 While the arrests were going on, the rally and concert went on in full force. Rico of the group Prophets of Rage kicked it off with a devastating set that brought the crowd to its feet. He dropped some searing lyrics about the building of prisons and how people deserve better. He was later followed by a number of local acts which included a break dancing crew, DJ Fuze and Local 1200 on the turntables, singer Goapele who left people totally hyped, The Cuff and far too many groups then I can possibly name. Although I spoke to Dead Prez, I had to leave to go on air before they performed. The day ended with the large gathering marching down to the local freeway and blocking the exit ramp as a show of protest.
 What was interesting was the resulting mainstream news coverage. I along with scores of other folks filmed the event and conducted interviews. I watched as the reporters on hand filmed the rappers and other artists. I also saw them look at the over flowing crowd. Imagine my surprise when I heard the evening coverage and the local TV stations showed a sparse crowd that was no where near the actual rally. They tried to reduce the event, by classifying the event as a 'teen rally' which brought out only 500 people. Well its a good thing it was filmed.. And its a good thing we have alternative mediums to help get the correct story out to the masses. A quick look at the footage will let you know there were much, much larger numbers. It will also show that the gathering was primarily adults and not just teens. We'll be putting up footage within the next week on the website. What was beautiful was the role teens played in putting this rally together. They succeeded in bringing out a Bay Area's who's who within Hip Hop. They also succeeded in putting this rally together without a hitch. Yesterday's rally and concert kicked off a week of protests around Prop 21. The big event everyone is gearing up for is the Black Star/ MeShell Ndegeocello and Ozomatli concert on March 3rd in Santa Cruz.
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