d get jumped.get called a snitch, a bitch, a punkwho’s as white as his tall tee. but what colors did you see that night in Richmond?do you remember the reds of her knuckles? the blues in her eyes?the blacks of her throat as she screamed for Someone, Anyone? i am not perfect. not evenin the same area code as perfection.i am a young man myself, after all. i have never hit a woman, but thatdoesn’t mean i have never hurt one. i was raised by my mom,grandmom, aunt, and my little sister-cousin.she is 16 now. the same ageas the girl you saw in that courtyard.who do you think i thought of when i heard?can you look your own sisters in the eye? and i was raised by my father.no saint either, but he was with meat my Bar Mitzvah, the day that i became a man.my father is a good man. he loves me. and i still love you.like a brother, who’s fucked upin ways I couldn’t have imagined.l ike a student, who’s brilliant but got caught up in some horribly stupid shit.like a young man,who isn’t a boy no more

I AM

on this wonderful blog created by Dom Jones herself as a guest writer, with a piece entitled I AM ready to grow.click HERE to check it and check this blog regularly, I am honored to be 1 of many creative minds writing on there.

I started off not knowing where to start, never having been asked to guest write on anyones blog. The list of prompts was my motivation and once my fingers hit the keys to my lap top they didn't stop till it was done. I AM thankful because it challenged me to write in a different way, I felt like I used parts of my brain i had let fall asleep, now I got pins and needles and i gotta keep going...getting Ready to Grow.

Props to Dom Jones for taking action to build bridges between like minds. I am filled with smiles to see folks coming together, to truly support eachother and collaborate in a beautiful way. Looking forward to seeing the next pieces on the blog, Dom Jones performance this month, and the many beautiful projects to come that I can only make out suddle outlines to, but soon they will be drawn, outlined, filled in and painted with beautiful colors to bring them to life, and grow...and then some...

...Can i sleep and dream?...

Sometimes it seems i dream the most when i don't sleep
Scared of missing a minute i let the sunset and rise with my eyes wide
So why does it feel that if I am sleeping I am sleeping on my dreams

with visions imprinted on my irises to make my pupils cry blood
what will it take to make the nightmares go, when the nightmare are ingrained in my soul
when child hood memories are hidden in your mind to survive
sleep is like a delicacy hard to find

Wise women told me to get some rest, when she saw that i had ingested stress
I had infested my wishes with the disses we let in, building walls meant to crumble
But the walls felt like my rib cage, so went it a caved in, my heart was exposed

In the past i laughed through those caged moments pretending i did not want to spread my wings
Let the ego take shelter in humbleness, asking entrapping questions like who wants to hear me.
Ingesting a placebo and neglecting to take my own daily dose of medicine, but quick to spit
uplifting rifts to any open ear, that I thought i could impact

So this paradox that trapped the bird that I AM in a box
was my own fault, my own cause, feeling infected
thought it was useless to get immunized

Forgetting I had already realized
It is never to late to turn a dream into an action
Get some sleep but dont sleep on your beautiful dreams
Nightmares only haunt you if you let them

Its once scared me that the dreams in my sleep came true
Scenes replayed and actualized like de ja vu
Wanting gifts to somehow be blended but i grew
Into my dreams like you grow to fill out jeans

So sip this and wish it
to life like it is your last breath
to swallow with eyes shut
so i may rest in life
and rise in peace when i go

I am not sleeping on life
I can sleep when I die
Cant lie to myself
Cause I look me in the eye every morning that I wake up
So i can sleep when I die
and I can sleep and dream
And never fear that a dream can turn to my everything

