On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland

As both a means of empowerment and a magnet for policing, Black dance music has transformed not only Oakland’s nightlife, but also its streets, parks, and neighborhoods. From the mobilization of funk music and boogaloo dance during Black Power to the policing of the Hyphy movement in the 2000s, Black dance music is not merely a soundtrack to or record of urban resistance, argues geographer, DJ, and housing justice advocate Alex Werth in On Loop: Black Sonic Politics in Oakland. Rather, its very sound waves have animated looping clashes over development, dispossession, and Black freedom. Through studies of downtown nightclubs, Lake Merritt, and the Eastmont Mall—geographies rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland’s culture and politics—Werth reveals how the liberatory sonic politics of funk, hip-hop, and hyphy rap have been met with a repetitive “war on nuisance.” Joining him is Yakpasua Zazaboi, filmmaker, who is featured in the book .The Oaklandside’s arts and community reporter Azucena Rasilla will moderate this discussion about studies of the geographies that are rarely considered, yet critical to Oakland’s culture and politics, and how struggles over Black sound have shaped Oakland’s culture, politics, and geography.