LONDON NATION INVASION 2008
May 27, 2008
I spent the last 4-5 weeks preparing for the DONT LOOK BACK tour of the UK and parts of Europe and it has paid off, but took my total commitment and concentration to pull it off. As of this writing we just took on Glasgow Scotland, which historically has been the most powerful show fan base across the water. This after Manchester and Brixton with places in between like Dublin which required every muscle of my body to use. These shows get you into athletic shape in 10 days. But it ain' pretty. Everything will hurt for two hours in the morning as if I played an NFL game. Anybody that says it's easy can't imagine to yell loud in rhyme while moving at 110 beats per minute. It's what it is, and I couldn't or wouldn't do it any other way. This is what was brought to the table performing Nations and a blizzard of PE cuts afterwards. We don't have Griff on this tour because of a passport discrepancy after his fire loss. Its the government finding every technicality to stop our thing with horsesht moves like that. Still we had to rock on, but I couldn't help but think that Professor Griff would've LOVED these gigs. He will see us in NY at HOT 97 Summerjam...
The requirement was to perform the album from beginning to end, and all in between. It's our standard album and was our obligation to blast the hell out of it . The tour opens with Hank and Keith Shocklee of the BOMB SQUAD, and had KOOL KEITH, and ANTI POP CONSORTIUM opening up and doing it bad to the bone. A new group named EZRA BANG and another new band named MAXFIELD opened in a couple markets and offered great promise. The weird factor was again the crowd numbers. Did the black crowd consider the movement passe as Mary J Blige seemed to fit that aspiration based from the posters of her playing at Wembley? Well I just chalked it up to sold out crowd with little space for walk up.
Before I arrived to the Glasgow gig, I took off in a cab from the hotel to the Carling Academy in Glasgow. As I approached the venue and saw the two buses outside I walked up to the backdoor with no pass , no probem even recognized a couple of folk from our touring 3 years back in 2005. I walked in but couldn't find the usual set listings on the walls , it was instead saying something else entirely. Looked on the side of the stage and it wasnt a group I had recognized , but the place was packed and fans were twirling lights and looking on some gothic teen tip. Real youngish. When I stepped back in the hallway I asked this dude named Joel a part of the crew that I was with PE. He said he knew who I was. He told me then that this building was heading the Avril Lavigue concert and he was working with the Jonas Brothers .... I was smack in the middle of a teen 20 something gothic girl pop fest. It was simply a kodak better yet southwest airline priceless moment. Wanna go somewhere for a while? I then took a cab to the ABC venue which was now modded out , from its 150 year history once hosting circuses, and a Buffalo Bill exhibition.
Catching the shows we then proceeded to give Glasgow everything we had. Picture phones galore. Even throughout the performance the energy was all time. I even matched Flav by jumping in the crowd after Rebel Without A Pause. A treat as we head 6 hours down the UK 1 to Nottingham to wrap the British Isles before we go to Barcelona where Portishead asked me to join them after our set festival wise. And after that back to the east , Prague Czech Republic again where we will make a statement by performing this album. Down below this news article popped up the next day in the press after the Brixton gig .
Public Enemy: Revolutionary Nostalgia
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 26/05/2008 Tom Horan reviews Public Enemy at the Brixton Academy "You think rap is a fad? You must be mad!" So sang hip-hop act Stetsasonic when I saw them support Public Enemy one unforgettable night in 1988. Stetsasonic might have disbanded soon after, but 20 years later a Public Enemy show is still a hot ticket - and a vivid reminder of the way this form of music has not just survived but become a global lingua franca. Just like rock with its Eagles nostalgia nights and Led Zep reunions - hip-hop now has a history long and rich enough to be worth disinterring. On this short British tour the New York rappers are embracing another trick from the heritage rock circuit: playing a classic album in its entirety, which prospect frontman Chuck D described as "a promoter's dream, a fan's fantasy and an artist's challenge". It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) was their best outing and is often cited in lists of the greatest records of all time. At the time of its release there was about Public Enemy that sense of revolution that attaches itself only very occasionally to a group of musicians. it was a fantastically exciting record, an inflammatory rallying call for black self-empowerment, adored by poor, young black kid and middle-class whitey alike. So what was extraordinary to see at the album's revivification in Brixton was the ocean of 30- and 40-something white faces that smiled up at Chuck and his hilarious sidekick, Flavor Flav. Of course, most people here were reliving the heady days when Nation of Millions first gripped them, but where were the hundreds of black kids - also grown up now - who had stood 20-deep at that show in '88 and blocked me and anyone else white from coming any closer to their heroes? Chuck and Flavor delivered a robust and energetic performance, stripped down as ever to the minimum of DJ with two turntables, and their microphones. The best tracks off the album Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Don't Believe the Hype and Rebel Without a Pause still sounded more daring and politically engaged than anything being recorded today. But a night like this will always be about reminiscence, and with that ultimately comes sadness. On a positive note, you could argue that Public Enemy - and indeed hip-hop itself - gave the white world an insight into the black, creating a healthy empathy. But black audiences turned their backs on the enlightened hip-hop that Nation of Millions offered them and opted for bling and guns and gangsta. And that was a very sad day."