greetings from DreamLand

Back in Oakland is a trip. Funny feeling to realize the place I was raised hasn't really changed much but I have. Throughout my love and, not love, of the Town and the streets that raised me what remains is that We have Hope, and that the people, the culture make this place what it is, make it beautiful. They may tell you its money that makes the World go round but its the people. I've been reading a book passed onto me by the homie Amani (aka iamani aka @onlyiamani) called Soul Without Shame which actually inspired me to write a song on that tip. Its definitely WRENAGADE approved, to make you aware of the internal ways we cause ourselves harms, as well as how we internalize other peoples actions towards us in an unhealthy way. That and Power of Now, and hella school textbooks (that tell you LIES) is what I am currently reading. AM I AN EXTREMIST or just A DREAM-ist? Sometimes i get on a must change the world and make it to success RIGHT Now or i will feel like a failure and die. This little battle of my mentality has brought me down, sometimes pushed me forward and made me stronger, but mostly made me feel incapable and down. So instead of being such a damn EXTREMIST meaning every second of everyday has to be dedicated to the movement, I am back to the DREAM-ist I have always been. I dream about a painting and then I make it. I dream about meeting you at the lake and singing my heart out over a beat, and then the next day thats how it plays. This dream affirmation has always been something I do, it used to scare me but now I accept it as something that a artist dreamer like myself posseses and instead of feeling like its a curse it a blessing (curses are your blessing if you let them be) Sometimes the nightmares actualize and somebody I know dies in a dream and it becomes reality, thats the worst but its happened and I will no longer give it hella power to make me fearful of what I can't control.I am ok with what I dont know and have not achieved because I am making a plan of action and building myself up after taking some punches, and my dreams have begun to come back clearer than ever. As a younging we walk around trying to leave a mark just trying to say "i was here" like a message in the sand you hope no person or ocean will ever step on. Graffiti that same urge amplified through art. Everyday on my way to places I go I drive, or 2 wheel it past this mural, dedicated to one of the Bay Area's finest graffiti artists known as DREAM, i finally took a few flix more to come

Rise In Peace DREAM

...also I will posting murals by the homie DESI WOME and showing you the ridiculousness done by our city, painting over his artwork with information on how to protest this wrong doing done by the city of Oakland dummies that thought it would be prettier with gray paint and tags then beautiful art

Dreamland of graf, too short and graffiti reminds me of my childhood this is what i grew up on...

video via 38thnotes.com


n another one:

Im leaving...

Im Leaving

Epiphany - Chrisette Michele

((This song may not lyrically be everything Im going thru in terms of my personal life but I am leaving a lot of wackness as I leave the place I currently reside. By the way im loving Chrisette Michele she has that classic swag that somehow seems new...))

As of June first I put in notice at the crib we moving. I have known I was going to be moving out of this particular apt for some time but its looking like I might be moving further then expected. I have been transforming in many ways over the past months(don't get it twisted I'm still the same Wren, just trying to evolve and do the experiences/blessings/hardships some justice and learn and change from em) and like my name I am a bird what ever adversity you throw at me I will spread my wings and fly to higher places. I am currently blasting some mixes of Old Skool and New School anything from MJ, Aretha, to Mystic, and Luniz and all that in between, while I put everything in boxes. I am sitting on lots of new posts, and if your new to reading this here blog or not be expecting a little more quality over quantity, meaning I will take a little more time with what I post, and share more exclusive art flicks, and interviews and things of this nature in future posts.




Packing up all my belongings, and possibly moving out of the LBC back to the Bay has me doing a little reflection not just on my time in this apartment but my growth and overall my life. Like the MJ song written by SIEDAH herself if my goal is to change the world i mos. def. have to start with myself. I am always trying to be a better person to better impact the world, to support the ones that I love. Re affirming my love for art, and music, and creating beautiful spaces (as i study interior architectural design and design in all its elements)...anyway I read a book about 6 years ago about making money as a money. But the message I took applies to everyone. In order to be happy, you must first asses what it is that you prioritize and invest there. At the time that I did that I was in high school with a job and side hustles and I had a room full over kicks and material things. I realized I was putting most of my money to something that was coolio, but not my priority. So I began to invest in my art (just buying basic art supplies usually the cheapest things i could find) and music. Its hard to stick to it, and there will be times, like myself, where you get lost and go astray, but I always come back to this, put ya money where ya heart is and you cant go wrong. So as I pack up my shoes, I am reminded of this, yeah kicks is cool, I'm not saying not to buy em, I'm just saying for me at the end of the day, I am fly no matter what I rawk and you could steal all my valuables and I would still be alright. With that said I recently "lost" some of my art work and that felt a little like someone ripped my heart out cause its irreplaceable, ya know.

Anyway the blogs may roll in slow but they coming I'm just hella busy making changes and tryna be grown ;) also enjoying what may be my last summertime in the LBC like the classic song that you can catch me sing on occasion...

Peace,
Wren

living in a crazy world

I decided on a whim to spend about 14 hours on the road in about 36 hours, i drove up to Oakland Saturday dropped of my ading (lil sis) and got a moment with one of my favorite people in this universe who inspires me tremendously and then went met up with dj clos to begin and work on music projects together then went to the youth speaks show and was truly inspired as always by the immense talent of the young folks spitting on stage...

