Blogs


ABOUT ME


  • » Name: Amanda Bassa
  • » Location: VA
  • » Member Since: 09/21/07
  • » Bio: student, future change maker, and everything you wouldn't expect me to be.
  • » Contact Me:
  • » Syndicate: RSS RSS

MY RECENT POSTS



MY CALENDAR


  July 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 31    
« Jun  

MY TAGS


2007 • aids • album sales • art • barack obama • basketball • beijing olympics • bill clinton • bush • china • college • cops • crime • d.c. • darfur • dc • deonte rawlings • displacement • dmv • downloading • drugs • e-thuggery • election • endorsement • ernie paniccioli • excessive force • films • florida • free • frosty freeze • gangs • gentrification • go go • go-go • google • heroin • hillary clinton • hip hop • hip hop honors • hiv • hype • illegal downloading • immortal technique • injustice • irv gotti • jay-z • judah • justice • kanye west • lil wayne • longevity • m1 platoon • mafia • mainstream • mark ronson • marky • mary read • media • mixtapes • music • myspace • n-word • nandomcflyy • nas • new york • o'reilly • obama • old school • olympics • oprah • parenting • police brutality • politics • positivity • radio • reggae • rock steady crew • russia • sampling • sean bell • sean taylor • sex • shootings • soundtracks • television • terrorism • tibet • tv • tyra banks • underground • vh1 • virginia tech • wale • war • x.o.

MY FAVORITES




The Undisputed Truth

Viewing Posts Tagged "DC"   View All

A Late Treat for the DMV Heads


January 10, 2008 | Tags: DC, judah, 2007

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.


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

16 Comments             

A Friday Flashback


October 05, 2007 | Tags: DC, go go, old school


It’s finally Friday, and if anybody has had as long a week as I have, it’s time for something to lift your spirits a little. And what better to do that than with some old school music you haven’t heard in a while? There’s a catch though – being that I feel the D.C. area music scene deserves some more shine, I had to do this one for the 202. Listen close and you might hear some things that have influenced some artists you’ve come to know and love. So enjoy the Chocolate City sound. And if you don’t like it?…well, you probably ain’t from around here and you don’t know what you’re missing. Come and visit soon.



 



E.U. – Da Butt





 



Rare Essence – Overnight Scenario





 



Chuck Brown – Bustin’ Loose





 



Junkyard Band – Sardines





 



Rare Essence – Work the Walls







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

9 Comments             

14-Year-Old Shot and Killed by Off Duty D.C. Cop


October 04, 2007 | Tags: DeOnte Rawlings, cops, shootings, DC


Being that I live in the DC metro area, I’ve been hearing a lot about this particular case. I’m not sure if it’s getting any coverage outside of the area, but it’s an interesting (read: fucked the fuck up) case that deserves some attention.



Forgive gaps in the story, for they are being withheld from the public for obvious reasons. And they’re part of the reason this incident is so peculiar (read: fucked the fuck up).



The condensed version sounds a little something like this: Last month, Officer James Haskel gets a minibike stolen from his home. He calls another officer (Anthony Clay) and while off duty and not in uniform, the two set out to find the minibike, armed with their department-issued 9mm glocks. Allegedly, they find 14-year-old DeOnte Rawlings riding the minibike. Supposedly, the two approached Rawlings in Haskel’s personal vehicle without notifying the boy that they were officers, and then the boy shot at them, hitting the vehicle. Haskel then proceeds to return fire (I use the word “return” with much hesitation, though), and the shot kills the boy. Clay leaves the scene with the vehicle used to get there, and returns later without the vehicle. D.C. police are saying that they have since found the vehicle, but won’t say how or where they found it. The police were alerted to the shooting by a rooftop sensor installed nearby that activates when it hears the sound of a gunshot (there are multiple sensors such as that one installed around the area and were put in just recently).



Sounds seemingly legit. Use of excessive force? Surely. BUT, as with all things these days, there’s more to it than meets the eye.



Rawlings’ autopsy was released this week, revealing some very interesting details. First of all, the gunshot that Rawlings took was to the back of the head. Back of the head? That’s an interesting target, not to mention angle, to shoot somebody who shot at you first. In most cases, a return shot would hit them on the front of their body, rather than the back, and in that sort of moment would you really be going for a part of the body like the head? Why not something much easier to hit, such as a torso? If you shoot at someone’s head, you’re shooting to kill. And what was this all supposedly over again? A minibike. Shooting to kill a 14 year old boy over a minibike? Yeah. Sure.



It doesn’t stop there. Police haven’t been able to find the gun that the boy allegedly used to shoot at the two off duty cops. Even weirder? The stolen minibike in question was later found in Upper Marlboro, MD, which happens to be a nice chunk of miles away from where the shooting happened in the streets of southeast D.C. The autopsy report also mentions that no gunpowder residue or soot type shit that gets on your hands when you shoot a gun was found on the boy’s hands. There were also signs of blunt trauma, scratches, and things of that nature on Rawlings’ body – signifying that a scuffle prior to the firing of the shot may have occurred.



Granted, D.C. has a fairly new police chief (Cathy Lanier), and some kinks are to be expected when putting large organizations into the hands of new people…but this is just insane. Lanier has responded to this story, but has thrown out bullshit statements such as, “The scene was chaotic and someone might have picked [the gun] up.” What idiot is going to be stupid enough to pick up a gun that some kid just used to shoot at two men, regardless of if they’re cops or not? That’s an (attempted) murder weapon right there! I’d run away from that gun as fast as I possibly could, and there’s no way in hell I’d even think about getting my prints on that thing!



The officers were placed on administrative leave, and the case is now being investigated by the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI.



My condolences go out to the families of both DeOnte Rawlings and the two off duty cops. At least one of the cops has a daughter, and whether he was right or wrong, that’s a lot for a kid (who also happens to be 14) to have to deal with.





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

26 Comments