- Jack London
Jack London, was an American author who wrote "The Call of the Wild" and other books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a huge financial success from writing. - Too $hort
Todd Anthony Shaw (born April 28 1966) in South Central Los Angeles, known by stage name Too $hort, is a rapper who started his career as a youth at the age of 17 in Oakland, California. Through his music, Too $hort has cultivated a persona of a no-nonsense pimp, and is widely credited for popularizing pimp culture in hip hop, along with Ice T. - Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Del tha Funkee Homosapien, also known as Del the Funky Homosapien and Deltron Zero is an alternative hip hop artist. Del was born Teren Delvon Jones on August 12, 1972 in Oakland, California. - Keyshia Cole
Keyshia Cole (born October 15, 1981) is an American R&B singer-songwriter known for her soulful voice. She released her platinum selling debut album "The Way It Is" in 2005, and is preparing to release her second album "Just Like You" in 2007. - Keak da Sneak
Keak Da Sneak (full name Charles "Kunta Kinte" Bowens, commonly referred to as Keak) is a rapper from Oakland, California. At the age of 16 he was known as Z-Kush, but became known as "Keak Da Sneak" at 17. He coined the term "hyphy", as referenced on MTV2's "My Block: The Bay", in which he is interviewed. It has become a popular style of rap music and lifestyle in the Bay Area. - Mc Hammer
MC Hammer (born Stanley Kirk Burrell on March 30, 1962) is an American MC who was popular during the late 1980s and early 1990s, known for his dramatic rise to and fall from fame and fortune, his trademark Hammer pants, and for leaving a lasting influence on hip hop culture and music. He became a preacher in the 1990s and now has his own television program. He lives in Tracy, California with his wife Stephanie and six children, 3 boys and 3 girls. - Shawn Harris
Shawn Kevin Harris is the lead singer and guitarist for the band The Matches. He was born June 24, 1982. He is from Oakland, California, and was a student at Bishop O'Dowd High School. Shawn created the artwork for their debut-record E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals which was re-released by Epitaph in 2004 upon their signing, and their new album Decomposer. He has also done work with other bands, such as Matchbook Romance. - Joaquin Miller
Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet, essayist and fabulist Cincinnatus Heine (or Hiner) Miller (March 10, 1841, or alternatively September 8, 1837, or November 10, 1841 - February 17, 1913). His parents were Hulen (sometimes “Hulings”) Miller and Margaret Witt who married January 3, 1836 in Union County, Indiana. Most family researchers give his birth date as September 8, 1837 and his birthplace as Liberty, Union County, … - Casual
John Owens, known by his stage name Casual, is an American rapper. Born in Oakland, California, Owens is a member of the influential alternative hip hop collective Hieroglyphics. In addition, he has released five full-length LPs over the span of his twelve year career. Although none of his solo releases have achieved significant commercial success, Owens has garnered a following amongst devoted hip hop fans, … - Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq brings you back to school, to his alma mater, Castlemont High. It was there that he met Professor Gregory Cole who basically forced him to play bass in the school's jazz band after Raphael tried to go to Oakland High because "that's where all the girls went." In this first episode of "Keys to the City" Raphael reflects on the moments that him the musician he is today and takes you to the places where those transformations took place. - Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. (born April 7, 1938), is the Attorney General for the state of California. Brown has had a lengthy political career spanning terms on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees (1969-1971), as California Secretary of State (1971-1975), as Governor of California (1975-1983), as chair of the California Democratic Party (1989-1991), and as Mayor of Oakland (1998-2006). - Ron Dellums
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. I wanted to address the Ron Dellums's State of the City address fairly and completely. Below I have noted (in order) every point the Mayor hit during his speech, followed by relevant supplementary information and/or my thoughts on the topic. I considered breaking it up into a few different posts, but then I decided that spreading it out would make it seem like I'm just beating up on Dellums non-stop, and that isn't my intention. - Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, Emmy-winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor in "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump". Hanks is the second highest-grossing film star of all time. He is also only one of two actors to have seven consecutive US$100 million blockbusters, … - Pep Love
Percival(?) Peacock, known by the stage name, Pep Love, (born: July 17, 1974) is an American rapper and one of the founding members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics. - Bobby Seale
Bobby Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American civil rights activist, who along with Dr. Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party For Self Defense in 1966. Seale's membership as a college student in the African American Association is said to have been inspired him to start the Black Panthers, which at one point had over 5000 members. Seale went on to become the chairman of the party and underwent FBI surveillance as part of its COINTELPRO program. - Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 - July 27, 1946) was an American writer and is considered to have acted as a catalyst in the development of modern art and literature. She spent most of her life in France. - Julia Morgan
Julia Morgan was an American architect. She is best known for her work on Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California. Born in San Francisco, California, she was raised in Oakland and graduated from Oakland High School in 1890. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1894 with a degree in civil engineering. At the urging of her friend and mentor Bernard Maybeck, whom she met in her final year in undergraduate school, … - Dru Down
Dru Down (born Danyelle Robinson) is a rapper from Oakland, California. His song "Ice Cream Man" from the album "Explicit Game" was a minor underground hit but he earned airplay with "Pimp of the Year" (sometimes played with more radio-friendly lyrics under the name "Mack of the Year") from the same album. He also had a minor mainstream hit with the title track of his next album, "Can You Feel Me," and he performed with Spice 1, E-40, … - Phesto
Damani Thompson, known by the stage names, Phesto and Phesto Dee (born: April 29, 1974), is an American rapper and producer. He is one of the founding four members of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop group Souls of Mischief, and, with the Souls of Mischief, a part of the eight-person, alternative hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics. - Tim Armstrong
