Adam Baran

So for most people Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. But not for me!

Today I was searching for clips from Jamaa Fanaka movies on YouTube. Some background: Jamaa Fanaka got his start directing blaxploitation films in the 70’s, films like Black Sista’s Revenge and Soul Vengeance, and most notably the Penitentiary series. Here’s how Jabootu describes the Penitentiary films: “a rather over-the-top tale of a bantamweight boxer and his adventures in prison. Sequels followed in 1982 and 1987, each stranger than the one before. By its end the series featured more dwarves and transvestites than anything made outside of Italy.”

Soul Vengeance, aka, Welcome Home, Brother Charles is a sort of gang-revenge film about a man who gets ratted out by his crime buddy, sent to prison, where unseen by us, he’s experimented on and develops a curious ability. He’s able to stretch his penis out to massive lengths and strangle his enemies - the white cops who sent him up the river.

In the comments section for the above clip (posted by Jamaa himself under the screenname Bula Gordon) someone named Delon Baychester (!!!) writes (and no I can’t tell whether it’s tongue in cheek or not, but probably not):

“This is the type of film that the public wants to see now. You were ahead of your time on this one..

Peace
Delanor Baychester”

Fanaka/Bula is quite modest in his reply:

“Thanks for your support, Class. I’m certainly an original, that’s for sure.

Peace,

Jamaa”

After making a name for himself with exploitation films in the 70’s, Fanaka took a long, Stanley Kubrick-like break from film, only to reemerge in 1992 with his .32 magnum opus, Street Wars. Street Wars is not only my favorite of Fanaka’s films, it’s one of my favorite films ever made, a bizarre early 90’s mash-up of gang movies like Boyz in the Hood and New Jack City, The Godfather, and Star Wars. It tells the tale of Sugarpop, a young “top gun” whose trip home from boarding school changes his life when his older brother, the city’s top crack dealer, Frank is gunned down before his eyes. He’s forced to take over the family business, with help from his thug pal Humungus, bizarre Trannie gangsta Christie, and his grandma (Ma Gran), a bald wannabe Grace Jones with X-Ray vision. When their turf is threatened, the gang takes to the skies in these sort of flying dune-buggy propeller planes to gun down their rival gangs and clean up the streets through mass murder from up above. I screened it at my birthday party this year and the few and proud who were able to make it to the end were utterly transformed and thank me to this day for enlightening them. There’s a great, hilarious complete breakdown of the movie over at Jabootu, but I highly, highly recommend waiting until after the film before reading it.

I must reiterate - STREET WARS is a must-see. You will never be the same once you’ve seen it.

So anyway, instead of an unlucky day, it’s a lucky day because, as my friend (and co-bad movie watching buddy) Jim and I have been saying since we saw Street Wars, Fanaka needs to make another movie. And guess what? Apparently Jamaa’s in post-production on “HIP HOP HOPE” an “Underground hip-hop documentary musical.” Remember at the end of Breaking the Waves when Emily Watson is dead and the creepo husband is at her funeral and everyone hears the bells ringing from the heavens? Well that’s what it was like for me when I watched this clip:

There really aren’t words to describe the genius of seeing this man and realizing that he is his films. He talks exactly like the characters in his movies. I want to know him. I want to befriend him. I want to work on all his films. I want to look after him for a transformative weekend like in Scent of a Woman. In the comments section, Delon Baychester aka CLASS writes several personal messages to Fanaka - one says:

“Bula Gordon Helped me to becom the filmaker I am today.
You set the standard for black film makers.

Peace
Delanor Baychester

and Fanaka/Bula writes back:

“Dear Class:

You’re a class act. Looks like I’m gonna have to put off our appointment until Wednesday or Thursday. I’ve been kinda under-the-weather, too.

Peace,

Jamaa”

which gets this response:

” Ok. Let me know what is up. I left you a message. Delan”

WTF???

I found his MySpace Page which describes Del (I feel I know him now so I can use the familiar):

He has four photos of himself. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) three of them are the same picture. I think someone doesn’t know how to use MySpace properly.

