 Wade Colwell-Sandoval Co-Founder/Teacher/MC
Peace! . I would like to honor the three who most influenced the artistic
journey I have chosen. First, my mother Catalina, a visual artist
who connected me to my indigenous roots through her depiction of native
cultures in her works. Next, my father Paul - a writer/musician
who a demonstrated to me that music is a universal language that can build bridges of understanding
between people. Finally, my grandfather Anthony Quinn - a legendary
actor whose courage, persistence and resilience helped him to overcome obstacles of poverty and lack of opportunity. . Flashback
to the early 80’s... in middle school I was exposed to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The
Message”- a groundbreaking song that depicts the realities and struggles of inner-city life. I was inspired
and mesmerized by the musical hook, the straight-talk, and the inventive rhythm-based lyricism. Plus, my interest
in the song’s storyline helped me to make the mental connection to the potential for hip hop music to be a vehicle for
wide-scale social awareness and positive change. . Fast forward to the
21st century... I have continued to reinforce my view of the transcending qualities of music and creative expression thru
the many life situations I have been blessed to experience. Today
I am a lyricist/MC/spoken word poet, teacher, performer, presenter, youth advocate, facilitator, consultant and most prominently,
the co-founder of Funkamentals – a group formed to inspire higher learning, enrich cultural awareness and raise social-consciousness
in young people through the medium of hip hop music. The extensive amount of content that can be expressed in a hip hop format
has made it possible for us to create music incorporating advanced math, the periodical table of the elements, the countries,
currencies, and languages of the world as well as life topics that can help spark a curiosity for youth to engage in the conversation
and process of social transformation. . Today I stay on it.
. 
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 Ranson Kennedy Co-Founder/Producer/MC . Ranson Kennedy is blessed
with a unique and powerful gift of artistic expression. . His work generates from an intense passion
that burns inside him to share his social and cultural consciousness with others through art. He is a practitioner
of multiple artistic disciplines, which include music, art, and most recently, film. His music, film, and
performance productions press technology beyond traditional boundaries and because of this, he has been labeled an iconoclast
with a unique voice in the postmodern global Hip Hop village. . Ranson was born into the social activist environment of Oakland, CA then made the
signifiant cultural transition moving to Tucson, AZ with his family. His advocacy for community issues remained
strong as he has been prolifically involved in producing creative projects for community building throughout his
young and adult life. .
Ranson's music experiences
have made him a certified expert in: Apples Logic Pro, and Digidesign's Pro Tools. He programs five
computer languages and for ten years has owned and operated Arizona's premier music production facility .
Ranson brings to the table seventeen independent label releases and five major label credits. He has produced music
for HBO's Chris Rock Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Showtime original movie The Fixer, Jenny Jones, and other popular
television programs. .
As a result
of his travels abroad, which include living on two continents (North America, Australia), Ranson is multilingual and conversant
in English, Spanish, and is currently studying French, Ga and Yoruba.
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FUNKAMENTALZ
ONE TIME FOR THE MIND