Kensho Kuma featured on Rikinish’s Debut Album

Rikinish is a Japanese MC, producer, nomadic teacher, and R.O.T.C. regular; this past week, his debut album Everyday, was released through Orikami Records in France. Please be sure to support the official release!! Yours truly is featured alongside R.O.T.C.’s Jane the Message on a song titled “the Game.”

I am currently working on the “Lyricist ov the Lineage” project, which features new, old, and collaborative tracks.. I am going to compile 60-70 minutes worth of music, and have my uncle DJ Kevvy Kev mix it.. this one is the latest addition to the line-up thus far. Please be sure to check out the whole playlist.

Kensho Kuma “the Game” verse: “Not a freestyler/ want my name mentioned in the same sentence as a legendary writer/ Ernest Hemingway/ cats get resentful that they could never ever step in Kensho’s way/ I’m like Marley Marl, dropping science and math/ a lotta obstacles, popping up in my path/ but we separate, propaganda and facts/ and decisions get made properly with the stats/ yeah, you know the vulture type/ decent at rapping, but always acting stupid and can’t rep the culture right/ scene’s fulla punks frontin’ like millionaires/ but the foul stench of poverty is still in the air/ Kuma! developers be the villains in here/ leaving families without homes and children in tears/ regardless of era, I’m doing my thang/ I’m remembering Oakland, before them bike lanes/ yeah, snitching, literally meant you died/ now everything is vegan and gentrified/ feeling like kamikaze, sent to die/ and fuck pain, ’cause your boy been desensitized/”

“the Game” Chorus: “The game that we playing, life that we living/ we’ll be spitting raw, ’til the very last inning/ the mics we are gripping, the crowds we control/ the rules and traditions, we vowed to uphold/ the game that we playing, life that we living/ we’ll be spitting raw, ’til the very last inning/ anytime you see us on the stage, we wreck it/ it’s Kensho Kuma, Rikinish, and Jane the Message/”

ROTC MC’s featured on Cloud NI9E’s 12 Sentence Story

A select infantry of Return of the Cypher MC’s, myself, Denero, Slice IX, Unlearn the World, and Spread Fox, are featured on Japanese producer Cloud NI9E‘s brand new 12 Sentence Story album. Cloud NI9E is one of my main producers, tour DJ, and frequent collaborators, and is stationed in Tokyo, Japan. The 12 Sentence Story has a jazzy, downtempo vibe to it, but of course my squadron of MC’s bring that Bay Area rawness!!

Cloud NI9E- 12 Sentence Story Puchase here from Introducing!! Label

Hip Hop 4 Change 5 Year Anniversary

As you hopefully know by now, Hip Hop for Change is a non-profit which combats socioeconomic inequalities and societal prejudices through the implementations of educational outreach with Hip Hop-based curriculum, grassroots canvassing, and local music showcases. I am extremely proud of Khafre Jay, the entire HH4C staff, and the educators, for reaching their 5 Year Anniversary. Yours truly has had the privilege of serving on the board of directors for the past several years, and it’s always been humbling to have my name associated with the organization. On 05/04/2018, HH4C will be celebrating its anniversary at Elbo Room in Oakland.. yours truly will be rocking alongside comrades Khafre Jay, Unlearn the World (who is HH4C’s education director, and it makes sense because he’s smart as hell), Watzreal, and Breathless. Bay Area OG turntablist Ren the Vinyl Archeologist will be the DJ for the evening.  Get your tickets here.

Kensho Kuma x R.O.T.C.@Broke Buddha Day Party

My Return of the Cypher squadron was invited to perform at the Broke Buddha Day Party 10:30 AM- 7:00PM on 04/28/18! Please come down to Score! Bar and Lounge in San Francisco!! This event celebrates a diverse array of soundscapes, playing everything from Hip Hop, Tribal Beats, Latin House, and all sorts of other eclectic tunes. Broke Buddha also features 3-D light reactive tapestries, live painters, and local designers… and TACOS!! Myself, Jane the Message, and the Road Warriors, will be performing sets throughout the day, and of course cyphers are open to our R.O.T.C. troopers. Shout outs to our comrade MC Awokeone for inviting R.O.T.C and to Jane the Message for producing the flier last minute!!

R.O.T.C. x Strictly Business

As you hopefully know, Return of the Cypher has become San Francisco’s premier Hip Hop weekly.. I proudly serve as a R.O.T.C. Director and I am extremely excited that our event is about to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. R.O.T.C. is your rightful home in the SF Bay Area, if you were raised by Hip Hop culture. Welcome home. We continue to operate as a FREE weekly. Come visit us Sunday nights starting at 9:00 at the Boom Boom Room in the historic Fillmore district of San Francisco.

Oakland Legionnaire‘s weekly Strictly Business party will be joining forces with R.O.T.C. on a monthly basis starting on 03/14/18. Every second Wednesday from midnight to 1:00AM will feature a R.O.T.C. cypher overseen by R.O.T.C. Director Unlearn the World. Shout outs to Foreign Legion and DJ Saurus!

Smilëyz Cheeky Chinky Crew- Asiatik Kings feat. Kensho Kuma [Official Video]

During my Solo Shogun Stories Tour through France, I got down with the Smileyz Cheeky Chinky Crew.. they are an Asiatic Parisian crew representing Paris. They featured yours truly on “Asiatik Kings”.

