Video: Adisa Banjoko: Hip-Hop Journalism, Interviewing Eazy-E & 2pac, Chess w/ Wu-Tang and more

History of the Bay Podcast Ep. 15: Adisa Banjoko’s contributions to hip-hop go back to its beginnings in the Bay Area. He started off as a rapper with the group Freedom Troop 187, who made it into the first unsigned hype column in The Source before disbanding. As a senior at Oceana High in Pacifica, he did Eazy-E’s first interview ever for his high school newspaper. From there, he ended up writing for The Source and other acclaimed publications, and encountering 2pac, Digital Underground, EPMD, Gang Starr, Public Enemy, 2 Live Crew, and many others. Adisa‘s been able to witness so many Bay Area hip-hop stories, including the rise of DJ Vlad, Zion-I and the Team. Notoriously, a disagreement with KRS-One resulted in an explosive confrontation between him and Adisa at Stanford University, which he breaks down in detail in this episode. As the founder of Hip-Hop Chess Federation, he’s worked on chess events with RZA and GZA and is now partnering with them on a new organization called 64 Blocks.