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June 2006 Rain People now has a MySpace page... I just keep reaching out to other members of the Rain People Tribe Worldwide. http://www.myspace.com/rainpeople
PodCasting at the Digital Rain Factory: We are developing a Rain People PodCast that will debut this summer. I was very excited to take a PodCasting workshop in May and now I'm anxious to get started. We have some cool radio interviews, live recordings and other good stuff.
May 2006 If you like the music, tell a friend... Digital Rain Factory keeps moving ahead... People are downloading Rain People songs from various music sites. I am overjoyed! World Music Artist such as myself must do all that we can to reach our audience. Being on a small Indie Label means we have to work much harder to publicize our efforts. We don't have a marketing budget for Rain People! I hope that anyone who likes my music will share it with someone else. Tower Records Rain People catalogue is now available at Tower Records.com.
April 2006 Rasheed Ali & Rain People Song Downloads are available on many internet music sites worldwide. Here's a Complete List: Inprodicon If you like the music... please write a review of my music on your favorite internet music site.
March 2006 iTunes After a month in Brasil, Los Angeles does pale to Salvador.Rain People / Digital Rain Factory finally making progress on the internet's music download sites. The Complete Rain People catalogue is now on iTunes. I am very excited! It takes forever to get everything up and running but we're patient.We Indie Record labels have to fight for everything we get!
February 2006 Na Bahia...Back in Brasil to perform in Carnaval 2006.Words cannot describe Bahia at carnaval time.Confusion,exhileration,harsh realities and fanciful fantasies.Toda a esta é Bahía.We are hoping to edit our video footage into a mini-documentary when life returns to normal later in the year.
January 2006 I was very fortunate to be invited by the Brazilian Consulate to a special screening of the new Brazilian movie; "2 Filhos de Francisco" ("Two Sons of Francisco"). This movie is so beautiful that I cried twice. I was overjoyed to speak to the director,Breno Silveira, afterwards. It is based upon a true story. Any musician can relate to this story about how far you will go to pursue a musical dream. "Um dos melhores filmes do ano."
December 2005 I was invited to return to Salvador, Bahia / Brasil to perform as a guest artist with the Bloco: Conexão Tribal (Tribal Connection) for Salvador Carnaval 2006 in February! I recorded voice over interviews for a mini-documentary on Ulan Bator, Mongolia.I enjoy working as a recording engineer on visual projects.
November 2005 I took a Digital Storytelling Workshop during the summer and now I'm putting what I learned into action. I completed "little movies" for two of my songs. They are little artful 'music videos'. I hope people will like them when they are posted here on our new & improved website in 2006. October 2005 Brazilian Consulate I was invited to attend an Arts Forum at the local Brazilian Consulate.The event, co-sponsored by the LA County Arts Commission & LA County Office of Protocol, was held to launch an Initiative for International Collaborations. The Arts Forum was presided over by The Honorable Thereza Maria Machado Quintella, Consul General of Brasil. I was honored to be included in such a forum. I was invited because I am a Los Angeles area artist that had been granted an Artist Fellowship in Brasil. Not being a politician, I did my best to represent the issues and causes of international artist. I know first hand how difficult it is for Afro-Brasilian artist and arts organizations to garner the funding needed to bring artists from abroad. I have been campaigning to find funding to return to Bahia so that I can present my work: 'Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra' (Sadness & Beauty in the Black City) to a Brasilian audience. A product of my Artist Residency in Bahia, 'Tristeza' was composed and recorded in Bahia. I believe this work is ground-breaking because I don't know of any other published work that is similar. Surely, I am not the first Caribbean musician to visit Bahia but I don't know of any who composed a musical diary in Portuguese that highlights 'what it means to be an Afro-Brazilian' and what it meant to be an Afro-Caribbean in Brasil. As a function of my commitment to my mission of creating 'One Tribe, Many Voices', I continue to stubbornly push this project along. "Music You've Never Heard Before" Digital Rain Factory, Rain People's new indie record label, will be open for business in November. I am very excited about the new record label, the production facilty is an artist's dream come true. "To be Heard And To Be Seen" Every artist, myself included, has one simple wish: to be heard and to be seen. I create for others and I can only hope that all of hard my work is worthy. My cultural mission to present the voices of the African Diaspora is bigger than me. My belief in African and Afro-Caribbean Culture is nearly religious. "Warm Waters" After years of my preaching to people about Global Warming, my friends are finally realizing what I've