Here are links to Bands, Artists, and Organizations that deserve your love.


Meklit Hadero
www.Meklithadero.com

Meklit Hadero’s music is imbued with poetry, hybridized sounds of Tizita (haunting and nostalgic music) from Ethiopia, to the annals of folk songs and Rock & Roll. She, herself, aptly describes her music as emanating from “in-between-spaces.” Listening to Meklit Hadero transports us to the post-national space of Africa and America; inspiring us to bridge the frontiers between language, tribes and disciplines. He songs celebrate the newness of life and the hyphens that bring us together. La Gente connected with Miss Meklit through The Red Poppy Art House and Mission community.

The Seshen 
www.theseshen.com

The Seshen is a 7-piece Bay Area-based band whose songs mix live and electronic elements. Their music utilizes electronic textures to suggest complex emotions and vivid imagery but also to blur the distinction between the abstract and the familiar. The Seshen takes influences from electronic music, hip-hop, pop, R&B, dub, and indie rock to create beat-driven compositions with a strong emotional core. The Seshen and La Gente have had some amazing shows together and are looking forward to our next collaboration.

Robin Applewood
   www.robinapplewood.com
Originally the front man for Bay Area legends "Dr. Masseuse," Robin Applewood AKA Dogman Joe has honed his skills over the years, even touring France three times with "The Motivators." Dogman describes his music as "Pop Rock Reggae Funk Folk Ska Soul Blues Hawaiian Electronic" La Gente first connected with Robin when the La Gente was still called "The People" and Robin Applewood was called "Dr. Masseuse". The two groups have shared the stage at venues like Mezzanine, Elbo Room, Ashkenaz and have worked together to keep the Bay Area music scene vital and potent. Lead singer of La Gente was even featured in Robin's latest video and single entilted "Bounce".

MC Orukusaki
www.orukusaki.com
 
Born in Berkeley California, Bay Area native OrukusaKi raps conscious lyrics over abstract and original style hip-hop beats. Once known as one of the "Champion" battle rappers on the west coast, OrukusaKi left the Battle Rap circuit in the mid 2000's to focus more on music and Hip-Hop Development. A strong believer that Hip-Hop Music is a powerful tool and should be used to unite people and strengthen communities, he writes his songs to inspire different thoughts and ideas for action and social justice. After many years of hard work recording and performing in the Bay Area music scene and abroad (LA, New York, Seattle) Orukusaki has had the chance to share stages and open up for acts such as Digable Planets, KRS One, Tone Loc, Inspecta Deck; Killah Priest(wu-tang), Hieroglyphics, Living Legends, Immortal Technique, Zion I & Crown City Rockers. Currently he is performing solo and working with a variety of bands in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as producers from Japan, Chicago, LA, and Seattle.

Orukusaki and lead singer Rafael Sarriaof La Gente have been rappin, collaborating, and cyphing together since the late nineties. Since then Orukusaki has become a consistant dynamic part of the La Gente performance and sound. He is known to grab the mic and join the group on Hip-Hop beats, Salsa grooves, Reggaeton and Cumbia-Dancehall rhythms never missing a beat and showing the Bay what Real Mc-ing, freestyling, and crowd control is all about. 

For Video's, Battle's, Interviews & Clips of OrukusaKi
type "OrukusaKi" in www.youtube.com  or www.vimeo.com

Rupa & The April Fishes
www.theaprilfishes.com

Rupa & the April Fishes create music that busts through boundaries of musical genre, language and time making a fresh sound that must be experienced rather than pigeonholed. The San Francisco based group has toured in the US, Mexico, Canada and Europe. They have traveled to Tijuana where they stayed with deported migrants and learned more about the humanistic impact of the US-Mexico border. They have also played the Montreal Jazz Festival, Central Park Summerstage, Grand Performances, SXSW, the inaugural epic Outside Lands Festival, Power to the Peacefull, and Stern Grove. Rupa and La Gente recently performed together at The Red Poppy Art House for the MAPP event (Mission Arts Performance Project) And Mario Silva Trumpet player and founding member of La Gente is also one of the "April Fishes" Just to to make it explicit how incestuous and intertwined the Bay Area Music scene actually is.

 Bang Data
www.bangdata.com

Straight out of the Bay Area, Bang Data comes armed with slick guitar, gritty synth & bass and banging electro-acoustic drums. Loaded with heavy grooves,
Samba-Ska-Cumbia and hints of Afro-Electro-Bossanova. Bang Data is formed by Bay Area’s MC Deuce Eclipse on lead vocals, who’s well known
by hip-hop fans as an accompanying voice to the legendary Zion I and musician/producer Juan Manuel Caipo. Mixing Rock, Reggae, Hip-Hop & Latin beats and infusing them with a soulful bilingual delivery by Deuce Eclipse, Bang Data has created a sound that is unmistakably theirs. La Gente and Bang Data have performed together many times at Mezzanine, The Brava Theatre, and most recently at The Independent. Juan Caipo was also the backbone behind Orixa, who regularly performed with La Gente back when we were called The People and also was the drummer for La Gente and produced our last studio album.

 Dholrhythms
www.dholrhythms.com
Dholrhythms is an organization dedicated to promoting the artistic and cultural heritage of India through the beautiful Bhangra and Giddha folk dances of Punjab, India. Co-founders Vicki Virk and Suman Raj envisioned Dholrhythms as a way to share their love of community, culture, and dance while inviting diversity and unity. Dholrhythms hosts classes, workshops, and presents performances and events that celebrate these unique folk dances and Punjabi culture. Dholrhythms also co-founded, hosts, and headlines the legendary monthly event, Non Stop Bhangra, voted as the "Best Dance Party" in San Francisco. Dholrhythms performed together with La Gente as a main feature in Jean Paul Gaultier Global Village Performance series at The de Young Museum and most recently shared the stage at The Independent.

Raw-G
www.raw-g.com

Blending Hip Hop culture with a revolutionary state of mind, Raw G is
notorious for passionate flow and deep poetry. Born and raised in GDL City,
Mexico, Raw G was dealt a great deal of struggle at a young age. After losing
her father, she began expressing her feelings of pain through writing, and
began identifying to such artists like KRS-One, 2Pac and the Fugees, relating
to the harsh reality depicted in their music. In 1999 she moved to Oakland,
California and began learning English by translating rap songs. In the last few
years, Raw G has stepped her music career up to the top of the list of upand
coming artists from the bay area. She has performedwith artists such as
KRS-One, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Mobb Deep, Blackalicious,
Ghostface Killah, Ozomatli, and Ana Tijoux. She has performed and collaborated
with La Gente many times most recently at The Independent and will soon be
working on new and original Raw-G/La Gente tracks.

 

DJ Lady Ryan
www.djladyryan.bandzoogle.com

Dj Lady Ryan is a Dj and Jazz vocalist who draws from Soul, Jazz, House and Hip-Hop in every performance. She recently performed and promoted the SF Pride 2012 woman's stage. And runs her monthly dance party "Ofasho" Every first Saturday of the month @ Disco Volante, featuring a host of local DJ's and MC's. Dj Ryan regularly performs with La Gente as vocalist and Dj and joins up with the crew every 4th Friday @ Fort Mason for The Off The Grid, Art Music and Food festival. FREEE!