Manifest Destiny
Next time I ran into him was on the Arcata Plaza, summer 2005. The African band, Djialy Kunda Kouyate, led by the Kouyate twins, had a crowd at the Farmers’ Market mesmerized, when who should come along but Manifest. True to form he talked his way into a guest rap slot, dropping freestyle rhymes on the spot about the market, about vegetables, about what he was doing at that moment. He connected with the crowd and with the band, and when Djialy Kunda Kouyate toured Senegal last summer, Manifest went with them.
“We played this giant show at Theatre Nationale Daniel Sorano in Dakar. It’s like the Carnegie Hall of Africa,” he told me when he came to town for yet another CD release show last September. Since Africans love rap, he had also ventured off independent of the twins and even signed a deal with a Senegalese music distribution company. “They don’t get any live American hip hop over there,” he said. “My video went into regular rotation on the government TV station. People loved it. I was thinking of staying; I’m definitely going back.”
By all accounts the Mazzotti’s show celebrating the release of his disc Autobiograffiti was a raging success. It took place just six weeks before his alleged involvement in the casino robbery.
As he noted on his MySpace page (/manifesthumboldt), he was planning a return to Africa, followed by tours of Japan and Europe. “Also on the horizon … compiling a collection of his favorite and most notable songs, working on a series of live recordings he’s made of strictly underground hip hop concerts in Humboldt County, a few mix tapes and a short feature film.”
Where is he now? Your guess is as good as mine. Police authorities report that Emily Weitzel has turned herself in to authorities in San Francisco; her attorney suggests that Collins may well do the same. As we go to press, though, Manifest is still at large. And the plot for that feature film is still developing.
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on the cover
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Today
44th Annual Kinetic Grand Championship Race
STAFF PICK / events, art, outdoors, sports, for kids, free / 9 a.m.-6 p.m. A 3-day, 42-mile kinetic sculpture race over land, sand, mud and water! LeMans start at the Noon Whistle on the Arcata Plaza. Follow the race through Manila, Eureka and into Ferndale on Memorial Day for the Glorious Finish. kineticgrandchampionship.com. 889-3024.
Flow 2012 Fashion Show
STAFF PICK / events / 8 p.m. Arcata Theatre Lounge, 1036 G St. Student designed and produced clothing. Fundraiser for Arcata Arts Institute. $35/$25 students. artsinstitute.net. 822-1220.
Woodside Preschool's Rummage/Bake Sale
events / 8 a.m.-noon. Woodside Preschool, 900 Hodgson St, Eureka. www.woodsidepreschool.com. 445-9132.
Lanphere Dunes Restoration
STAFF PICK / outdoors / 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet at Pacific Union School. Help remove non-native invasives at the Lanphere Dunes Unit of the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Tools and gloves provided, wear work clothes and bring water. Carpool to the protected site. 444-1397.
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ONE Comments
Comment / By dennis / Aug. 25, 2009, 9:20 a.m.
Great article. Very well written. I was very close friends with Peter after his graduation from HSU. We played music together in the Trinity Mountains and at the Juvenile Hall in Eureka. I don’t know where he is today and, though I believe he is incarcerated, I dont’ know where. Might you have any knowledge of where he is? Thanks again. Dennis