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Host Davey D opens with “Am I Human?” and frames Samora Pinderhughes as a Bay-raised, Juilliard-trained composer/pianist/vocalist who blends jazz, R&B, and movement work. Samora embraces that lineage—crediting his parents’ community praxis—and talks frankly about maintaining integrity in an industry that rewards spectacle and “Black dysfunction.” The antidote, for him, is purpose and craft.
On abolition, Samora widens the lens: prisons, policing, ICE, detention, border regimes, environmental racism, and food deserts are linked systems. Abolition isn’t just “no prisons,” it’s building funded, known alternatives and cross-movement solidarity—nationally and globally. He stresses having real answers (law, courts, community safety) and doing the homework so the art is grounded.
Enter Black Spring, a “mixtape” built over five years. It’s meant as a soundtrack for this moment: some pieces chant-ready, some question-driven, others intimate—naming the nihilism younger folks feel and offering release and activation. He spotlights “Star-Blooded Work Song,” his flip on the national anthem prompted by Harry Belafonte.
On tools and trends, Samora is proudly old school—anti-AI, pro-craft. Piano remains about harmony, rhythm, and the emotional center. Collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Robert Glasper taught him relentless curiosity and elite collaboration—while nudging his Virgo perfectionism toward flow without losing detail.
He shows love for the contemporary jazz constellation (Thundercat, Kamasi, FlyLo, Kendrick), noting shared tradition with fiercely individual voices. Beyond music, Samora’s visual work is surging—an upcoming MoMA exhibition with two-channel experimental film he co-directs and scores.
Community work runs through The Healing Project: narrative change by/for people impacted by the prison-industrial complex, co-ownership ethics, a traveling choir, “healing rooms,” and recent pieces like the Keith Lamar Suite (Keith also appears on “Am I Human?”). Politically, he’s “Team Zora/Zoran” in New York’s moment, riffing with Davey on culture as electoral counter-force. The convo lands on the Bay: Yerba Buena Gardens, Sat. Sept 20, 2pm, with Soul Development—maybe even a family cameo on flute.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
The post Samora Pinderhughes on Craft, Abolition, and the Soundtrack of Now appeared first on KPFA.
Host Davey D opens with “Am I Human?” and frames Samora Pinderhughes as a Bay-raised, Juilliard-trained composer/pianist/vocalist who blends jazz, R&B, and movement work. Samora embraces that lineage—crediting his parents’ community praxis—and talks frankly about maintaining integrity in an industry that rewards spectacle and “Black dysfunction.” The antidote, for him, is purpose and craft.
On abolition, Samora widens the lens: prisons, policing, ICE, detention, border regimes, environmental racism, and food deserts are linked systems. Abolition isn’t just “no prisons,” it’s building funded, known alternatives and cross-movement solidarity—nationally and globally. He stresses having real answers (law, courts, community safety) and doing the homework so the art is grounded.
Enter Black Spring, a “mixtape” built over five years. It’s meant as a soundtrack for this moment: some pieces chant-ready, some question-driven, others intimate—naming the nihilism younger folks feel and offering release and activation. He spotlights “Star-Blooded Work Song,” his flip on the national anthem prompted by Harry Belafonte.
On tools and trends, Samora is proudly old school—anti-AI, pro-craft. Piano remains about harmony, rhythm, and the emotional center. Collaborations with Herbie Hancock and Robert Glasper taught him relentless curiosity and elite collaboration—while nudging his Virgo perfectionism toward flow without losing detail.
He shows love for the contemporary jazz constellation (Thundercat, Kamasi, FlyLo, Kendrick), noting shared tradition with fiercely individual voices. Beyond music, Samora’s visual work is surging—an upcoming MoMA exhibition with two-channel experimental film he co-directs and scores.
Community work runs through The Healing Project: narrative change by/for people impacted by the prison-industrial complex, co-ownership ethics, a traveling choir, “healing rooms,” and recent pieces like the Keith Lamar Suite (Keith also appears on “Am I Human?”). Politically, he’s “Team Zora/Zoran” in New York’s moment, riffing with Davey on culture as electoral counter-force. The convo lands on the Bay: Yerba Buena Gardens, Sat. Sept 20, 2pm, with Soul Development—maybe even a family cameo on flute.
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting, hosted by Davey D and Anita Johnson.
The post Samora Pinderhughes on Craft, Abolition, and the Soundtrack of Now appeared first on KPFA.