Only in Oakland Pt. 2- Mighty 4 and Estria Graffiti Battle photo essay

The Mighty 4 mastermind hisself, Paulskeee, all Barong Tagaloged out.

And continuing from the prior post, here are some more pics and vids from the 11th Annual Mighty 4 and 3rd Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle, a special event with sights, sounds, and smells--from a bike powered sound-system to vegan soul food--you can only find in Oakland. Yee!

The circle encourages young folks to get down

Nice legs! Props to the folks pedaling for sound. The entire Mighty 4 sound system was literally people powered. What a great idea!



With the theme of "Grow," the Estria Grafitti Battle encouraged some creative, bizarre, and inspiring pieces. The dude Vogue (bottom) takes the crown this year.


Scraper bikes. With the thump powered by a car battery.


Lil' John Francisco and (I think?) Mike Dream's son, commemorating the iconic Mike Dream through his art and memorabilia



Young people keeping skating alive

Mighty 4 one-on-one b-boy battle finalists Kareem and Richie

----

Only in Oakland Pt. 1- Mighty 4 and Estria Graffiti Battle photo essay

The legendary Estria being interviewed at the Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle

Only in Oakland, CA can a special event like the Mighty 4 11th Anniversary and the 3rd Annual Estria Invitational Graffiti Battle (and here) happen so beautifully. This past Saturday, October 10, hundreds if not thousands of hip hop and skate enthusiasts of all ages, all colors (but a mostly Black and Brown crowd) enjoyed the lovely East Bay weather at DeFremery Park, and of course partake in some colorful, genuine, 100% hip hop culture. Only in Oakland mayn!

Infinite props to Paulskee (Mighty 4/Rock Force Crew/Zulu Nation) for 11 years of organizing this hip hop institution. And congrats to Miss Paloma aka Papa Lo Down for helping coordinate the Estria Graffiti Battle happening simultaneously. The Pinays/Pinoys definitely represented.

Here's some pics and vids of the event:

Graffiti art surrounds the park, as graff writers compete for the Estria Battle crown

What's a hip hop event without Brazilian capoeira and Pacquiao jackets?

What's a pop battle without a Joey Guila sighting?

Pop battle judges at the bottom left. That's Bionic (John Bayani) of Supreme Soul far left.

Mighty 4 onlookers get down to Zapp and Roger in this spontaneous cipher

------

In the Cipher of Filipino Funk @ UC Irvine Tue. Oct 13!

Sparkin the cipha session at the 11th Annual Mighty 4 in Oakland

UC Irvine Kababayan Pilipino American History Month Presents:

"In the Cipher of Filipino Funk"
Tuesday, October 13 @ 7:00pm
UC Irvine Campus, Social Sciences Plaza A (SSPA) 1165



Why do Filipinos dominate on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC)? Is there a connection between Pilipino Culture Night and ABDC? And, why are Filipinos so into hip hop in the first place? In this interactive PAHM event lead by Mark Villegas, we will incorporate art in order to tackle these questions.

Get ready for some poetry yall! It's goin down!

----