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The Undisputed Truth
Candlelight Vigil for Gaza's Innocent Civilians
If you've been paying attention to the DX blog section lately, you may have noticed my fellow blogger Mr. Burnett’s recent post on the concept of the kaffiyeh becoming a fashion trend. Props to my “coworker” of sorts for pointing out the fact that people are rocking those joints (as well as the ever popular Che Guevara t-shirts) with no clue as to what they symbolize or the history behind them. But, let’s take a look at how some people who actually do know the meaning of the fashion item they’re wearing sport the item. And let’s use this situation to discuss some more serious matters as well.
I get some e-mails from time to time asking me about my college experience or commenting about the things I say about college life on the blog. Well, here’s a little something for those of you who have hit me up concerning that. College can be a lot of fun and games, but college campuses are also hotbeds for groups and events that promote social change or take on political issues. Word of advice to those heading off to college next year or even those who are already there – if you’re into attending events of this nature, research the student organizations on campus that deal with the issues that you’re concerned about. A lot of times you can find an e-newsletter you can sign up for that will keep you posted on news and events that the organization is hosting that you can be involved in. You don’t even necessarily need to join the group to get on the mailing lists and stay up on what’s going on.
Anyway, tonight a candlelight vigil was held on my campus by GMU’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in order to show support and give well wishes to the innocent civilians in Gaza that have been impacted by the recent Israeli blockade. For those that aren’t up on their current events, you can peep a brief review of the situation here. To sum it up even more briefly though, Israel was facing rocket attacks by Palestinians, and in a strategic move of defense, a blockade was imposed on Gaza that in turn cut off supplies and humanitarian aid to the territory. This meant that things like food and fuel were not reaching the citizens of Gaza, although the blockade was lightened to allow a few approved shipments of things like rice and limited amounts of fuel. Many were left without running water, heat, or electricity.
Some may call me biased, seeing as how my cultural background surely plays a part in some of my feelings about the situation over there, but this is not about taking sides. This is about speaking out for justice in a situation where a move of defense taken by a nation not only affected the people who they were trying to defend themselves against, but also innocent citizens including women and children who deserve the basic necessities of life.
Peep some photos of the event:
More information about the ongoing situation via Amnesty International can be found here.
And whether it’s Gaza, domestic violence, the situation in Darfur, rising gas prices, police brutality, privatization of water in developed countries, the state of rap music, climate change, etc., remember that a large step in the process to achieve reform is education. Without sufficient knowledge of what’s going on, efforts to incite change may not be as effective as they could be. And share what you learn with those around you. It’s probably not the best idea to constantly spread your legs or STDs (word to “porn week” or whatever it is that’s going down here at DX), but spreading knowledge and love is a beautiful thing.
Read, read, read!
Until next time, DX...
M1 Platoon's Invasion Mixtape
A new week, and new music to go along with it. What a wonderful concept. Got word of this late this weekend thanks to my boys over at DC to BC, who stay holdin’ down the Middle East from their spot up in Boston. Go ahead with that. Hometown love is a beautiful thing.
Anyway, meet the M1 Platoon. A group that has some claims to the DMV area and is doing it big with their latest mixtape, Invasion. Peep the tracklisting and how many tracks 9th Wonder blessed with the skills!
01. Jay Fattz Intro
02. Lets Make A Mixtape ft. Phocuz (Prod. by Arafat)
03. How 2 Make A Hit ft. Rapsody of Kooley High (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
04. My Sneaks Is All That (Prod. by Beat Justice)
05. BOOYYEE!!! ft. Lord Fuego (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
06. Its Cool ft. Phocuz and Young Swift (Prod. by Arafat)
07. Get It On ft. Lord Fuego (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
08. Horton's Clergymen Interlude
09. Paper Boys ft Erroll (Prod. by Arafat)
10. Check Me Out (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
11. Welcome (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
12. Just Another Day ft. Phocuz (Prod. by Arafat)
13. Rep 4 Tha Gorrillas ft. Nathaniel Grey and Lord Fuego (Prod. by Napalm)
14. How U Gon Front? (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
15. Ridin Music (Prod. by Arafat)
16. Give It A Wave (Prod. by Arafat)
17. Firehouse Confessions (Prod. by Ka$h)
18. Harvey Aire's Herion Interlude
19. Herion (Prod. by Arafat)
20. Dont Stop (Prod. by Beat Justice)
21. Mobbed Out ft. Jozeemo (Prod. by Arafat)
22. Be Like ft. Carlitta Durand (Prod. by 9th Wonder)
23. Phocuz's My Boy Interlude
24. We Came 2 Let Yall Know (Prod. by Arafat)
All Tracks Written By Tha M1_Platoon
All Scratches by DJ Gonzo
All interludes and intros produced by Arafat
Recorded in "Yates Room" and "De Stu" at NCCU
2008 Its A Wonderful World Music
http://www.zshare.net/download/6860897bf1cd01/
Click the link or the image to download.This is the kind of tape that’s good for bangin in the whip. Some nice, hard hitting beats, and some good flows that don’t require a dictionary and an encyclopedia to decipher. For more info on the group check out their myspace. Enjoy if it’s your kind of thing, and feel free to tell a friend or two (or twenty). D.C., Maryland, Virginia: stand up, and stand united. It’s going down in 2008!
