September 25, 2008 | Tags: none

What the hell has been going down since the last time I posted something? It’s been a while, and the world has surely not been devoid of action. It finally came to light that Palin was charging young women for rape kits in her area of Alaskan jurisdiction (it took CNN what…a month to run that story? Good job, guys. Can I get a job as a correspondent, because these stories aren’t that hard to find…). We have daily reminders of the shit-state of our economy. Biden and Obama actually voted in favor of funding the “Bridge to Nowhere”, which they seem to enjoy bashing (y’all act like hypocrisy is something new in politics…pshhh). Afrika Bambaataa came through D.C. to the Georgetown Puma store, and I missed it. Goodness!

But the thing that seems to have everyone I run into pretty hype right now is McCain’s announcement that he’ll be ducking out of a debate that he hopes will be postponed, and encourages Obama will do the same, in order to brainstorm some sort of genius idea to save our economy. Say what? You want to deny the deaf, dumb, and blind masses (word to the Nation of Gods and Earths...85%! Can’t say that I disagree - I even feel a little too distant from sufficient knowledge of current events sometimes) an opportunity to really grasp your political platforms and help them make an educated vote in the upcoming election? I want to hear what these guys have to say about things. I don’t want them backing away from the cameras and locking themselves in a room to discuss the economy behind closed doors, or whatever it is that the proposed alternative was. I give props to Obama for rejecting that proposal, but in all honesty I’m not even sure if McCain means what he’s saying.

Let’s assume for a second that he does, though. If we’re such a “capitalist” society like we’re taught to believe since elementary school (it should be more obvious than ever that we’re more of a mixed economy than anything), what exactly does McCain think he can accomplish with his planning? He can’t singlehandedly control the economy or fix things with a couple extra days of tweaking his financial policies. So why is he doing this? Is it because he knows that’s what is on the American public’s brain, that’s what we want to hear about in the debate, and that his policy just doesn’t cut it? Not trying to say that Obama’s does either, but this just strikes me as an attempt to beef up a specific part of his platform in order to avoid looking weak at something.

Not to mention that there is a chilling undertone in this move, that reminds me a lot of something Bush might do. American citizens are obviously stressing the economy – hell, it’s a painful experience to go to the grocery store right now. Many are feeling financially insecure, those who bought into those ARM’s and copped nice cribs are now facing foreclosures, we’re pinching pennies…it’s a stressful time. Dare I say that some of us are even in fear over what might happen if the current state of the economy persists. Obviously the presidential candidates know this – could the move to suspend his campaign be an effort by McCain to claim some hearts and get some emotional vote? Are we supposed to think “wow, he really cares a lot about our financial situation – so much so that he’d put his campaigning on hold when the election is getting so close?!” Talk about rally around the flag syndrome. I suppose that makes McCain extra “patriotic” or something.

Personally, I’m not buying this bullshit, and really think it’s more important to articulate your platform to the public than to start trying to fix the economy before you’ve even attained the office for which you’er campaigning. I’d even bet five bucks that the debate will go on as originally scheduled, with McCain present. But I just spent a good hour or so listening to people argue about this issue – some supported his decision, and some viewed it in the same manner as I did. Interesting to note was that only about three or four people out of the 150 or so that were in the room could name even one candidate for President aside from Obama and McCain, which makes you wonder how well people are researching this election. I’m kind of curious as to how the hip hop heads are viewing this move, though. There are so many different angles to look at this situation from.

Maybe you’re just sick of all this political talk. That’s fine. It’s been overwhelming lately, and I get that. If that’s the case, there’s a couple good events coming up that you can go to in order to get your mind off of all the bipartisan antics. If you’re in the area, you can hit this one up tonight and peep some live performances from people like Wordsmith, Skyzoo, and Mambo Sauce:

There’s also an event coming up that should be rather interesting if you’re into the local scene – The Beatdown. An event similar to this actually just passed a day or two ago. It’s producer season in the DMV or something!

Until next time...

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Seven Years Later...

September 11, 2008 | Tags: none

Eight years may have been enough of G. Dubbs, but seven years isn’t enough to dull the memories of 9/11.

Seven years.

Is it just me or does it not feel like it’s been that long? In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday, but at the same time I realize how much has gone down in those seven years of my life since it all happened. I graduated from high school, got my first legit job (and a couple others as well), I got my driver’s license and am now on my second vehicle…essentially I was mad young when it all happened. And yet, it still feels so recent.

Last weekend I found myself in New York City, with a room at the Millennium Hilton in the Financial District registered to my last name (sometimes you gotta splurge, you know?). In case you’re not from NYC or don’t go there much, that particular hotel is directly across the street from Ground Zero. Thanks to a room upgrade from the hotel (good lookin’ out), I found myself lounging in a room on the 18th floor where the walls were essentially 50% windows. One side of the room looked right down into the gaping hole in the ground that changed a lot of lives not only in our country, but throughout the entire world. It was pouring rain and was basically a big mud pool in there, but the murky puddle didn’t cloud the significance of what I was staring at.

