Kensho Kuma

Japanese American MC representing 510 Berkeley, CA.

Letter to Tenz

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I did this one for my older brother Tenz who passed away several years back.. he was and always will be my greatest musical and life influence. Rest in Peace. Tenz Forever.

Kensho Kuma- Letter to Tenz

And the truth is, none of us have accepted that you gone
We miss you..

Verse 1:
Aye brother Tenz, it’s like you never left/
I still feel the energy with me in every step/
ugh lookin’ back, I should’ve met my death/
instead of you my friend, you’ll always get respect/
yeah Tibetan warlord, you was my mentor/
the time that we spent together it just meant more/
We was 19 or 20, ‘member being really poor/
livin’ up in Section 8, we would go steal from stores/
You would take the groceries, cook and feed the whole crew/
all my positive characteristics’ what I owe you/
use to study your mannerisms and try to copy you/
eventually became the person that I am because of you/
I wasn’t shit back then, we all knew it/
you always did encourage me to keep doing music/
you would tell me I was getting better, I felt stupid/
I could never measure up to freestyles that you did/
Saw you as royalty, worthy of a golden crown/
taught me not to double cross the people that hold you down/
had folks in Chengdu, all the way to Oakland town/
all of us still think about you Tenz, I hope you proud/

And the truth is.. and the truth is..

Verse 2:
Reek’s doing fine, he calmed down a little bit/
I’m still teaching kids ugh though I’m kinda sick of it/
didn’t marry Petra but accept it for what it is/
you should hear me now bro, everyone acknowledge it/
Akua blew up, she rockin’ in them stadiums/
but I lost Meta, and there’s no way of replacing him/
Ali had a baby girl, I’m sure she beautiful/
never felt Sasha, almost slapped him at your funeral/
Mario is goin’ through it but you know he strong/
I know that you are lookin’ over us from way beyond/
the death of your physical could never break these bonds/
I’m hella pissed at higher power like you did me wrong/
You showed me my first gun, bought me the same knife/
twenty hits of XXXXXXX we dropped in the same night/
epitomized a husaluh, business man and chemist/
no matter what we needed always found a way to get it/
You would travel ’round the whole globe and set up shop/
respected like a demigod, on every block/
Imma do my best to carry on the legacy you left/
’til I see you up in heaven and we get to reconnect yeah/

Rest in Peace
Tenzin forever

Global Gutter Gourmet Sampler

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When I’m in East Oakland, I’m eating carne asada super burritos. When I’m in 西成、it’s definitely もんじゃ and たこ焼き。In Berlin, it’s the fish sandwiches. Once I reach Prague, hook up the pork knuckles. Come have some appetizers from my “Global Gutter Gourmet” platter.. (they’re select tracks from an upcoming mix CD.) 地球上どこにいても、俺はドヤ街でうまい、ローカルなソールフード食べてます。ニューミックスCDから４曲召し上がれ。Graffiti by Marcus Murray and Mixes by D-Wiz.

Quarantine Survival

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I teamed up with my people in Paris France for this one. “Quarantine Survival” by La Rime Metisse and yours truly. Produced by Far Beats. Keep your ass home.. none of us safe, until all of us safe.

Bandcamp Updated

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The Kensho Kuma Bandcamp has been updated!! Listeners are able to download select tracks from the upcoming “Lineage ov the Lyricist” for FREE and name prices for past albums.. all purchases will be used to mix my upcoming album with Cloud NI9E. (No, I ain’t one of these MC’s that claim to know how to engineer because they can run their DAW.) My engineer has always been paid off.. So yeah, get the tracks for FREE or donate a little if you can. Peace.

Lineage ov the Lyricist

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The Lineage ov the Lyricist FREE album has been completed and is coming soon.. but hey, I’m not rushing the release; it’s 60-minutes of unreleased music mixed by DJ Kevvy Kev.. The project is a lot less formal than my other official releases.. it’s just me barring out to whatever instrumental I please. Here are the finalized version of some of the songs.

Boom Boom Room Needs Your Support

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The historic Boom Boom Room in SF’s Fillmore district has been the home of Return of the Cypher for almost seven years now. Our weekly open-mic has rightfully earned the title, “where Hip Hop Culture resides in the Bay Area”, and I consider my involvement with the event to be one of my most meaningful experiences in Hip Hop. R.O.T.C. has definitely taught me the values of camaraderie, selflessness, diplomacy, and giving back; I credit the event for making me not only a better MC, but a better human being. Yes I acknowledge that sounds cheezeball, but I have really learned a lot on the human level through this event.

Unfortunately, the Boom Boom Room is facing permanent closure, due to the current Corona Virus pandemic; BBR has set up a Covid Rescue Fund to alleviate some of their compounding debt. Although the total sum necessary for the emergency fund is stated as 150K, this fundraiser is trying to reach the 60K goal to get dialogue going amongst community members about the seriousness of the situation. Please help out if you can.