BOMB SQUAD Hank and Keith Shocklee blew sht up in Europe in the UK. Before the PE set Hank and Keith did a four turntable, drum machine assault in Brixton Dublin, Manchester etc that was a resemblance to Dark Side Of The Wall. A 'Black' Floyd so to speak ...releasing sonic overtures and bass frequencies across the venue. The Bomb Squad has re purposed hip hop and Hank is looking to release songs in the form of digital and limited edition configuration. Again like I said it's Black Floyd
MPLS Up in Minneapolis I did a special night interviewing front of an audience for Minnesota Public Radio. It was extra special because of the parlayed performances by BROTHER AL and SLUG from ATMOSPHERE who gave me his new sparkling brilliant album ... Also the RHYMESAYERS website's off the frame and it's so great seeing such a great website for their innovations.
Earlier I spoke at CENTRAL HIGH at a special Black Emmitt Till Legacy function that Saturday, where their community came out and supported the talent of the day and high school arts. It was the same high school attended by Charles Schultz of Peanuts fame, and baseball hall of famer Dave Winfield.
CHAMPTOWN My man CHAMPTOWN from DETROIT has always been a character, but also a pioneer. A key figure and player for years in the Motor City rap game has never really gotten his due. I can remember when visiting, we drove up to nearby suburban town 10 Mile Road in Warren MI and he took me by KID ROCK'S modest crib to record some vocals. KID ROCK had already did his stint as a full rapper with JIVE records in the early 90's, high top glued fade and all. After recording for CHAMP, with K.R. engineering in his basement equipment, ROCK then showed a sneak peak into his next music move, a rap-rock hybrid dynamic presentation complete with CHAMPS little person-self acclaimed super midget SHORT KUT. It was amazing as I saw their show on a little TV in black and white. Upon leaving ROCK said he'd already had something brewing with major company, which I later found to be ATLANTIC. Later ROCK and I talked about it when we did a special performance on VH1 with GRANDMASTER FLASH for JAMMASTER JAY. Now CHAMPTOWN is on tour with KID ROCK , also mentioning that RUN from RUN-DMC who he's also known for years as well as writing a song on his last DISTORTION album a cut called THEY USED TO CALL ME RUN. ' I played the original CHAMPTOWN performed version years back on my BRINGTHENOISE.COM internet radio show 'When The Sht Hits The Fans'. CHAMPTOWN was at the ST PAUL event he teaches a class at a audio school and is also instrumental in bringing along EMINEM.
WISCONSIN JEFF CHANG hooked up a fantastic panel in University OF WISCONSIN where many scholars, writers, educators, and spoken word and rap artists, breakdance professionals and deejays ,convened to talk and give opinion in seminar form to collegians and those local in the biz. Bakari Kitwana, Davey D, Dr Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Mark Anthony Neal, Rennie Harris, Tricia Rose, Jorge 'Popmaster Fabel' Pabon, Wendy Day, Cathy Cohen, Dr Gaye Theresa Johnson and yours truly. They all brought the noise with the possibility of fusing hip hop sensibility with the curriculum at hand in both high school and college. Great minds doing much work.
COLUMBIA S.C. A great drive from Atlanta along I -20 heading east, I was surprised at how Columbia S.C. has risen. As a state South Carolina has really shown growth potential on the outskirts as well as the sprawling urban areas. There's a weekend scene in a few places, and most people only know about the coast MYRTLE BEACH, CHARLESTON , and HILTON HEAD. It's one of the un-pubbed secrets of good time in this country. Making up for all the bad time it forced on blackfolk until the seventies, or should I say up until the passing of Strom Thurmond.