And I stared. For a long time. Eventually I flipped on the TV, and lo and behold there’s a show about 9/11 on TV. I listened to the show and stared into the ground some more, completely losing myself in my own thoughts. Eventually I stopped my contemplating and took my butt into the rain to go find some food. By the time I came back to the room it was dark, but the hole was still catching my eye. At that point a friend who lives in NYC was with me, and started to talk about the site. I was told that they’re still finding body parts there. Seven years later, and they’re still finding body parts.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20614353-2703,00.html

http://www.portauthoritypba.org/media-archive/misc/northjersey-061008.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15345694/

Yeah, those stories date back to 2006, but I don’t doubt for a second that they’re still finding stuff, despite how astonishing it sounds. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to be one of the construction workers that are currently working on that site.

It was an incredible thing to look at. I had places to be later that night, but I would have sat awake in that room until the sun came up just staring out that window. And after a few hours of that kind of reflection about something so serious, I would have been in one hell of a mood the next day. But here I am, almost a week later, reflecting again upon what I saw and the implications that that particular place in NYC has on the world. Seven years, and that hole is still the underlying root of some of our nation’s largest problems.

It’s been seven years, and we’re still at war. It’s been seven years and Osama Bin Laden is still at the top of our most wanted list. We still have the same President (thank goodness that’s about to change). We have people who voted in favor of the Patriot Act, who are now trying to apologize for doing so, running for President and asking Ron Paul (yeah, that guy that loved to spit that revolution game) of all people to be their running mate*. Al Qaeda is still a problem and they still seem to hate us. We’re still in debt – very much in debt, and yet are still funneling money into the war. We’re still losing lives in that same war. The list goes on. Sure, new memorials were unveiled (Dubya was here in VA today at the one at the Pentagon), and that’s all great, but that doesn’t fix anything.

I hope that the result of this upcoming election will at least begin to correct some of the aforementioned problems. I hope that one day I can clear up the questions in my head that remain about 9/11 – that I can feel like I know the truth about what really went down, not just the story that I was spoon fed via Faux News or the stories that many have come to label as conspiracy theories. Yet at the same time, I don’t ever want to forget the feeling I felt on this morning seven years ago. I saw, literally, how people’s lives can change in an instant, and not just in minute ways. That may perhaps be the greatest lesson I’ll ever take from those attacks, and one that I surely took for granted seven years ago, but that continually gains importance as I get older.

Sure, there’s not much said here that hasn’t been said before, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s still relevant and should be said. My best wishes go out to the families of those lost, as well as the many people that survived the horrific event, only to be left with toxic dust-related respiratory illnesses and inexplicable emotional scars. The effects of this event on the American population are far from over, even seven years after the fact.

I know I’m rambling like crazy because there’s just so much to say about this, so let me just leave you with one final, hopefully cohesive point: one can build memorials, give speeches, rebuild the demolished wall of the Pentagon, and sketch the blueprints for the future of the former site of the World Trade Center, but that will never erase what happened and won’t solve the problems we’re still facing as a result of that day. Perhaps the best thing any of us can do is to never forget what went down. It’s beginning to be cliché, but it’s real talk. The smoke may have cleared and the debris may have been picked up, but it’s the messes that aren’t immediately visible that are the hardest to clean up.

A glimpse of the view from my hotel room. Just to put it to scale, check out the size of the taxi compared to the hole. Incredible, and that's only a portion of it.

*I see you, Bob Barr, who, for those of you that may not know, is the Libertarian candidate for President. And F.Y.I. - the Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente ticket would be that of the Green Party. Yep, there are other candidates besides McCain and Obama, even though they don't get talked about much on the news channels.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

Did McCain Just Eff Up His Own Chances?

September 02, 2008 | Tags: none

The Republican party has my thoughts all in a mess right now. It’s just one thing after the other with these people these days. I thought it was peculiar enough that McCain went and named Sarah Palin as his VP candidate. First I thought this was a move to get all the feminist types who wanted Hilary to run mostly because she was a woman, then something got me thinking: he tried to say that Alaska was the nation’s most important state (and then play it off like he used the wrong choice of words or something...ha!). Not trying to take away from the importance of Alaska or anything considering I do find salmon to be a rather yummy fish and supposedly it tastes best when it’s from Alaska…but damn. He tried to play it off like he messed up his words, but if you ask me it merely revealed his main agenda (which happens to be one that we’re quite familiar with as a country now): oil.

What else is there in Alaska besides salmon and oil? Snow, ice, a few polar bears, a population of roughly 670,053 as of 2006 according to the Census Bureau, with about 1.1 persons per square mile of land (let that really sink in for a second)…unless McCain enjoys salmon rolls or smoked salmon and cream cheese on bagels as much as I do, I’m guessing we have another oil fiend on our hands. But that’s just me speculating. Maybe he really does enjoy salmon – it’s supposedly good for you, and he has definitely lived a long life so far.