As I was driving thru the neighborhoods that were once so familiar and everyday and now are only reachable when I take a road trip home, I admired my community. Oakland is where my heart is and Oakland needs love. There is so much good in this town but the news of course paints it different...

"BUT DON'T LET THE NEWS TELL IT THEY JUST WANT TO (call it a jungle) AND SELL YOU SUNSCREEN AND INSECT REPELLENT"

My city My Hood My Town, I still have faith that peace can be achieved even after seeing people shoot each other even after recent acts that make it seem like we are in a civil war, don't sleep on the people of Oakland, we are gifted and lets come together and paint peace in these streets, and be green, like we been but just with a greater state of consciousness. This is for Oakland and any community around the world labeled as bad or impoverished or ghetto, cause it may have some horribleness but the people are not horrible, the people ---are gonna change the world!

"haters been @round since Jesus was a boy"...

...thats so something that Jenn would say haha(Disclaimer: this is a wrenagade ramble stick wit me or not but im keep grinding till i make it to the top the top to me its not the pockets full but the ability to support me familia)

I have never liked to be surrounded by haters, if you seem like a hater and you aint fam I will probably cut you out my life, have you ever noticed how falseness or haterishness can rub off on a person, this is why I love to surround myself with fly mamas quick to complement a stranger on the street. I just got back from the bay, my life is moving at a fast pace but things are mos def. on the up. If you know me you know i dont sleep, which is bout to change, I gotta take care of me so i can take care of we, and I am really letting go of any limiting hater mentality. In order to be the change we wish to see, we have to let go of all those mechanisms that but things in boxes which ultimately limit space to feel free. I will never sacrifice my morals but I aint gon hate on you for doing you even if I disagree with you message. For the sake of my homeland my community and the moment I am apart of, I am working on letting hatred go, whether it be towards the police, or people that have done me dirty, or even the girl in the mirror, it dueces to negativity and painting peace till i cant paint no more.

One Love!


I used to hate on Lil Wayne for some of his lyrics but ima stop I cant say nothing bad bout this song, and it got me through a hard day here ya go...

My Life feat Lil Wayne OFFICIAL Music Video - The Game

And I`m grindin` till I`m tired
They say you ain`t grindin` till you tired
So I`m grindin` with my eyes wide
Looking to find, a way through the day, a life of the night
Dear Lord you`ve done took so many of my people but I`m just wonderin` why

peep in the video the name Sean Bell
who was wrongfully fatally shot by
the police, shown the picture above with

his beautiful family,
protest police
brutality and paint peace in these
streets from the murder dubs to new orleans!

Rise in Peace, All the people who have lost there lives to a bullet before there time, they will live on. Justice for Oscar Grant, for Gary King for Sean Bell for all those taken by the police, question why some are at risk just for being who they are, we need police that think like us, we need leaders who actually carry out the keeping of peace!!!!!

whats the dealio?

so i never understood when my fellow blogger homies would talk about how they had guilt for not blogging or they were so busy doing thangs that they didn't no where to start to transcribe that into a blog...i guess now i understand.

the update:
Im now 22 i had a wonderful b-dayweekend thanks to some folks that I am blessed to call homiez, and too all the people that I missed connecting with ima see yall soon! I would share pictures but right now as cliche as it is to say, I'm a lil bit of a closed book. Holla!

REFLECTION.just a day in the life...

I was never a morning person...shit I used to LOVE to sleep in, this was back when i was a kid, and ya know kids gotta be told what to do...the only way i would get up on a saturday when i was a youngin is if i smelled some damn waffles er something good cookin...if not i could sleep all day, just listen to music, chill, but then, I grew up and that changed, now I am rarely home, I am up before the sun mos days, and i wish a had a bed time...

I was in class sposed to be paying attention but instead i went on this here site, as i was in class I noticed some dude had on this fly ass hat that looked like the one in the picture right Here:

Sam Flores-Upper Playground is the Ish! I want this hat! its not like ima rock it that much, you can rarely catch me in a fitted but i love it so i want it for my hat collection...

anyway classes keep me busy but in order to stay sane i be drawing all day everyday I just bust out a sketch pad where ever im at and some sharpies and draw...i used to work more with pencils and paint but lately i been on a marker tip there just more quick permanent like a tattoo...anyways (i be rambling) i wake up in the morning to see the sun rise...
Then its either of to school..off to work...or just making some breakfast and working from the casa...after schoolio its either more work or making art...



i just made this one this one is hanging in the home studio (the corner wher i keep a mixer keyboared and mics) fa some inspiration, i miss Ms. Hill!