XXL LOSIN MY WAY? Is it me? But I'm wondering sometimes the overall direction of XXL. It's one of the best looking magazines ever in hip hop, but at times I wonder if I can even relate to what it is. I know that its region oriented, but with magazines out in the world like FELONS Jim trying to figure out if there's a nation of college grad journalists who sit in a room and exploit the promoted tastes of gun, jail, and drug culture. I also wonder who buys it? Is it a USA white kids peek into the ghetto? While I dealt with mush of those very same topics as an early artists, I always understood the line of exploitation and tried to tell cats not to f#ck with it. In fact when I was talking jail as in BLACK STEEL, I was talking being jailed for being anti-war, government hypocrisy. Never making light of the prison industrial complex i.e. new slavery. Gun culture was dealt from a militant vs military perspective, and drugs we said no. Although we understood how much of our people were entrapped like gristle. In fact who can explain how black male total USA jail population has gone from 100,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million presently. Either I lost my way, or XXL has taking serious things a bit lightly for their power. If they are claiming to solely reflecting the rapmosphere then they will soon be telling tales from the inevitable crypt the next four years. It's one of the reasons to cast a leery eye on Murderdog Magazine. Simple questions like who publishes this, and who do they look to sell to?
REMY MA A tragic example that is staying under the radar but sad as hell is the REMY MA jailing case. After allegedly shooting her friend and a person working for her with a 45. This was again taken lightly as REMY MA got on New York radio and made a mockery of the incident. Then the judge landed a 8 year sentence on her saying that she was 'an angry woman who doesn't take responsibility for her actions.' The end result was REMY crying and screaming in court these words that should be promoted in thug infamy; ' I'm not a menace to society- " , the rapper cried, " I'm not a thug" she added " I'm pleading with you to give me a second chance, I apologize, I apologize..." she whined, begging for mercy for the sake of "my little boy" . Now what Jim saying here is the chance that this tragedy will not be on the top of the journalistic pile. Instead we expect to get splashed with more of the promoted cause, while the effect will get the hidden and tucked back pages of hip hop mags, media,
HOW LONG IS A GENERATION? With slimmer connection between human beings in their communications, It's my opinion remains that it's beneficial for the powers that be to separate and categorize people by this so called term of demographic and constituency. My belief remains that culture brings the human race together for our similarities and knocks the differences aside. Governments are opposed to this. Governments use of technology further distances the people from each other. The fact that now it appears that there's a generation gap between 25 year olds and 30 year olds is troubling. I see people of color being programmed by these powers into volunteered slavery , and it's also sweeping in those on the outside in.
Barack Obama is appealing to the nation 50 and under clearly , and Hillary Clinton can't seem to do that as well. The term 'hating' is within a context . What happens if MCCAIN chooses Condoleeza Rice as VP? You know she's a made woman. She will have to comply, and it really ain't up to her The Republicans are the Bill Belichicks of politics, they got for the last minute no huddle strategy. And contrary to how I've been misinterpreted, this won't be to split the so called black vote but to fragment the shaky, unsure vote of the white amerikkkan status quo. Racial excuses will not be in order then, although you cannot remove the word 'race' from the presidential race. Regardless what these smaller separated generations feel is a change of this pick one or the other, voting choice selection process.
CLEVELAND Was in Ohio for a special event talking about bringing the curriculum up in Ohio schools, especially since only 55% of black males graduate. Tragic figure in the Midwest, although 45% in Chicago and 35% in Detroit are the education rates for graduate black males.
REPETITION One of the default processes of this millennium, I feel, is repetitive information through outside means is making academic teaching and learning more difficult than ever. Whippings of mass distraction as I've said before is part of the corporate overtaking of the mass mindset. A fact and a test in school may come along once in a setting, while the programming of television pours the same information over and over again. This processed info also has the tendency to evaporate quicker as well. Teachers and professors alike have to compete for the mental space and time on FACEBOOK, MYSPACE social texting networks sometimes blue toothed within their midst.
NAT GEO MV BILL In Washington DC, National Geographic television has invested much thought, structuring- and yes finance- into the world culture of hip hop. Infusing the documentary discovery goals and principals of the long storied magazine into TV and popular mainstream portals is the look. My friend from BRAZIL The Godfather of Brazilian Rap Music; MV BILL performed and spoke to the people the importance of Hip Hop in making change in the world. He never runs away from the reality or the truth that surrounds his existence. Crime and drugs in the favellas , namely the City Of God where he resides, MV BILL has provided the building of many youth centers with computers, and modern tech tools and books to give young people a great visible alternative. National Geographic has ushered in a cultural program to showcase this expose and others.Our program will feature two new National Geographic Emerging Explorers,Josh Thome and Sol Guy ( Sol manages K'naan ) and MV Bill. Josh and Sol produce a television series called '4REAL' and it is a series of half-hour shows hosted by Sol that takes celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who under extreme circumstances are affecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time. It was a fantastic live event featuried short clips from the shows and highlighting the one that features MV Bill and Mos Def .The discussion about the series, their work and the power that music and hip hop has to transcend borders and inspire positive change, was a wonderful highlight for all . MV BILL is one of a kind indeed.
