Boondocks has got to be one of the best shows on right now. I'm happy that they are bringing this show back. Most people just look at it as a cartoon but its sooo much more and they tap into a lot of topics that plague the community. A lot has to be read between the lines but I love this show. Preview for season 3........
Peace
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Nas Article..........
Im huge fan of hiphop mostly past but some present. One of my favorite rappers is NAS. Been following him for a minute now and I'm pleased that he some new music comin in the form of Distand Relatives with Damian Marley. In my mind its gonna be a dope album. I was online on one of my favorite sites www.allhiphop.com and came across this article that i thought was interesting. Here is the article in its entirety.
EDITORIAL
We Need Nas
Monday, March 29, 2010 11:11 AM | 69 comments
By Good Guy AKA Everyman
ShareThis AHH IconGet Alerts
Nas rapper
We Need Nas.
We Need Nas.
We Need Nas.
There, I said it.
A lot of people want to forget about Nas now, act like he's fallen off. They - behind computers - sit and laugh about his marital issues. They still want to talk about Carmen from time time. He signed under Jay-Z when his former adversary was president of Def Jam, they type. They use terms like "Nas stay losing."
They love to tear him down for some reason.
They do this to others as well, but not quite in the same way as Nasir Jones.
But, we need Nas...you know, if you still love Hip-Hop. I'll admit, Nas isn't the "Jesus-snuffing-Illmatic-Stillmatic" dude that we once knew and revered. His body of work has been somewhat spotty. Frankly, his rocket ship didn't quite make it to Hip-Hop Heaven.
But, we need Nas.
I look at the landscape of O.G. rappers that are still doing it and doing it well. There's Jay-Z, Kanye West, there's Jadakiss, Scarface, Snoop Dogg and others that are still doing work. Lyrically, and I do mean purely lyrically, none of them seem to be as thought provoking and provocative as Nas. And that's not disrespect, because most of them have more flair, business acumen, style and personality than Nas puts on display.
What is dope, as well as frustrating, is his natural tendency to be private. He remains mysterious in an era that seems to abhor enigmas. I love the fact that I don't know what Nas' daughter looks like. Sure, I know Nas has a hefty support bill with Kelis, but I don't quite know if they get along. Nas isn't twittering about it. Hell, we don't even know if he was supposed to be on the original version of "Empire State of Mind" with Jay-Z.
I like that. I like not knowing too much. I like a rapper that pays attention to lyrics. I like a rapper that's not afraid to take a break. Not afraid to be an attention whore. Not afraid to take musical risks.
This leads me to the end of this column.
A few months ago, this collaboration with Damian Marley was the worst thing Nas could ever do, in my humble opinion. First off, I am not the biggest reggae fan, even though I used to do the bogle dance. Glad there was no Youtube back then. But, I have changed my mind on that. This album, titled Distant Relatives, is probably going to "save" Nas' career. After seeing the videos of his performing at SXSW, he's got a renewed energy. He's also got a new cause, a new message and even a team to help him pull this off. This album is more significant than his recent albums.
The main complaint I have with Hip-Hop is the lack of balance in the music. There is no hatred for The South or gangster rap or skinny jeans rappers or whatever else is popular right now. I like it all. And that's all the more reason why we NEED A NAS.
Now, there are other rappers - such as J. Cole, Pac Div, Pill, Juice, Jay Rock - that give hope for that balance we need on a larger scale. There's a lot of hope. But I also hope that we as a community will stop feeding into the desire to deconstruct Nas so much. Let dude be Nas, an amazing lyricist that happens to be the opposite of all that you complain about. Perhaps the hate is some form of displaced love. Maybe we failed to recognize Nas as a human from the onset of his career and really bestowed him with power he never had.
Nas can still make it to Heaven, but we're going to have to help him navigate the ship this time around.
Real talk. We need Nas.
Peace
EDITORIAL
We Need Nas
Monday, March 29, 2010 11:11 AM | 69 comments
By Good Guy AKA Everyman
ShareThis AHH IconGet Alerts
Nas rapper
We Need Nas.
We Need Nas.
We Need Nas.
There, I said it.
A lot of people want to forget about Nas now, act like he's fallen off. They - behind computers - sit and laugh about his marital issues. They still want to talk about Carmen from time time. He signed under Jay-Z when his former adversary was president of Def Jam, they type. They use terms like "Nas stay losing."
They love to tear him down for some reason.
They do this to others as well, but not quite in the same way as Nasir Jones.
But, we need Nas...you know, if you still love Hip-Hop. I'll admit, Nas isn't the "Jesus-snuffing-Illmatic-Stillmatic" dude that we once knew and revered. His body of work has been somewhat spotty. Frankly, his rocket ship didn't quite make it to Hip-Hop Heaven.