PS – Shouts to my dude Belize. Always so helpful. Good lookin out.
One more thing! Check out BET tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29th) at 6pm to see what Mr. Paniccioli is up to. Come on, you didn't think I forgot about that now, did you?
Looking For Something To Do This Weekend?
Well, your girl is back to school, and what a semester it's proving to be! And for once, things are looking up instead of down into the depths of hell like they were last semester. Parking sucks, but aside from that? So far, so good. I'm sure I'll be back with updates on the college experience soon enough. I know some classes have already inspired me on some writing topics, so when I do have a minute I'll be around sharing that inspiration with all of you. Keywords in that statement being "when I do have a minute", because the next few months are looking hectic. Getting through school and trying to make professional moves simultaneously can get frustrating, to say the least. But that's why we have weekends, and interesting things to do to occupy the time during those weekends! So for anybody looking for something to do in the next couple of days…here's a few ideas:
The Washington Auto Show. This is for all the car fiends like myself out there. Antwaan Randle-El of the Redskins will be showing face, and of course, there will be cars galore. Check out the latest concept cars and see what the auto industry is up to if you're around the Convention Center this weekend. The show runs until Sunday, admission ranges from $5-$12 on Saturday or Sunday. Click here for more info including directions and hours.
The auctioning off of various items from Dr. Dremo, as well as the final night in business. Saturday night marks the bar's last night in business, and they're celebrating with a no-cover night with live music (don't ask me what, because I don't know), cheap booze, and free pool until 2am. Then, if you need some furniture for your new apartment or that dorm room you just came to inhabit, or even some kitchen supplies, hit up the same place on Monday. At 7pm, you'll have a chance to score chairs, barstools, decorations, pool tables, kitchen type shit, and even 200-gallon beer tanks if that's your sort of thing. Address: 2001 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA.
Read a book. Please? If you're somewhere where it may be snowing this weekend, whip up a hot beverage and enlighten your mind. Fuck what you heard, sometimes there's nothing wrong with being a little nerdy on the weekends. If the weather is that bad, you don't even have to go to the library. Do a Google book search and find something intriguing. There's a lot of treasures buried in that Google book search, for real.* This one especially goes out to the younger heads that are reading this. You know, I gotta do my good deed and promote the pursuit of education. To balance out the fact that I just told you to go hit up a bar and all.
The screening of the film Chocolate City. On Saturday night, 11pm, Busboys and Poets will be screening this film which details the issues that Southeast D.C. is facing in regards to gentrification. However instead of just spewing stats, the film allegedly focuses on gentrification from the viewpoints of the residents who are facing the problem of being kicked out. Busboys and Poets is located at 2021 14th St. NW. Check out the film's website here.
Oh, and don't forget to peep the trailer which won't embed because the DX blog editor is acting up...
GMU vs. UNC-Wilmington. Need to take a trip away from the DMV? Dig through your closet for some green and gold attire, and help cheer on my Patriots to a road victory against UNC-Wilmington out in Wilmington, N.C. The game starts at 7pm. Or if you're too lazy to drive that far, you can stay home and watch it on TV on MASN. Gotta love the television.
Bid on some Jordan XXIII's on eBay. Kidding. Please don't. Blowing thousands of bucks on a shoe…wow. To each his own though, I suppose.
