Album Notes

For some artists, making music is an escape from reality. For Bambu, it’s an opportunity to change the world. As a young boy raised in the Watts District of Los Angeles in the early 80s, there was equal parts tragedy and inspiration to draw upon. The oldest male of his family to make it past a violent death, Bambu became an unwitting participant in a lifestyle that many rappers glorify, but rarely experience. “The gang culture, the ‘street mentality’ that everyone talks about, I grew up with those codes, so it’s second nature to me.” A product of a broken home as well, Bambu learned to stop wasting his potential against his own community and began to change himself. Turning his destructive energy around and applying it to music was easy for Bambu, who was clever, resourceful, and remarkably literate as a youngster. Between ’92 and ’96 he joined friendly rap collectives. But it wasn’t until he joined the Bamboo Brigade, and later the Poorhouse Projekts that he started making a name for himself in the underground hip hop scene. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, self untitled…, that he began to receive incredible critical acclaim. The LP earned him write-ups in Jointz and Urb, and also linked him to his future partner-in-rhyme, Kiwi. They created the group Native Guns – an homage to the book Native Sons by James Baldwin, and the early 90s rap collective Native Tongues. Both Kiwi and Bambu were advocates of indigenous struggles, and armed self-defense, and they recorded the mixtape Stray Bullets Vol.1 in 2004, and the album Barrel Men in 2006. Native Guns continue to tour the country performing their songs to audiences who embrace their mix of great music as well as political accountability. On April 29th, the 15th Anniversary of the L.A. riots, Bambu is releasing his second solo album …i scream bars for the children, a bracing, emotional, and oftentimes, lighthearted account of his experiences as an organizer, a nationalist, and a representative of collective struggle. “My politics play a huge part in my life, therefore, my life plays a huge part in my music. What’s even more admirable is the connection that his music makes to the larger community. “I just want people to hear my music and question what is going on in the world.