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.
On Hard Knock Radio, host Davey D spoke with Dr. Matthew Whitaker, Executive Director of the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center in Phoenix, about a disturbing incident involving a police sergeant accused of provoking students at a Phoenix area high school during an anti ICE walkout. The conversation used that moment as a … Continued
Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with music scholar Dr. Rickey Vincent to mark KPFA’s 77th birthday by reflecting on one of the station’s most important legacies: the creation of its Third World Department in 1973. The conversation framed KPFA as more than a radio station. It was described as a political and … Continued
Anna Esaki-Smith joined Hard Knock Radio host Davey D for a timely and wide ranging conversation about the future of higher education, the narrowing of academic opportunity, and what is being lost when colleges are judged mainly by graduate earnings. Framed by recent developments in Indiana, the discussion explored how schools are increasingly being pushed … Continued
Oaklands Housing Crisis Deepens as Advocates Push Back on Criminalization of the Unhoused Oaklands ongoing housing crisis took center stage on Hard Knock Radio as host Davey D sat down with Needa B of The Village and Delilah Aviles, a youth organizer from East Oakland and member of the National Council to End Youth Homelessness. … Continued
On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, we sit down with Renaldo Maurice, principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, for a powerful conversation at the intersection of art, discipline, and cultural expression. Hailing from Gary, Indiana, Maurice shares his journey from a young athlete on the football field and track to becoming … Continued
Graal Swartz of Soul Mechanix joined Hard Knock Radio to talk with host Davey D about the group’s upcoming Isley Brothers tribute and the deeper importance of honoring legendary Black musicians while they are still here to receive their flowers. The conversation opened with Davey D reflecting on seeing Ron Isley still performing at 85 … Continued
Hard Knock Radio host Davey D sat down with members of the Scribes of Heru Writers Collective for a rich conversation about Black storytelling, collective work, and the power of writing as a tool for truth telling. The guests included Thurman Tee Watts, Jacqueline Elizabeth, Alan Laird, and Rickey Vincent, all of whom brought distinct … 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 this episode of Hard Knock Radio, Davey D brings together two powerful conversations that examine the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of truth, power, and liberation. From the rise of artificial intelligence to grassroots community organizing in Oakland, both guests highlight how narrative control is becoming one of the defining struggles of … Continued
On this episode of Hard Knock Radio, Davey D sat down with filmmaker Renee Moncada and Grammy winning producer Thomas McElroy to talk about Sons of the Sweet Science, a new documentary series that shines a light on Oakland’s deep boxing culture, family bonds, and the larger meaning behind the sport. Framed through a distinctly Bay … Continued