But, we need Nas.
I look at the landscape of O.G. rappers that are still doing it and doing it well. There's Jay-Z, Kanye West, there's Jadakiss, Scarface, Snoop Dogg and others that are still doing work. Lyrically, and I do mean purely lyrically, none of them seem to be as thought provoking and provocative as Nas. And that's not disrespect, because most of them have more flair, business acumen, style and personality than Nas puts on display.
What is dope, as well as frustrating, is his natural tendency to be private. He remains mysterious in an era that seems to abhor enigmas. I love the fact that I don't know what Nas' daughter looks like. Sure, I know Nas has a hefty support bill with Kelis, but I don't quite know if they get along. Nas isn't twittering about it. Hell, we don't even know if he was supposed to be on the original version of "Empire State of Mind" with Jay-Z.
I like that. I like not knowing too much. I like a rapper that pays attention to lyrics. I like a rapper that's not afraid to take a break. Not afraid to be an attention whore. Not afraid to take musical risks.
This leads me to the end of this column.
A few months ago, this collaboration with Damian Marley was the worst thing Nas could ever do, in my humble opinion. First off, I am not the biggest reggae fan, even though I used to do the bogle dance. Glad there was no Youtube back then. But, I have changed my mind on that. This album, titled Distant Relatives, is probably going to "save" Nas' career. After seeing the videos of his performing at SXSW, he's got a renewed energy. He's also got a new cause, a new message and even a team to help him pull this off. This album is more significant than his recent albums.
The main complaint I have with Hip-Hop is the lack of balance in the music. There is no hatred for The South or gangster rap or skinny jeans rappers or whatever else is popular right now. I like it all. And that's all the more reason why we NEED A NAS.
Now, there are other rappers - such as J. Cole, Pac Div, Pill, Juice, Jay Rock - that give hope for that balance we need on a larger scale. There's a lot of hope. But I also hope that we as a community will stop feeding into the desire to deconstruct Nas so much. Let dude be Nas, an amazing lyricist that happens to be the opposite of all that you complain about. Perhaps the hate is some form of displaced love. Maybe we failed to recognize Nas as a human from the onset of his career and really bestowed him with power he never had.
Nas can still make it to Heaven, but we're going to have to help him navigate the ship this time around.
Real talk. We need Nas.
Peace
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Good Weather........
The past couple of weeks its been hit or miss with the weather but these past few days it hit the 80s and it feels great. I had to take a couple days off work and just chill with the fam lol. Definitely appreciate those times hangin with them. The weather has a way of putting people in a good mood. People have been all smiles and its just interesting. Im hoping the weather can just maintain and transition properly into the summer. This summer is lookin like its gon be cool. Im not doin a vacation but a few long weekend trips. Its so much I want to do and places Im tryin to be so hopefully I'll be able to do them come summer time. There are a few concerts I'm trying to see, a couple of weddings graduations, and host of other events going on so hopefully I'm hopin i can get it all in. Either way its gonna be a good summer and I cant wait till it gets here. Here's a couple of joints to rock out too:
Peace
Peace
Friday, March 26, 2010
March Madness
I'm such a huge basketball fan and love when March Madness rolls around cause its just an exciting time. This years tournament has been nothing short of exciting. There have been some big name schools going down early and last night my team, the one i picked to win it all, got kicked out of the tournament. I'm a big Syracuse fan and when they got kicked out last night i felt some type of way. My bracket is all messed up now lol. Maybe next year. Now I'm really wondering who is going to win this years tournament. All I know is that it is gonna be some more good games.
Peace
Peace
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Life/Death
This past weekend I went home to attend a celebration of life. Every time I go home its always love and it sort of rejuvenates me until the next time I come. Its just so much energy and when I am there I take some of that energy with me. The celebration was great and everybody enjoyed themselves.
So while I was there I had a chance to see one of my neighbors. She always speaks and always ask my fam how I'm doing so I wanted to go say hi. WHile we are talking she mentions to me that she is going to be 90 next month and in my mind I'm like damn thats the ill blessing right there. She could only speak with me at her front door cause she has had numerous surgeries and couldnt walk down her front steps. It was such a beautiful day and I felt sorry that she couldnt get out and feel what was out there. Anyways we were just talking about how much she has seen and she started goin way back like 50 yrs ago when she first moved on the block. The way she spoke it was with so much pride and appreciation. She kept saying that things were so different and neighbors actually knew each other by name and watched over everybodies kids on the block as if they were their own. Its funny cause when we were growing up she would be the one to tell on me and my siblings if we skipped school, had people over, were makin noise, whatever and we would get in trouble for it. She was so meticulous about her lawn and she would watch to see if people walked on it or not. Looking back I can appreciate what she did for us. There were lessons taught.
