If you call yourself a fan of independent Bay Area hip-hop, you’d best know about Rocky Rivera by now. The San Francisco native’s music is basically a crash course in intersectionality — she’s Filipina American, she’s a proud feminist, a mother, a teacher and a rapper. On Nov. 15, she also headlines an all-female lineup of musicians billed as part of the quarterly “Local Sirens” series presented by Women’s Audio Mission, the nonprofit that provides underserved women and girls with audio technology training.
Just one week after an election cycle in which conversations about sexism and misogyny took center stage — the Access Hollywood leak, the body language on display in the debates, “Trump That Bitch” T-shirts and more — Tuesday’s all-female lineup couldn’t come at a more charged time. In a climate of anxiety over race and deportations, expect the Women’s Audio Mission’s post-election hip-hop do what hip-hop always does: address the world with smarts, strength, and grit.
Joining Rivera onstage at Oakland’s New Parish will be engineer and activist rapper Babii Cris, “migrant hip-hop” from Chhoti Ma, R&B from Xiomara, and soulful vocals from Camille Safiya. Oh, and the whole thing’s free. If for some reason you’re feeling the need to be in the presence of smart, creative women who know how to fight for what they believe in, you could do a lot worse than this gig on a Tuesday night.
Women’s Audio Mission presents ‘Local Sirens’ at 8pm, Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the New Parish. Free; details here.