been saying all along. Still, the Bush Asdministration and their cronies in the scientific community insist that Global Warming has had no effect on the plethora of hurricanes that have developed in the ever-warming waters of the Caribbean. Rain People? More people are starting to understand the name...Rain People. The wind and the rain have become nightly news! September 2005 "Katrina" For us, Caribbean People, hurricanes are not para-normal events. You grow up hearing stories about devastating hurricanes and you get to experience a few yourself. In fact, there have been a few hurricanes that have contributed to the migration of Island People to the States! True fact is...most hurricanes develop off the coast of West Africa, churning through the Middle Passage. Many an African met their demise along that route of kidnapped and enslaved people. One of my good friends said it was a strange irony that storms come up from this watery burial ground to reek havoc on the Americas. "The Invisible made Visible" Katrina stripped America naked, exposing the world to the stark realities of an invisible economic underclass that toils within the shadows of America's opulence. Many people navigate the daily treachery of Urban America with profound ingenuity but "the roof was torn off the house" and even the strong could not survive! "The Rain Does Not Fall On One Roof" -Ewe (Ghana) Proverb African Wisdom reminds us that we are all subject to the sovereignty of the Earth's Elements. Alma Del Barrio Nina Lenart died. She was one of the beloved DJs at Alma del Barrio, the pioneer Latin Music radio show in the Greater Los Angeles area. Nina was married to fellow Alma del Barrio DJ and Latin Music record producer Alan Geik. Alan, a Bronx native, brought the sound of Cuban & Puerto Rican music to L.A. Besides being one of my real heroes, I refer to him as my "Uncle Alan" because he is a family friend. I hope that the sands of time will cover his pain with memories of good times shared with Nena. August 2005 "Agua que va a Caer" ("Water that is going to Fall"); the newest Rain People CD is completed! Very happy with the final product. Twelve songs in Spanish! I tried to capture the essence of Afro-Boriken sentiment and passion. May 2005 I taught an elective percussion class at Sierra Madre School. The project focused on Samba and culminated in an energetic assembly performance. I was very proud of the disciplined sound the students achieved. April 2005 I performed several School Lecture-Demos with my two talented sons (Kareem Ali & Rohan Ali). Our presentation was titled: "The Secret of the Drum" (Drums in Africa). March 2005 Digital Rain Factory! For those of you who are members of the Rain People Tribe, we are excited to announce that we will soon have our own Independent Record Label: Digital Rain Factory! Thanks to some generous support from Sister Saleemah Muhammad, we are in the process of creating our own label with complete control of our CD manufacturing operations.
February 2005 When is Rain People going to perform live? Rain People fans have been sending me many e-mails asking me when Rain People will be performing and where. Due to a reorganization of my business operations, RP has not been available to perform. January 2005 "Agua que va a Caer" I'm in the recording studio here in Altadena, CA.working very hard on 'Agua que va a Caer'. This CD will be totally in Spanish. This is a companion piece to "Tristeza e Beleza" which I recorded in Brasil.I'm trying to bring back a retro sounding CD, the music is reminecent of Cortijo Y su Combo, Ismael Rivera and Mon Rivera. Tsunami The sensitive people of the world are still reeling from December's Tsunami in Southeast Asia.The earth is 75% water, so it really doesn't take too much fluctuation in the sea level to wreak havoc on the dwindling 25% of land mass. Every ancient people have a 'Flood Story' in their cultural mythology. This universal story is one of the roots of the name Rain People. December 2004 I've signed on with the DeCamera Society at Mount St.Mary's College to conduct Teacher Development Workshops for LA Unified School District teachers. I will be presenting creative solutions for incorporating the California State Music Curriculum Standards into the lesson plans of generalist teachers. November 2004 "The Empty Vessel Speaks" Each year that I've participated in Gourd Fair LA, audience members have asked me if I had a CD of Gourd Drums. This year I decided to finally go into the recording studio and record the gourd instruments that I've made. I also wanted to make a CD of "drums only". I'm very happy with the result and I hope to have it manufactured for Fall of 2005 release. "Thursday Lunch" Bob Young died. Bob was a very special human being and a wonderful friend. He was a music DJ at KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles. His 'Grateful Dead' Show ("Thursday Lunch") was legendary. Bob wrote the CD Liner Notes for my first Rain People CD. He was a genius. He did magical voice-over work for a Children's Book Project that I produced but was never released. I will try to honor him by one day getting it published. October 2004 Gourd Fair LA As a proud member of the California Gourd Society, I