And, sadly, while all of you are out having fun this weekend, I'll probably be at home getting a head start on school work. Such is life. At least I could be reading worse things than Machiavelli. But rest assured, in the near future I have some fun things planned, and I may even feel generous enough to share some of my adventures with the blog. Actually, I'm sure I will. Keep an eye out. I may be getting temporarily quiet, but that doesn't mean that I'm not making moves. Have a safe weekend, DX.
*College heads - have a professor that assigns a book and you don't even have to read the whole thing? Before you go dropping loot on it, search it out on that Google book search. You may be able to access what you need electronically, from any computer, for free. Not a bad deal.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
As much as I find government and political science to be quite interesting, I can’t stand taking classes on the subjects. Why, you ask? Because I don’t have it in me to keep my damn mouth shut. Nine times out of ten, I’ll leave the room all fired up and pissed at the system because some other person in the class decided to argue with me about something and get me all in a political rage. Now, for a half Palestinian girl in today’s society with three-fourths of my government name being quite tricky to pronounce, added to the fact that I live in a very politically volatile area, it’s a misconceived problem when I rant about things like that in public. Especially when I’m walking back to my car sporting my kaffiyeh around my neck (and I don’t mean one of those purple hipster ass joints that Urban Outfitters was selling), only to put the key into the ignition and start blasting some Non Phixion, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Diabolic, Paris, etc., with my windows down while I’m stuck in traffic. Allah forbid that I should come across an interesting looking rock on the sidewalk that I had the urge to pick up, or else I may find myself getting patted down in search of a slingshot. It seems that post 9/11 life is like American Idol for revolutionary minds –
“Randy, yes or no, what do you think?”
“Yo dawg, she dropped it like it was hot when the pressure was on, dawg. She really showed some true passion for what she does. That’s dangerous to the competition. She could take them all. I say yes. This girl could win.”
“Paula, yes or no?”
“That’s a yes from me. She’s so charming and charismatic. The people will love listening to her.”
“Well, that’s two out of three. It looks like you’re on to the next round. Here’s your ticket to Guantanamo!”
One of these days somebody is bound to get the wrong impression. I don’t even think I have to say what that impression might be – you’re probably already thinking it.
“Terrorist”?
Ah, the power of media brainwashing. It’s ok – I’m not holding this against you. I hold this against the regional cable monopolies that control what television channels you’re able to receive. How coincidental is it that those who cannot afford to have hundreds of TV channels or a satellite dish that receives foreign programming are the ones that end up stuck with a small handful of blatantly biased television news sources?* How coincidental is it that it is this same demographic that probably has the most reason to revolt against its leaders, for it is these people that face the harshest realities of the injustices in our society on a daily basis?
If you ask me, it’s not coincidental at all.
This financially imposed technological disadvantage could be argued by an opposing point of view. You could say, “yo, there’s always the public library. You can hit that place up and pick up some books for free to read up on some true knowledge.” Yeah, you can. But thanks to the Patriot Act, that search for true knowledge at the library might just dig your already suspicious looking ass into an even deeper hole. On top of all of that, living in a constant financial struggle is not a simple state of being. Many work excessive hours at minimum wage jobs that tire them out and leave them with little free time. Sitting down to read doesn’t exactly pay the bills or put a hot meal into your kids’ stomachs. It’s like this never-ending trap that people on the lower end of the financial spectrum are seemingly stuck in.
It doesn’t help that public school systems just seem to further the problem, which is even scarier seeing as how the youth (better known as our future) is in their hands. Think about how many overly privileged white kids end up in those “smart” classes. Think about the types of characters that end up on school boards. Think about how much attention and praise the kids who effortlessly do well in school receive, despite the fact that they’re not the ones that truly need that treatment. Think about the children you see as you drive down the streets of the city, and then think of society in 50 years when it’s up to them to be running things. Those same kids that had information that will prove irrelevant to their futures shoved down their throats, in order for them to regurgitate those facts into passing scores on standardized tests so that the school doesn’t lose their federal funding due to the No Child Left Behind concept. And don’t be too sure that the No Child Left Behind program will meet its demise when Bush leaves office – the wording of the title of that program is no accident. What’s the next President going to do? Say, “OK, we can leave some children behind again”? Yeah, that sounds so “politically correct”, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile, a ridiculous amount of money is being poured into programs like Homeland Security. Security? Oh yeah, we’re a lot more secure now. The fact that you can still run up on Capitol Hill with a samurai sword, a bow and arrow, guns, ammo, and some explosive-looking devices is proof of that. It seems as if our government doesn’t have its own finances prioritized correctly. But who am I to talk? After all, I’m just a lowly taxpayer. Far be it from me to be concerned with how the government spends my hard earned money.