The real sad part of the conversation is when she said that she "hopes" that she makes it to see her next birthday. The way she said it sort of made everything around me just stop. I'm no stranger to death but its all in how she said it and even thinking about it now I feel like everything is moving in slow motion around me. Other times I would see her and say hi and keep it movin but the energy just pulled me in her direction and we had a nice conversation.
I barely saw any family check for her so I wonder if she has any family or anybody in her life that cares enough to just say hi. I wonder if she is gonna make it to her 90th birthday. Im rootin for her but the way she said she "hopes" almost sounds as if she has given up or if she is just tired. 90 thats real. At the end of the day I appreciated that conversation. It meant a lot and touched me lol. Why I dont know but it did. Maybe in a way I needed to hear what she had to say cause nobody else is listening........
Peace
So while I was there I had a chance to see one of my neighbors. She always speaks and always ask my fam how I'm doing so I wanted to go say hi. WHile we are talking she mentions to me that she is going to be 90 next month and in my mind I'm like damn thats the ill blessing right there. She could only speak with me at her front door cause she has had numerous surgeries and couldnt walk down her front steps. It was such a beautiful day and I felt sorry that she couldnt get out and feel what was out there. Anyways we were just talking about how much she has seen and she started goin way back like 50 yrs ago when she first moved on the block. The way she spoke it was with so much pride and appreciation. She kept saying that things were so different and neighbors actually knew each other by name and watched over everybodies kids on the block as if they were their own. Its funny cause when we were growing up she would be the one to tell on me and my siblings if we skipped school, had people over, were makin noise, whatever and we would get in trouble for it. She was so meticulous about her lawn and she would watch to see if people walked on it or not. Looking back I can appreciate what she did for us. There were lessons taught.
The real sad part of the conversation is when she said that she "hopes" that she makes it to see her next birthday. The way she said it sort of made everything around me just stop. I'm no stranger to death but its all in how she said it and even thinking about it now I feel like everything is moving in slow motion around me. Other times I would see her and say hi and keep it movin but the energy just pulled me in her direction and we had a nice conversation.
I barely saw any family check for her so I wonder if she has any family or anybody in her life that cares enough to just say hi. I wonder if she is gonna make it to her 90th birthday. Im rootin for her but the way she said she "hopes" almost sounds as if she has given up or if she is just tired. 90 thats real. At the end of the day I appreciated that conversation. It meant a lot and touched me lol. Why I dont know but it did. Maybe in a way I needed to hear what she had to say cause nobody else is listening........
Peace
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Hip Hop Sighting.........
Last night I had the opportunity to see one of my favorite groups of all time perform: Brand Nubians. I been a fan since around 92' when i first heard One For All. I remember workin wit my pops and when we got finished and he paid me I asked him to take me to the record store and thats where i got the Brand Nubians tape and we listened to it all the way home. I was hyped when I got home and played it again with my brother and my friends. There were plenty standout tracks on that albun and when I heard it I was instantly hooked. Their lyrics were strong and to some controversial. Ive always been a person that was proud to be Black but this one one of the albums that made me even prouder. Even to this day I recognize know and understand their music on so many levels. They deinitely have had an affect on me.
Fast forward to last night and I was crazy hyped to check the show. I went solo cause none of my people wanted to hang out and its been a minute since I been out so I had to go out but thats here nor there. It was a nice crowd in the spot. The DJ was doing his thing and i was lovin it. There were a lot of local cats that went on and they did their thing. One group in particular was The Cornel West Theory. They had a live band and everything so I was in the zone. They even had cats break dancing so people were enjoying themselves. During the performances all the Brand Nubian members were in the crowd just vibin with the people taken pictures signin autographs and everything. When Brand Nubians hit the stage the place was crazy packed and ready to go. They ran thru joint after joint after joint and they had the people in a frenzie. definitely an A+ show. I was happy when I asked if a new album was comin and they said yes..........
Peace
Fast forward to last night and I was crazy hyped to check the show. I went solo cause none of my people wanted to hang out and its been a minute since I been out so I had to go out but thats here nor there. It was a nice crowd in the spot. The DJ was doing his thing and i was lovin it. There were a lot of local cats that went on and they did their thing. One group in particular was The Cornel West Theory. They had a live band and everything so I was in the zone. They even had cats break dancing so people were enjoying themselves. During the performances all the Brand Nubian members were in the crowd just vibin with the people taken pictures signin autographs and everything. When Brand Nubians hit the stage the place was crazy packed and ready to go. They ran thru joint after joint after joint and they had the people in a frenzie. definitely an A+ show. I was happy when I asked if a new album was comin and they said yes..........
