It was a beautiful, bright & sunny Saturday when Grind 4 The Green set up a trailer-load of solar panels, a few stacks of speakers and a dj table at the Yerba Buena Gardens amphitheater in downtown San Francisco. The event combined the best elements of hip hop music/culture, SF house music/culture and the grassroots eco movement. Before the big-name performers or the earth-friendly fashion show graced the stage, the MC mic battle had to be settled by audience response. Nothing like a mic battle to energize a crowd before noon! The energy on stage and throughout the audience was HUGE by the last round and went crazy during judging. [Note to aspiring MCs: when the rules say to roll deep coz yr posse will influence the outcome and yr chances of winning the $1000 prize - nothing beats friends with airhorns! 5 bffs made as much noise as the entire soundsystem with those lovely little cans of sonic power.]

It might be awhile before I finish editing all the photos of the competition, the fashion show, opening acts FiyaWata & Lil O, etc. So for now, enjoy these pics of Mistah F.A.B. and dead prez:

To see a bigger version of this slideshow click here (flickr slideshow link)

To see this set on my flickr page click here (takes you to flickr)

Mistah F.A.B. is such a sweetheart in person. Before rocking the mic and serving up the #1 tune everyone wanted to hear (his viral sensation "Hit Me On Twitter") F.A.B. introduced the audience's the other V.I.P.'s in his crew. Starting with his adorable baby girl and beautiful wife (you can see him cuddling his toddler in the pics). F.A.B. also showed the Bay Area community his soft side for a moment when he talked about his momma. Tears streamed down his face as he spoke and he did nothing to hide them. Instead, he poured it all into the music and soon enuff was smiling up at the bright blue sky, charming the audience with quirky rhymes & hamming it up as always. We were sad when his time was up, until we caught a glimpse of M1 peeking out from the side stage area. The crowd had been pretty laid-back up to this point, chillin on blankets and bicycles like any concert-in-the-park crowd. One glimpse of dead prez changed that and suddenly the crowd pressed against the stage as if we were in a tiny bar that barely contained SF's hip hop massive. It was my 1st time seeing the prez live and they were even better than expected. They seem to deliver every tune the fans wanted to hear. Everyone was jumpin and singin and smiling together in one of those perfect concert moments that has you walkin on air for the rest of the day. Well, that's what I got from it anyway. I went home feeling inspired, refreshed and high on life (and no, it wasn't a super-Cali contact high - no 2nd-hand smoke outdoors). My faith in music as a force, sometimes a movement, was restored while my brain brimmed with great ideas. It's especially inspiring to witness the hip hop community getting involved in sustainable energy systems and using them to bring top-notch performers right to the people for free + bringing the people outdoors into the fresh air and sunshine to enjoy an amazing performance.

I felt honored to be present. Much Respect to everyone involved in Grind For The Green - thanks for all the hard work you put into this event! It was a royal experience from the free Vitamin Waters to the once-in-a-lifetime chance to overhear dead prez tell Mistah F.A.B. "Nice meeting you, I'll hit ya on twitter..." =p

Grind For The Green website

dead prez - "Hip Hop":