(ise lyfe ink portrait...)

Usually im stuck wit hours of homework...and im also working on my personal portfolio and eventually a thesis project..





sometimes i get to go

and i get to go to a sho...




oh and you might catch me at a rally (like bambu said) spitt'n game at a pig, and making posters and shit protesting the system you bet...






and one of my favorite things in this whole world to do is...kick it with my god son and now my god daughter--->>
(thats Yassere wit Kwame his uncle--->the fam bam)) and below that Sincere one week old!

When it comes down to it I do it for the kids, either way you cut it-for my god-son and daughter, for the next generation, for j-luisa-andres-malena-aj-nayeli and all this kids i know for the promises i made to myself as a kid, for my future children...everything i do is fa ya...and every day and night i pray yall will be alright...

now why you wanna go n do dat dat dat

NAME DROPPING....UGH!

Lately i been real urked by people name dropping which made me check myself to try n figure why i had such an issue wit it. What I ended come up with was that if your about good things name dropping is just connecting with like minds that you know who have made it to the top, but if you just tryna make yo self look cool, or get in somebodies pants, name dropping is ridiculous....

Krish had a good write up about it...i don't think the link works but try clicking here

Anyway i wrote a lil flo bout that ish...peep what other people think about the concept of name dropping:



uggggh

back to Skooolio!

after a much needed trip back to my homeland of Oakland I am back down in Long Beach. I start school manana and I am just getting back into the swing of things. While I was in Oakland I got to connect with some homeboys n homegirls who i been known, and made some new connects as well. I had planned on working at a non profit in the city, but when that fell thru the universe provided a whole lot of thangs for me to dig my fingas into. From organizing with my sisters and CAPE to bring justice for Oscar Grant, to all the art projects that are in the works, to recording at KPFA, and getting back into music. The people that I connected with influeced my mentality and allowed me to see things in a positive light again. I welcome Sincere my god daughter into the world, who is so beautiful and I am going to miss her and the whole fam bam...

I am all about like minds connecting and if you don't already know I am alway down to collab witcha on any level. After getting a little attention for speaking out and making art and performing, a lot of people were reaching out to me for advice. Some folks I was never able to get back to but know that when I get the chance I am always down to share my experience and any knowledge or advice I have to offer. Heres my last cheers for a while-2 Like minds, good rimes, new life, and honoring those who rise in peace, the sky's the limits.

DAT WOMAN

This might be spoken on KPFA Next Friday, shout out to the folks at KPFA and OFF THE CHAINS RADIO I look forward to collabing in the future :
WRENAGADEonKPFA

IM DAT WOMEN

that women
that women
that women

Im that Sister that is quick to give you a complement
And will ride for my sisters whether they'd do the same or not
We, us women should be united and fighting together for what
We believe which is us being free and treated equally
Whether you sport a tube top in the winter thats real lo all exposed
or a splinter couldn't touch you cause you got baggy clothes hooded cloaks
Either way we should not be labeled as hoes
For being who we are, and i know we all got a scar
I got one on my torso, from the first time
I was called a bitch cause i didn't let him hit it
and a bruise on my leg from when
I didn't give him my digits when he tried to holla
So he decided to talk hella shit but to these lame dudes
Yall no yall need to quit it, and come respectful wit it.


IM DAT WOMAN!


I ain't the other women
ain't haten on them but im the wifey type
the never slept in nobody bed but my own
but those other fools wasn't sleepn but you know
But this ain't just about judgement, er labels and boxes
that men put on us women and all that damn criticism
imposed on me and all my sisters

Im that Girl quick to call out a playa playa that be claiming to be a lady lover
Honey you don't love her if you just get yo'd break hearts and slam the door
You creep and seep into the hearts of these girls and think cause
You don't hit her or call her a hoe that you was
doing her right, please i ain't a hater but
If you treat my sister wrong ima call you out
But sometimes it seems like no matter how much i shout
I am just screaming into the wind
And nobody is gonna hear me
No matter how articulate i am and how clearly
I speak it goes in one ear and out the other
When a women be speaking about her struggles

IM DAT WOMAN!

