By Joseph Patel

Minutes after talking with him by phone on Friday about the shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, Oakland rapper Mistah F.A.B. — one of our favorites to come out of the Bay — released a song he dedicated to Grant and the shooting that occurred on New Year's Day. When we talked with F.A.B., he was downtown joining another protest demanding justice for the shooting of the unarmed father of one, putting his money where his mouth was.

F.A.B.'s song, "My Life," was recorded and released in a couple of days and expresses the frustration felt by many in the Bay Area who feel that the community at large, specifically the youth community, is at odds with the police. I'm from the Bay Area, and I still read the daily newspapers online, every day, so F.A.B.'s lyrics just make me think of all the senseless police shootings that have happened over the years. Like the death of José Luis Buenrostro-Gonzalez, an unarmed 15-year old who was killed last spring by police in broad daylight, seemingly in a case of mistaken identity. Police still haven't explained the circumstances around that shooting, much like BART police have yet to fully explain the circumstances around Grant's killing, even though it was caught by four cell-phone cameras and broadcast by news channels nationwide.
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