Issues such as the aforementioned ones could be listed and explained in a multi-volume book, so let’s get to the point. America achieved its sovereignty by revolution. This country’s independence was achieved by people speaking out, standing up, and fighting for what they believed in. It’s a part of our history. Fast forward a couple hundred years, and this same land is now (and has been) in need of some serious reform once again. The difference between then and now, however, is that these days there has been a sense of fear instilled by the various forms of information technology into the citizens that prevents them from speaking out against what they believe is wrong. I’m shocked when people come up to me after I go off on a verbal tirade in a government class and say “Thank you. You said what I always think but can never bring myself to say.”
Despite what you may have been lead to believe about the definition of what constitutes a possession of “patriotism” is these days, it is not illegal to speak what’s on your mind. It is not illegal to seek truth and understanding. It is not illegal to demand change. Nor are any of the aforementioned actions “unpatriotic”. Quite the contrary. Demanding a stop to injustice, an improved life, and therefore a better country, is to me the highest form of patriotism. Caring enough about the place you live in to put effort into making it safe and just for you, your family, and those that will come after you is nothing but noble. Unite with those around you who share your same ideals for positive change. With unity comes strength, and with that unified strength can come powerful amounts of positive reform. You are doing nothing wrong by speaking out. However be aware that the goals you may possess for the future will require more than speaking. So for those that are able, take part in your communities. Reach out to the youth. Anything. It’s time to stop letting fear control you.
*Seriously. In my personal cable lineup in the past few years, since I don't have that VIP pay channel package and all that bullshit that I ironically tried to sell to people during my brief stint as a telemarketer, I've seen numerous stations that broadcast news from other countries taken out of my access. This included an Arabic news channel, a station that broadcast many areas' newscasts such as China, Russia, the Middle East, India/Bangladesh/that whole area, and even BBC. I am left with run of the mill major network news, and of course the 24/7 "news" channels (I say that reluctantly since they seem to consider the A-list celebrity world newsworthy) like CNN, MSNBC, etc. I'm not making this stuff up. Now, if only I could figure out how to get some English subtitles going on in this Dish Network shit...
Hip Hop 101
It’s no secret that I am dreading my return to school this week*. Seeing as how I’m four years deep into the pursuit of my undergraduate degree, I’m now at that point where I only need something like two more classes to finish my major’s requirements (in this case, and in true college system fashion, one is a prerequisite to the other and the prereq isn’t being offered this semester – another plot to keep me there longer and keep yanking my loot). You know what this means? Time to load up on the most random of classes, with the most wonderfully rated** professors that I can find.
One of these classes ended up being a course on hip hop that happened to fit nicely into my schedule. I should be excited about this, but I’m afraid it may end up being the first thing I drop in my frenzy to reduce my credit load to the lowest level possible that it can be in order to still maintain a full-time student status. See, I love hip hop. I truly love it. Why? Because it’s a part of my life. I don’t “research” hip hop by reading books on it or sitting through lectures. I live it, by having immersed myself in its elements firsthand. I really believe that it is damn near impossible to do the culture justice when you’re confined to the walls of a classroom. Just ask anybody that’s ever participated in a study abroad program.
Basically, I feel that the course may prove to be a large disappointment. Not only that, but I really detest classes at this point in my college career. And I’ll be damned if I ever experience an ounce of dislike towards hip hop, even if it’s just the fact that I may dread attending a class on the subject.
On top of all of that, I can’t even begin to fathom how I would feel if I had to start writing papers or something for this course. Imagine pouring your passionate thoughts onto paper about something near and dear to your heart…only to have them graded? By somebody supposedly “superior” to you? That thought alone makes me want to throw the textbooks (that I haven’t even purchased yet) at the nearest wall.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I don’t have anything to learn. I’m sure there’s something I could take away from the class – I’m certainly no genius. However, the concept of literally being schooled on hip hop is unappealing to me. So is it just me, or does sitting through a class about a certain topic take the enjoyment out of it?
*Parking services – you can eat shit. That is all.
