Power Struggle, with frontman Nomi, rocks the mic at our Hyphen Bittersweet Issue release party.

Written by Irma Widjojo

Hyphen's San Francisco Bittersweet Issue Release Party

Date: Friday, June 3, 2011

Time: 9:30pm-2am

Place: 111 Minna Gallery (SF)

Get ready, Bay Area -- Hyphen returns to San Francisco to celebrate the release of our Bittersweet Issue! We've got a slew of talented musicians to entertain you, including the very talented local hip hop act Power Struggle.

Power Struggle's Nomi has been interested in hip hop since he was young, but it had always been a hobby for him until one winter night when he was 16.

Living in Minneapolis at that time, Nomi said he was hanging out with the late indie rapper Eyedea during a snowy night.

"It was snowing like crazy outside, and we were just stuck inside the house," Nomi says, recalling that Eyedea kept on pushing him to write a rhyme. "I was in hip hop for the fun of it and not from an artistic point of view," Nomi adds. But he finally relented, and wrote his first ever rhyme -- on snow angels.

Though he doesn’t remember the beat anymore, Nomi says that was the beginning of his career.

As the frontman of Power Struggle, Nomi has always been trying to expand his artistic venture through his experience. Born in Nigeria, Nomi moved to the United States at an early age. Having moved around the country a few times, Nomi has a unique life story to share.

The 30-year-old musician has also been an advocacy worker at the Filipino Community Center in San Francisco's Excelsior District for almost three years, working with recent Filipino immigrants. "Our main message is to give power to the working-class family, and to spread awareness of the issues abroad and here in the US," Nomi says. "We have discovered that there’s a lot of injustice and exploitation done to the immigrants who just moved here.

The issue is very important for Nomi, and he says it shows in his music.

"It's a part of my reality, and as an artist I write about my experience," he says. "It's become a part of my life."

Power Struggle released its first album, Remittances, last year, which is also available on iTunes. Nomi says the group is currently working on new EPs and will be releasing them online for free.

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Visit www.beatrockmusic.com to learn more about Power Struggle and Nomi. And catch Power Struggle at our Bittersweet Issue Release Party in SF on June 3rd!