FLAV -THE NEW JACK JOHNSON My man Flavor may be the current Jack Johnson- not Stephin Fetchit. Lincoln Perry was a trained actor who dumbed himself into the small box Hollywood prepared for him. Whereas Jack Johnson boldly said, dared, and did things regardless to what anybody thought. Speeding through Midwestern and southern streets in 1910 with a fast open car of faster white chicks, not only made white America want to pull out their lynching ropes, but prompted WEB Dubois and Booker T. Washington to answer critically on the behalf of the upward collective souls of black folk. I've said before that Flav is the smartest cat in his room ...it's the dumbed down other folk who baffle me. Flav I know- little did we know the programming, hypnotizing power of the once named 'boob tube' would reduce grown participants and viewers alike to plop down and rent a condo on my man's black planet.
MYTV The Flav show I thought was a Saturday morning show with adult insinuations. While I always think Flav is great, the writers couldn't be more terrible. Perhaps either they can find a few writers that really can turn a page on a series. The show's other actors are confusing me beyond the check, as I feel the roles were thrown at them. Let's hope for the best here.
JAMIE FOSTER BROWN Jamie Foster Brown from the Sister to Sister magazine has published a good piece in the mag in an interview with Flav. He got down deep and personal. Also Flav being who he is was teflon to all the criticism weighed around him. Its who he is. One thing though was the part where he said I would come on the show. Oh no. .....oh. errr.....no. He asks me all the time. Ladies and Gentlemen I let Flavor go and be Flav. Again, I'm glad he has an itinerary.
BARKLEY Charles Barkley is as real as it is. I peeped his apology about his gambling before a TNT playoff game with his straight man partner Ernie Johnson Jr. EJ did not spare and drilled him with the hard questions of why. Barkley just kept saying that it was his fault, while also retiring from gambling the best he could. Cool- I guess, but at the same time I don't understand this country's attached turn the cheek attitude on gangster built Las Vegas and Nevada. How can gambling be a crime when this country is feeding upon this trade by the state. CHARLOTTE TOWN HALL Black enterprise asked me to attend their town hall in charlotte NC hosted by Ed Gordon. On panel was Rev Al Sharpton, former editor of the Source Kim Osorio, Roland Martin, and yours truly. Hosted by Ed Gordon , it was again explaining in a town hall setting, what was wrong and how it can be dealt with. It was energetic and fiery , especially when Ed addressed Kim over the images that she governs on BET.COM. It calmed and Kim and Ed agreed to disagree about who was really in charge. But as usual Rev Al dropped the bomb on the corps who said they must be identified and accountable to their hidden power spell over the unbeknownst masses.
ARETHA Anybody loving Aretha Franklin gotta pick up her latest album of Unreleased masters from Atlantic 1967-1977. Especially the demo from ' Never Loved A Man' which amazingly starts with Aretha rippin a piano. Its a reason for record labels to keep putting out cds, great session, hard to get classics. This double cd is a must!
BOTTLED WATER Something about the plastic in bottled water that I don't really dig. Seems like I taste the plastic. While glass bottled water tastes a whole lot better and yet different. I've thought this for ten years- on the road especially. I love drinking water from the faucet and fountain. The only exception to the glass bottled water is my dislike for Evian which as KRS ONE stated spells backward the word 'naive' which can have one think that the alps boast is really toilet water indeed.
BEYOND THE DATA It's really imperative that acts bring the noise beyond their data. Meaning that at the end of the day song tracks and video are just that ....data. While data is important, the emphasis is over the top in these digital times where it all boils down to hype and noted connects. I've checked and peeped the blogs and I admit I've lost my direction of understanding of what makes a hot rap act. If sales are no longer a barometer and the artist is terrible in performance... I don't know... Is it the video image? The real jail, court cases, and arrest sheets are played out in my book. Development is low , and the ideas, collabs and lyrics on mix CDs and DVD always seems to end up in the same topical graveyard. It's probably why Nas stated hip hop is dead a couple years back. It has to be natural life not some mouth to month resuscitation. I shifted my companies I work with to be more concerned about exerting energy and help in the classic rap areas and organizing that. If I was making comparisons, then I'd consider rap the late 1970's NBA, the late disco era or late hair band age, or the late 80's corporate rock. I also think that something is new beyond the data. Not battles, meandering freestyles or one man production.
