Now... I've rapped since 1985-6...really since I heard Whodini rap his brother's written lyrics, at least I heard his brother wrote the more political raps the group 'spit'. When I heard the term friends, I couldn' t help but wonder what it really meant. The line, "You can look it up again and again, but the dictionary doesn't have the meaning of friends. Friends.....How many others have them?"
Now, since everything has been coming full circle with me I guess I have to speak on the reason for this logo I chose as a band name. It's another long and recalling story that connects like Pee Wee Hermans dots..."la la, connect the dots."
I couldn't stop thinking about this term. Even after all was said and done with my marriage and my father, I felt I had very few friends. My father always said, "There are some people you can trust with your life and not your money, and some people you can trust with your money, but not your life and very very few you can trust with your life and your money". I took that to be the degrees of friendship, the degrees of relationship. The difference between aquintances and friends my mother said, "would have to be understood." Everyone thought I was a little too giving, forgiving and friendly growing up. As if to say, "You can't trust anybody but family." That's what I gathered. At least the message I recieved was 'friends are a choice and family is a given'. I chose to start off on my own path... I chose to collect a group of people I would take pleasure in seeing each week for rehearsal and feel comfortable being me with each week and grow with in many ways. I wanted to begin my journey with my own vision of Collective Creation.
For the past year I've pondered the idea of friendship. I walked close with some people and witnessed a group of people act as a family should idealy function. I stepped out of the circle when I broke up with a very unforgettable woman, who'd been in my corner after all was said and done...w/ ya know... Anyway, she was a friend to me. I pushed and pulled her in the fluctuation of my father's disease of Cancer. I used her friendship to the fullest and vanished beyond the moon from her circle. When I emerged from my solitude and isolation, I saw the light. The dots began to make sense as they connected relationship and frienship as synonomous in sickness and in health till death do us part. I didn't ask her to marry me, I realized something about friendship and relationships, like plants they must be given attention and monitored for the best outcome. What you put into one is what it will give you back in return, ideally.
So...Long story short, because it could be longer, I worked with BFO and I worked with IZUM and I went from background singer to guest Lead Singer to sharing a group of my own with band members I feel comfortable building a relationship with, people I want to call FrendZ.
I decided to work in the spirit of community and create a circle of frendz that share a common goal and who will take an equal responsibility in maintaining that goal, openly and honestly. A group of people all interested in giving their absolute best and share in the gifts of giving and recieving in Frendship. FRENDZ 

In 2001 I was called Blackulah from wearing my now favorite jacket. It's a peacoat with flavor. David Jones my Producer and best frend called me that one time, while in Indianapolis, Indiana. He laughed his azz off and jokingly said, "Damn teem, you look like Blackulah or some shiii...lol." I laughed with him and remembered an old movie my homeboy Tiyo showed me back in my Cal State Northridge dayz. The actor, unknown to me, was from Pacoima, Ca., where Tiyo and the Pacoima Pirus resided. They took me under their wings when I hooked up with ole' Blodo.
I find it extremely interesting how I've recieved many alias names over the years. From my first nickname 'Boudji', given to me by my Pop to me reclaiming Atiim to let everyone know I was nolonger the young kid Boudji, I was a big boy named Atiim. Next I went to West Lake Jr. High School and wanted to fit in. I convinced a group of bad azz boys I was crazy by running through traffic to touch one side and without looking ran back...If you saw the street I ran across you would see how ridiculous the dare waz. I was ssssstupid. Then I played the Trumbone well and hung out with the Stoners as the look-out and occassional smoker. Anyway, I got the name Bazerko, after a cartoon character of the day, it was 1988 then. They said, "Damn man, you hella crazy! Yo name got to be Bazerko!" I laughed and felt accepted.
Next I went to Martin Luther King, Jr. Jr High School in Berkeley, Ca. and fit right in with my first rap group Gangsta's By Heart (GBH). It was me aka Bo-Money, Alvin aka Al-Dog, and Mianza aka Anzabo, around the time JukeBox waz rockin cable TV. Bo-Money...I felt the need to create an alias fitting to my mentor of rap Too $hort at the time. I wanted to be Too $hort yall. Bioooooch! lol. Anyway..., A dude everyone feared gave me the name Snuff, as in Snufalufagus from Seasame St. Yeah...Okay. I didn't argue with him. Instead I gladly took the name and felt again...accepted. He was from SPP, San Pablo Park and they were a group of young Gangstas in Berkeley. I ran with them at 'King' and fit right in.
Then...I decided to get involved with a frendz idea. My mentor at Berkeley High School, Hodari Davis asked me one day in transition to 10th grade, "Hey man! I'm going to start a fresh crew called Live Lyricist Society based off of that movie that jus' came out, Dead Poets Society. It's gonna be dope! You want to help me out? I'm thinkin' bout meeting once a week during lunch and teachin' yall how to use your vocals and how to free style maaan. It's gonna be Fresh Teem." I was Boudji all over again. I got with a frend from LLS and we called ourselves 'The Fourth Kind', based off of some movie I never saw about contact of the 3rd kind with UFO's. We were the 4th Kind.