**Read: lenient, not caring about attendance, easy grading, low workload giving, etc...
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I'm going to keep doing this until I get word that Mr. Paniccioli is getting the support that he deserves. So on that note...have you bought one of Ernie's books yet? By the time you answer that question out loud, he may have released another. Keep your eyes on lulu.com for his latest.
Announcements...Again
Damn, what a week it’s been, DX! Before I say absolutely anything though, let me hit you with some time sensitive material:
TODAY: SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2008! CLUB ENVY (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., NE)! 12pm! In honor of the MLK holiday, they’re doing an ALL AGES event featuring a whole shitload of artists. I believe it was 20 artists for this show, including Wale, Tabi Bonney, Mambo Sauce, TCB, and a whole slew of other gogo bands. I’m not sure if it’s free or anything, but I did hear it was going down. Although after scouring the internet I haven’t been able to find any info on the event. But I really did hear about this joint. It should be a hot event, and it’s even better that the kids can go have some fun this weekend as well. Too bad I’m just too damn tired and cold to be making my way to it. Oh well…I’ve been doing some digging and I may be hitting a better venue in the near future anyway. But that’s still a secret, and the official word isn’t out on it yet so let me stop talking. Er…typing. Whatever. Now in other news…
-This one is for the college hoops fans. Big shout out to Dre Smith of GMU. For those that missed the game or don’t stay up on the overly underrated Colonial Athletic Association, he had 100% accuracy outside of the arc during Saturday night’s game against rival JMU. For real? This kid made 10 out of 10 three point shots, and had a game total of 34 points. Go the fuck ahead with that. And it’s about damn time GMU started winning some away games, too.
-Have you picked up your copy of Ernie Paniccioli’s latest release? I sure hope you have. I got mine in the mail this weekend. Oh, and did I mention that it’s predominantly a picture book? So even you non-reading rejects can enjoy it. Shit, buy one for your baby cousin or something. Teach them their pop culture at an early age.
-Word to the wise: if you’re planning on driving in D.C., that’s fine. Just don’t park your car anywhere. There are meter maids lurking in the shadows, and they don’t play, son. So get someone to circle the block while you go inside to pick up your food from Habesha at 9th and S, NW. They get a lot of love from me for not going easy on the heat level for the pale skinned population.
-Shouts to the random ass overly-generous citizens of Northern VA. Especially the woman at the salon I go to. Yo DX – good hearted people still exist in the world. Can you believe it?
I promise my next blog will not be random. Actually, I'll get to writing it right now. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
I Swear to Tell the Whole Truth
As if you couldn’t have already figured it out from my recent posts, my head has been a jumbled mess of heavy thoughts as of late. This is why I haven’t come on here lately with some theory about some sort of hip hop phenomenon, or some odd piece of YouTubery, or an attempt at verbally shitting on some public figure that I hold responsible for some sort of injustice. Sorry, but this is one more post that won’t include any of that because, well, my mind simply hasn’t been on that track right now. This is one of those posts that (if you actually read the whole thing) I’d like you to really reflect on. Perhaps your commentary will help me get my head straight as well.
I discovered something today that as of now holds true (at least to myself). It was extremely peculiar, seeing as how this subject is something that I have spent countless hours thinking very deeply about; however I had never thought about it in this way until today. I came to the conclusion that the concept of a person telling a lie is nothing but a manifestation of fear. Now, as always, there’s nothing wrong with disagreeing about this point – but at least hear me out for a quick second and think this over.
Why do we tell lies? Why do you personally choose to tell lies (if in fact you do)? For a long time in my life I had an awful habit of lying about various things that I truly did not need to be lying about. For anybody reading this that suffers from this immensely detrimental habit – do your best to squash that shit ASAP. Hear me out before you start fucking up important things over some insignificant bullshit. My solution to this was to develop a policy of what could be argued as being brutal honesty. To me it seemed better to take the risk of hurting someone by means of blatantly speaking the truth, rather than to hurt them by underhandedly feeding them lies. Lying made me just as bad a person as the ones I sit and talk shit on about how they feed the propaganda machine and mislead innocent people and all that sickeningly frustrating stuff. I contradict myself a lot, but that was one instance of hypocrisy that I realized was anything but good.