FUNNY? I see a lot of stuff on TV that tries to be funny, but really leaves me staring at how corny a lot of it is. Not just TV either , morning radio tries so hard to not be straight , no matter if its on the radio, tv, or even web, I don't find a lot of stuff thats supposed to be funny...funny. Funny gotta happen on its own timing..eh?
Before I arrived to the Glasgow gig, I took off in a cab from the hotel to the Carling Academy in Glasgow. As I approached the venue and saw the two buses outside I walked up to the backdoor with no pass , no probem even recognized a couple of folk from our touring 3 years back in 2005. I walked in but couldn't find the usual set listings on the walls , it was instead saying something else entirely. Looked on the side of the stage and it wasnt a group I had recognized , but the place was packed and fans were twirling lights and looking on some gothic teen tip. Real youngish. When I stepped back in the hallway I asked this dude named Joel a part of the crew that I was with PE. He said he knew who I was. He told me then that this building was heading the Avril Lavigue concert and he was working with the Jonas Brothers .... I was smack in the middle of a teen 20 something gothic girl pop fest. It was simply a kodak better yet southwest airline priceless moment. Wanna go somewhere for a while? I then took a cab to the ABC venue which was now modded out , from its 150 year history once hosting circuses, and a Buffalo Bill exhibition.
Catching the shows we then proceeded to give Glasgow everything we had. Picture phones galore. Even throughout the performance the energy was all time. I even matched Flav by jumping in the crowd after Rebel Without A Pause. A treat as we head 6 hours down the UK 1 to Nottingham to wrap the British Isles before we go to Barcelona where Portishead asked me to join them after our set festival wise. And after that back to the east , Prague Czech Republic again where we will make a statement by performing this album. Down below this news article popped up the next day in the press after the Brixton gig .
Public Enemy: Revolutionary Nostalgia
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 26/05/2008 Tom Horan reviews Public Enemy at the Brixton Academy "You think rap is a fad? You must be mad!" So sang hip-hop act Stetsasonic when I saw them support Public Enemy one unforgettable night in 1988. Stetsasonic might have disbanded soon after, but 20 years later a Public Enemy show is still a hot ticket - and a vivid reminder of the way this form of music has not just survived but become a global lingua franca. Just like rock with its Eagles nostalgia nights and Led Zep reunions - hip-hop now has a history long and rich enough to be worth disinterring. On this short British tour the New York rappers are embracing another trick from the heritage rock circuit: playing a classic album in its entirety, which prospect frontman Chuck D described as "a promoter's dream, a fan's fantasy and an artist's challenge". It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) was their best outing and is often cited in lists of the greatest records of all time. At the time of its release there was about Public Enemy that sense of revolution that attaches itself only very occasionally to a group of musicians. it was a fantastically exciting record, an inflammatory rallying call for black self-empowerment, adored by poor, young black kid and middle-class whitey alike. So what was extraordinary to see at the album's revivification in Brixton was the ocean of 30- and 40-something white faces that smiled up at Chuck and his hilarious sidekick, Flavor Flav. Of course, most people here were reliving the heady days when Nation of Millions first gripped them, but where were the hundreds of black kids - also grown up now - who had stood 20-deep at that show in '88 and blocked me and anyone else white from coming any closer to their heroes? Chuck and Flavor delivered a robust and energetic performance, stripped down as ever to the minimum of DJ with two turntables, and their microphones. The best tracks off the album Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Don't Believe the Hype and Rebel Without a Pause still sounded more daring and politically engaged than anything being recorded today. But a night like this will always be about reminiscence, and with that ultimately comes sadness. On a positive note, you could argue that Public Enemy - and indeed hip-hop itself - gave the white world an insight into the black, creating a healthy empathy. But black audiences turned their backs on the enlightened hip-hop that Nation of Millions offered them and opted for bling and guns and gangsta. And that was a very sad day."
