Late one evening in January 2021, on the corner of 13th Street and MacArthur Boulevard in East Oakland, James Pullum saw a surprising face in the passenger window of a Mercedes G-Wagon that was preparing to stop in front of him.
Pullum, an Oakland rapper who goes by the moniker 22nd Jim, was hanging with friends in the middle of the Bella Vista district, an area known to locals as the “Murder Dubs,” where danger is imminent at that time of night and unidentified cars can mean trouble. But as the vehicle crept toward the group and the familiar face came into focus, Pullum and the homies’ furrowed brows gave way to exuberance.
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