Loyalty, Legacy & Loving Oakland: Mistah F.A.B.'s Playground

“You never know how tall a giant is when you’re standing next to him.” That’s a reflection from Oakland’s Hometown Hero Mistah F.A.B. on his childhood friend, filmmaker extraordinaire Ryan Coogler, but it rings just as true for Mistah F.A.B. himself. 

Mistah F.A.B. is a multi-platinum songwriter and record producer, a successful entrepreneur, the owner of Dope Era, a clothing line, streetwear boutique and community hub and Dezi, a lounge space, both in downtown Oakland, the convener of Thug (Teaching, Healing, Uniting & Guiding) Therapy, philanthropist and community activist. He’s been profiled in Forbes Magazine, been given the key to the City of Oakland in 2014 and has more than 403,000 followers on Instagram. 

In an insightful and dynamic interview, Mistah F.A.B. talks about his love for Oakland, his vision for our future, and his journey from the playground and hyphy roots to healing vibes. His advice to our community: never leave the playground because that’s where your innocence was real and your dreams were born. 

This episode also argues that California District Attorneys must pair reentry with resentencing. Too often, the reentry process is left to depend solely on the minimal resources of a family struggling to survive in under-resourced communities, more often than not, on the shoulders of a Black mother. Returning citizens are 10 times more likely to be homeless than the general population.

The gaps are even greater when a person is released from the local County jail facility at the end of a case without sufficient time to plan for a successful reentry. As Alameda County District Attorney, I saw too many cases where a person served their entire sentence in the Santa Rita County Jail and was released into our community with no plan, preparation or support.

Too often, we saw folks who had serious mental health issues while they were incarcerated in Santa Rita, and those issues were no better when they were released.

It is not difficult to understand why pairing reentry with resentencing is essential to protect public safety. Without a carefully vetted reentry plan and programmatic support, folks released directly from Santa Rita County Jail into the community may easily become a potential danger to public safety.

During my time as Alameda County District Attorney, we created a Pilot reentry commission in partnership with community organizations and took on the task of assessing resentencing and reentry plans from the lens of public safety and successful reintegration into the community.

Our DA-sponsored reentry unit for resentenced returning citizens was highly successful, but the new tough-on-crime DA - Ursula Jones Dickson - stopped all resentencing cases and disbanded the reentry unit as soon as she was appointed by the BOS. The new administration does not believe in second chances.