After all was said and done with my De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest dayz at BHS and in LLS, I started to run with my cousins more often. Young adult hood rushed me with hormones and I joined an even cooler group of people...my cousins. We called ourselves the 211 Click. Yes...that's right the police code for robbery. You'll have to listen close to my song called "What'zup?!" to hear a glimpse of what we did together. Anyway, from that we formed a group called 5N'Dime. It was a merging of Rollz Royce, then Royce D, and Stagolee, then Flex Uno's group 'The Nu Era Foot Clan' and me, solo LLS rapper that just stopped rapping with Kamau from 4th Kind. I chose the name Black Bomani to honor my new experience in the world away from my parents and into Adolescence...
Berkeley High School had the only African American Studies Department in my knowledge then and from 9th to 11th grade I was a young leader there. In fact I was nominated President of the African Students Association in 10th grade and changed the name to the African Students Organization, because I said, "We are not here to associate, we are here to organize!" lol. I was bold. I got the name from my constituents, Brotha Atiim. It was in 11th grade I really ran the streets with my cousins and brother; Young Re, Royce D, Flex Uno, and our patna (rip) Young Rod. We had fun.
I finally decided to leave town and experience something outside of my box. I had to leave home. It was 1987 when my father moved back home from work, the same year I began to write lyrics of any kind. In 1989 he moved us out to Berkeley and suggested we all attend Berkeley High School, his almamodore. We had a lot of missed time to catch up on. It was only two years since he'd been a full-time father and my roll as 'the man of the house' had been taken. I guess this explains some things to me about my behavior then, but I had to get out of his nest. We were clashing too much. So, I decided to leave town for San Fernando Valley's California State University, of Northridge in Fall Semester. It wasn't until my Spring semester when I hooked up with Tiyo and Frendz. Wooo Wooo! The 2P's Gangstaz. I had crip frendz from Compton too, but I generally kicked it with the Piru, even with both Piru and Ramon Crips or Sex Jerks. Anyway, they all called me Oaktown. Oaktown from Oakland. I was Bangin' The Town (Oakland).
It wasn't until 2000 that I started to reflect on all the names I had either recieved and how and wondering what the best name would be.

I had just asked my college girl frend to marry me at our graduation ceremony...yeah. And I started off to fulfill my dream, my happiness. I was in pursuit of my happiness. I managed to graduate two Universities with BA's but I hadn't done anything too big musically. 5N'Dime pursued perfection and time passed us by. I had to do something about it. Songz from this energy are; 'Aspirations of Higher Livin', 'I'm trying to get a lump out here', 'Time iz Money', 'What'zup?!"...all on my album "IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS...". Anyway, during my recording of that album I lived in Bakersfield, CA with my wife and I flew to Indianapolis once a month to record with David Jones the TuneMaster of BackYard Studios.
I thought about naming myself something catchy like, Serious or Time, even Life...I thought about just "Atiim". Who heard of that? Using your real name. 2Pac did it and I was inspired by his voice and music. The world hadn't know a Famous Atiim to my knowledge (I was wrong about that), but what did I want to name myself?
I stuck with Atiim aka Black Bomani. I chose to introduce my real name and move away from the alias life. I wanted to discover myself and give of myself in my all. I wanted to solidify me. So...my marriage plane took off and landed me right back in the Bay Area where my father was extremely sick.
Coming full circle with my reasoning to leave the Bay Area in the first place, I started singing with Bekka's Frogland Orchestra under Atiim Chenzira. Chenzira by the way is the name my fiance at the time and I chose from a list of names we both composed. I wanted a new last name since my days in BHS because it represented self-determination to me and reclaiming my own identity, as opposed to being Toby I wanted to be Kunta Kinte. Chenzira means 'born on a journey'. My father started this tradition. He and my mother wanted to name all of their kids names with meanings to give us all purpose. Atiim means Violent in Arabic and Bomani Means Warrior inNgoni (Malawi). Violent Warrior, Born on a journey. Atiim also means, after the most famous Arabian man of an unknown period in Arabia, then still a part of Africa, Extremely Generous. Pronounced Hak teem. He would give even the shirt off of his back in generousity. I identify with Hakteem. Maybe I've returned to this time to shed my light again? I don't know, but maaaaybe I do...? hmm.
Anyway, Atiim Chenzira it was on stage and in my everyday life. Even after divorce I kept the name because it is my name alone and it gave me stregnth and purpose. "We" were never really Chenzira's, but I waz and I will be as long as I am.
When I returned home to Berkeley from my California living I had unfinished business with 5N'Dime. We were still pursuing perfection and decided after I recorded In Pursuit of Happiness... to cut an album with D-Jones called 'The Classic'. Finally...finally. It was done. The Classic was finished and my father had passed on. I am still a 5N'Dimer and my stage name is still Black Bomani, but I started using Atiim Chenzira more and more, while singing with BFO.
Last, I hooked up with IZUM and guess what? After finding my chemistry with this great and eclectic Bay Area Funk/Jazz/ Hip group... The sax player, Jacob Leland, introduces me to the crowd at Jupiter as MC Blackulah. lol. He said he would, playingly, during rehearsal for this gig, but I didn't take him Serious... Now...my story finally rests. After all the name calling and re-calling, I am Atiim Chenzira aka Black Bomani aka MC Blackulah.
Take a break and come back...