BOMB SQUAD Hank and Keith Shocklee blew sht up in Europe in the UK. Before the PE set Hank and Keith did a four turntable, drum machine assault in Brixton Dublin, Manchester etc that was a resemblance to Dark Side Of The Wall. A 'Black' Floyd so to speak ...releasing sonic overtures and bass frequencies across the venue. The Bomb Squad has re purposed hip hop and Hank is looking to release songs in the form of digital and limited edition configuration. Again like I said it's Black Floyd
MPLS Up in Minneapolis I did a special night interviewing front of an audience for Minnesota Public Radio. It was extra special because of the parlayed performances by BROTHER AL and SLUG from ATMOSPHERE who gave me his new sparkling brilliant album ... Also the RHYMESAYERS website's off the frame and it's so great seeing such a great website for their innovations.
Earlier I spoke at CENTRAL HIGH at a special Black Emmitt Till Legacy function that Saturday, where their community came out and supported the talent of the day and high school arts. It was the same high school attended by Charles Schultz of Peanuts fame, and baseball hall of famer Dave Winfield.
CHAMPTOWN My man CHAMPTOWN from DETROIT has always been a character, but also a pioneer. A key figure and player for years in the Motor City rap game has never really gotten his due. I can remember when visiting, we drove up to nearby suburban town 10 Mile Road in Warren MI and he took me by KID ROCK'S modest crib to record some vocals. KID ROCK had already did his stint as a full rapper with JIVE records in the early 90's, high top glued fade and all. After recording for CHAMP, with K.R. engineering in his basement equipment, ROCK then showed a sneak peak into his next music move, a rap-rock hybrid dynamic presentation complete with CHAMPS little person-self acclaimed super midget SHORT KUT. It was amazing as I saw their show on a little TV in black and white. Upon leaving ROCK said he'd already had something brewing with major company, which I later found to be ATLANTIC. Later ROCK and I talked about it when we did a special performance on VH1 with GRANDMASTER FLASH for JAMMASTER JAY. Now CHAMPTOWN is on tour with KID ROCK , also mentioning that RUN from RUN-DMC who he's also known for years as well as writing a song on his last DISTORTION album a cut called THEY USED TO CALL ME RUN. ' I played the original CHAMPTOWN performed version years back on my BRINGTHENOISE.COM internet radio show 'When The Sht Hits The Fans'. CHAMPTOWN was at the ST PAUL event he teaches a class at a audio school and is also instrumental in bringing along EMINEM.
WISCONSIN JEFF CHANG hooked up a fantastic panel in University OF WISCONSIN where many scholars, writers, educators, and spoken word and rap artists, breakdance professionals and deejays ,convened to talk and give opinion in seminar form to collegians and those local in the biz. Bakari Kitwana, Davey D, Dr Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Mark Anthony Neal, Rennie Harris, Tricia Rose, Jorge 'Popmaster Fabel' Pabon, Wendy Day, Cathy Cohen, Dr Gaye Theresa Johnson and yours truly. They all brought the noise with the possibility of fusing hip hop sensibility with the curriculum at hand in both high school and college. Great minds doing much work.
COLUMBIA S.C. A great drive from Atlanta along I -20 heading east, I was surprised at how Columbia S.C. has risen. As a state South Carolina has really shown growth potential on the outskirts as well as the sprawling urban areas. There's a weekend scene in a few places, and most people only know about the coast MYRTLE BEACH, CHARLESTON , and HILTON HEAD. It's one of the un-pubbed secrets of good time in this country. Making up for all the bad time it forced on blackfolk until the seventies, or should I say up until the passing of Strom Thurmond.
XXL LOSIN MY WAY? Is it me? But I'm wondering sometimes the overall direction of XXL. It's one of the best looking magazines ever in hip hop, but at times I wonder if I can even relate to what it is. I know that its region oriented, but with magazines out in the world like FELONS Jim trying to figure out if there's a nation of college grad journalists who sit in a room and exploit the promoted tastes of gun, jail, and drug culture. I also wonder who buys it? Is it a USA white kids peek into the ghetto? While I dealt with mush of those very same topics as an early artists, I always understood the line of exploitation and tried to tell cats not to f#ck with it. In fact when I was talking jail as in BLACK STEEL, I was talking being jailed for being anti-war, government hypocrisy. Never making light of the prison industrial complex i.e. new slavery. Gun culture was dealt from a militant vs military perspective, and drugs we said no. Although we understood how much of our people were entrapped like gristle. In fact who can explain how black male total USA jail population has gone from 100,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million presently. Either I lost my way, or XXL has taking serious things a bit lightly for their power. If they are claiming to solely reflecting the rapmosphere then they will soon be telling tales from the inevitable crypt the next four years. It's one of the reasons to cast a leery eye on Murderdog Magazine. Simple questions like who publishes this, and who do they look to sell to?