My solution helped (or at least it helped my own conscience), but I realized that until I understood why I had that habit in the first place, that the solution was devoid of the deeper meaning that I needed it to possess. Besides, if I truly wanted to stop myself from falling victim to the habit, I knew I needed to squash the source of the urge to tell the little bundles of destructive words that we know to be lies. I can only speak for myself, but I think that source was my own fear. Fears that I didn’t necessarily know that I had in the first place. Was I afraid of rejection if the truth came out? Was it just that I was too scared to hear myself admit certain things out loud? Was I afraid of inflicting emotional pain onto the people that I cared about? I’m still not entirely positive, but a lack of other plausible reasoning and the general course of my life would tell me that the answer to these questions is probably “yes”. By some sort of transitive property of my own twisted logic, this tells me that to truly achieve my goal of sincere honesty, I need to banish my fears.
Not to be redundant or anything, but the problem with that is that it basically poses another problem. Fear is an extremely difficult thing to overcome. Shit, some people never overcome their fears. I like to think I’m pretty damn strong, but as you already know (and as a lot of you take pleasure in bringing to my attention on a regular basis) – I am nowhere near perfect. Fear is a feeling that all of us will undoubtedly feel at some point throughout the course of our lives. How do you really squash a feeling that is natural to your very being? If you say that you are fearless, are you ironically lying? By claiming that, are you merely doing nothing more than letting the fear of succumbing to a fear manifest itself into a claim that you don’t possess that fear in the first place?
Marinate on that. Hit me with your thoughts. I'm genuinely curious about this. Peace, and have a wonderful Wednesday, DX.
Announcements!
It's 6:53am and I'm pissed. I just wrote up a long, surprisingly heartfelt blog into this blog editor. This is the first time I've written directly into the editor since I'm in a state of desperation and on a computer that shockingly doesn't have MS Word on it. My internet cut off when I went to submit the piece...and it vanished. This is frustrating. But I'll attempt to recreate the blog because I just can't let technology win like that. A bit of kind passion will have to be omitted now though, since I just got technologically screwed and all.
I'm up way too late as usual and I'm deeply lost in thought right now. I can't sit here and write out a cohesive argument though. This is a contradiction of sorts; I know. I'm just stuck in the weirdest of mental states right now, so rather than force out some cohesive piece that focuses on one thing, I'll just give you guys some information on some things that you should be aware of right now.
First of all, Ernie Paniccioli's newest book has finally been released. It is entitled Rap Pop and Soul Headshots and features headshots (did you really expect anything different than that from the title?) of people that may fall into the category of your "favorite rapper", as well as people that paved the way for the of lyricists today. You'll find pictures of Chaka Khan, Ghostface, Erykah Badu, 50 Cent, Grandmaster Flash, Chuck D, and even some unexpected people like Mike Tyson and Tito Puente.
I can't stress enough how much it means to support Ernie Paniccioli and all of his various works. He has focused so much of his life to documenting the history of the rich culture that we (although I suppose I can only truly speak for myself) love. If people like you and I claim to love hip hop so much, it's only right that we support and show love to those that are supporting it and keeping it alive in return.
Anyway, you can find the book for sale here.
In more local matters, Virginia Tech (from here on out referred to as the abbreviated "VT" for the sake of my early onset carpal tunnel syndrome) annouced that it will be canceling classes on April 16th. For those of you that suffer from some short term memory issues sometimes, like myself, April 16th was the day that a large handful of intelligent minds and beautiful souls were taken from us. Perhaps it is because this hits close to home that I feel this is worth noting, but so be it. Normally I get a little harsh on school "holidays" (just see my little Veterans' Day rant from a few months ago for proof), but I really have to give VT props for this decision. The VT community, although it has remained strong, is still mourning what happened. And although every day since that happened has surely been tough for those who lost loved ones, the upcoming April 16th will be an especially difficult day to go through. My respects go out to all of the families of the people lost.
Also, thank you to everybody who hit me up on the e-mail to let me know what's going on in the area and who to watch out for. The response was a bit larger than expected, so I may not be able to get back to everybody immediately, but I assure you that at some point I will have listened to all the tracks and checked out all the myspace pages. Cut me some slack, ok? After this weekend I'll have my time consumed with trying to get that paper.
No, not that paper. The other kind. The paper of the diploma variety. The one that takes a lot of the green-ish kind of paper to obtain.
Now my thoughts (or should I say round two of them, thanks to technology farts) are getting blurry, and I'd still like to eat before I take my chances and give daps to the cousin of death for the night. Until next time...
