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Urban Guide Listings to plan your week by Prophets of Rage bring down the house a F**K tha 4th! F**K tha 4th What are we really celebrating when we celebrate the 4th of July? Growing up in America we're taught that our nation's independence from the British was fought all in a single day "by the dawn's early light" with "bombs bursting in air," and all that patriotic jazz. In fact, the actual series of events show that the process for American independence took far longer, and that the 4th actually really represents the day that the document now known as the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress with Thomas Jefferson's famous words stating "Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government." So, if you're not feelin' all that traditional fireworks and BBQ, watered down tribute to freedom and want to keep the 4th real to the spirit of resistance, it's time to F**K tha 4TH! Join Underground Railroad and other like-minded (and free) people of all ages who know how to celebrate freedom, survival, and community the right way. Revel in the rhythmic oasis of movement and dance with Prophets of Rage, Ipo, Sisterz of the Underground, Loco Bloco, then work up a sweat when DJs Treat-U-Nice, Neta, and YouthFiyah lay down the beats. Thu/4, 4-8pm. Black Box Theater, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakl. $10-20. 510.451.5466 x313; www.blackboxoakland.com. (CS) Kevin Epps will be at Hip Hop Film Fest. The Hip Hop Film Fest The organizers of The Hip Hop Film Fest are "on a mission to spread the wild styles and core messages of the Hip Hop nation far and wide." Towns, cities, reservations, prisons, you name it, and they'll take the gig. Their mission is that important -- to expose vital visual documents from the underground -- anywhere they can. Promoters promise that the films featured in the fest, headlining Kevin Epps's hardcore hip hop documentary Straight Outta Hunter's Point, "take us on a journey beyond da boring bling-bling to enter the darkness, taste the realities, and offer knowledge not found on da tube." If you haven't seen Epps's gripping portrait of life in San Francisco's most infamous housing projects, then catch the Fest while it's screening in Oakland at the Parkway. The acclaimed documentary is preceded by the world premiere of Street Legends, a new documentary about the Mystic Journeymen by Sunset Jonz and Todd Hickey at 3pm. Filmed from the inside, both films revise the real relationship between inside and out by depicting tales of a globally mobile hip hop consciousness. Next stop Albuquerque, NM. Get in touch with the Fest if you want a piece of the ambition, be you media maker, MC, DJ, graf writer, organizer, venue operator, or potential sponsor. Sun/7, 3pm and 6pm. Parkway Theatre. 1834 Park, Oakl. $6 per film. 866.206.9071 x9211; www.hiphopfilmfest.com. (EP) Brazilian Street Festival You know that café around the corner from the downtown Berkeley BART? The one next to 24 Hour Fitness and across from the Berkeley Rep? You know, that really colorful place with lots of plants? Yeah, that's the Capoeira Arts Café, home of the world renowned United Capoeira Association (UCA) -- and a café, and an art gallery, etc. etc. Well, on this (hopefully) sunny Saturday, this weekend after Brazil's amazing performance in the World Cup, this respite after watching hours of soccer on the Spanish channel and reacquainting yourself with Brazil's beautiful . . . flag, the UCA will be hosting an exuberant outdoor celebration of Brazilian culture. (What timing! Maybe it was fixed.) Featuring Brazilian sámba, maculelê, batucada and, of course, plenty of the beautiful Afro-Brazilian art form called capoeira with masters present from around the globe, this street festival is the place to spend your lazy afternoon. Whether you're a capoeirista yourself, want to pick up a few moves, feel like stomping your feet to some sassy music, or simply need to practice your Portuguese, stop on by -- capoeira é uma arte mágica. Sat/6, 2-6pm. On Addison St. btw. Shattuck and Milvia, Berk. Free. 666.1255; www.capoeiraarts.com. (EL) Picks by Eve Lotter (EL), Erica Pesersen (EP), and Cicely J. Sweed (CS). [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]