An outdoor garden venue tucked into Oakland's Upper Dimond neighborhood is set to host a hip-hop show unlike most others on Saturday, October 24, pairing live cyphers with a tea ceremony. The event, called the Oasis Tea Party, is scheduled to take place at The LAMA Shack and features Oakland-based MC and educator Ras Ceylon alongside headliner Killah Priest, Fresno's Planet Asia, and Oakland's own Casual.
As reported by KQED, the Oasis Tea Party combines a traditional tea ceremony with an open cypher format, giving performers and attendees a shared space to exchange bars in a setting far removed from a typical club. The LAMA Shack itself operates as a nonprofit artist incubator, and according to Ticket Tailor, its intimate outdoor garden includes cabana lounges, a waterfall, and a live pond alongside its stage and sound system.
A Lineup Rooted In Three Decades Of Underground Hip-Hop
Headliner Killah Priest brings deep Wu-Tang lineage to the bill. He was an original member of Sunz of Man, the first group signed to Wu-Tang Records in 1995, and he earned critical acclaim for his solo track “B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)” on GZA's landmark 1995 album Liquid Swords, according to his entry on Wikipedia.
Planet Asia, born in Fresno, built his national underground reputation alongside rapper Rasco in the duo Cali Agents, whose 2000 album How the West Was One won The Source's Independent Album of the Year award in 2001, per AllMusic. Casual, meanwhile, represents Oakland's own lineage of independent hip-hop: his 1994 solo debut Fear Itself became one of the highest-charting projects in the history of the Oakland-based Hieroglyphics collective, according to Wikipedia. That same independent, artist-owned infrastructure the Hieroglyphics crew built in the 1990s laid the groundwork for Hiero Day, the annual Oakland festival founded in 2012 and held every September 3rd, per Rap Wiki.
Music Ras Ceylon Calls Hip-Hop With A Purpose
Ras Ceylon describes his own music as hip-hop with a purpose, and he's said he emphasizes resisting oppression regardless of a track's beat tempo. His track Uprising, produced by Akafrank, shouts out cities throughout the Bay Area and is described, in Ceylon's own words, as modern hyphy.
Born Sanjev De Silva in California, Ras Ceylon made his recording debut in 1999 and is recognized as the first Sri Lankan MC to emerge within the Western hip-hop canon, according to Wordplay Magazine. He wrote the track Decolonize in 2002 as an assignment while a student at San Francisco State University, and he went on to create Still Decolonizing Music, which aims to unify indigenous struggles and resistance to neocolonialism. His catalog ranges widely: Land Grab addresses the impact of gentrification, Heart Muscle explores his own shortcomings in seeking a stable romantic relationship, and River 2 Sea, featuring Solomon Childs, addresses Israel, Gaza and oppressive systems. He's promoted this body of work and message for 20 years, including a 2018 collaboration with Tragedy Khadafi called Full Medal Jacket.
An Album Made To Honor A Wu-Tang Co-Founder
Ras Ceylon's latest project, his ninth album Scrollz of Lion Rock, carries particular emotional weight. The album was executive produced by Oliver “Power” Grant, the Wu-Tang Clan co-founder and Wu Wear founder, who died at age 52 on February 23, 2026, according to Legacy.com. Ras Ceylon made Scrollz of Lion Rock to honor Grant's legacy, and the record features appearances from Cappadonna and Planet Asia, plus production by DJ Allah Mathematics, the veteran Wu-Tang producer best known for designing the group's iconic W logo, per Wordplay Magazine.
To support the release, Ras Ceylon recorded multiple music videos and held album listening events in Los Angeles, Portland, Oakland, New York, and Kingston, Jamaica. He also printed three different kinds of vinyl along with CDs and cassette tapes. Ceylon has said that while most listeners primarily consume music through streaming, supporters are increasingly investing in physical music products, and he's noted that album printing can be as lucrative for some artists today as it was 40 years ago. Vinyl outsold CDs in 2023, and the RIAA reported vinyl sales exceeding $1.04 billion in 2025. That growth has continued into this year: according to RIAA data cited by Hoodline, U.S. vinyl record revenues grew 17.7% in the first half of 2026 to $543.8 million, pushing total U.S. physical music format sales to $731.5 million.
From Oakland Classrooms To Sri Lankan Airwaves
Ras Ceylon's roots trace back to Sri Lanka, and his stage name reflects that dual identity. The Sri Lankan civil war, fought from 1983 to 2009 between the predominantly Sinhalese government and the Tamil Tigers, grew out of postcolonial instability following the end of British rule. In 2012, Ceylon traveled to Sri Lanka to perform postwar reconciliation work with young people through the nonprofit Sri Lanka Unites, using methods including restorative justice and nonviolent communication.
During that trip, his peace anthem Heal Lanka was banned from local radio by Sri Lankan government officials, who also halted production on its music video, according to Ceylon's own account reported by Scroll.in. The story has since turned a corner: his track Ancestorz, featuring Ka'ra Kersey and Ras Kass and produced by Monk HTS, charted on a commercial radio countdown in Sri Lanka, and Ceylon's music can now be heard on Sri Lankan airwaves. He returned to the country in 2025, a trip that underscores how far his work has traveled since officials once tried to silence it.
That same spirit of community and cross-cultural connection is what organizers hope to bring to the LAMA Shack's garden setting this weekend, where cyphers and tea will share the same small stage.
