“I think what makes Oakland special is the resilience that is just ingrained in the streets of it. In the same way they tried to do with Detroit when there was a huge amount of black folks that were becoming like an economic power and all those other things. It’s was like: ‘We’ll just shut […]
“I remember me and my cousin Avery, who passed away a couple of years ago. When we was kids, we used to go to Ralph J. Bunche and I remember one time, it was early in the morning. Now we both had razor scooters and we were like, okay, how bout we’re like, tomorrow we’re […]
“What I don’t like about what I currently see happening in Oakland is this push of gentrification that is sort of sucking the life, the culture, the arts, the history out of neighborhoods. That shit hurts because it’s something you love changing or being erased, not growing. If it was growth, I’d be all about […]
“I think we could easily have a Major Motion Picture lot out at the port of Oakland or in West Oakland, in the hangars there. I think we could easily do it at the former Naval Hospital out at golf links. I think we could easily do it. Studios are changing. I think we could […]
“We don’t bring this up a lot, you could say anywhere outside of the world. Oakland is a suburb of San Francisco. San Francisco is the bigger city, population wise, notoriety wise. But having that sense of our own identity, usually any other suburbs is always gonna associate with the bigger city. We’ve always had […]
“Truthfully, I want people to know that Oakland’s always been dope. You moving over here and going into a food truck or a pop up or art crawl, you’re not making our city cooler than what it was.Your just adding to it. Oaklands been cool, it’s been a dope spot. It’s been safe. It’s had […]
“You can’t be from Oakland. You can only be a part of it.” What is your full name and age? Leon. David Sykes the Second also known as DNas Aka David Nasty. I’m 33, I will be 34 in about 13 days. What neighborhood of Oakland are you from or would you say you associate with […]
“I don’t want anybody to listen to this interview and take it as the gospel. I think that the best thing would be for people to listen to this interview as well as the others, and that kickstarts them to start researching more about the stuff that’s being talked about. Let’s start a fire. That […]
‘Some people will say, “Yeah, you know, I’m from Oakland or whatever.” But you know they’re full of shit and they just really ain’t, they don’t really know what it’s all about. It’s a tough town, but it’s a good town. It’s a place where you got to stay on your toes and watch your […]
“It’s just one of the best places to be from. We’re just so carefree. Our vibe is like nothing else. I’m just super proud to be from this place because it has really made me who I am today. I have learned the game from Oakland, my ways, and it has helped me survive in […]