once again performed at Gourd Fair LA at the LA Arboretum. This year it was very exciting. I met and performed with Yan Fu Xing ("Bird Uncle") on the opening night of the festival. He is a phenomenal Chinese musician and Vice-President of the Huludao Island Folk Artist Association.He was the 'cultural emissary' of the Chinese delegation. Huludao Island hosts the only annual gourd fair in China. Yan and I exchanged indigenous instruments. I gave him a guiro and shekere I had made and he gave me a beautiful bamboo flute. On the first day of the festival I led a class; "Making a Bendre Drum". I had many students signed up. The drums were difficult to make but they turned out wonderfully. The Bendre is a large round gourd drum from the Sahel region of West Africa. On the second day I conducted a lecture; 'Gourds in Africa'. I performed a set of traditional African rhythms with my youngest son (Rohan Ali) and my musical partner (Marcel Adjibi). We were joined on stage by Yan Fu Xing for our final song. It was a great Chinese-African collaboration. Rain People Live Video Rain People performed a rare concert in the LA area and the show at the Santa Clarita Festival was video taped. The band sounded good, the rhythm section of Marcel Adjibi, Ron Powell, KC Jones and myself was especially exciting. July 2004 "Sequoia National Forest" For the second year in a row I instructed children at Art Camp in drum making. The California woods are nothing like my beloved Caribbean but being among the trees is always sacred. No TV, telephone or computers! Being away from the city always makes you contemplate the question: "Who am I?" The answer always becomes very clear without the usual surroundings that help define us. Nature allows us the freedom to...stay humble, expectant and prayerful! June 2004 "Tristeza e Beleza na Cidade Negra" [Sadness & Beauty in the Black City]; my newest CD is finally complete! This is the culmination of my trip to Bahia,Brasil in the fall of 2003. The majority of the songs are sung in Portuguese. Four of the fifteen songs are in English. The song lyrics attempt to capture my deeply emotional experiences and thoughts while living in Bahia for 3 months. All of the music was recorded at Quinta Pitanga on Itaparica Island. Itaparica is a idyllic, quiet island in the Bay of All Saints across from the city of Salvador da Bahia.I experienced the 'best of both worlds'; the tropical urban madness of Salvador and the introspective calm of Itaparica. It was easy for me to compose and record the dynamic world of Salvador once I returned via the ferryboat to Itaparica. It was a dream of a lifetime to reach Brasil! Bahia was a million times more profound than expected. In short, I found the "missing link" to my feelings of 'what it means to be an African in the New World'. Bahia is a haunted place, a repository for the souls of millions of Africans. Every African tribe is represented here, it feels like "the center of a Black Universe"! In fact, it is the city with the largest population of Africans outside of the continent of Africa! I am still trying to distill all of the wisdom that I received in Salvador da Bahia. In the near future I will devote a full page on rainpeople.com to the still unfolding aspects of this CD project. April 2004 I Finally completed the final recording sessions for my new CD: "Tristeza e Beleza" at The Digital Rain Factory in Altadena, California. March 2004 I had the honor of being a guest lecturer at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's Family Concert Series at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. I did educational presentation on: "The African roots of RagTime Music".I hadn't done anything educational in quite some time, I really enjoyed the children especially! January 2004 I performed a sold-out concert at the Fullerton Museum with my sons; Kareem Ali & Rohan Ali. We performed a set of traditional West African drum music. The RainPeople Drums represent my 'alter ego'; purely unadulterated unplugged "roots" music. We had a great time and so did our audience! December 2003 Even musicians deserve a break, I went on a week-long cruise to Mexico. It was very relaxing. Upon my return I began the recording sessions for my new CD: "Tristeza e Beleza". November 2003 Jake Jacobsen's "Heart & Hands" touring exhibition sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute finally made its way to California. It has been a few years since the book was published. My appearance in the book as one of the featured instrument makers living in America has been a great source of pride and recognition. I attended the opening night of the exhibition and I had a question and answer session with museum guests. The exhibition featured Jake's superb photographs as well as instruments. I was featured with a display of four of my handmade African drums under my photo from the book. There was also also a headphone listening station that featured a short interview and excerpts from my CD: Thunder in the Jungle! Wow! I was impressed! October 2003 I just returned from Bahia, Brasil. I left at the end of August and I just returned in the middle of October accomplished the first half of my mission; to compose and record