Black Love Oakland: A profanity-free hip-hop album for the community

OAKLAND, Calif. - Tucked below West Oakland's Nimitz Freeway lies a recording studio in an area steeped with Black history. Inside, an organization called Kingmakers of Oakland recently produced an entire profanity-free hip-hop album created by and in celebration of Black youth. 

The group says Black youth in Oakland are often portrayed through a negative lens. With the new album – Black Love – they offer an inspiring message of joy, beauty and community resilience. 

"This place means everything," says Alonzo Henderson, who contributed to and is featured on the album. He is a program facilitator for the organization and works in an A&R capacity for the group. In the heyday of record labels, A&R meant someone who scouts and develops new talent. 

"We come here, we work with youth," says Henderson. "This is kind of an incubator for youth to come and just grow different levels of artistry and express their creativity."

Henderson freestyles for our camera crew from the recording studio. 

Let it flow 

"Mic check, one two. Make sure they're hearing me. 

Rockin' Kingmakers, these the makings of a king. We play the game for the win. I'm gon' take one for the team. Naw mean? Cuz these my brothers that they speaking of.

We gon' hold our students down to lift our teachers up. Gon' play this in the hood so we can reach the thugs and let my brothers and my sisters know there's more to life…because the weapon cannot prosper if your form is right." 

Chris Chatmon is the founder and CEO of Kingmakers of Oakland. He shines light on some of the history of where the studio is located and why it's special. 

"West Oakland historically was referred to as the Harlem of the West and so, in keeping to that tradition, this is a creative space that really centers Black boys while serving all and really supports young men to find their voice in music, film, animation, video, TV, podcasting and fashion," Chatmon says. 

Henderson says he grew up listening to neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu and others. "Folks like Mos Def, folks like Nas, Tupac. I like a lot of classic hip-hop," Henderson says. 

But his tastes don't end there. He's also into some of the sophisticated sounds that predate the canon of neo-soul artists. 

"I like to listen to a lot of jazz. A lot of Miles Davis in my house. I think those type of things, those type of genres…those kinds of vibes. The chill vibes, you know? The ones with substance," Henderson says. 

Reclaiming the narrative 

Chatmon explains how he sees the album Black Love as a reclamation. 

"Black Love is really a reclamation of our beauty, brilliance and innate greatness in that we love each other. We come from a culture that is vibrant, that is beautiful, that has influenced folks not only just within Oakland, the Bay, through the United States, but globally," he says. "One of our mantras is whoever controls the narrative has the power." 

His son Kahlil Chatmon is also featured on the album. 

"It's a blessing this organization was started by my father," Kahlil says. He says his parents have been working in these types of immersive education programs since the early 1990s here in the Bay Area. "It's a blessing to be a part of Kingmakers as an employee doing this work. I was a kid in a lot of these programs at one point." 

Kahlil is the director of the Kingmakers fellowship initiative, which acts as the organization's college access program. 

He says working alongside Henderson on this album was also a blessing. 

"We work side by side with the fellowship initiative, so to step in the studio and kind of bring the same energy…" he says this was a vital component in putting the album together.  

Henderson agrees. "Learning with folks like Kahlil. We used to spend long nights in the garage, learning how to produce, learning how to engineer, sharpening each other's writing skills and just manifesting those different type of skills. Ways we express ourselves," says Henderson. 

Kahlil is equally skilled in the freestyle flow format. It's one of the ways he expresses himself. He offered us some of his lyrics on the spot. 

"I could feel it in my blood, in my bones and in my genes. I know that time coming…my desire to be free. 

I walk with all love because spirit is god in me. 

Allow me to be thankful for what's inside of me."

"A lot of what we do, we try to take it back with some history, bring some facts and some information in so that young people can really be inoculated and surrounded by positive imagery, positive messaging," Kahlil says. 

Old-school memories 

He says the album is steeped in the neo-soul vibes similar to the musical influences Henderson mentioned. He name drops the Bay Area's Tony! Toni! Toné!, Too $hort and The Jacka, citing them as the "brilliant folks who created a soundtrack to where we're from." 

But the music in his heart indicates he's a bit of an old soul. 

"I like a lot of old-school music, so Teddy Pendergrass, Donny Hathaway, Marvin Gaye. There's no shortage of the kind of soul music and old-school blues and R&B music that kind of fuels the undertones of the hip-hop that we make today," says Kahlil. 

When asked about the overall vibe of the Black Love album, Kahlil gives a vivid description that conjures a specific memory. 

"Some of it feels like driving by the lake on a Sunday, because that experience that we had as young Black folks in Oakland felt like love. We knew that to be love, so yeah. The album will bring you to different spots," Kahlil says. 

One thing that may stand out to some is that the album is profanity-free, a trait not typically attributed to hip-hop culture. Kahlil elaborates. 

"It is profanity free, but the realest thing is that it's life affirming and for me, that's more about writing about what I believe. Writing about what I live. Where I'm from. Who I am. The people that I represent. That experience in my life isn't negative. It doesn't actually represent anything I would need to use profanity for," says Kahlil. 

Black Love is for everyone

The album came out last fall, but Kingmakers of Oakland wanted an uplifting start to 2025 and to share their inspiring work. 

"In writing this album, we wanted it to be for everybody…for everybody's ears, for everybody to listen to, even though it's called Black Love," Henderson says. "Everyone can contribute to Black Love. Everyone can benefit from Black Love. Everybody deserves some Black Love in their life." 

Their positive message reminds us that the potential for hope and change largely lies within Oakland's youth. 

Andre Torrez is a digital content producer for KTVU. Email Andre at andre.torrez@fox.com or call him at 510-874-0579. 

OaklandBlack History MonthNewsEntertainment