Peace
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mike Vick Project/ Professional Sports Salaries
I dont watch too much tv outside of sports, the news channels, and my home improvement shows lol. This post is two fold. First I want to touch on the Mike Vick project and an article that i read while i got home a lil while ago dealing with professional sports and their high salaries.
The Mike Vick show is great to me. Having grown up in an "urban" area Ive seen dog fights on many occasions. Im not here to argue wether or not dog fighting is good bad indifferent or whatever. The reason why I like the show is that its honest brutally honest at times but honest. When his whole situation went down I paid attention to how it was gonna go down. I was surprised at the sentence but understood that he was made an example of maybe because of his celbrity and race. I have had a million conversations about the topic and half the people think he should have been locked up longer and others felt it was too long. For the rcord I believe that he didnt deserve all that time. All the sports radio stations had callers call up and say how sick he was and that he was a monster and all that. These people were seriously actin like he was the grim reaper himself. His situation showed me that people cared more for the animals rather than human beings. It messed me up and dont understand it at all. People talkin bout he sick and mad that he is able to resume his career. There have been countless people make money while in jail and when they get out so I didnt see the fuss. Maybe Im just as sick as him.
I had the opportunity to read an article today that said that the NBA may loose $400 million this year due to the economy poor ticket sales and such. Apparently in 2011 their CBA (collective bargaining agreement) is to run out and they need to approve a new one. There is a similar issue that may hit the NFL as well. The issue is that the owners want more of the revenues as opposed to the players getting a huge chunk of the pie. SO I finnish the article and I see all of these comments and they borderline if not racist in their nature. To sum up the comments they basically refered to the players as rich thugs and they didnt deserve to get all that money to play a game. I'm sittin there like these people cant be serious. In my mind I dont get mad or upset when these players make some wild salaries or even what they do with their money. Its not my business. These people obviously have the talent and have taken it to the highest level to compete at that highest level. I mean this can be a direct contrast to slave owners and their plantations. Back then they kept 100% of the profits and barely gave their "workers" andything so its an evolutin of sorts. The owners are trying to take more of the stacks ($$$) and leave the players with a small piece of the pie. Some might think thats cool but i dont. The players put themselves on the field court whatever and they make the leagues they play in. If there are no players will the sport thrive. I asked a coworker this and they said that if the NFL had a strike they would still watch the "replacements" but Im like damn whats the deal with the product thats being put on the field. Whats the point with all that. Just my opinion.
Peace
The Mike Vick show is great to me. Having grown up in an "urban" area Ive seen dog fights on many occasions. Im not here to argue wether or not dog fighting is good bad indifferent or whatever. The reason why I like the show is that its honest brutally honest at times but honest. When his whole situation went down I paid attention to how it was gonna go down. I was surprised at the sentence but understood that he was made an example of maybe because of his celbrity and race. I have had a million conversations about the topic and half the people think he should have been locked up longer and others felt it was too long. For the rcord I believe that he didnt deserve all that time. All the sports radio stations had callers call up and say how sick he was and that he was a monster and all that. These people were seriously actin like he was the grim reaper himself. His situation showed me that people cared more for the animals rather than human beings. It messed me up and dont understand it at all. People talkin bout he sick and mad that he is able to resume his career. There have been countless people make money while in jail and when they get out so I didnt see the fuss. Maybe Im just as sick as him.
I had the opportunity to read an article today that said that the NBA may loose $400 million this year due to the economy poor ticket sales and such. Apparently in 2011 their CBA (collective bargaining agreement) is to run out and they need to approve a new one. There is a similar issue that may hit the NFL as well. The issue is that the owners want more of the revenues as opposed to the players getting a huge chunk of the pie. SO I finnish the article and I see all of these comments and they borderline if not racist in their nature. To sum up the comments they basically refered to the players as rich thugs and they didnt deserve to get all that money to play a game. I'm sittin there like these people cant be serious. In my mind I dont get mad or upset when these players make some wild salaries or even what they do with their money. Its not my business. These people obviously have the talent and have taken it to the highest level to compete at that highest level. I mean this can be a direct contrast to slave owners and their plantations. Back then they kept 100% of the profits and barely gave their "workers" andything so its an evolutin of sorts. The owners are trying to take more of the stacks ($$$) and leave the players with a small piece of the pie. Some might think thats cool but i dont. The players put themselves on the field court whatever and they make the leagues they play in. If there are no players will the sport thrive. I asked a coworker this and they said that if the NFL had a strike they would still watch the "replacements" but Im like damn whats the deal with the product thats being put on the field. Whats the point with all that. Just my opinion.
Peace
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