a CD in honor of the Afro-Brasilians of Bahia. The music is completed but I must compose the lyrics and record the vocals here in Los Angeles,California.Most of the songs are to be written in Portuguese. I have been speaking and thinking in Portuguese for the past few months so I won't be too hard. If I make any errors in grammar my Brasilian friend, Ivan Cordeiro, will correct them. I am hoping to aim this CD to the Brasilian music market.If this music can gain some recognition here in the US and abroad that would be an added bonus. August 2003 We had a RainPeople Drum Circle that was very well attended.It was a RainPeople Fund Raiser and we sold many of my hand-crafted gourd drums and shekeres. Leave for Brasil...excited! July 2003 Spent a week teaching my gourd craft in Sequoia National Park. A week without telephones, computers and televisions! How cool is that?! A beautiful experience. June 2003 Invited to go to Bahia, Brasil! May 2003 I just returned from 15 days in the Republic of South Africa. "I never wanted to go to South Africa" Growing up, the news from South Africa gave me the same heart ache that I felt as I child when I would watch police in Mississippi and Alabama abuse voting rights activist. Since I grew up in a Afro centric household I always felt the pain of my 'brothers and sisters' as if it were my own. Even after the end of legalized apartheid I felt much skepticism. Sure, I saw Nelson Mandela deliver a triumphant speech at the L. A. Coliseum following his release from years of imprisonment but I remained unconvinced. What I encountered in South Africa was a country that made me wonder what the American South was like during the Reconstruction era after the end of Slavery. I wrote extensively in my diary and many of my friends wanted me to publish these thoughts. Though my friends were enthralled by my stories and observations, I feel that the complexity of experiences and feelings remain largely unresolved! So, I'll keep this diary on a musical, cultural vibe. Oddly, I wrote some musical sketches upon my return but they were as complex and confused as I was. "Pops" I met a great musician named Pops Mohamed who seems very much like me. He makes instruments and plays keyboards and shares my eclectic viewpoint. I hope to return to South Africa and collaborate with him. 'Maskanda" While in Durban I had the pleasure to meet Neil Comfort, a respected promoter and cultural advocate, and visit his Rainbow Jazz Club. I attended a fantastic benefit concert that highlighted many fine local artists! My favorite was Madela Kunene who is the foremost exponent of a musical style known as 'Maskanda'.This music is very different from what most people think of as 'South African music'. It is very hypnotic music that can remind you of reggae. Actually, it is Bantu music that sounds like the deeply emotional singing from Mali! It sounds like Oumou Sangare or Salif Keita.It is always very exciting for a musician to "discover" a new form, I was in heaven .I also met a dynamic singer; Busi Mhlongo who has several very hip recordings out there. The musicianship is extremely fine in South Africa. Musicians are very well educated in the European sense but are oddly disconnected to the rest of Africa musically! "Sangoma" Thanks to my very fine Zulu brother; Oscar Ncobo, I was able to experience some traditional Zulu culture. Unlike other parts of the continent, female healers [Sangoma] can play the drums and other instruments. Oscar took me to a place where I bought three fantastic sounding Zulu drums direct from the craftsman who made them .I bought many fine instruments in Durban. I bought Sanzas [thumb pianos] from Zimbabwe and the Congo. Durban was my favorite stop in South Africa. "Cape Town" This has to be one of the most beautiful cities on earth! My two performances were in the neighboring cities of Paarl and Stellenbosch. I was interviewed by Bush Radio in Cape Town and Radio KC in Paarl. It was very cool to get a good reaction from listeners in South Africa. I was also interviewed by Radio Islam in Durban which went out to over 60 countries! "The Teachers" At Stellenbosch University I taught a Master Class for the music department. The students were eager and very engaging. I enjoyed this experience greatly. I performed at the Petersen Musik Sentrum in Paarl which is the first Black music school established in South Africa! I also taught a workshop for Teachers that was well received.The Petersen family impressed me greatly. April 2003 Leaving for South Africa, 36 hours of travel, Yuck! My Anti-Iraq war song: "Lies from the Truth" has been getting some airplay on local radio station KPFK here in Los Angeles. It is answer to the plethora of lies being issued by that champion of 'double speak' Donald H.Rumsfeld. March 2003 Michelle Shocked invited me to perform my anti-war song: "Lies from the Truth" at her Campfire Series at Molly Malone's in Hollywood. This event was a benefit for the A.N.S.W.E.R.