A Late Treat for the DMV Heads
Well can you believe it? It’s barely a week into 2008 and shit is already poppin off. Drama has shown its face, accomplishments have already been made, I’m already reminiscing about the past, and hope for the future is abundant. Needless to say, all of these things have kept me a little busy. Not to mention, for some reason a lack of inspiration has hit me. Doesn’t quite go together, I know. This may end up being a short post, but you know I can’t be silent around here for too long. I’m on my blog grind, son.
ANYWAY.
Here’s a little something that may make the people reppin the 202/703/301/(571?!) smile a little: the district’s own Judah has thrown a Skillz-esque 2007 wrap-up out into the world. The catch? It’s a DMV wrap up! And he’s even been nice enough to provide the world with a download link, which you can find here. It’s a nice trip down short-term memory lane.
I’m really looking forward to the area doing big things in 2008. How about you help it out though? If you know of somebody doing big things in DC/Maryland/VA as far as music is concerned, hit me up on the email. I’d love to hear about it. And you’re helping me out, because in about two weeks school starts back up for me and I will no longer have time for frivolous searching of the internet and roaming the streets doing whatever the fuck it is that I do. Sad, right? Yeah…I’m not really looking forward to it. It’s all good though, I’ve put in far too much work towards that piece of paper to get discouraged now…soon enough I’ll be out of there and free again. Well, as free as a slave to the corporate system can be.
Let me stop rambling. And actually, let me get a bit sentimental for a moment.
I really want to take a second to thank anybody that has been supporting me in my progression – whether it’s professionally or just as a person in general. Anybody that has taken the time out of their day to give me valuable words of advice that they had to learn from tough experience, anybody that told me to keep my head up when the world was getting me down, and even the people who hit me on the e-mail to show some brief words of support and love. Even if you just gave me some good listening material. Anything. It really means a whole hell of a lot to me, and I really wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the help and guidance some of you have given me. I’m just not sure that I tell you all that enough.
I think it’s this funky ass weather that has me acting all weird all of a sudden. Anybody else having that problem? Seventy degree weather in January in Virginia just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense…maybe that’s why I’m not making a whole lot of sense. Oh well, so be it. Soon it’ll be cold again and then I’ll be back to my cold-hearted ass self. At least that side of me is logical.
Oh, and to the infamous Bmore – forget getting down to some lovey-dovey R&B. Put on some old Cormega, or some CNN…even some old Lox tracks…and it’s on. Nobody ever said I’m normal. Don’t act like I didn’t see that comment.
In case I'm not around for it, have a great weekend, DX.
Is R&B the Rap of 2008?
So as you may have figured out by now, I did quite a bit of traveling during this holiday season. Most of it was just lots of little mini road trips with my mother to go visit family I haven’t seen in a while and whatnot, which led to the need to listen to the sanitized crap that floods the radio airwaves of America. Now, I expected a good handful of “hang my head in shame” type moments and a bit of pointless ranting about how this is probably the reason why young children seem to have so many issues these days, but something else happened.
Something unexpected. Something odd. Something I’ve never before noticed in my time on this planet.
…An abundance of singing?!
Maybe I just never paid enough attention because I was never really fed up enough with radio rap to focus on anything else that it shares the airwaves with until recently, but there were a whole hell of a lot of actual melodic sounds coming out of the speakers while I was making my way across the highways of the Eastern half of the country. Suddenly the self proclaimed “hip hop and R&B” stations seemed like they should flip the order and call themselves “R&B and hip hop” stations – if you stand by the theory that they list them in order of descending priority, of course. Which I always did, considering that there’s straight R&B/soul stations but never in my life have I seen a strictly rap station…so if you ask me, the rap element of these “hip hop and R&B” stations should automatically take more precedence since these seem to be the only stations that it gets play on*.
That’s not the point though. From Chris Brown, to Ne-Yo, to The Dream**, I thought the singing would never stop. I mean don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate their music. Chris Brown can actually put on a decent live show, or at least that’s what my TV leads me to believe. I just kept waiting around for the rap, and it never seemed to happen. Or I’d get one or two songs, and then back to the lovey-dovey singing. It wasn’t even just one station either! Am I the only one that noticed this? Am I just late on things? If I’m not merely hallucinating this phenomenon, then am I going to be hearing a lot more actual singing this year on my trips to hell (better known as Pennsylvania) with my mother?
