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Portland Observer B 13 Ck H ¡StOry Month
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, February 23, 2011
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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
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