REMY MA A tragic example that is staying under the radar but sad as hell is the REMY MA jailing case. After allegedly shooting her friend and a person working for her with a 45. This was again taken lightly as REMY MA got on New York radio and made a mockery of the incident. Then the judge landed a 8 year sentence on her saying that she was 'an angry woman who doesn't take responsibility for her actions.' The end result was REMY crying and screaming in court these words that should be promoted in thug infamy; ' I'm not a menace to society- " , the rapper cried, " I'm not a thug" she added " I'm pleading with you to give me a second chance, I apologize, I apologize..." she whined, begging for mercy for the sake of "my little boy" . Now what Jim saying here is the chance that this tragedy will not be on the top of the journalistic pile. Instead we expect to get splashed with more of the promoted cause, while the effect will get the hidden and tucked back pages of hip hop mags, media,
HOW LONG IS A GENERATION? With slimmer connection between human beings in their communications, It's my opinion remains that it's beneficial for the powers that be to separate and categorize people by this so called term of demographic and constituency. My belief remains that culture brings the human race together for our similarities and knocks the differences aside. Governments are opposed to this. Governments use of technology further distances the people from each other. The fact that now it appears that there's a generation gap between 25 year olds and 30 year olds is troubling. I see people of color being programmed by these powers into volunteered slavery , and it's also sweeping in those on the outside in.
Barack Obama is appealing to the nation 50 and under clearly , and Hillary Clinton can't seem to do that as well. The term 'hating' is within a context . What happens if MCCAIN chooses Condoleeza Rice as VP? You know she's a made woman. She will have to comply, and it really ain't up to her The Republicans are the Bill Belichicks of politics, they got for the last minute no huddle strategy. And contrary to how I've been misinterpreted, this won't be to split the so called black vote but to fragment the shaky, unsure vote of the white amerikkkan status quo. Racial excuses will not be in order then, although you cannot remove the word 'race' from the presidential race. Regardless what these smaller separated generations feel is a change of this pick one or the other, voting choice selection process.
CLEVELAND Was in Ohio for a special event talking about bringing the curriculum up in Ohio schools, especially since only 55% of black males graduate. Tragic figure in the Midwest, although 45% in Chicago and 35% in Detroit are the education rates for graduate black males.
REPETITION One of the default processes of this millennium, I feel, is repetitive information through outside means is making academic teaching and learning more difficult than ever. Whippings of mass distraction as I've said before is part of the corporate overtaking of the mass mindset. A fact and a test in school may come along once in a setting, while the programming of television pours the same information over and over again. This processed info also has the tendency to evaporate quicker as well. Teachers and professors alike have to compete for the mental space and time on FACEBOOK, MYSPACE social texting networks sometimes blue toothed within their midst.
NAT GEO MV BILL In Washington DC, National Geographic television has invested much thought, structuring- and yes finance- into the world culture of hip hop. Infusing the documentary discovery goals and principals of the long storied magazine into TV and popular mainstream portals is the look. My friend from BRAZIL The Godfather of Brazilian Rap Music; MV BILL performed and spoke to the people the importance of Hip Hop in making change in the world. He never runs away from the reality or the truth that surrounds his existence. Crime and drugs in the favellas , namely the City Of God where he resides, MV BILL has provided the building of many youth centers with computers, and modern tech tools and books to give young people a great visible alternative. National Geographic has ushered in a cultural program to showcase this expose and others.Our program will feature two new National Geographic Emerging Explorers,Josh Thome and Sol Guy ( Sol manages K'naan ) and MV Bill. Josh and Sol produce a television series called '4REAL' and it is a series of half-hour shows hosted by Sol that takes celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who under extreme circumstances are affecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time. It was a fantastic live event featuried short clips from the shows and highlighting the one that features MV Bill and Mos Def .The discussion about the series, their work and the power that music and hip hop has to transcend borders and inspire positive change, was a wonderful highlight for all . MV BILL is one of a kind indeed.