[Anti-War] Coalition. There was a great electricity in the room, many concerned people.We were joined by political artist Robbie Connal, songwriter Peter Case, comedian Paul Krasner, writer Peter Bergman. Chris Sprinkle served as the host and discussion moderator. It was a unique event that combined musical performance with a roundtable discussion by the artists. I also had fun accompanying Michelle on percussion. My 14 yr. old son Kareem Ali, backed by my band Rain People, performed Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" to an enthusiastic response. I was brought to tears! January 2003 Invited to perform in South Africa in May. October 2002 KPFK Radio, Los Angeles featured my CD: Thunder in the Jungle as a premium gift during their Membership Fund Drive. Several hundred CDs were sold to benefit L. A.'s premier public radio station. I was thrilled to help out my favorite local radio station, a station that champions 'free speech'! September 2002 I was interviewed by KPFK's Simeon Pillich on the Global Village radio show. We received a very enthusiastic audience response during a CD giveaway. Rain People performed at the L.A.Gourd Fair at the L. A. Arboretum.We performed several songs from ny new CD: Thunder in the Jungle. We sold many of my hand-crafted shekeres and gourd drums.It's cool to share my work as an artisan as well as a musician. Rain People performed at the Rally for Children fundraiser in Bonsall, California. September 2002 I just returned to Los Angeles from 18 days back home in the Caribbean. "Coconut Water" The elixir of life, coconut water signals my arrival back home. All tropical people know what I'm talking about, when you drink that magical 'coco'....you are home, you are safe and you are healthy once again. "Slavery in any Language" I took my son to the African Heritage Museum in San Juan. My son was amazed to see the "Slaves for Sale" documents in Spanish. He had tears in his eyes as he studied the whips, chains and instruments of torture on display. He realized that the enslavement of Africans went beyond his American school textbooks. "Art meets real world" Ironically, I took a trip to the island of Vieques on the very day that the US Navy resumed the "war games" that have been at the heart of the protests here in Puerto Rico! I listened to my song ["Tirando Bombas"] with the dull thuds of detonating shells reverberating all around me. I drove past the naval base and saw that the words of my protest song had come to life. Police in riot gear on one side and protesters on the other, a surrealistic scene. "One Tribe, Many Voices" Spanish 'dance hall-reggae' is all the rage here on the island. The red, gold and green colors of African pride are everywhere. There is little difference between the 'Pepper Seed' beat and 'Bomba' and 'Plena'. Our region, the Caribbean, is so much more unified culturally than politically! We have an unequivocal"sameness" here, we are powerfully connected. It's a true testament to the power of African conceptualism. The stories, legends, music and religion spread out amongst the region of 'South America' in a complete document of a people's psyche. The European's colonial influences are superficial, never strong enough to mitigate the African cultural imprint. It's funny to me but even our manner of speaking and our syntax of expression are the same. It doesn't matter what colonial language we speak. Our patois is identical, I can speak from experience because I speak English, Spanish, French & Portuguese. "La Rumba de Mama Ines" We went to an old-fashioned 'block party' in Santurce, thousands of people in the streets. The music was jammin', 'off da hook'! The highlight for me was finally seeing "La Sonora Poncena" live. They were so 'smooth' and hard at the same time. Mature musicians with 'polish' and fire. Their mid-tempo 'killer grooves' were educational. I love Caribbean music because we know how to celebrate the joy of living. "The Power of the Rumba" A Rumba is like a living thing, it is an improvised happening like the Samba de Roda [Samba Circle] of Brasil. A rumba begins with the arrival of drums and drummers but it is not complete until someone begins to sing a 'free style' verse and all who are present agree upon a choral response. African call and answer is the essential musical model at work here. Still, the rumba will not grow into its true self until some female assumes the role of "La Rumberita"...the dancer who will create this abstract dialogue between lead drummer and enchanting woman. September 2002 The CD "Thunder in the Jungle" is complete and is getting local radio airplay…that's tight! Listeners have been asking me questions about the meanings of songs. Here are my personal sentiments about the music. Looking for Ekwiano…like so many others, he was never found…leaving his family with heartbreak and sadness. Thunder in the Jungle…In the new world, the spirit of survival derived from the recollection of the Ancestors' spirits. Today, Africa is in pain, suffering and amnesia. Tirando Bombas [Droppin' Bombs]…when I lived in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, it shook from the target practice on Vieques. The legacy of control persists with a smiling face. Like an old broken record, we're stuck in the same place. Baye Faal…some of my ancestors were Fulani, the wanderers who embraced new thoughts while never loosing their identity as Africans…Mouride…Ndiagne locks…a symbol of freedom from mental slavery. |
