One hip-hop queen and one troubadour in the mix
By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
We've got good news. We've got bad news.
In search of eclectic non-Christmas-related live entertainment downtown tonight, we found wicked fierce SoCal hip-hop diva Medusa at her very own "Medusa's Ball," and peace-seeking world beat musician/free spirit Fantuzzi at "Solstice Sounds."
Yup, that's the good news.
The bad news? You're gonna have to choose between the ying and the yang, as both artists are scheduled to perform somewhere around 10 p.m. at their respective venues.
We'd never dream of choosing for you. So allow us instead to offer some introductions.
Medusa
Los Angeles-based underground hip-hop queen Medusa is often referred to as the Angela Davis of her genre. But lest you get the wrong impression, it ain't all about the voluminous 'fro.
Underground hip-hop artist Medusa headlines the benefit Girl Fest event named in her honor tonight at Studio 1.
Like the '70s black activist, Medusa is fiercely outspoken and proudly left of mainstream. She's also all about empowerment. In her case, it's the empowerment of women, gays and, closer to home, herself in what's still overwhelmingly a man's man's man's world of hip-hop.
Girl Fest co-founder Kathryn Xian wanted Medusa to perform at the organization's third benefit/party so badly, she named the event in honor of the musician the day she got a confirmation. The resulting art and entertainment fest "Medusa's Ball" goes down tonight at Studio1.
"We booked her and then framed the theme of the event around her," said Xian. "The things she says speak toward equity and equality between the sexes. In the (hip-hop) genre ... the gender differences are extreme. You've got gangsta (rap) and you've got a large suppression of female voices. And then you have Medusa. And she's just this Africana queen."
(Medusa missed a scheduled phone interview with The Advertiser. Our requests to schedule another interview time went unanswered.)
Medusa
A staple on L.A.'s after-hours club scene since the early '90s, Medusa earned "Hip Hop Artist of the Year" honors in 2001 and 2002 from the LA Weekly. Somewhat retired from battle rhyming (though not free-styling), she is also a former Rap Sheet Emcee World Champion.
As an actress, she appeared in the 2001 HBO film "Stranger Inside" and in director Rachel Raimist's 2003 "Nobody Knows My Name" this year. The latter will be screened at "Medusa's Ball" at 7:30 p.m.
Adhering to Girl Fest's mission of using education and entertainment to prevent domestic violence and encourage positive representation of women, "Medusa's Ball" will include the organization's now signature party mix of art and artists. Appearing will be First Thursdays founder/poet Kealoha's 2003 Hawai'i slam team and Rebel Girl, Kaua'i funk/hip-hop band The Ineebz, modern dance artists Giinko Marischino and Sami Akuna, and belly dancer Samira.
Stay for the after-party with turntable work by Sisters In Sound, DJ Primitiv, DJ Lady J and a live performance by Communication.
Fantuzzi
I hear ya. What the heck is a Fantuzzi?
He calls himself a global troubadour and fun master whose goal is to spread world peace. San Francisco-based Fantuzzi brings his "mystical, Afro-funkadelic, Latin reggae" sound to Soullenz studio tonight.
"Since you asked, I'd describe myself as a global troubadour and fun master," said the mono-monikered world beat musician. "I've brought celebration and joy to circles pretty much all over the globe for the last 25 or 30 years."
He proved it, too, with tales of musical travels to faraway places — Bali, Morocco, Brazil, Jamaica, India, Israel, Puna.
"I'm a Puna-tic all the way, braddah," Fantuzzi said of his five years on the Big Island in the mid-'80s.
Fantuzzi claimed San Francisco as his base, but confessed that wherever he lay one of his many hats was home. Since 1992, he's been globe-trotting on a self-financed, open-ended "Save the Earth Tour and World Peace Pilgrimage" of music and peace sharing.
"Explain it? I'd love to write a book about it someday," Fantuzzi said of the tour/pilgrimage. "It has a lot to do with giving your all wherever you go, and being happy with whatever you get."
Genial to a fault and crazy charismatic, Fantuzzi finds venues to perform in and friends to perform with wherever he goes. Sometimes he stays days, sometimes a month.
Fantuzzi
Trying to remain a free spirit in the modern world, however, isn't always a walk in Eden. Inflexible airline schedules in particular frustrate the 52-year-old. Still, he is nothing if not optimistic. His mission: spreading peace. His goal: nothing short of world peace.
Fantuzzi's travel stories (ask him about Woodstock and the rattlesnake that nearly killed him) almost made me forget to ask about his music.
"I've lately called the music mystical, Afro-funkadelic, Latin reggae," he said, chuckling. It's a mouthful he'll be showcasing tonight with a couple of Honolulu-based musician friends at "Solstice Sounds," a party at Soullenz Studio in Chinatown. Fantuzzi will sing, play guitar and handle some percussion.
Fantuzzi went on to spin yarns about meeting and jamming off-stage with Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and on-stage with Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Billy Preston, Babatunde Olatunji and even Tommy Chong. He ended our chat with the kind of life reflection that only a global troubadour and fun master could possess.
"I like my freedom, bro. I've had the most amazing, free life. I can choose to go anywhere anytime. It's a huge blessing. And I'll go wherever the wind blows me."
Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.