Im that bitch that tries not to say the b word
well depends tho sometimes bitch ain't a word that stings
Like you can call me Oaklands baddest Bitch that sings
Yeah thats cool but the minute you flip it and call a sis
some negative shit wit that word in it
Ima have ta introduce you to my fist haha
or better yet you call me a bitch
You can get bitch slapped
Please don't use those words that trap
Please don't put me in no boxes
im claustrophobic and that's obnoxious
cause i am so much more
than these labels you put on me
like a bitch or a whore
and the last time i checked
with the exception of girls that turn tricks
to feed they kids and pay the rent
There are way more men who be whoring
and sleeping around so put those labels down

I am that women that can play ball
Used to kick it in the hall
Late to class but always stay wit class
Speaking for the mass of us sisters
that r sick of being dissed
uh do you get the picture
Alright cool now i can conversate wit cha
And our words can connect and grow
I hope my future daughter
will not be robbed of her pride
by whistles and disses and haterade
from a brother of another mother

Yeah I'm dat Women Phenomenally fly
Naturally and Factually
I speak louder when surrounded by guys
Cause i know they gon try to outspeak me
But my voice may be higher or squeak mo then them
But My voice will peak over a base and a drum
and i won't stop speaken till the battle is Won

so you can paint me as a feminist
cause i speak freely but know this
we come in all colors
you can not fit me in that tiny box
Cause im bigger than that
Im everywhere you at

Yeah I'm dat women inspired by my sisters
from MC Lyte one of the ones that started the fight
Rocken the mic
Goapele bringing me close to my dreams
to Mystic who spits it and told me
to get it and sing it
Keyshia for being her and repping my hood
EyeASage one of the greats for making that music
to knock all day and repping the BAY
Jennifer Johns can do nada wrong
with pipes and wisdom to make anyone
wit ears wanna listen
i could go on all day cause theirs
hella women that do they thang
whether they rap or sing
film, or write, paint or freedom fight

Im that lady that you call shady cause i don't change the way
I am for you, We not submissive so you dis us
You talk shit to us then want to kiss us
Talk bout how you don't need us than you miss us
We ain't a toy for you to play
We fly so high and you just stay
We ain't air heads picking daisy's
and if we don't conform you call us crazy
Lady Be like a bird and spread yo wings
But you want to capture and cage us and call us things
But the way I talk n the way i walk I won't back down and put my face down
Nope. My head is to the sky and I will rise.
You say Im so sassy cause i ask thee what i want
Bossy cause I don't put up a dumb front
You claim im rude cause i speak like a dude
But if its a mans world than im speaken how i should
Call me a diva for doing what a hustla would
And oh no she didn't is what i get for saying what im thinking
Cause i speak on it and keep it real and say what i feel
A skirt or a tight shirt don't make me a lady baby.
We is so fly naturally comfortable in our skin, ain't we?
Always a lady maybe one day you'll open your eyes and see.

We dat woman thats gon make a change
So funk what you heard and get on the bus
And please show a little respect fa us
After all we is yo mama sister cuzin and
if you let us in we can be yo best friend

Dat Women

YeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeH!

what a day to be alive
now is the time
when the sun shines is our new leaders eyes
lets be ready to make action happen
frm teaching rap'n to freedom fighting
we impacting n asking for actual Exact change


a rearrange of da system
throw down the isms n listen

we sing rise in peace
cause to many homies killed in these streets
and the raps lyrics n beats lifts us so we don't feel defeat
oscar n gary and all of em live on thru these songs
can't take away the wrong but keep us holding on
Keeping on and strong -WrenAgade
*HARD IN PAINT bY ISE LYFE:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ise-Lyfe-Nation/14075077790?ref=ts
* JENNIFER JOHNS n the homie Mr Fab-http://www.imeem.com/younginthefuture/music/flnhh3lV/mistah_fab_my_life_oscar_grant_tribute/
--->>"killed oscar grant like they did bobby seal...
killed lil Gary and they'll shoot still..."
*Swing- BAMBU-feat BABA ZUMBI
"TELL ya local PD u ain't gon Oscar Grant me!"
MUCHO AMO all LOVE ONE LOVE
i don't think i ever loved life, my country and people ever this much as i do RITE NOW!

Its about time!