FLAV -THE NEW JACK JOHNSON My man Flavor may be the current Jack Johnson- not Stephin Fetchit. Lincoln Perry was a trained actor who dumbed himself into the small box Hollywood prepared for him. Whereas Jack Johnson boldly said, dared, and did things regardless to what anybody thought. Speeding through Midwestern and southern streets in 1910 with a fast open car of faster white chicks, not only made white America want to pull out their lynching ropes, but prompted WEB Dubois and Booker T. Washington to answer critically on the behalf of the upward collective souls of black folk. I've said before that Flav is the smartest cat in his room ...it's the dumbed down other folk who baffle me. Flav I know- little did we know the programming, hypnotizing power of the once named 'boob tube' would reduce grown participants and viewers alike to plop down and rent a condo on my man's black planet.
MYTV The Flav show I thought was a Saturday morning show with adult insinuations. While I always think Flav is great, the writers couldn't be more terrible. Perhaps either they can find a few writers that really can turn a page on a series. The show's other actors are confusing me beyond the check, as I feel the roles were thrown at them. Let's hope for the best here.
JAMIE FOSTER BROWN Jamie Foster Brown from the Sister to Sister magazine has published a good piece in the mag in an interview with Flav. He got down deep and personal. Also Flav being who he is was teflon to all the criticism weighed around him. Its who he is. One thing though was the part where he said I would come on the show. Oh no. .....oh. errr.....no. He asks me all the time. Ladies and Gentlemen I let Flavor go and be Flav. Again, I'm glad he has an itinerary.
BARKLEY Charles Barkley is as real as it is. I peeped his apology about his gambling before a TNT playoff game with his straight man partner Ernie Johnson Jr. EJ did not spare and drilled him with the hard questions of why. Barkley just kept saying that it was his fault, while also retiring from gambling the best he could. Cool- I guess, but at the same time I don't understand this country's attached turn the cheek attitude on gangster built Las Vegas and Nevada. How can gambling be a crime when this country is feeding upon this trade by the state. CHARLOTTE TOWN HALL Black enterprise asked me to attend their town hall in charlotte NC hosted by Ed Gordon. On panel was Rev Al Sharpton, former editor of the Source Kim Osorio, Roland Martin, and yours truly. Hosted by Ed Gordon , it was again explaining in a town hall setting, what was wrong and how it can be dealt with. It was energetic and fiery , especially when Ed addressed Kim over the images that she governs on BET.COM. It calmed and Kim and Ed agreed to disagree about who was really in charge. But as usual Rev Al dropped the bomb on the corps who said they must be identified and accountable to their hidden power spell over the unbeknownst masses.
ARETHA Anybody loving Aretha Franklin gotta pick up her latest album of Unreleased masters from Atlantic 1967-1977. Especially the demo from ' Never Loved A Man' which amazingly starts with Aretha rippin a piano. Its a reason for record labels to keep putting out cds, great session, hard to get classics. This double cd is a must!
BOTTLED WATER Something about the plastic in bottled water that I don't really dig. Seems like I taste the plastic. While glass bottled water tastes a whole lot better and yet different. I've thought this for ten years- on the road especially. I love drinking water from the faucet and fountain. The only exception to the glass bottled water is my dislike for Evian which as KRS ONE stated spells backward the word 'naive' which can have one think that the alps boast is really toilet water indeed.
BEYOND THE DATA It's really imperative that acts bring the noise beyond their data. Meaning that at the end of the day song tracks and video are just that ....data. While data is important, the emphasis is over the top in these digital times where it all boils down to hype and noted connects. I've checked and peeped the blogs and I admit I've lost my direction of understanding of what makes a hot rap act. If sales are no longer a barometer and the artist is terrible in performance... I don't know... Is it the video image? The real jail, court cases, and arrest sheets are played out in my book. Development is low , and the ideas, collabs and lyrics on mix CDs and DVD always seems to end up in the same topical graveyard. It's probably why Nas stated hip hop is dead a couple years back. It has to be natural life not some mouth to month resuscitation. I shifted my companies I work with to be more concerned about exerting energy and help in the classic rap areas and organizing that. If I was making comparisons, then I'd consider rap the late 1970's NBA, the late disco era or late hair band age, or the late 80's corporate rock. I also think that something is new beyond the data. Not battles, meandering freestyles or one man production.
FUNNY? I see a lot of stuff on TV that tries to be funny, but really leaves me staring at how corny a lot of it is. Not just TV either , morning radio tries so hard to not be straight , no matter if its on the radio, tv, or even web, I don't find a lot of stuff thats supposed to be funny...funny. Funny gotta happen on its own timing..eh?
mistachuck@rapstation.com myspace.com/chuckdpublicenemy