But on to Palin. She may be the biggest eff up of McCain’s campaign to date. The ex-beauty pageant contestant and runner up to Miss Alaska seems to have a pregnant 17-year-old daughter. Oh man, I bet McCain’s campaign staffers are damn near wanting to throw themselves off of the nearest skyscraper right now. So much for those wholesome, Republican values, right? I mean, I get it – shit happens. But I can say that because I’m reasonable like that. Eh…kind of. But I’m not so sure that the old-fashioned types of our country will see it that way. If I agreed with Palin’s politics wholeheartedly, I wouldn’t particularly care that her kids are having kids – if I was a hardcore Republican like that I’d probably be happy that she’s keeping it. But…well…not everyone shares my views and nonchalance, which could possibly be a good thing, come to think of it. I'm crazy sometimes. Don't say I never warned you!

Anyway, the media was told to leave the family be, so I’ll just leave the daughter alone and focus on the potential VP. Eh…kind of. The daughter is like five, six months pregnant? Are they trying to tell me that Palin didn’t know about this until now? Because, really…why would a mother accept the nomination knowing that it would make every aspect of her life very public and her (currently unmarried) teenage daughter is about to add one more person to Alaska’s sparse population and raise it on a diet of omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish? Do I sense some lacking family values and loyalty? Some greed? I sincerely hope that her daughter had a say in her acceptance of the VP candidate spot. Because the next few months of that girl’s life are going to be beyond anything I could even imagine.

And back to those aforementioned polar bears for a second. I did some reading today and learned that Palin doesn’t exactly sympathize with our Casper-colored furry friends. She’s sure to lose the PETA vote with this one! According to an article in the Anchorage Daily News circa May 2008, Palin objected the placement of the polar bear onto the endangered species list because “she and other Alaska elected officials fear a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat off the state's northern and northwestern coasts”. I’m not a huge PETA/environmentalist/tree hugging type of chick, but even I have trouble justifying that one.

The question that’s looming overhead like the clouds of Gustav is whether Palin will be the ultimate reason that McCain will take the L in the upcoming election. Can Palin handle the responsibilities of being the leader of the United States if something should happen to the 72-year-old former cancer patient that’s running for President?

Yikes!

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

End of the Summer

September 02, 2008 | Tags: none

Although summer officially ends on September 22nd (you can thank my near-completion of a B.A. in Geography for my random knowledge of things like that), the summer in a cultural sense of the word ends after Labor Day weekend for most of us. The kids are likely to be in school again, the pools are getting ready to give up for the season, and it’s about to start getting colder. The seasons may be changing, but one thing that remains a constant is that there are artists out here in the DMV that stay grinding to put out tracks. I’ve gotten an incredible amount of stuff in the inbox over the course of the summer and figure I’ll end the summer by putting some stuff up for you to download and give a listen to.

First up we have a mixtape that you may have already heard, since the wonderful Shake posted it over at his corner of the internet a couple months ago. It’s entitled “The Hope” and is brought to you by Lyriciss. The D.C. emcee has another mixtape dropping in October, so if you like what you hear, be on the lookout because more is coming soon.

http://www.zshare.net/download/14661657efa65d9b/

Next on the list we have a mixtape that is a compilation of tracks from various DMV emcees, put together by my man Modi, Start Of the Line, and KNOWxONE. It features music from Tabi Bonney, Wale, NandoMcFlyy, Marky, T.E.F.L.O.N., RA the MC, Dirty Water, and more.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bnvuqr

Third we have a track from locals David E. Beats (DC) and Kendall Elijah (MD), entitled “We On”.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/17737615143f72fe/

I’ll end this post with a new track from Virginia’s R.E.U.B.. I met this guy at an event at GMU last semester (or was it two semesters ago? I really can’t remember) and was pleasantly surprised at the subject matter he chose to address in his songs and his overall disposition. He struck me as a guy that seemed to care about the world around him, and that’s always a plus in my book. He recently dropped a remix album entitled “The Billboard Insurgence: r.e.mixed”. He hit me with his latest track entitled “Overdrive”, and now I’m sharing it with you. This is one of those tracks you could play around your girl who may not share your gutter ass taste in music, and she’d probably enjoy it. We all need a few of these tracks in the repertoire.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/17915410b1c3a675/

I hope everybody had a safe and fun summer, and best wishes to everyone in their fall endeavors.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer and not necessarily those of HipHopDX.com or Cheri Media Group.

	September 2008
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30
« Aug					Oct »

Use these links on your blogs, messageboard posts, etc.
URL
HTML
BBCode

Your Name: (Required)
Friends Email Addresses: (Comma Seperated)
Message:
Verification Code:

Use these links on your blogs, messageboard posts, etc.
URL
HTML
BBCode

Your Name: (Required)
Friends Email Addresses: (Comma Seperated)
Message:
Verification Code:

Blogs

The Undisputed Truth

The Economic Debate Cop Out

Share Blog Link

Seven Years Later...

Share Blog Link

Did McCain Just Eff Up His Own Chances?

Share Blog Link

End of the Summer

Share Blog Link