Tim Armstrong (born November 25, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter best known for his work with punk rock bands Rancid, Operation Ivy, and Transplants, as well as his record label Hellcat Records. - Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972, in Oakland, California) is best known as the lead vocalist, main lyricist, and guitarist for the rock band Green Day. Billie Joe is also a secret character in Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. - Anthony Chabot
Anthony Chabot was a nineteenth-century businessman and entrepreneur, notable for his contribution to developing hydraulic mining and for building water systems, especially in the Bay Area. Chabot was raised on a farm in La Presentation, near Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. He was one of sixteen children and the son of a farmer. When he was sixteen years old, he left home, eventually settling in California in 1849. He began working in the mining industry in Nevada City, … - Goapele
Goapele Mohlabane (pronounced gwah-puh-LAY) (born on July 11 1977), professionally known as Goapele is an American soul and R&B singer and songwriter. Her name means "to go forward" in the South African language Tswana. - Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who is baseball's all-time leader in stolen bases and runs scored. In a 25-year career with nine clubs, Henderson's high on-base percentage, power, runs scored, and stolen base totals made him the premier leadoff hitter of his era; many consider him the best ever. At the time of his last game in 2003, … - Mike Dirnt
Mike Dirnt (born Michael Ryan Pritchard on May 4, 1972, in Rodeo, California) is the bassist and backing vocalist for the band Green Day. While at school, he would play unamplified plucking the strings, making a noise soon familiar (dirnt, dirnt, dirnt), he later adopted his stage name, "Mike Dirnt". Mike is the only member of Green Day with a high school diploma. He is the middle-aged one of the band. - Henry J. Kaiser
Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding - Encore
Encore is an American rapper and an associated member of the Oakland, California-based underground hip hop collective, the Hieroglyphics. - Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982, in Oakland, California) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Florida Marlins who made his debut in 2003 and went on to win the 2003 World Series. He is known for his very exaggerated, high leg kick in his pitch delivery, a trait that has drawn comparisons to Hall of Famer Juan Marichal and former Cy Young Award winner Vida Blue, a player Willis idolized as a kid. - San Quinn
San Quinn is a rapper from the Uptown Fillmore District of San Francisco, California. He began in the early 1990s alongside JT the Bigga Figga. He recorded for JT's Get Low Recordz label for several years until he broke away at the end of the decade. He is the cousin of Ya Boy. - Samuel Merritt
Dr. Samuel Merritt was a successful San Francisco physician and also mayor of Oakland, California from 1867-69. Dr. Merritt was originally from Maine, but moved to California. He bought land in what is now Oakland in 1854 and moved there in 1863. In 1867, he donated 155 acres (627,000 m²) of dammed tidal water from the headwaters of Indian Slough, it became known as "Merritt's Lake" and later Lake Merritt. - Nancy Nadel
Nancy Nadel is a United States politician. She is a member of the Oakland, California City Council, representing District 3 (West Oakland, most of Downtown Oakland including the Lakeside Apartments District, Pill Hill, and Adams Point). She has been a West Oakland resident for 25 years. She ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Oakland in 2006, placing 3d of 6 candidates. Nancy chairs the Public Works Committee on the City Council. - Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954 in Oakland, California), nicknamed "Eck," was a Major League Baseball player elected to Baseball Hall of Fame in 2004 (his first year of eligibility). He enjoyed success as a starter, but he gained his fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career. - Numskull
Numskull (born Garrick Husbands in 1974 in Oakland, California), is a hip-hop rapper, and was member of the defunct rap duo, The Luniz. He became famous for The Luniz's hit single, "I Got 5 on It". He was recently featured in the Yahoo-Pepsi Pass The Mic representing the Bay Area. The group is currently signed to Yukmouth's Smoke-A-Lot Records. - Madlib
Madlib (Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats) (born Otis Jackson Jr. on October 24 1973 in Oxnard, California, United States) is a California-based DJ, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and producer. - Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935 in Beaumont, Texas), is a Hall of Fame former Major League Baseball player. He was an outfielder, most notably with the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. During a 21-season career, he became the first player to win League MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues, won the Triple crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series (the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles), … - Dave Stewart
David Keith Stewart (born February 19 1957 in Oakland, California) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was known for the way he used to stare down batters when pitching to them. - Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, the 6 ft 9 in Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, … - Michael Franti
Michael Franti (born April 21, 1966, in Oakland, California) is an American poet, musician, and composer of African, American Indian, Italian, and German descent. Franti is the creator and driving force behind Michael Franti & Spearhead, a band that blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock. He is also an outspoken supporter for a wide spectrum of peace and social justice issues. - Mark Curry
Mark Curry (born June 1 1964 in Oakland, California) is an American actor and comedian, most famous as the star of the ABC sitcom "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper ". He also hosted "Showtime at the Apollo" for a brief time. Curry has also had a recurring role on "The Drew Carey Show" as Drew's boss at Winfred-Louder. He attended St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California and California State University, Hayward. - Gary Payton
Gary Dwayne Payton (born July 23 1968, in Oakland, California) is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. He is best known for his 12-year tenure with the Seattle SuperSonics. He has also played with the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Boston Celtics. Payton has played point guard for most of his career.
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