4:00 PM PACIFIC TIME: MONDAYS - FRIDAYS
Hard Knock Radio is a drive-time Hip-Hop talk show on KPFA (94.1fm @ 4-5 pm Monday-Friday), a community radio station without corporate underwriting. Hosts Davey D and Anita Johnson give voice to issues ignored by the mainstream while planting seeds for social change.
Davey D of Hard Knock Radio spoke with Mohamed Shehk of AROC, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, about May Day actions, ICE, immigrant detention, and the growing need for multiracial solidarity. Shehk began by explaining that AROC provides legal services, community support, advocacy, and organizing for Arab and Muslim communities in the Bay Area. He stressed … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with housing advocate Evangeline Byars of the People’s Coalition to Stop Deed Theft for a sobering conversation about how Black families, especially elders, are being stripped of homes and generational wealth through a web of legal manipulation, fraud, and institutional neglect. Byars made clear that deed … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with acclaimed poet, recording artist, organizer and activist Aja Monet for a wide ranging conversation about poetry, Hip Hop, Black expression and her new album The Color of Rain. The conversation opened with Davey D reflecting on Monet’s song “Black Joy,” joking that her poems kept … Continued
(HKR-04-27-26):On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with writer, social commentator and conflict mediator Juno Aventurine about identity politics, cancel culture and the tensions showing up in contemporary leftist spaces. Aventurine began by distinguishing identity politics from what she calls leftist identitarianism. She noted that identity politics grew out of the Combahee River Collective, … Continued
Davey D sits down with Aleah of Youth Speaks during National Poetry Month to reflect on the organization’s 30 year legacy and its ongoing work cultivating young voices across the Bay Area. Aleah, who manages youth programs, frames Youth Speaks as a vital “third space” where young people learn cultural history, develop their voice, and … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with Derwin Brown, artist, archivist, sound system builder, and founder of Black American Sound System, for a wide-ranging conversation about history, technology, Black cultural memory, and the Bay Area’s deep relationship to sound. Brown, a former San Francisco State student with a background in music and political science/law, explained … Continued
On a powerful episode of Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with filmmaker Byron Hurt and Will DuBose of the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence to unpack the roots of gender based violence and the urgent need for accountability, healing, and community intervention. The conversation began with Davey D laying out a disturbing … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo of Tao Rising, Jean Melesaine, a Bay Area cultural worker and storyteller, Alex Locust, a disability justice artist and activist, and Sophia Tupuola, a creative problem solver, author, illustrator, and youth organizer, about the launch of Culture Keepers, a new Bay Area project designed to uplift artists, organizers, and community builders whose … Continued
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D sat down with two longtime educators and community thinkers to unpack the forces shaping Black life, education, and public policy. His guests were Dr. David Stovall, professor of Black Studies and Criminology, Law and Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago, and Hodari Bayano Davis, Chief Innovation Officer … Continued
Hard Knock Radio marked the 35th anniversary of Digital Underground’s landmark debut, Sex Packets, with a lively and reflective conversation between Davey D, Money B, and longtime manager Atron Gregory. The interview moved well beyond nostalgia, giving listeners a vivid look at the creativity, discipline, humor, and musical vision that made the album a West Coast … Continued