Smilëyz Cheeky Chinky Crew- Asiatik Kings feat. Kensho Kuma

Production: Kody Babyghost for Wishing Light Music Label

Realization: Kevin Bantsimba

Shot on location in: France and Strasbourg, France

Camoes by: Architeknic, Noa, and King Siroko

 

Kensho Kuma x Far Beats-World Traveler 2

Dedicated to everyone that’s been with me throughout my overseas ventures and the awesome people I’ve met abroad. You have changed my life forever..

Kensho Kuma- “World Traveler 2”
Produced and Mixed by: Far Beats
Additional Production by: Akua Naru
Graphics by: Marcus Murray

Verse One: “I’m a World Traveler, nomadic wanderer/ Respect the local folks, but I’m still a conqueror/ Raise the flag of California up at Angkor Wat/ Often in them places foreign artists cannot rock/ Writing down my candid thoughts, hiding out in Sukhumvit/ Go-go dancers everywhere, get lost in illusions quick/ Miles off the beaten path, I’ve seen some gruesome shit/ Third world is grimy, but we know what the beauty is/ Children in the land of smiles, seem to be happy with less/ Many kids in U.S. hoods, carry gats and deal with death/ Most adults are taking medication feeling depressed/ Who are you to tell me that America really the best?/ Weaving through the traffic dawg, don’t crash your motor bike/ Saigon City got it locked, kicked it with the locals tight/ Whether at your venue or a mediocre open mic/ We murderin’ performances perfected out in Oakland right/”

Chorus: “I’m faraway, I don’t know when I’m coming home/ Left my backyard, said good bye to my comfort zone/ Quit my damn job, told my mom that I love her/ There’s more to this life and I have to go discover/ I’m faraway, I don’t know when I’m coming home/ Left my backyard, said good bye to my comfort zone/ Fans always compliment, telling me I’m rhyming dope/ All I ever wanted was to be happy and to find my soul”

Verse Two: “In my wallet I have yen, dollars, and euros/ Cash determines everything, no matter where you go/ Transient, vanishing in back of a Peugeot/ to reappear the next day to rap in Chateauroux, so/ You can say I’m well-traveled, racking up the mileage/ Highly civilized, never blacking out or violent/ Peace to Paris potnas, they made this trip priceless/ And if I stop, probably have a midlife crisis/ Dressed in a kimono yeah fans got impressed quick/ Hustling in Brussels with the man Architeknic/ Bilingual shows in Nantes, translated set list/ And aye damn descendant of Japan must respect this/ No matter where you go, acknowledge they customs/ If you can’t do this then you’ll make all of us look dumb/ Talk to your fans, learn they way of life and have fun/ Take some time to be a tourist but make sure you stack funds/”

Chorus:

Last 2FS Shows before Asia Tour

2nd Floor Samurais will be performing three shows on American soil before we go tour in Asia. The first of the three installments is NGO Hip Hop for Change‘s monthly Concrete Roots event at the Legionnaire in Oakland on 07/20/17. We will be headlining the event, DJ Netwerk is holding down our set, JPZ is hosting, and our allies Dr. Charity Clay and Blackcloud MC are also on the roster.

On 07/22/17, we will be performing at the Precita Eyes 21st Annual Urban Arts Festival. This event is an outdoor celebration with kid stations and community booths.  Patrons are encouraged to bring their own paint to bomb the walls. Our R.O.T.C. brethren Unlearn the World will rock this one as well..

Later that Saturday, we will support Namaste Pizza’s Grand Opening of their Pleasanton restaurant. The first 100 guests will receive a FREE medium pizza of their choice!! Our R.O.T.C. infantry, including Watzreal, Breathless, and Unlearn the World, will be doing performances and freestyles alongside 2FS.

 

MixTapeLive Episode II: Cali Factors

Yours truly is featured in the brand new MixTapeLive Episode II: Cali Factors video directed by the comrade XienHow. This project utilizes an interesting concept: 10 MC’s spit over 5 instrumentals blended by 1 DJ. It’s literally a mixtape by itself..

The MC’s are paired up for the respective beats and rap for 8 bars; the featured pairs are Zyme and Jack Tradez, XP from Rhyme Addicts and Ruby Ibarra, myself and Orukusaki, Telli Prego and DregsOne, and Babii Cris and XienHow. I personally really like the juxtaposition between Cris and Xien’s heights, and the Jada/ Style P-esque in-and-out flow that Telli and Dregs are able to pull off. Also, special shout out’s to Hip Hop Avenue TV for supporting the video.

Cloud NI9E- Golden Gate feat. R.O.T.C. MC’s

A brand new posse track produced by my Japanese trackmaker Cloud NI9E. My R.O.T.C. infantry Denero, Slice IX, Unlearn the World, and Spread Fox, were recruited to rock this classic sample with me. I decided to implement my patented 4 bar language switch-up on this one.

 

“??????????????/ ?????????????/??????????????/??????, ????????/startups are killing it, residents getting by/ everything around here’s getting so gentrified/ this the Bay, where the dope artists are centralized/ home of the independent hustlers, we meant to rise/ ??????????????/ ????????????/ ????????????in the house/ ?????, ??????,  ????/ to unify the tribes, is what we rapping for/ from the cities in Asia to International/ traveling overseas, on sabbaticals/ as I teach continents, what I’m learning back at home”