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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2010)
Happy Thanksgiving •City of Roses' Celebrate with holiday recipes on page 24 hsem r Volume XXXX, Number 45 Hip Hop Dreams Female trio Rose Bent will keep you movin’ C ari H achmann T he P ortland O bserver Blooming in our own City of Roses backyard is the lady hip-hop trio, Rose Bent, featuring musical artists Kheoshi, a.k.a. Lady Trinity; Jacque; a.k.a. J-Kronic; and Rose City Miss Chief. Refusing to let bent-necked pasts hinder their dreams, these strong-minded and educated la dies have made it their mission to represent the silenced voices of women in hip-hop. The three Portland locals united last Febru ary after discovering each other’s talents dur ing various solo performances in venues around town. With shared musical influences like Tu pac, Kaaye West, Foxy Brown, Nas, and Mary J. Blige, Rose Bent offers an alter native to the male-dominated industry, with a w om an’s self respect being a significant theme for their songs. W ith their energizing beats, catchy lyrics, and a party-thum ping stage pres by Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity w w w .portlandobserver.com Wednesday • November 24, 2010 ence, the fem ale rappers are celebrating their debut self-titled album , “ Rose B ent.” An official release party will take place on Friday, Dec. 3 at the Backspace. Lucky listeners ju st scoped out the g roup’s new jam s at the pre-listening party ear lier this month at Ash Street Saloon. “The album is very diverse...it has som ething for everyone,” said Jacque, “ It’s fun and full of energy, it'll get you m oving and even hardcore underground hip-hop fans will en joy dissecting some o f the m etaphors and lyrical w ord play.” G row ing up, the m em bers o f Rose Bent w eathered their own troubles; los ing loved ones to gang violence, teen pregnancy, friends or fam ily going to prison, and the list goes on. Yet like the bent rose, each w om an made room to flourish and on top of devoting countless hours every week to m usical collabora tion, rehearsals and perform ances. Rose Bent now juggles a full-time work schedule as community advocates, single motherhood, and personal pursuits of higher education. continued on page 7 Three Portland locals, Jacque, a.k.a. J-Kronic (from left); Kheoshi, a.k.a. Lady Trinity; and Rose City Miss Chief, are on their way to making a impact in Portland’s urban music scene with their hip hop group Rose Bent. < City Assembles Youth Division Kicking off a new effort to positively engage local youth in a new Youth Services Division of the Portland Police Bureau are Antoinette Edwards, director of Public Safety and Peacekeeping for Mayor Sam Adams; Joe Marziello, Portland executive director of the Boys and Girls Club; Police Capt. Kevin Modica and local Boys and Girls Club Youth of the Year Joshua- John Delorenzo. M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver photo by North Precinct Capt. Módica to lead effort Police C h ief M ichael Reese an nounced the formation of the Youth Services Division of the Portland Police Bureau at a news conference on Mon day at the Blazer Boys and Girls Club on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Bou- continued on page 6