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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2011)
— ------------------------------------- — Portland Observer B 13 Ck H ¡StOry Month ___________ , February 23, 2011 Ar t s & , x X ENTERTAINMENT Hip Hop Group Keeps it Positive Embraces stage as alternative to the streets by C ari E. H achmann T he P ortland O bserver La Eam ilia, a local hip-hop group founded in 2003 by the C ordeta brothers, Jonathan “JC ” and Bo- M andela, are at w ork on their next street album , “the N orthw est K ing” , com piled o f lyrics inspired by e v eryday life living in Portland; from a flam boyant party life o f love, d e sig n er digs, expensive cars, and flashy jew elry to a darker, m ore som ber reality o f gangs, poverty, p ro s titution and political injustice. “ W e like to say things people can relate to,” says B o-M andela, “The N orthw est King is about the n o rth w est that people d o n ’t hear about. It’s very diverse, w ith songs about love, p arties, d e p re ssio n , and a w hole spectrum o f em o tio n s.” G row ing up in low -incom e neigh borhoods o f C om pton and Portland, the tw o brothers w itnessed their friends’ involvem ent w ith gangs and experienced the m any troubles o f street violence firsthand. So w hen K Prynce, Timmi Hendrixxx and Bo-Mandela o f La Familia, a local hip hop group. the rap-duo team ed up w ith A neal Jeannis, singer and m usic studio engineer, and Eloe G ail-W illiam s at a low -incom e sum m er cam p in high school, the y outh-em pow ered hip- hop group had plenty to rap about l,K P( «land Observer a d s (<?' p o rt la n d o b s e rv e r.c o m W ill it be the Social N etw ork or the K in g ’s Speech? N icole K idm an or Natalie Portman? The Coen Broth ers? C hristian B ale? R egardless o f the w inners, y o u ’re invited to take in the glitz, glam and gossip at P o rtlan d ’s ow n O scar party at the historic H ollyw ood T heatre on S un day, Feb. 27. A d m issio n is free w ith doors opening at 3:30 p.m ., ju s t in tim e to see the stars stroll the R ed C arpet. T he 83rd A nnual A cadem y A w ards hosted by Jam es Franco and A nne Avalon Flowers • Anniversaries • W eddings Open: Mon.-Fri. 7:30am til 5:30pm Saturday 9am til 2pm. Website: avalonflowerspdx.com email: avalonflowers@msn.com Cori Stewart— We Offer Wire Services uble J Tires W Jew & Used Tires Overstock & Used Tires A full service flower experience • Birthdays • Funerals H athaw ay w ill begin on the H o lly w ood T h e a tre ’s m ain screen at 5 p.m. O n sale w ill be the them ed co ck tails such a s“T he B lack S w an” and “T he T rue G rit” as well as beer, w ine, food, popcorn, candy and t 520 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, OR 97204 • 503-796-9250 Owner, Operator C ordeta brothers began rhym ing as youths in the early 90s. Every sum m er, the boys traveled to num erous cities around the P a cific N orthw est w hile on tour w ith their father, John C ordeta, a guitar p lay er for the O regon A rm y N a tional G u a rd ’s Live Band. “ Since we w ere little, our dad was a big influence,” says Bo- M andela, w ho also m entions in a press release that they ’ re cousins to B arry W hite. “ W e w ere alw ays around m usic; we listened to his old records like Stevie W onder, E arth, W ind, and Fire, and watched him perform, which m ade me want to perform .” M andela adds that T upac, B iggie, Jay-Z , and D itsit w ere also big influences for them. W hen B o-M andela was 9, he and b rother JC began rapping together. D ream s o f getting signed m oti vated them to start rap groups w ith friends throughout m iddle school. By high school, the brothers had been rapping for so long that the form ation o f the La Fam ilia org an i zation and a built-in hom e studio w as ju s t an o th er stone in the path to the b a n d ’s expansion. Oscar Night at the Hollywood A dvertise w ith diversity in Call 503-288-0033 and lots o f opportunity to expand. W ith the m ission to “ keep youth d o in g s o m e th in g p o s itiv e ,” La F a m ih a ’s close-knit group jo in ed oth er band m em bers in flaunting their first m ajor show in M arch o f 2006 at the W onder B allro o m ’s “ B ack to R eality” show put on by G lobal Fam and H ungry M ob p ro d u c tio n s , p e rfo rm in g a lo n g sid e D ead Prez. La Familia also recently performed w ith Im m ortal T echnique in 2007, D 12 in 2009, and head lined “The Youth Sum m it,” a Stop the V iolence show put on every y ear to end gang violence. T hough setting an exam ple for y o u th th ro u g h m u sic, trav elin g , p arty in g , and h an g in g ou t w ith friends keeps the boys busy enough, La Fam ilia still m anages to “ B ring B ack to tha h o o d ,” by not only producing events for revenue to help band m em bers overcom e p o v e rty , bu t a lso th ro w in g ch arity events to help the com m unity. P roducing o v er 1,000 songs w ith m ore than 12 artists, distributing over 10,000 C D s and m ore than 10 m usic videos, the C ordeta & Jeannis La Fam ilia P roductions expect their next street cut to offer “ the true definition o f northw est h ip -h o p ” w ith sounds backed by “a m ixture o f Ja y -Z ’s w itty, read -b etw een -th e- lines lyrics and a laid-back w est coast tw ist. La F a m ilia started w h en the $ 1 5 & u p PRICED TO SELL $ 5 .0 0 TEES CLUBS FAMILY REUNIONS SCHOOL CLUBS BUSINESSES SCREEN PRINTINGS 503-762-6042 971-570-8214 All tires mounted & blanched on the car, out the door - no additives. Free stock wheels w / purchase of any new or used tire- limited to stock on hand 3 0 years in business so d a. Local funnym en Ian K arm el and M ikey K am pm ann will perform dur ing com m ercial breaks All proceeds from the event go tow ards the restoration and o p era tion o f the H ollyw ood T heatre. State Farm* Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office. Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OB 97217 503 2861193 Fa* 503 2961146 ernie hill h5mb@statefarnj com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service® 2 locations to Serve You 6841 NE MLK, Portland 503-283-9437 4510 SE 5 2 nd & Holgate 503-771-1834 k ________________ /