“About me:
Just a down to earth cool brother that likes down to earth people.
Who I’d like to meet:
Down women that like to have fun. I prefer foreigners and open minded women. I am a big hip hop jazz buff. Let’s chill.”

His interests are:

“General : Music, music, music and more music. I love writing and listing to music.
Music: Music, music, music and more music. I love writing and listing to music.
Movies: I am a huge movie fan. If I am not living with music, I am living with film….
Television: I rarely watch television. I read a lot but, no TV…
Books: The Artist Way, The Celestine Prophecy
Heroes: Bruce Lee, James Brown, Eddie Harris, Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor.”

This begs the question if he likes Jamaa Fanaka so much - how come neither he nor his alter-ego Bula Gordon is listed as Del’s heroes?

So I go to search for Delanor Baychester aka Class and I find several listings for “Delanor Baychester Presents Class” CD’s. Here’s Delanor’s/Class’s Biography: (BTW, are they two different people? Fanaka/Bula writes his replies to Delanor to Class, so I’m inclined to think yes) (PS: What is with all these pseudonyms!!!??)

“Class is a man on a mission!

Class is a performance artist with a style uniquely his own. He considers his music a mixture of acid jazz, hip-hop, R&B and Rap. A self-contained artist, producer, writer, engineer and promoter - this brother does it all!

Born Robert D. Bassett, Jr., and raised in the Baychester Projects of the Bronx, New York, Class always watched people free-style and have rap battles at block parties. This motivated him to work day in and day out on his rapping style, technique and writing. Class always had a rhyme in mind and was ready to perform at a moment’s notice. He never failed to excite the crowd with his electrifying power on the Mic.

Class later joined the Navy where he began to DJ and free-style at the American Legion. He was based in Seattle, Washington, and during this time he hooked up with Mr. Swift and B-Max with whom he created the group Brothers of the Same Mind. They began performing around the northwestern United States and in British Columbia, opening for such acts as RUN D.M.C., ICE CUBE, DJ QUICK and SCARFACE. Class and Brothers of the Same Mind were mentioned in the an issue of the Source magazine in the Unsigned Hype department as one of the best unsigned acts out.

Ever confident, Class went solo, which gave him total creative control over his musical style and direction. Even more opportunities opened up for him and he worked with other groups like S.W.V., HAMMER, PUBLIC ENEMY and Jeff Globlum(From the movie “The Fly”) . Class was selected to perform at Seattle’s Annual Bumbershoot Festival of the Arts. He has also performed in Los Angles clubs like the Mint, Los Palma’s and

The “Cocoanut Teaser” . At the same time, he ventured into modeling and acting, and appeared as an extra in the blockbuster movies Sleepless in Seattle and Disclosure. In addition to promoting his singing and acting careers, he is busy helping other artists by engineering, writing, and producing for them. He has since relocated to Los Angeles and he is currently In LACC Film School getting things in order to take Los Angeles to “Class” with his distinctive expression.

Class has degrees in both Audio Engineering and Midi Production has allowed enabling him to produce, engineer, mix and create a style that is literally representative of his name, Class. This quality is also apparent in work he has done for other upcoming artists. Class also runs his own publishing company, which he uses to publish his music and that of others.

With all of this you can see that Class truly is a man on a mission - a mission that can’t be ignored! So, the next time you’re in the mood for a unique mixture of rhythm and rhyme, check out the sophisticated original lyrics with a “touch of class” from the brother Class.

For booking information, call: (323)-266-0295″

But maybe I’ve gotten off track. This posting is supposed to be about Jamaa.

I just want to say and this is really the whole point of the posting - today I am happy. There will be a new Jamaa Fanaka film, and it will be good. I don’t care if it’s just a documentary, it will be genius. He is Risen. The description for the clip on Youtube says, “He calls his films “moving pictures” because he seeks to MOVE people in his works, move them in the right direction.”

And he certainly does.

Thank you for your time.

PS. Add Delanor Baychester as your MySpace friend. He’s only got 28 friends and I feel bad. How about we all show him we love him?