Adisa "The Bishop" Banjoko has been in the hip-hop game for nearly 20 years and is a noted journalist specializing in the hip-hop genre. The activist runs a popular blog which focuses on hip-hop, politics, Islam, chess and martial arts.

The blog is a melange of essays, links and audio files of progressive issues. Banjoko's affinity for chess is apparent and has penned articles on ChessBase.com featuring the Wu Tang Clan and Maurice Ashley.

On his blog are links to very interesting clips. One three-part series titled, "Chess, Race and Class" describes an experience he had while looking for chess lessons for his son. A native of California, he talked about the changing demographics in America and what that would mean to the Black-White paradigm that has defined American race politics.

According to his site, www.lyricalswords.com, Adisa Banjoko, named one of the top 20 under 40 by California's most prestigious magazines. He has been a respected journalist for over 15 years and has appeared in The Source, The Harvard Hip Hop Archive, San Francisco Chronicle, XXL, VIBE, Grappling, Yoga Journal, Daveyd.com, Rapstation.com, Allhiphop.com and Pacific News Service. He also hosts the One Mic Radio show, which is downloadable at iciclenetworks.com. Check out his three-part series!

Posted by The Chess Drum: 18 November 2006