The Sound of West Oakland

Music, like food, can forge community. It soothes the rough edges that keep people apart and feeds a common need. In West Oakland, music has a long history of bringing people together. In the 1940s, the neighborhood was known as the Harlem of the West, attracting artists like Billie Holiday, Big Mama Thornton, and Aretha Franklin to the clubs that lined Seventh Street. Faded signs for famous venues like Esther’s Orbit Room and Slim Jenkins can still be seen on the facades on the buildings there. Decades later, in the 1990s, D’wayne Wiggins, who was born in the Lower Bottom in West Oakland, brought fresh attention to the area when he opened House of Music on Wood Street and brought artists like Destiny’s Child, India Arie, and Jamie Foxx in to record. His own group, Tony! Toni! Toné!, continues to tour. Today the neighborhood is home to musicians like Boots Riley and Al Lucchesi’s Soundwave Studios, where Third Eye Blind, metal bands like Testament, and the late Tupac Shakur have all recorded. Musicians know they have a home at Brown Sugar Kitchen, where they drop by during breaks in their sessions for a cup of coffee or a meal. Their music feeds our souls. We can only hope to return the favor with a plate of chicken and waffles.