This could take some getting used to.
*Save for those “top 100” type pop-ish stations that seem to think that playing some Common right before they throw on some Fall Out Boy followed by Britney’s latest shit-tastic single makes a whole lot of sense. Let’s leave those out of this argument though - they’re a headache for a different day.
**And all the other ones that I can't remember, since after a while they all start sounding the same anyway. Yeah, seriously. They do. It doesn't help that Snoop Dogg wants to sound like T-Pain now, either. Oh, and don't think that I forgot about the female singers, either - they were unavoidable on the radio, too. I just happen to think that the guys have the catchier material these days so I thought of them first.
Should I Even Bother With a Title?
Warning: this is a bitter post. I am a woman. I get bitchy. This is me being bitchy. If you don’t like it, you can leave now.
Yesterday I posted a blog that dealt with the concept of longevity, and I used Lil Wayne as a sort-of example. Now, I’ve had people miss my point with blogs before – probably more than you’d imagine. But this…I was shocked.
Now let me start this off with a little disclaimer: I know that there are a nice handful of you that faithfully read my ramblings and actually comprehend what I’m saying. I appreciate this very much. So the rest of this does not apply to any of you. Your ability to use your brain cells that are still in functioning shape is important to me. Thank you dearly.
Now for the rest of you: I think I’ve figured out what you do. See, when you talk about someone like Lil Wayne this draws an interesting crowd. You get the die-hard faithful fans of the guy, and then the people who dedicate an equal amount of time to bashing the fans and Mr. F. Baby. Now, e-thuggery is no quickly accomplished task. And the Wayne fans put in tons of work looking up the lyrics to verses with which to prove Weezy’s greatness to the comment thread of the blog that referenced his name. You see, these people must be too busy putting effort into praising/hating that they forgot to read the blog in the first place.
Or perhaps they just read selectively?
I now present to you every sentence of the last blog I wrote that has Wayne’s name or nickname in it, or the name of another well known rapper. I have in the process taken the fluff, explanations of my point, and the conclusion of my point out of what I am about to present to you. So pretend you didn’t read my blog yesterday, and then tell me what you think my point was based off of these sentences:
Second, I realized that (brace yourselves) Lil Wayne has been releasing music since like 1995.
Weezy F. Baby has been at it for thirteen years now.
Now excuse me while I go bang my head against a wall a few times to kill the brain cells that actually allowed Weezy to find his way into my longevity hall of fame.
Just look at how people like Jay-Z have evolved stylistically since they started out.
My point is that if people see Wayne’s name in a title of something and that’s the only reason they clicked on it, could it not be assumed that they read things the same way? Where they see his name, they’ll read that sentence? I mean, check this: if you read the above statements, it’d be easy to infer that I have given Lil Wayne props for being around a while, and then you may even come to the conclusion that I compared him to someone like Jay-Z (an arguable legend). If you practice selective reading, I can see why you came to this conclusion.
But here’s a lesson for that ass: READ THE WHOLE DAMN BLOG FOR ONCE. You may actually learn something.
Never once did I say that Weezy should be compared to the true pioneers and legends of the rap game. Never once did I say that he has necessarily progressed and grown, as far as talent goes, since his entrance into the music industry. Never once did I say that his alleged ghostwriter doesn’t deserve some props too. Never once did I say that longevity equals “quality or legendary status”. When it comes to Lil Wayne, the fact of the matter is this: he’s still around because he’s making money and finding success at rapping. I don’t spend money on the guy, so this is not my fault. You are complaining to the wrong person. You think he doesn’t have the talent to merit being around this long? Too bad. Somebody out there is still shelling out their hard earned loot to support him in one way, shape, or form. And as long as that’s going on, his longevity is justified by his success alone. I never once called him talented.
Actually, my final point didn’t even have a damn thing to do with Lil Wayne, really. It was about the bigger picture, which I’m beginning to realize that some people don’t care about or understand at all sometimes.
And on a very important side note, here is an announcement: Mr. ERNIE PANICCIOLI has released two limited edition books (one contains black and white drawings, and 25 copies are available, and the other contains color drawings/paintings) which are available for purchase at lulu.com. In the near future Mr. Paniccioli will be releasing a multi volume set that focuses on the five elements of hip hop, along with volumes showcasing