You Do You Crew (2019)

José Vadi follows visual artist Andrew Wilson for a week in San Francisco, documenting a SOMArts exhibition opening and an ongoing six-month performance at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

This short is a companion to Vadi’s larger written profile on Wilson featured in Issue 5 of New Life Quarterly published in Oakland by Wolfman Books.

Shot / Edited by José Vadi

You Do You: Nappy Nina (originally published September 1, 2019)

In support of her well-received new album The Tree Act, we caught up with Oakland-via-Brooklyn MC, Nappy Nina, between shows, where she discussed Seattle becoming her third home, returning home to Oakland, and her recent European stint with fellow Oakland native Ambrose Akinmusire — and how these shows continued a three-generations-deep jazz legacy in her family tree. – José Vadi

You Do You: You’ve had a super busy year.

Nappy Nina: Yeah, the year has been really crazy, the past seven months.

When did The Tree Act come out?

January, end of January.

How did it feel coming back to Oakland and doing Oakhella and Smartbomb, two very unique, very Bay Area shows

Smartbomb felt like the ultimate homecoming. Those are the rooms that I love, just a bunch of beat heads, like the culture of the Bay Area, the culture I grew up around, was super present and I felt like I haven’t been able to be my performing self yet until that Smartbomb show. That show was amazing. I left just feeling all the love in the world for home, which sometimes is not easy to do.

And then coming back for Oakhella was a celebration. I got to play with Quelle Chris – our relationship’s grown over this year – and it just felt like kind of proving myself to folks from home. There were folks from high school there who didn’t know that I was really really rapping, and they were pretty surprised.

And then this weekend you just came back from Philly, how’d those go?

Philly was cool, I got to open for Baby Mother who’s someone I’m really enjoying right now, so that was a dream in of itself. The vibe in Philly was cool, it felt like home, sometimes when you go to other cities it just feels weird and you’re like Oh are people going to rock with it? But it was cool, people’s ears were open so I really appreciated that. And the room was mostly like queer, POC, which is like the best places to play.

With your recent stint with Ambrose Akinmusire and more traditional jazz audiences, how was the transition playing in front of a totally different, international audience?

It was – phew – it was definitely interesting. I felt like I was in boot camp, like it was Hip Hop Olympics.

One, Ambrose is not like a regular jazz guy. Being with him out there really showed me that he’s someone who takes risk in jazz, and people either really love him for that or people just don’t like to listen, which I feel is something that’s similar with my own music. Being there with him felt like, you know, I was supposed to be there; not only because he’s from Oakland.

Playing in front of those super huge jazz crowds was definitely interesting. I had moments when I was on stage just thinking like Man, are they even listening to this, is this relevant to this scene I’m in? But also performing in front of such large crowds I feel like just helped me when I came back. Now I feel unfazed, whereas before I felt super paranoid about what other people were thinking in the crowd and really just tapped into how the crowd was feeling. Now I just feel more comfortable with just myself on stage. Those jazz fest sets were sometimes like 75 minutes long and sometimes I just had to stand there and be on stage, you know?

It was just a trip being over there and just thinking the whole time Some of these stages my grandfather used to play on. He was a drummer, a jazz drummer. Just the full circle-ness of being from Oakland and traveling Europe and playing in these amazing places was kind of….trippy.

This is your Dad’s [Greg Bridges] father?

Yeah. West Oakland native, Oliver Johnson.

Who’d he play with?

He played in Paris for 30 years, I know he played in one band with Jean-Luc Ponty, but he played with a whole bunch of people. When I was in France a few years back I played a hip hop show and some woman who knew who my grandfather was and totally tripped out.

Did you and your brother stay with him out there with him?

No, actually he passed away a few years ago when I was maybe sixteen? He moved from Oakland and really just became an ex-Pat. He just stayed out there. I only met him a couple times in Oakland but his life was pretty much in France, and that’s why I have an Uncle who lives out there.

And then your Dad being super into jazz himself and a jazz DJ, there’s just so many connections–

Yeah I couldn’t escape my Dad when I was on the tour (laughs). People were coming up to me or Ambrose being like Oh I heard Greg’s daughter’s playing with you, like I met so many people because of my Dad on this tour.

And then you come home and the Danny Brown show [Danny’s House] is live.

Yeah, the timing seems to be in my favor right now.

It’s a pretty crazy show, super all over the place. How’d you think the whole bodega scene came out?

I love the director, I loved working with him. It was another instance that was kind of full circle – the DP on the shoot had worked on Black Inc., which is the show I worked on as a Production Assistant and Production Coordinator for years. Being in front of the camera was like just a shift, you know? Like Ok – things are serious. And I recorded the episode in January, the day after the album came out. Seeing how it came out I was pretty satisfied, I had a fun time shooting. I love all the artists involved in the show, and I’m really thankful they even thought of me to come be a part of it.

What’s your DJ’s name again?

Twelve45

I feel like Seattle’s a third home for you now a bit. How does it feel going back there? I feel like you’ve been there as much as Oakland this passed year.

What happened was I met Stas THEE Boss in Brooklyn. We met prior, but we started hanging out in Brooklyn. She’s always been a super huge inspiration. When she moved out to Seattle, I brought it upon myself to make sure to go out there all the time and make music.

Seattle has a crazy legacy of just weirder, more risk-taking hip hop, I would say. Stuff that stands out. And I got family out there – Stas, JusMoni, Shabazz Palaces – it’s super welcoming and chill. I can’t help but show love because without Seattle I really wouldn’t have found a way to make the hip hop that I like to make.

I feel like your in-studio performance at KEXP almost kickstarted this whole Tree Act era for you. Did you get a lot of response from it?

It was before the album. That was my first time performing those songs live so there’s definitely some hiccups when I go back and watch it. The Tree Act was a lot of people’s first introduction to me, even though I’ve been rockin’ for years, so that performance was super special. Definitely broadened my audience.

How does it make you feel to see it on vinyl, see DJs playing it, and seeing it out in the world?

It just makes me feel like it’s all possible. Everything that I’ve ever wanted my rap career to be or my music to be, it’s all happening, all in due time. I really try to avoid those clichés, but every cliché about like putting your head down and working hard and believing in what the fuck you believe in and knowing that it will pay off – all of that feels true right now. I’m not out here ballin’, I’m not living the rap dream. But for me, with all these things that have come within this year I’m really seeing that it is possible for me to live off my art, and that’s always been the most important.

Get The Tree Act on vinyl and more at Nappy Nina’s Bandcamp.